“Hey, sweetheart,” Cassidy called to Rianna, ignoring Nic as if he weren’t treading water a couple yards away. “Do you want to swim some more or should we go back to the dining hall?”
“Swim!” Rianna carefully placed her ragdoll in a niche in the stone wall, and then bounded down the steps to take a flying leap into the water. Cassidy caught her and they both submerged to reappear a short while later in the center of the pool, giggling.
A smile tugged at his lips. Cassidy was so good with the little girl. It was clear she was a great mother.
He wished his own mom could’ve seen her granddaughter, but his parents had disappeared more than fifteen years ago somewhere in the North Atlantic. They might be dead, or maybe they’d been captured by the ice fae. His parents had a history with Sindre, the ice fae king, and they’d been near Iceland when they disappeared.
Not knowing was the worst. Nic and his brothers had searched for months, until his oldest brother Dion had called off the search. Their father had been Rock Run alpha, so Dion had reluctantly declared himself the new alpha.
Nic hadn’t stuck around for long after that. He was too strong to live as a subordinate to his brother. And his sea dragon had become a constant itch—wanting out more and more, until Nic feared someone at Rock Run would discover his secret. Water fada could take more than one form, so as far as the clan was concerned, Nic’s primary animal was a river dolphin.
Nic had waited long enough to see his brother established in his new role and then shipped out with the Merchant Marines, who were always eager to hire water fada. The clan was hurting, so he’d sent half his money back to Rock Run until he’d heard Dion mated with the sun fae queen and turned things around. Nic had stopped back to congratulate his brother and meet his mate, then finished his stint with the Merchant Marines and struck out on a tour of the world’s oceans.
He’d ridden the waves for a couple of years before ending up at Shannon, where he’d met Cassidy the first day. Orphaned as a young girl, the pretty red-haired shifter had been raised by an aunt and uncle, and had a passel of cousins who treated her like a sibling.
But Nic knew Cassidy wanted a family of her own. Something a sea dragon couldn’t give her—except he had. His gaze slipped to Rianna.
“Mister Nic!” The little girl swam to him. “Want to see my dragon? Oops.” She clamped shut her mouth and darted a gaze at her mother, treading water nearby.
Cassidy sighed. “It’s okay, baby. He’s a dragon, too. But don’t forget. No one but Mister Nic can see your dragon.”
“You’re a dragon?” Rianna’s big green eyes widened as if he were some strange species—but then, he was.
He tapped her cute little nose. “I am—just like you.”
“What color are you?”
“Mainly gold, but I have some blue and green, too.”
Nearby, he was aware of Cassidy’s interest. He’d never shown her his dragon. His beast had wanted to shift in front of her, but Nic had resisted. He’d been afraid he’d lose Cassidy if she learned what he really was. He couldn’t bear the thought of her smiles turning to loathing. And even if she’d accepted his dragon, it was too dangerous a secret. He couldn’t do that to her.
“That’s a nice color,” Rianna told him. “Guess what color I am.”
“Hm.” He pursed his lips. “Pretty pink?”
A gurgle of laughter. “No.”
“Purple with yellow polka dots?”
A shake of her wet curls. “No!”
“Then what color are you?”
“I’m a rainbow!”
She dove beneath the surface. Light shimmered in the depths below, and then a little sea dragon shot out of the pool, her blue hide overlaid with opalescent pinks and purples and greens. She arced over his head, tiny wings flapping, and dove back into the pool before resurfacing in front of him, a toothy grin on her face.
He smoothed a hand over her hide. “You’re the prettiest dragon I’ve ever seen.”
She trilled, a happy dragon-sound that made him smile.
Cassidy’s eyes met his over Rianna’s head. “That’s what I tell her. She can’t understand why she can’t show her dragon to everyone.”
“It was easier for me to hide it,” he said as Rianna left them to loop through the water in excited figure eights. “My dragon didn’t appear until I was eighteen turns of the sun. Everyone thought I was a dolphin until then. I didn’t tell anyone but my father, and he advised me to keep it a secret.” His jaw worked. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She is what she is—and I love her exactly the way she is. I’m just sorry the rest of the world won’t leave her in peace.”
He’d been apologizing for giving Cassidy a dragon for a daughter, but now he stared at her, arrested.
“You’re right,” he said slowly. Because Rianna was a beautiful little person, and a gorgeous dragon. If the world couldn’t handle that, then the world needed to change, not his daughter. “Still, there’s one thing I’m sorry for—getting you pregnant and then leaving without letting you know how to find me.”
She glanced away. “I hated you for that.”
He nodded, accepting that. It hurt, but it was what he’d expected. What he deserved.
“I don’t blame you.”
She blew out a breath. “But you weren’t to know I was carrying her. In the end, I didn’t hate you for that—I got Rianna, after all, and I wouldn’t give her up for a roomful of gold. But—” She shook her head.
“What?” They’d drawn closer as they both tread water so that now they were only a foot apart. He could see water droplets on the dark lashes framing her intense blue eyes, and the smattering of copper freckles across the bridge of her nose.
“What I couldn’t forgive,” she said in a voice harsh with pain, “was that you rejected the mate bond. Me, in other words.”
“I’m sorry.” He swallowed. “I thought that if I didn’t accept the bond, you might mate with another man.”
“You could’ve lived with that? Me mating with another man? Because the thought of you with another woman about kills me.”
No. Never. His claws pricked his fingertips. “I would’ve wanted to rip his fucking intestines out.” He hesitated, then added, “If it makes you feel better, there’s been no one since you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Hah.”
“It’s true—I swear on my grandmother’s grave. You know fada can’t lie.” The fada’s touch of fae blood meant that even a white lie made you nauseous, and a flat-out lie could make you as sick as a dog.
“Goddess,” she said between clenched teeth. “I don’t understand you.”
“And you?” He had no right to ask—and it wouldn’t make a difference even if she had—but he couldn’t help himself. He had to know. “Have you been with another man?”
“Me?” Her chin jerked up as if he’d struck her. “What do you think, you bloody arse?” She whipped around and swam for the steps, calling to Rianna. “Come on, love. Let’s wash our hair and then go back to the dining hall.”
The little blue dragon looked from him to her mother and then shifted back to a girl. Cassidy got a bar of soap from the rucksack. They washed in the freshwater pool and then Cassidy toweled them both off. She pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, dressed Rianna in a miniature version of the same outfit, and with a stiff nod in Nic’s direction, gathered up their things and disappeared with Rianna into the tunnel.
He growled under his breath in Portuguese. “You ass.”
What devil had made him ask such a stupid question? He knew damn well Cassidy hadn’t been with another man. A mate could sense these things. Even thousands of miles away, he’d have known if Cassidy had taken a lover.
Which meant she was his. He just had to woo her.
He’d done it once—surely he could do it again.
Getting out of the pool, he grabbed his clothes and followed them back to the dining hall. Cassidy, Marlin and Joe were playing cards. In the kitchen, Ben was sear
ing striped bass in an iron skillet.
He returned the firepit to its place at the center of the four black lava stools and realized Cassidy and Rianna needed their own seats. Happy to do something for them, he faded back into the tunnels and shifted to his dragon. As he formed the stools, the patter of small feet made him turn his head.
Rianna looked up at him fearlessly. “You’re big.”
“Mm,” he rumbled.
“Wow.” She touched the smaller of the stools, her mouth round with awe. “How’d you do that?”
He shifted back to man and pulled on his shorts. “Only big sea dragons can breathe lava.”
“Will I be able to when I’m all growed up?”
“Probably. I only know one other sea dragon, but he could do it.”
She nodded sagely. “Mam says dragons are special.”
“Yeah, we are.” He crouched in front of her and took her hands. “Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
Wiry arms wrapped around his neck. “I like you, Mister Nic.”
He stilled. A shock of emotion swept over him. “I like you, too,” he managed to say. “Very much.”
Cassidy appeared in the tunnel. Their eyes met over Rianna’s head. At the yearning on her face, his heart punched in his chest.
Then her eyes shuttered.
Rianna released him to run to her mother. “Look what Mister Nic made.” She tugged Cassidy over to admire the stools.
“Very nice,” she said.
“They’re for you and Rianna.”
“Thank you,” she said in a polite tone that made him want to shake her. “Ben says it’s almost time for dinner. I wondered where we should put our things.”
“In my quarters.”
Her chin raised. “I’m thinking that’s a bad idea.”
Nic hefted the stools in his arms and tried not to growl. Patience. Don’t rush her.
But it was damn hard not to.
“We don’t have any spare beds. You two can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the futon in the outer room.” Before Cassidy could object, he added, “You’ll have your privacy, but I’m not letting you two out of my sight.”
Her mouth compressed, but she said, “Okay. I suppose it’s for the best.”
Chapter 9
Dinner was oddly festive. The storm had slackened to an intermittent rain, but the ocean still heaved wildly. No one but another water fada would come out in this weather, and Nic’s dragon could handle anyone who dared invade his caverns. With Cassidy and Rianna safe for now, he could relax. Cassidy was coolly polite, but he could tell her fear had eased as well.
The other three men clearly enjoyed having the females around. In fact, Nic wasn’t sure who they enjoyed more—Cassidy or Rianna. Now that the pup’s shyness had worn off, she chattered happily to whoever would listen.
Ben had prepared a big meal to welcome their guests. Marlin handed out cups of wine to the adults, with water for Rianna; and they sat on stools around the firepit, gorging themselves on striped bass, biscuits still warm from the pan, and salad tossed with walnuts and goat cheese.
“We have a herd of goats on the island,” Ben explained to their guests. “They’re wild, but I’ve convinced them to let me milk them in exchange for a few pounds of hay in the winter.”
Rianna bounded off her stool and around the firepit to Ben. “Can I help feed the goats? Please?”
“Sure, honey-bear.” He smiled down at her. “Tomorrow, after the storm passes, I’ll take you up top to show you.”
Cassidy made a small, negative movement, and Ben said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one is within a mile of the island when I do.”
“Most of the time I have a bit of warning that they’re close,” Cassidy said, “but a couple of times, they were almost on top of us before I sensed anything.”
The men nodded. Magical Gifts could be erratic.
As usual, Joe had said little, but now he rose and headed for his room, returning with a fuzzy white hat with felt horns. “Here.” He handed it to Rianna. “Wear that. If anyone sees you, they’ll think you’re a little goat.”
“Thank you, Mister Joe.” Rianna beamed and clapped it on her head.
Nic quirked a brow. “Where in Hades did that come from?”
Joe shrugged. “Found it on Anacapa.” He named one of the Channel Islands. “Figured it might come in handy someday.”
Rianna dropped on all fours and bleated, to everyone’s amusement. She clowned around until Cassidy took both their plates and set them in the sink.
“Bedtime, alanna.”
“You two go ahead and get ready,” Nic said. “I’ll be in later.”
Cassidy nodded. Rianna gave a big yawn, and then insisted on kissing all of the men. Nic held his breath as she touched petal-soft lips to his cheek.
She chuckled. “You’re whiskery, Mister Nic.”
He rubbed his chin with a rueful grin. “I have to shave.”
Cassidy took her hand and the two headed down the left tunnel to his quarters. He frowned at Cassidy’s limp—why wasn’t the wound healing? But fae-inflicted injuries could be tricky.
Marlin waited until they heard the door to his quarters click shut, and then shook his head. “You left that behind?”
The other two men murmured agreement, even the normally silent Joe.
Nic scowled. “Was I wrong? Now I have a daughter being hunted by the fae.”
“But you left your mate behind to face it. Dude, I know dragons are cold, but you’re fucking ice.”
“Damn it, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t accept the mate bond.”
“You’re saying she got pregnant with your pup without the bond?”
“Yeah. At least I think so. Hell, I don’t know.” Nic rubbed his chest. He knew he’d screwed up—he didn’t need Marlin to point it out. “Look, let’s talk strategy. I’ll deal with Cassidy.”
“Sure, man.” The dreadlocked shifter smirked. “But you better prepare to grovel.”
They rose to clear the dishes. Joe had rigged up a system where they washed the metal plates and utensils in ocean water and then rinsed them with fresh water before placing them on a dish rack to dry. That done, they took their cups of wine to look out at the dark water sucking in and out of the exit tunnel.
“Fucking fae.” Marlin narrowed his eyes in the direction of the mainland. “No way in hell will they get close enough to hurt that little girl—or Cassidy. We’ll make sure of it.”
“Thank you.” Nic looked round at the other men. Their faces mirrored his determination, and he knew that they’d die protecting Cassidy and Rianna. “And I’d do the same for you.”
“We know you would,” Marlin replied. “We’re clan.”
Nic shook his head like he had every other time Marlin had said that. Then he dragged his friend into a hug. “We are.”
He gave Ben a hug, too, and he and Joe shook hands.
Marlin grinned. “This calls for a toast. And none of that wine.” He pulled up a twelve-pack of beer dangling in the water to chill, and handed them each a can.
Setting their cups on the cavern floor, they lifted the cans in a toast to each other and then drank.
The four of them turned as one to gaze out at the water swelling in and out of the cavern again. “We could use a fae ward,” Nic said.
Marlin took a thoughtful sip of beer. “Or even a look-away spell.”
Fada couldn’t create their own wards and spells, so had to buy them from the fae. Wards didn’t come cheap—and dealing with the fae was tricky—so Nic hadn’t seen the need. No clan wanted to claim this arid piece of rock so far offshore, and even if they had, one look at Nic’s dragon and they’d have left in a hurry.
“I can start patrolling now,” Joe offered.
“No. The storm’s still enough to keep them away.” Nic scrubbed a hand over his lower face. “But I wish I knew if they have a fada tracker with them. Cassidy seems to think they’re all fae, but then how come she couldn’t los
e them?”
“Good question,” Marlin said.
Joe finished his beer and got his ukulele from a hook on the wall. Taking a seat beside the firepit, he strummed a cheerful Hawaiian song at odds with his grim expression. The three of them drifted over and took seats around the fire again.
When the song was over, Joe spoke as if there had been no interruption. “We should search her and her backpack. They could’ve planted a tracking device on her.”
Cassidy appeared in the dining hall in time to hear him. She was ready for bed in baggy gray sweat shorts, colorful patterned socks on her narrow feet, and Nic’s wool sweater over her T-shirt. He wondered—hoped—that she wanted to be wrapped in his scent.
“I thought of that,” she said. “I’ve gone over everything multiple times—the rucksack, our bodies, even Rianna’s ragdoll. We’re clean.”
“Then how are they following you?” Nic asked.
“I wish I knew.” She rubbed her upper arms. “But they’re still on my trail. I can feel it.”
Chapter 10
For the past three weeks, Cassidy had been focused on reaching Nic. He was a sea dragon, a fire-and-lava-spewing shifter. Even the fae didn’t mess with an adult dragon.
She hadn’t expected he’d have other men with him. He was a lone wolf. At Shannon, he’d pitched in with anything that needed doing, and he’d contributed fish to the kitchens, but he’d shrugged off the other men’s attempts at friendship until they left him alone. Some weeks, he’d spent more time in the ocean than at the base, exploring Ireland’s wild western coast.
Now her stomach sank as she gazed around at the four men. She’d heard enough to know Nic and his men intended to fight for her and Rianna, and she hated that in coming here, she’d endangered not just Nic, but the other men as well.
But it was the way of their kind; the fada treasured their young. Even her own clan would’ve protected Rianna, but Cassidy would’ve had to explain why the fae were after Rianna, and she’d been afraid to let anyone know that she was a dragon.
Besides, the only way to protect Rianna would have been to keep her behind the base’s wards for decades until she was a full-fledged adult. The fae wouldn’t have given up—Rianna’s heart was worth too much. Cassidy couldn’t condemn her daughter to a childhood hidden in Shannon’s caverns. A pup needed to play in the sunshine.
Shifters Gone Wild: A Shifter Romance Collection Page 102