Page 47 of Dominion

She followed Ben, watching as he shifted gracefully back into human form, his naked body riddled with bullet wounds that only bled slightly, his cock jutting out at full mast.

“Ben,” she cried, emotion flooding her. She ran and threw herself at him.

He looked surprised, but wrapped her up in his arms and pressed his lips to her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded against his chest. “Are you?”

“Yes.” He pulled away to look at her, holding the back of her head, looking down at her with an intensity that made her shift in place. “Ashley, you disobeyed me.”

The worddisobeyed,combined with the burn of his dark gaze, made butterflies take flight in her stomach. The emotional turmoil of the entire meeting came flooding back. Pressure built behind her face, tears threatening. No words came to her lips.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said meaningfully.

She gulped. Did that mean a spanking? Her pussy clenched even as fear turned her hands clammy.

“Where did you find your sister?”

She gathered her wits. “She called me as I was driving away from the bus station. She said Jeremy helped her escape. I haven’t heard the full story yet.”

“All right, let’s get it now,” he said, turning away and yanking on his jeans over his still enormous erection.

“Does that always happen when you shift?” she asked, eyeing his cock.

“No,” he muttered. “Just around you.”

She bit her lip to hide her smile.

Ben pulled on a t-shirt as the sound of the front door opening reached them. “Come on,” he said, leading her back to the kitchen where she found Zolla drawing a gun on Jeremy. Apparently, he had the same instincts as Ben.

Jeremy’s hands shot in the air. “Whoa, take it easy, man. We’re with Ashley.”

Zolla tipped the muzzle in Melissa’s direction. “She’swith Ashley. Who are you?”

“Are you Ben Stone?” Melissa squeaked.

“No, I am,” Ben said, pushing through from behind Zolla to stand in front of Jeremy. “Who are you?”

Ashley’s sister’sface crumpled and she started to cry and he regretted his lack of finesse. The punk named Jeremy reached for her, drawing her against his side and Ben relaxed by a small measure. The two had clearly forged a genuine connection, whatever had happened between them.

“It’s okay, Melissa,” he said. “Why don’t you come into the living room, sit down, and tell us your story?”

“I’ll bring the food in,” Ashley said, pushing through the crowded doorway to where she had some kind of food preparation going on the counter.

“Yeah, all right,” Melissa said.

The group stepped into the living room, and Melissa told her story about being picked up by Jeremy and his friend, and delivered to some other thugs. It seemed Jeremy hadn’t known what was going on, and when he realized and tried to get her out of it, he became as much of a prisoner as she. They spent three nights in an old barn out between Denver and Colorado Springs. According to Jeremy, his friend was given the order to kill him that afternoon, but had set him free instead, and he had circled back to save Melissa before they took her into Denver for the meetup. The two had hitchhiked into the city.

He and Zolla questioned them for over an hour until Ashley touched his shoulder. “Ben, please. I think they’ve told you everything they know. I’m sure Melissa could use a hot shower and a comfortable bed right now.”

“They can stay here,” Zolla offered, “if you think he’s okay,” he said, nodding toward Jeremy.

Ben glowered at Jeremy, but eventually lifted his shoulders. “He did the right thing in the end, I guess.”

“The couch is a pull-out bed, and you two can have my bed,” Zolla said, looking at Ben. “I can sleep on the floor.”

He knew Ashley probably wanted to be with her sister, but after the fear of losing her that night, he just needed to hold her. “Ashley and I will get a motel nearby. Melissa and Jeremy can stay here on the sofa bed—just until we get the rest of this cleared up and we know it’s safe for Ashley and Melissa to go to their homes.”

Ashley stood up without a protest.