Wyvern Protection Unit - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

OHMYFREAKINGAH!
I’m Slutty McSlutface!
Carolina wiped the fog from the mirror and took a good look at herself. What she saw did not impress her in the least.
Sigh.
Thirty-seven years old, and single. Had she really thrown that in his face like it was a good thing?
Not like Carolina had them lining up for her, or anything. Not even when she’d been younger. Yeah, she was cute. She had good skin and nice hair, of course, there was the whole extra weight she carried.
But so what? Plenty of men found plump girls desirable. At least she wasn’t saggy. Not yet anyway.
More importantly, she was self-sufficient. Didn’t even go after Joffrey for alimony. Heck, some might even say the artist was independently wealthy.
She’d never been what you would call rash or impulsive with men, and yet within an hour of meeting her new bodyguard, she’d been butt-ass-naked and splayed on a table while he licked and sucked on her most intimate body parts.
Crap.
Not good. This was so not good. Especially not since just thinking about it was making her hot all over again.
What the actual hell was going on here?
Things like that just didn’t happen to girls like her. And definitely not with dudes who looked like him. Jasper Wessex was like a whole other level of hotness.
Was she under some kind of Shifter spell? She didn’t even know what kind of creature he was, or what animal he shifted into.
She only knew he was one of them. Being one of the few normals in the world with privileged knowledge about the paranormal world and its existence, Carolina had always thought she was really open minded and accepting.
Hell, most humans could not even fathom the possibility. Anything supernatural was considered occultist and abnormal. But some people knew and like with anything they were for or against them.
Of course, most who opposed them and called for humans to band together to destroy the paranormals came off as nutters, which was good for Shifters and the like, she supposed.
Hate and intolerance were not things she understood or even tried to. Variety was the spice of life, at least in her artist’s mind. It kept things interesting. An eternal student, she loved to learn about different cultures and traditions. She used them in her art.
It was the same for Shifters far as she was concerned. Yes, they differed from humans, but so what? That was awesome, in her opinion. She was only too glad to help keep their secret safe from the not so understanding human world.
Of course, Caro had been quite young when she discovered the truth about the supernatural world. Her best friend Jennifer had sort of let it slip that she was an Owl Shifter when they were in grade school.
Ever since then, she recognized the signs and had identified dozens of friends and colleagues over the year as Shifters, too. But she never brought it up unless they did. Caro was not prejudiced or rude, and she tried not to be invasive.
Unless someone was an asshole. Then all bets were off, and her manners went right out the window!
Jasper was not rude, and she did not think he was an asshole. Truthfully, she kinda liked that she had made him jealous. It was a first for her.
But Caro was just learning to stand on her own feet again, and she’d worked too hard for her independence to cow to his overbearing testosterone induced hissy fit. She would not allow any man to order her around again.
Not even one she wanted to ride into the sunset. All. Night. Long. Cowgirl-style.
Gulp.
Her feminine bits got all swollen and needy as she pictured the tall, gigantic, drop-dead gorgeous man that was Jasper Wessex. He was the physical embodiment of every trait and characteristic she’d ever found even remotely sexy in her entire life.
Spikey black hair, amber-gold eyes, full lips, tanned skin, and a deep, pleasant voice that made her shiver in anticipation. Not to mention the tiny fact that every time he touched her, she lit up like a Christmas tree.
As if he were attuned to her every need and desire. So yeah, Slutty McSlutface that she was, she’d opened her legs wide and let him have at her like she was his own favorite flavor, licking her from ass to clit like he would an ice cream cone.
Double gulp.
And there went her panties. She shook her head, removing the damp cotton and tugging on her sleep shirt. Fuck it. Who needed underwear, anyway?
But seriously, what else could she have possibly done after he’d flashed those smoldering eyes and that panty-wetting grin at her?
She could have tried to resist him. But why? He was obviously a bad boy, used to getting what he wanted, where she never seemed to. So yeah, Caro had given right into her carnal desires.
Sitting in the dark room, she looked out the window and frowned. It was snowing again, and swirls of white fluffy stuff floated by the double insulated glass. It looked picture perfect. Like a postcard, she mused.
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and instead of being at some event with Joffrey, or with her small remaining family members, she was here. Trapped in a cabin in upstate New York. Just her luck she was sharing it with the most dangerous male she had ever seen in her life.
Jasper Wessex posed a serious threat to Carolina’s newfound freedom. But did she really want to be free? Even if her mind said yes, her body was emphatically opposed to the notion. All her self-control seemed to disappear around the sexy Shifter.
So freaking hot.
Even more so than the walking dildo. She snorted at the apt description. Obviously, ancient Egyptians were funny as hell.
Sigh.
Still, it wasn’t nice. She knew nothing about Medjed. No one did. Except for that whole shrouding the world in darkness thing, he might actually be a nice, decent sort of Demon. Not that she wanted to marry the guy.
Hellooo. Been there. Done that.
Joffrey may have inadvertently done a number on her self-esteem, but the truth was he wasn’t a bad guy either. Not really. He just wasn’t her guy.
But was Caro really in a rush to replace him with an egotistical jerk? Even if Jasper had made her come harder than any other man in her whole life, that did not give him the right to tell her what to do.
She had plenty of adult toys. Carolina didn’t need him. Joffrey had wanted to cow her, but she’d refused to play the obedient wife. Strong-willed was one description her ex had used whenever he’d been displeased with her.
She bit her lip, wondering if Jasper would hate that about her, too.
Being an artist was not an easy profession, and even with her creative juices flowing, it took a lot of work. She’d had to beg and plead to get in galleries to show her sculptures.
Even blessed with good friends in positions to help, it had not been easy. Her parents had been patrons of the arts, and many of their friends—including Caro’s own godmother, who owned an art gallery—were as well. She had been lucky. Carolina understood that, but it was still work, and it took grit.
She was grateful for everyone who had helped along the way, and she was happy beyond imagination to do the work she loved. Most parents didn’t want to hear their kids say they wanted to be artists when they grew up, but Caro’s were always supportive.
Figuring she owed it to them, she’d studied hard and worked her butt off, failing a thousand times before finding that right bit of inspiration. She’d been blessed to create art that was sellable in the current climate, and she had made a small name for herself. Her professional life was golden.
Lucky at work, unlucky at love.
She hated that fucking saying. Even if it fit Carolina to a T. Although, she had to admit there was a definite shift in the dynamic of her sex life just recently.
Caro had gone from being cast aside by her ex, to having two men vying for her attentions. Although maybe men was the wrong word?
Fuck, if she knew. It was hard to stay PC in these times. But still, two suitors—aha, that was a good word—when she had zero before, made this a very interesting week for her.
“And then there were two,” she whispered to herself as she snuggled against her pillow, grabbed her iPad, and started researching everything she could on Medjed.
A true nerd girl, research was one of her favorite past times. It helped her select the right subjects for her art. Right now, she was going to use it to maybe save her from being a sacrificial bride.
Easy peasy.
“Medjed, Medjed, where are you?” she whispered as she googled him.
The fucker was not exactly known as the Mr. Big Dick Demon, but she still giggled whenever she found an image of his hieroglyph. Those Ancient Egyptians must have been fun as hell at parties.
No wonder she wanted to do sculptures on their ennead. That’s what the Egyptian pantheon of gods was called.
Hmm.
Thinking of another well-endowed specimen who happened to be just in the other room, she wondered if maybe she should do a study on Shifters as well?
No. Focus.
The last thing she wanted was to think about that sexy jerk. She decided to message Jennifer to let her know what was going on instead.
Hey Jenn, Your boy is keeping me on lockdown. We had an uninvited visitor once so far tonight. Nothing happened.
-C
Jasper updated me. So, are you two getting along?
-J
Yes. Yeah. Why? What did he say?
-C
Um, hello, what are we in 5th grade?
-J
Come on, spill. I just want to know if he said anything about me.
-C
Ugh, Caro, I am his handler. Please don’t tell me you already had sex with him? Never mind. Don’t tell me anything at all. No gross details. I have to work with the man, for fuck’s sake.
-J
Since when do I kiss and tell? Besides, you mean Shifter though, right, Jenn? Not man.
-C
Yes. I mean Shifter. What did he tell you?
-J
Um, hello, nothing. Why do you think I’m talking to your bitchy ass? Seriously though, how bad would it be if I kinda liked him?
-C
Idk, Caro. Does he like you?
-J
I sorta got that impression.
-C
Did he bite you, Caro?! This is important. Tell me.
-J
No. Why? Is he like some kinky freak?
-C
What? Ew. Idk. No biting, okay? I’ll talk to you soon. Stay safe.
-J
Carolina stretched and laid down on top of the handmade quilt that adorned the queen-sized bed in Jennifer’s guest bedroom. It was quite luxurious, but somehow maintained that cozy cottage feel. Not the average little cabin by any means.
She’d been there to visit with Jennifer a few times. Though not as much as she’d have liked. Joffrey had a thing about the outdoors—he hated them.
It was so odd now. They’d been living apart for more than a year and she’d expected to feel sad when she’d signed those papers a few months ago, but all she felt was relief.
It had been easy, letting him go. Maybe too easy. Was Carolina unable to feel emotions? That couldn’t be right. After all, she certainly felt something with her bodyguard a few hours ago.
Incidentally, that was part of the reason she was still awake, even after putting her tablet down and turning off her bedside lamp. There were only two rooms in the cabin. She wouldn’t take Jennifer’s because, well, it was hers, and she didn’t feel right doing that.
Would he? Was he lying down right now in another woman’s bed?
Even if that woman wasn’t there, it struck her as fundamentally wrong. Carolina frowned. Geez, she didn’t own the guy just because he made her come.
She huffed out a breath and turned on her side. Closing her eyes tight, she willed herself to go to sleep. But she just had to know. She tiptoed to the door and cracked it open.
The sounds of him moving about the living room reached her ears. She saw his shadow rise as if he’d stood up from where he’d been sitting. On the couch, it looked like. A small smile spread across her face as she closed the door and returned to her own bed.
He wasn’t in Jennifer’s room. Jasper was in the living room, protecting her, keeping her safe from harm.
But who was going to keep her heart safe from falling for him?
A tiny sliver of fear raced up her spine. She didn’t relish the idea of losing her heart to the man. She felt anxious, antsy, and downright nervous. So much so that Carolina’s heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest.
Shit.
She hadn’t felt this way since she thought she was in love with her English teacher, Mr. Rosso, in sixth grade. Carolina sighed and closed her eyes, but she wouldn’t be sleeping soon.
It was going to be a long night.