questions. “Hello, I’m Granite, and you’re Frost. Bella contacted me and asked if I could help.”
A dragon.
Here, in front of her, was a dragon.
And something else…
Frost studied him, digging into her memories, the sense of familiar getting stronger the longer she looked and the more she became used to his overwhelming appeal, along with the knowledge that he wasn’t a human.
Then it hit. “You were there when I was rescued.”
Her memories of that day – hell, that time – weren’t the clearest. Too much emotional overload and too many terrified women, along with the constant stress of dealing with her captors, and the constant fear that today would be they day she’d disappear as so many women before her had.
What she mostly remembered of her rescuers were they were all big, and the wolf in her recognized most of them as being wolves themselves. Only a couple didn’t feel the same, though she didn’t know what it meant at the time.
Then Bella came, and Frost was helping usher the women out, scared to hope they were really free but desperate to keep on that path. Then there were medical tests, and coming to terms with what happened, and by the time all of that was cleared, she hadn’t really thought to ask about those who rescued her.
“I was. I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”
Emotions were whirling inside her, not allowing her to settle on one way to feel. She was grateful to this male, but he had seen her at a point that she would not wish anyone to have seen her and she hated the thought of anyone pitying her.
Beyond that, even though she’d only spent a few moments in his presence, even though his presence brought forth uncomfortable memories, her attraction to him was only growing. The wolf was circling, its gaze fixed on him, flicking its tail and pacing as it watched him.
The wolf had never been so present in her outside of her first and only shift, and Frost didn’t know what to make of it.
Maelstrom of emotions or not, the male had saved her and deserved acknowledgement of that fact. “It’s not your fault. You came when you knew, and thank you so much for doing that.”
He ducked his head, acknowledging the words without directly responding. “You need help now, though. That’s what Bella told me.”
“Yeah. So you’re…what exactly?”
He smiled, ducking his head, and something warm and longing curled in Frost’s belly. “Bella told me you want to get back into modelling, but it’s too much right now?”
The end of the sentence turned up in a question, and she nodded. “I’m still getting used to the emotional changes that come with being turned, as well as some of the physical ones, I guess.” Her uncertainty and a touch of embarrassment were leaking into her tone, though there was no reason for embarrassment. If Bella called him, nothing she was saying would be a surprise or something he’d look down on her about, right? “Supposedly it’s normal, and I’ll settle down, but it’s going to take a bit. Beyond that, everything is too much for me. The scents. The lights. Sometimes even the feel of a particular fabric. Basically, everything that makes up modelling are things I’m having problems dealing with right now. So I can’t go back.”
“I do know someone who can help.” Granite pulled a card from a wallet with the name of a well-known photographer. “Call him and mention my name. Explain the situation. He’ll get you rolling again.”
“Are you telling me he’s-”
“Cat shifter. Lion, to be precise.”
“That would explain why he can’t keep it in his pants.” Immediately Frost’s face heated with the words. This man was offering to help her, and the first thing she did was insult the person who might get her career back on track. “I’m so sorry.”
But Granite was smiling, waving away the apology. “It’s true, so don’t apologize for it. And yes, many of the cat shifters are not automatically monogamous.” But then he
A dragon.
Here, in front of her, was a dragon.
And something else…
Frost studied him, digging into her memories, the sense of familiar getting stronger the longer she looked and the more she became used to his overwhelming appeal, along with the knowledge that he wasn’t a human.
Then it hit. “You were there when I was rescued.”
Her memories of that day – hell, that time – weren’t the clearest. Too much emotional overload and too many terrified women, along with the constant stress of dealing with her captors, and the constant fear that today would be they day she’d disappear as so many women before her had.
What she mostly remembered of her rescuers were they were all big, and the wolf in her recognized most of them as being wolves themselves. Only a couple didn’t feel the same, though she didn’t know what it meant at the time.
Then Bella came, and Frost was helping usher the women out, scared to hope they were really free but desperate to keep on that path. Then there were medical tests, and coming to terms with what happened, and by the time all of that was cleared, she hadn’t really thought to ask about those who rescued her.
“I was. I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”
Emotions were whirling inside her, not allowing her to settle on one way to feel. She was grateful to this male, but he had seen her at a point that she would not wish anyone to have seen her and she hated the thought of anyone pitying her.
Beyond that, even though she’d only spent a few moments in his presence, even though his presence brought forth uncomfortable memories, her attraction to him was only growing. The wolf was circling, its gaze fixed on him, flicking its tail and pacing as it watched him.
The wolf had never been so present in her outside of her first and only shift, and Frost didn’t know what to make of it.
Maelstrom of emotions or not, the male had saved her and deserved acknowledgement of that fact. “It’s not your fault. You came when you knew, and thank you so much for doing that.”
He ducked his head, acknowledging the words without directly responding. “You need help now, though. That’s what Bella told me.”
“Yeah. So you’re…what exactly?”
He smiled, ducking his head, and something warm and longing curled in Frost’s belly. “Bella told me you want to get back into modelling, but it’s too much right now?”
The end of the sentence turned up in a question, and she nodded. “I’m still getting used to the emotional changes that come with being turned, as well as some of the physical ones, I guess.” Her uncertainty and a touch of embarrassment were leaking into her tone, though there was no reason for embarrassment. If Bella called him, nothing she was saying would be a surprise or something he’d look down on her about, right? “Supposedly it’s normal, and I’ll settle down, but it’s going to take a bit. Beyond that, everything is too much for me. The scents. The lights. Sometimes even the feel of a particular fabric. Basically, everything that makes up modelling are things I’m having problems dealing with right now. So I can’t go back.”
“I do know someone who can help.” Granite pulled a card from a wallet with the name of a well-known photographer. “Call him and mention my name. Explain the situation. He’ll get you rolling again.”
“Are you telling me he’s-”
“Cat shifter. Lion, to be precise.”
“That would explain why he can’t keep it in his pants.” Immediately Frost’s face heated with the words. This man was offering to help her, and the first thing she did was insult the person who might get her career back on track. “I’m so sorry.”
But Granite was smiling, waving away the apology. “It’s true, so don’t apologize for it. And yes, many of the cat shifters are not automatically monogamous.” But then he
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