But the horror of the moment only got worse. A big, burly dude grabbed her shoulder so hard that her stance wavered ever so slightly. That was saying a lot for a dragon. A surge of fear and anger flooded Stark, and he bolted toward the awkward trio without a thought for his own safety. The weeks of physical training paid off because he was closing in on the scene before the much-closer security guards even noticed what was happening.
But he was only halfway there when Wyntir reacted. Locking eyes with the big man looming over her, she snorted out a puff of smoke and grew a bit larger. Not as big as the man grabbing her, and certainly nowhere near the size she would be as a fully shifted dragon, but enough to catch the guy off guard. She took advantage of his moment of hesitation to grab his wrist and twist him around in the most beautiful fluid movement. One long, graceful leg shot out and tripped the big man, who managed to wrench free of Wyntir’s grasp as he fell. He landed on his back, winded and not doubt shocked that such a stunning creature had the chops to knock his beefy ass to the ground.
Judging by the guy’s build and furrier-than-usual skin, Stark guessed he was a bear shifter. Not even close to an equal match with a dragon, which Wyntir emphasized when she kicked her leg out, heel glinting in the sunlight, and jammed the toe of her high-heeled shoe squarely on the man’s broad chest, like a big-game hunter of old. All without so much as a lock of hair going astray—or losing her grip on a stunned Becca.
“Dammit,” Stark panted as he finally reached the scene, leaning on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. “Put her down!”
Her eyes had turned a livid shade of blue and her pupils had gone vertical when she snapped her head around to face him. “What?”
“Put. Her. Down.” He gulped down more air as she gaped at him. “Look at her!”
Wyntir finally turned her gaze—which had blessedly returned to normal—to Becca, who was sobbing and reaching for the man on the ground. Baffled, Wyntir slowly lowered her arm until Becca’s feet touched ground, and then the poor girl rushed to the guy’s side.
“Buster! Are you okay?” She hugged him and pressed her head against his barrel chest like he might be dead instead of just embarrassed.
He wrapped his arms around her and Becca all but disappeared from view. “It’s okay, baby. Shh…”
“Oh, you must be the boyfriend,” Stark said, brushing past Wyntir to reach a hand out for a handshake. It turned into a helping hand as Stark pulled Buster to his big feet. “Nice to meet you.”
Buster rubbed the back of his head and eyed Wyntir. “I’d like to say the same but…”
“Could someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” Wyntir demanded, hands on her hips like she was Wonder Woman.
For a split second, Stark wanted nothing more than to see her dressed in a Wonder Woman costume, but then he shook the thought away. Not the time nor the place. Still, he knew the thought would plague him forever.
“Wyntir Ignis, I’d like you to meet my biggest fan, Becca Simpson. And this is her boyfriend, Buster.”
“Buster Wilkes,” the bear said, shoving a meaty paw at Wyntir. “Sorry about the, um, misunderstanding?”
Wyntir stared at Buster’s extended hand for a long moment before slipping hers into it and then shot Stark a confused look as the big guy pumped her arm good-naturedly. Stark had never met Buster before, but he liked him immediately. Despite their incredible size difference, he could tell they made a good couple.
“Are you sure you’re okay, baby?” Becca fussed at Buster, gazing at him with adoration.
He brushed a wisp of hair off her forehead and smiled gently, as if she were a fragile doll he didn’t want to break. “Barely even felt it, my love.”
As they snuggled, Stark flashed a cocky smirk at Wyntir. He’d tried to tell her Becca was harmless, but had she listened? No, and now she was getting her comeuppance, whatever that was. Still, watching her bring down a fully grown bear shifter without breaking a sweat? Yeah, that was hot.
“I still want an answer,” she snapped, returning his smile with a snarl. “What the hell were you doing in Stark’s trailer?”
Becca whimpered and snuggled deeper into her boyfriend’s protective embrace. “She was just dropping off flowers,” Buster growled in response.
Wyntir’s scowl implied she didn’t buy it. “Why?”
“As thanks for keeping me company in the hospital,” Becca explained with a nervous smile and an equally shaky voice. “Through the TV, obviously. With his movies.”
Stark stepped between his bodyguard and his biggest fan and smiled down at Becca. “Becca’s brought me bouquets a few times since she got out of the hospital. Okay, more than a few, but I’ve cherished every single one.”
Becca beamed up at him and even Buster seemed okay with him charming his lady just a little, considering the circumstances. The last thing he wanted to do was get on the wrong side of a bear! Turning his smile on Wyntir, he was about to ask if they could all just get back to what they were doing when he caught a very different look of alarm in her eyes. Following her gaze, he understood.
Dozens of crew members had gathered around the little group and every last one of them had their phones out. Some were snapping photos and the rest were recording the altercation, or at least the aftermath. Shit! Shit, shit shit!
“Please tell me photos aren’t allowed on set,” Wyntir murmured to him as she looked around at the sea of phones pointed at them. “I’m pretty sure I can confiscate all of these without much trouble.”
Stark sighed heavily and then plastered his most disarming smile on his face before waving to the crowd while keeping his voice low. “Yeah, I think that window’s closing in about, oh, thirty-seven seconds, or as soon as the studio’s crappy wi-fi will allow the first image to be uploaded to social media.”
“Whatever,” she almost snarled. “Who cares?”
“Um, me. The studio. My fans. That’s why you were pretending to be a nanny in the first place, remember? No one’s going to believe you’re just a nanny now.”
Wyntir threw her hands up in the air. “Are we still on this?”
Stark maintained his smile, though it felt like peanut brittle—ready to crumble at any second. “Yes, and now I have to figure out a way to spin this.”
“I have an idea,” said a quiet voice from behind them.
They turned to find Blaise munching on a normally forbidden Double Chocolate Cherry Meltdown donut, frosting adorably smeared on both cheeks. Stark kneeled down to reach eye-level with his son.
“Oh yeah? What’s that, sport?” He didn’t really have any hope his seven-year-old would have a brainstorm, but he’d always made a point of listening to all of Blaise’s ideas—even the silly ones. It was always better to nurture a kid’s creativity rather than stifle it.
“Why don’t you just pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Chapter Four
“Don’t think of it as demeaning,” Stark said through a cheesy, plastic smile as he reached across the table and lightly clasped Wyntir’s fingertips. “Think of it as your own personal promotion machine.”