by Kayla Wolf
He laughed. “I’ll ask around.”
It was only their second day together, she consoled herself as they headed for bed. It felt very odd to be sharing a bed with someone she’d known for such a short time, but there was something very comforting about the warmth of his body on the other side of the bed, the gentle sounds of his breathing. She hesitated a little before turning her light out, not sure whether her new husband was interested in more of the activities they’d discovered such a mutual skill for the night before… but then she found herself sinking deep into the soft, comfortable mattress, and before she knew it, she was waking from a long, restful sleep with the morning light creeping across the floor of the room.
Bryce was gone, she realized with a start, glancing over to the other side of the bed. She stretched as she roused herself, then padded out into the living room in her pajamas. There was her husband, shirtless in the kitchen, and the smell of frying eggs in butter filled her nose.
”Good morning,” she smiled.
”How did you sleep?”
”So well.” She stretched—a good night of sleep was a rare luxury. “Your bed’s amazing.”
”Our bed,” he corrected her softly, one of those rare smiles coming across his face.
”Even better,” she said brightly. “Plus, not having to get up and go to my old job… that’s the best sleep aid of all.”
”Yes, you told me about your boss.” That stony look came over his face again—the protective look he’d given her in the restaurant that had turned her to mush. It still had the same effect, she noticed with a grin. Her big, fierce, protective husband. Let Grant try to boss her around now. “Have you heard from him again since you’ve been here?”
”I haven’t checked my phone.” It was plugged in next to the couch—she picked it up and frowned at the screen. A check-in text from Elena—sent at about four am, she noticed with a smile of amusement—an email from the agency, and… she sighed. “Yep. Three texts. All sent in the middle of the night, all very angry and scary.”
”Can you block his number somehow? I don’t like the idea of him bothering you like this.”
”You know, that’s an excellent idea.” She grinned and tapped her screen a few times. “There. Blocked.” She considered deleting his messages, too, just for good measure… but something told her not to. He’d made some pretty nasty threats so far, and while she was pretty sure he was full of hot air, it wouldn’t hurt to have the evidence, just in case. Besides, if she ever wanted to get a job again and she discovered he’d tracked her name through the mud (one of his first threats when she’d quit) she wanted to have a good store of evidence to prove that she wasn’t the crazy one in this particular professional relationship.
Breakfast was delicious—just simple eggs on toast, but there was a world of difference between these fresh, free-range eggs from Bryce’s garden and the factory-farmed ones she got from the supermarket in Denver. And the surprises didn’t stop there. The day had dawned bright and sunny, and Bryce turned from the window to fix her with another one of those heart-stopping grins.
”What do you say we spend the day getting you familiarized with the nearby beach?”
She clapped her hands with delight, a grin spreading across her face, and she all but bolted into the bedroom to get her swimsuit out. Swimsuits, plural—she might have been on a bit of a shopping spree when she’d gotten the security deposit on her apartment back. She’d picked up a couple of very charming one-pieces, as well as a revealing little hot pink bikini that she’d almost put back on the shelf for being too daring. She considered it for a moment now, then opted for one of the one-pieces instead. She’d keep a few surprises for Bryce. It wouldn’t do to spoil him so thoroughly in their first few days together, even though it was technically their honeymoon.
When she emerged, Bryce was wearing a pair of boardshorts and a hat. She took a moment to admire the view—his sculpted torso, his broad shoulders, the magnificent curve of an ass that just didn’t quit… and she blushed a little when she realized he was taking her in as well. Both of them looked away from each other at the same time, as though embarrassed to have been caught… then they both laughed. He had a nice laugh, she thought, following him out of the cottage’s back door. It sounded rusty, somehow, like it didn’t get much use. Well, hopefully, she could coax it out of him a little more.
The walk to the beach was almost as gorgeous as the beach itself—they headed through the garden gate, and down a winding path that got sandier and sandier as dirt gave way to sand dunes. Then, they crested the sand dunes… and Jasmine’s mouth dropped open. It was almost too perfect. Pale sand in a perfect crescent, a little cove hollowed out by the sea—and waves, crashing in from an ocean that stretched out impossibly far, further than the eye could see. For Jasmine, for whom the beach had always been an occasional trip and nothing more, the prospect that she now lived a couple of minutes’ walk from this paradise was almost unbelievable.
”This is—I feel like I’m still dreaming,” she said blankly, staring out at the water. “This is seriously where we live?”
”It was going to have to be a pretty special place to get us off the road,” Bryce said, smiling. She looked up at him, curiosity flaring in her chest—he’d mentioned a couple of times that he’d lived on the road for part of his youth, but he’d never said much more than that. But before she could ask any more gently prying questions about that particular part of his life, he was gone—sprinting down the sand towards the water, his hat flying off as he went. Giggling, she followed at a more sedate pace. The blue striped swimsuit she was wearing hugged her curves and made her ample body look great—but it wasn’t exactly supportive when it came to running. She’d stick to a pace that wouldn’t make her whole chest and upper back hurt for days on end.
The air was a little cooler than she’d have liked, but the sun more than made up for it. It felt so good on her skin. She threw her head back to bask, waves lapping at her toes as she stood on the water’s edge. It was a shame they were headed into winter—she liked the idea of getting a tan out here. Would the winter sun be strong enough to make an impact?
“Come in!” Bryce called. He was already a fair way out, waving at her energetically from the water. She hesitated, glancing back at the beach.
”Is it safe to swim that deep? What if you get caught in an undertow or something?” Wasn’t that kind of thing always happening on ‘Baywatch’? She’d never seen a whole episode. But Bryce was laughing.
”It’s a safe beach. I’ll protect you. Come on!”
So she waded into the water, wincing a little as the cold water rose around her body—but once she was submerged, her skin adjusted to the cold, and it wasn’t so bad. She swam a little, enjoying the feeling of the water, the gentle bobbing of the waves—and Bryce, who was cavorting around her like some kind of trained seal.
By the time the sun was right above them, she was exhausted. Swimming took a lot out of a person—especially when she hadn’t done more than a couple of strokes in an indoor pool since she was a teenager. Leaving Bryce to his cavorting, she headed back up to where he’d left a couple of towels, and stretched out on one in the sun, feeling pleasantly warm and salty in the sun.
Suddenly, unfamiliar voices interrupted the peaceful afternoon, and she sat up on her elbows, a little startled. There were two men emerging from the sand dunes, deep in conversation with one another—and she couldn’t help but stare at them. The first thing she noticed was that they both had eyes the same shade of pale blue as Bryce’s. Could they be brothers? He hadn’t mentioned any blood relatives on the peninsula. And besides, the resemblance stopped there. Where Bryce was enormous and built like a barrel, these men were different. One was tall and lean, with a mop of curly blonde hair framing an angular, intense face. The other had auburn hair and the restless energy of a fighter. And both of them were staring at her like they’d never seen a woman before in their lives.
”Hi,” she said, feeling a lit
tle self-conscious.
”Hi,” the taller man said, tilting his head to the side like a curious dog. “Who on earth are you?”
Her heart sank. These must be members of the little community Bryce had brought her to—but it was clear from their faces that they had absolutely no idea who she was. Had Bryce not told anyone he was bringing her here? Had he not mentioned that he was getting married?
Speak of the devil. Her husband came running up the beach now, breathing hard, water cascading off his muscular body, and despite her dismay and hurt that he clearly hadn’t told his friends about her, she couldn’t help but take a moment to admire his physique. She was only human, after all.
”Emerson! Harvey! Hi. Sorry. This is Jasmine.”
”Jasmine,” the one he’d introduced as Harvey said—the man with the tense energy. He looked at her as though he was sizing up a threat. “Good to meet you. What brings you here?”
”I’m—staying with Bryce,” she said, glancing up at him. Annoyed as she was, she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his friends by outing herself as his mail order bride.
”You should’ve said,” Harvey said with an odd sharpness in his voice, looking at the other guy pointedly.
”It’s great to meet you, Jasmine,” the taller guy—Emerson—said smoothly, giving her a rather sweet smile. “Welcome to the peninsula. How are you finding it?”
”It’s beautiful down here,” she said, smiling. “I can’t wait to see more of it—though I’d just as happily spend a few months straight just on the beach.”
”That’s definitely what I did,” Emerson laughed. “A few years, at least.”
”How long have you been here?”
”A while,” Bryce cut in, and there was something very curious about the way he was looking at both of his friends. “Let me walk you guys back up to the house. Jasmine, you keep sunbathing as long as you like, okay?”
She watched them head up the beach, very curious… and a little concerned. What exactly was Bryce hiding? She had a suspicion that she wasn’t the only one on this peninsula who didn’t fully understand what was going on here.
Chapter 9 – Bryce
Bryce walked his friends back up through the sand dunes, his heart pounding with the adrenalin of the near miss. That could have been bad. What if they’d casually told Jasmine the truth—that they’d been living on the peninsula for almost half a century, longer than she’d even been alive? They probably wouldn’t have been that stupid. They would have noticed she was human—shifters could recognize each other, after all, and humans were easily noticed by virtue of not giving off any of the signals that other species of shifters did—and as a general rule, humans didn’t know about dragons. But that would have raised more questions. Questions he wasn’t comfortable answering in front of Jasmine. She was already suspicious of him, after all. He’d seen the way she looked when he avoided her questions, or when he didn’t answer her questions with the amount of detail she’d prefer. This little encounter was going to be particularly hard to explain.
”You want to tell me why there’s a human sunbathing on our beach?” Harvey asked in a low voice as they headed through the sand dunes and towards the house. “A human nobody’s met, and nobody knew was going to be here? A human who’s apparently staying with you?”
”Her name’s Jasmine,” he snapped, a little defensive. “She’s not just a human, she’s my…” He hesitated. “My guest.”
”She’s very lovely,” Emerson said brightly, his eyes aglow. “Is that a coincidence?”
”You know how much trouble we’ve had with strangers,” Harvey said through gritted teeth, his mind clearly in a very different place to the much more romantic Emerson’s. “I can’t believe you’d invite some random woman to the peninsula without even mentioning it to me. I’m meant to be in charge of security around here. Did you even tell Lachlan? Does he know?”
”No,” Bryce admitted, gritting his teeth as he opened the gate for his friends. “Not yet. I’m getting to it—I just …” He took a deep breath, annoyed by how disconcerted he felt by the interrogation. “Come and have a cup of tea and let me explain, alright?”
He glanced around the cottage as his friends stepped inside with him, hyper-aware of all the little changes that Jasmine’s brief presence had created… the extra breakfast dishes in the sink, her jacket on the back of the chair, her phone sitting on the table. As he glanced at it, the screen lit up, and it vibrated with what seemed to be yet another message from someone. Friends back home, perhaps, worrying about her? Or—and his jaw tensed a little at the thought—was her old boss, the man she’d spoken of with such disdain and resentment, still trying to make her life more difficult?
His friends were waiting for him. He cleared his throat, turning away from the phone, and resolving to check in with Jasmine about it later. For now, he put on a pot of tea, avoiding eye contact with the two men who were waiting, eyebrows raised, for him to explain exactly what was going on.
“So. Jasmine, huh?”
Harvey was stirring three spoonful’s of sugar into his tea—one of his worst habits, Bryce thought with the irritation born of long association. Sweet tooth and a paranoid disposition. Bad combination—though that being said, Harvey’s paranoia had saved their lives more than a few times back on the road. He supposed he shouldn’t resent his friend for being worried about the sudden appearance of a stranger on their beach, especially given their long and rather dramatic history with strangers.
”We met online,” Bryce said. Better to rip that band aid off as quickly as possible—especially with the kinds of questions he knew Emerson was going to start asking as soon as he got the chance. “On a—a kind of dating site.”
”What kind of dating site?” Harvey said sharply. “A human one? You know those are a terrible idea—”
”Shh, Harvey, let him speak,” Emerson said, his pale blue eyes glowing with interest as he leaned forward over his forgotten cup of tea.
“Okay. It—I found it one night—I don’t know, I was just clicking around and… I saw her profile, and I was just—“
”I’ve never heard you this tongue-tied,” Emerson murmured. Bryce gritted his teeth.
”It was a site for people who wanted—serious commitment, right out of the gate. Living together, marriage, starting a family, the whole nine yards.”
”And you were on this site because…?” Harvey was staring at him, looking honestly nonplussed. Bryce took a deep breath, grateful at least that James wasn’t here. Harvey wasn’t exactly the most sympathetic audience, but James would have been on the floor laughing by now.
”Because I’ve been thinking that I… kind of… want those things.”
”Seriously?”
”Doesn’t everyone?” Emerson said, shooting Harvey a sidelong look—and from the wince that Harvey was clearly suppressing, Bryce suspected that Emerson had just given him a kick in the shins under the table. He appreciated it, bizarrely. He’d risked his life in more fights than he could count, but somehow, baring this particular part of himself made him feel more vulnerable than he’d ever felt in those days.
”Anyway, I saw her photo and something just… clicked. So I sent her a message, we started talking… a few weeks later, here she is. She’s staying for a while. A kind of… trial.”
”A few weeks ago? And you didn’t tell any of us?” Harvey was clearly torn between his security concerns—and his interest in Bryce’s new companion.
”I didn’t want anyone to… make it uncomfortable,” Bryce said, rubbing the back of his neck.
”James,” Emerson said.
”Exactly.” They all shared a knowing smile. For all his good qualities, James was kind of a nightmare when it came to this kind of thing. When Lachlan had fallen for Serena, four of them had had to stage a special and highly secret intervention with James, where they sat him down and told him in no uncertain terms that if he made too many jokes at the expense of the happy couple, there would be serio
us consequences. “Look, I know it’s always dangerous, inviting a stranger down here. But I checked her out as much as I could, did my due diligence. She’s just a regular human.”
”How did she take it?” Emerson asked, tilting his head.
”Take what?”
”Finding out about dragons. How much did you tell her? Just dragons, or did you tell her about wolves and bears and—”
Bryce took a deep breath. “We haven’t had that conversation yet.”
There was a ringing silence at the table. Harvey couldn’t have looked more shocked if Bryce had struck him in the face. “You what?”
”I didn’t know how to raise it—it’s strange enough meeting someone online and basically organizing a wedding before you’ve met in person, I didn’t know how to—”
”She doesn’t know? She doesn’t know what species you are?”
”So that’s why you cut me off,” Emerson said thoughtfully. “Good thing, too. She might’ve had a few questions if I’d told her we settled here in the sixties.”
”Bryce, this is incredibly dangerous,” Harvey said, that familiar tone in his voice he used whenever he got his mind set on a security concern. “You’re risking our whole settlement, doing this.”
”I’m going to tell her,” Bryce said irritably. “I just—I wanted us to get to know each other first.”
”How is she supposed to get to know you if she doesn’t know what you are, Bryce?” Emerson asked gently. Bryce ground his teeth. Emerson had a way of cutting right to the core of things like this. It was so frustrating when he was right. “Being a dragon… it’s part of who you are. It’s who your family is, who we are. It’s—quite literally—your truest self. How can she know you when she doesn’t know that?”
”Like I said, I was going to tell her—”