Page 27 of Dragon's Unwanted Love
Jackson guided Abby through the crowd, ignoring the looks she was getting from other men, but making it perfectly clear that she belonged to him with a possessive hand on her hip. It wasn’t hard to find their table, one of the largest in the room, and he guided her over to the two empty chairs, then helped her sit down. His friends were all already there with their dates and after introductions had been made, it wasn’t long before they were all laughing and talking.
Abby was relaxed and enjoying herself. None of the nerves she’d complained about marred her happy face, and he was glad; she deserved to have some fun. During the next lull in the conversation, he leaned over. “Do you want to give the dance floor another try before they serve dinner?” he asked. “I did promise you a second lesson.”
“I would love to,” she said, smiling at him. “Thank you for bringing me, I’m having a really good time.”
“So am I,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go have a little more.”
They stayed on the dance floor until the bell rang for dinner, then still slightly breathless, joined the line for food. “Everything looks wonderful, but I’m afraid that I’ll spill something on Hattie’s dress,” she said. “Maybe I’ll just snack a little bit.”
“Nonsense, not when there’s so much good food here,” he said, grabbing two plates. “Besides, Hattie’s a genius. If you spill something, I’m sure she’ll be able to get it out, and she would be upset if she found out that you didn’t eat.”
“And you’d probably tell her just to get me in trouble,” she said, shaking her head. “Fine, but I’m blaming you if I ruin this dress.”
“I’ll take the heat,” he said, grinning at her. “It will be worth it.”
They filled their plates and made their way back to the table to join the others. To his amusement, Abby finished everything on her plate and sent him back for seconds. “I didn’t think the food would be that good,” she said, patting her stomach. “I didn’t spill anything, but I think I might be about to burst the seams on this dress.”
He laughed, then leaned over and kissed her. “I told you,” he said. “Now, let’s go work off some of that food; the band is about to start up again.”
“You’d better give me a few more minutes to let some of this food digest,” she said. “I don’t think I can walk, let alone dance.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” he said, putting his arm around her and scooting her closer. “I’ll be perfectly happy to just sit here with you.”
The band had only played three songs when a commotion at the front door caught his attention. Turning in his chair, he instantly tensed up when he saw the Kappas come strolling through the door. They paused in the doorway,blocking anyone else from coming in or leaving, their dates hanging off them, then slowly surveyed the room.
When their leader saw the eight of them, he nodded to the rest of the group and they started across the dance floor toward them, pushing people out of his way. Jackson looked around at his friends, his body already tensing for a fight, the dragon inside him ready to protect its mate. He felt the power of their magic before they reached the table, but remained perfectly still, content to let the situation unfold on its own.
“Well, would you look at that, Paul,” Diego, the leader of the fraternity said. “All the Sigma’s are here. This must be a special occasion.”
“And look at their women, aren’t they just adorable? I bet none of them will be getting lucky tonight,” Paul said, laughing too loudly. “Then again, maybe they’ve managed to hook up with a few who’ll be happy to put out for them.”
The tension was so thick, he could have cut it with a knife, but he knew that the Kappas were just baiting them, hoping they’d lose control. “What do you want, Diego?” he asked. “We’re just trying to have a nice time here, we don’t need you hassling us.”
“Hey, I was just trying to make polite conversation,” Diego said, throwing his hands up in the air, then saw Abby sitting next to him. “Hey, what happened to your lab partner? Did you ditch her already? Not that I can blame you; this one is a little more to look at.”
“Diego, I think that’s her,” Paul said, elbowing him in the ribs. “It’s her, man, I know it.”
It took everything in him not to jump across the table when Diego’s eyes skimmed over Abby and a smile spread across his face. “Well, will you look at that? The ugly duckling has become a swan,” he said, with an amused look. “Iheard you’ve been having some troubles, little lady. That sure is a shame. It would be terrible if you got hurt, a real tragedy. The way I hear it, you meddled in business that wasn’t yours. You’d better watch your back.”
This time he couldn’t stop himself and jumped to his feet. “Was that a threat?” he asked, his magic flaring dangerously. “Because it sure sounded like one.”
“A threat?” Diego asked, his eyes hardening. “I would never threaten a pretty woman, but I just thought I should warn her. This campus isn’t a very safe place anymore. It's such a shame, but what can you do?”
Just then a security guard came walking up. “Is everything okay over here?” he asked. “We don’t want any trouble tonight.”
“Everything is fine, Officer. “We were just saying hello to our friends,” Diego drawled, a fake smile on his face. “We’ll be moving along now. I hope to see you at the game tomorrow, boys.”
He sank back into his seat when they were gone, then looked over at Abby, expecting her to be frightened, but instead, her eyes were full of anger. “It’s them, those are the voices I heard the other night in the science building,” she said. “Diego and Paul were the ones trying to blow up the building, I know it without a doubt. We should go to the police and we should talk to the dean. This should be enough to at least get them kicked off campus.”
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” he said. “I know how you feel, but the police and Dean Proctor aren’t going to do anything. They’re using the Kappas to get to someone higher up.”
***Abby***
Abby absorbed that information, then looked over at Jackson. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said. “They’re not going to do anything? They’re just going to let them keep harassing us?”
“That’s what I was told when I met with Dean Proctor the other day. He’s not happy with the situation either,” he said. “I told him I wasn’t going to just sit back anymore. I’m sick of this too; they’ve given the Kappas too much power, and we’re going to take some of it back.”
Her anger instantly turned to concern. “Jackson, what are you going to do?” she asked. “I don’t want you to get hurt. The Kappas are dangerous.”
