Read Romance: Auctioned To The Panther: BBW Dragon Shifter Romance Standalone (Wild Shifters Book 2) for Free Online

okay?”
    “Thanks,” Grace whispered, wiping away a couple stray tears. She laughed quietly. “You're really nice to me—one of the nicest people I've met, really. I don't know that much about you, but you seem like a really good guy.” She quirked a smile. “Even if you do habitually hang out with people involved in trading sex slaves.”
    Christian shook his head, expression hardening. “Believe me when I say I wish I had never met any of those...monsters,” he muttered. “The sooner they get locked away, the better I'll feel—even if all my business deals collapse in the process!”
    Grace smiled, glad she'd found someone so ready to keep her safe. Christian was a real knight in shining armor—not something Grace ever would've expected for her life.
    She didn't totally feel safe yet—certainly not safe enough that she wanted to attend another society party any time soon—but she couldn't deny that it felt like he would protect her against any threat. It was a heady feeling.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    That evening, though, watching as Christian prepared to go out to the event, Grace felt a stab of wistfulness pass through her. It really would be nice to get out of the house for once, and Christian looked absolutely amazing in his suit.
    Grace couldn't help but feel jealous as she thought of the women who would be falling all over him the whole night. Christian would flirt back, she assumed: after all, there was no harm in flirting, and that was just what men at those sorts of events did. Especially since the women would be no less attractive.
    “Uh oh,” Christian said as he straightened his tie, meeting her eyes in the bedroom mirror. He turned to face her where she sat on the bed. “Based on your face, I'd say you're not feeling so good about this whole thing?”
    Grace blushed and picked at the bedcovers, frowning. “It's not that,” she mumbled, embarrassed at having been so transparent. “Just...”
    “You don't want me to go,” Christian surmised, hands already moving to undo his tie. “That's fine, sweetie—all you had to do was say so. I don't want to leave you here if you feel unsafe or uncomfortable or whatever else.”
    “No, it's not that,” Grace said. “What about your business deal, anyway? I thought you had to go to this thing.”
    Christian sighed. “I sort of do. Trust me when I say, I'd much rather spend the evening here with you.” He turned her face up towards his and leant in to kiss her gently. “But if you feel that uncomfortable with the situation, I'll call Orlovsky and tell him that I'm sick or whatever and that we'll need to do this another time.
    That'll probably have to be this weekend because he'll be leaving town on Monday, but...we'll figure it out. You don't need to worry about that; screw the business deal. Your safety and wellbeing are more important to me; there are plenty of other business deals I could make and you, on the other hand, are-” He stopped himself just short of saying that she was his mate; that was a conversation for a different time, and he didn't want to frighten her off.
    Grace shook her head. “I was thinking more that...that maybe I should come with you?” She took a deep breath. “I...can't promise that I'll be okay, though.” Her forehead wrinkled adorably as she thought it through. “I mean, how awkward is it going to look if you get me into the middle of this thing and I have a full-blown panic attack? Maybe I shouldn't go, I don't know. I–“
    Christian snorted and pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. “If you're not comfortable with this, it's fine,” he said. “As I said earlier, I just want you to feel comfortable.”
    Grace shrugged and stood. “Yeah, well, hiding away for the rest of my life isn't going to make me feel any safer,” she said boldly, tossing her head with a bit of fake bravado that Christian easily saw through.
    He really admired the woman's courage and strength. “Well,