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She was a plus-sized model, he knew that, because the other kind was all skin and bones, and he much preferred a woman with generous breasts, hips big enough to hold onto while fucking her, and, as the dress puddled around her waist, he could see the delicate waist that gave her the hourglass figure Marilyn Monroe could only have dreamed of matching. But women were told to be skinny. No matter what size nature bequeathed on them.
Lifting his face toward hers, he shook his head. “Do not go there, darlin’. Too much beauty for one man.”
A tear tipped over her lower lid and tracked down her cheek, and he inwardly cursed anyone who had ever caused her pain. Catching Thunder’s eye, he sent a silent signal he hoped the other man would catch and then enfolded her in his arms.
To his relief, they both did. Scattering kisses over her bare shoulders, Thunder murmured endearments and reassurance while Sky kissed away the salty droplet and every inch of her beautiful face.
She sniffed and lifted her chin. “I know I’m not as pretty as—”
He sealed her lips with a kiss, shutting away the hurtful expressions others had put in her mind.
Thunder growled. “I never want to hear that from you again, our beauty. First, to us, you are perfect. But, beyond that, do you think you’d be on billboards, magazine covers, and, hell, movie screens all over the world if you were merely pretty? Pretty girls aspire to be models and actresses all the time. You’re gorgeous. Stunning. I wanted to kill some of our former classmates tonight because they were getting way too close.”
She choked against his lips and Sky released them, resting his forehead on hers. “What?” she protested. “Nobody so much as said one inappropriate thing to me.”
Could she possibly not have noticed how close some of the guys—and a couple of the girls—were getting close to her? Accidentally bumping shoulders, leaning in to speak? The gleam in their eyes? The pheromones for Goddess’ sake. “For a woman who was half-naked in bathing suit magazine spreads, who modeled lingerie and, in one memorable movie moment was a quarter inch from showing nipple—yeah he’d noticed and admired her far more than he usually did with actresses he’d never thought to meet.
If it hadn’t been so completely unlikely that he would meet her, ever, he might have interpreted his, and his dragon’s level of interest as more than just admiring a talented actor.
“It doesn’t take words to come on to someone.” He steadied his breathing. Contact with her had his brain and his body in an uproar. “Surely, in your business, you know that.”
She inhaled and let it out slowly, a little tremble running over her. “You two are so warm.” They both moved to back up, but she clutched him, arching her back toward Thunder at the same time. “No. I like it.” When they settled back into their Gina sandwich again, she continued. “I suppose I just stopped noticing. At first, I assumed people wanted me because I was so young. Not everyone I posed for respected the term ‘underage,’ and my mom, my human mom, was not always on the shoots, even though she was supposed to be. So I learned how to protect myself—without shifting. Because, as you know, shifting and killing is illegal even if the bastards are attempting to grope a teenager.”
He and Thunder both tightened their grip on her, and the other dragon’s eyes lit with more flame. Maybe they could get a list of the guys who had tried to harm her. It might be illegal to shift and kill them, but human laws did not concern them. As long as they didn’t get caught.
She sighed, snuggling closer to them. “Anyway, I suppose once I got a little older, and more successful, word got out that I didn’t sleep around. Hell, I almost never dated, and never anyone in the industry.” She shrugged. “Despite what the tabloids say.”
“Shifters?” he asked. “Did you date shifters?”
“Never. I didn’t want to take a chance on being alone with someone who might overpower me. And, the smaller animals, rabbits and such, just didn’t do it for me. So, I stuck with humans.”
“And how did that work out?” He wanted to know, even if his lower half was about ready to explode if he didn’t get her naked and under him…maybe between the two of them…soon.
“It was okay, nothing to write home about. I actually haven’t bothered to go out with anyone in a while. Just wasn’t worth the effort.”
Most humans couldn’t be what a shifter needed. True, exceptions existed. There were some incredible pairings out there. But a shifter needed his or her mate, whether they were human or shifter, and nobody else was going to do it for them.
Thunder rested his chin on her shoulder. “And what about dragons? Aren’t you afraid we will overpower you and take what we want?”
Sky froze, moving back a little to study her expression. Her answer could hold everything. Their future. His. Hers. Thunder’s. Everything.
Gina considered the question. She’d spent her entire adult life avoiding men who were stronger than her. Who could hurt her. She had neglected to tell them about the near rape that led her to learn to protect herself. She’d only escaped from the wolf without shifting because someone walked in and saved her. If he hadn’t been such an important client, he’d have ended up in jail.
He should have.
But, as she searched her mind, she found no fear. Desire. Pleasure. A sense of safety with their arms enclosing her. Her human parents, who had raised her after adopting the abandoned baby nobody realized was a shifter, had done their best, but even as a young girl she knew they weren’t as strong as the shifters who also populated the world. In fact, they’d encouraged her to hide her cat until she grew old enough nobody could decide they were unfit to have a shifter child.
They’d loved her.
But they were weak.
Was she afraid of these dragons?
“I might be a little afraid,” she confessed, finding the niggling bit in the deepest corner of her mind. “But I’ve had a lot of practice at that.”
His dragon rumbled, joined by Thunder’s. Way to calm her down. Her wide eyes told him she heard it. “Now we’ve gone and made it worse. Gina, beauty, our dragons are just protective. They don’t like hearing that you had so much bad happen in the past, and they want you to know they are here to make sure you never have to worry about that again.”
“Sure,” Thunder echoed. “We’ve got you.”
