by Jane Jamison
“Fine, but I’m landing first. The way you two are acting, it wouldn’t surprise me if you took off without giving me clearance.”
“Whatever you say, cuz.” He couldn’t wait any longer. Trey was already trudging through the forest to the small clearing only yards away, hidden by the forest. He slid out of the truck and hurried after his friend.
By the time they made it to the small clearing, even Vince was excited. “Remember, me first. I’ll give you guys the head’s up by waving. Hands behind my head means don’t land. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” answered Clint.
They weren’t far from another clearing that was closer to the cliff, the one where they’d land and then walk the rest of the short way to where they hoped to find her. If they’d wanted, they could’ve made it there in under thirty minutes. But thirty minutes seemed like a long time when he was itching to get to the woman who might become their mate.
“See anyone?” asked Trey. Not many locals made it into this part of the woods. Finding a visitor experienced enough to handle the trails would be even less likely, but they still had to be careful.
“Nope. Go.” Clint felt his transformation rising, almost to the point of not being able to control it.
“I’m going. Just remember the deal. Hands behind the head means you come back here.” Vince strode into the clearing as his transformation swept over him. His clothing disappeared, absorbed into the shift, as blue-hued scales skimmed over his body to replace tanned human skin. He held out his arms as they became wings, and a tail sprouted then whipped around. Within a minute, Vince pounded several yards on his huge feet and then lifted into the air. A moment later, his form vanished, hidden by his cloaking skill.
“I’m up.”
Again, Trey surprised Clint with his eagerness, an eagerness that wasn’t almost as strong as his own. Trey took off running, his transformation moving swiftly through him. He was already cloaked before he left the ground.
Clint checked around again then ran for the clearing. Pain swept through him, as it always did during a shift, but it wouldn’t have mattered if the pain were ten times worse. Getting to Monica was all that mattered. He was airborne in the next moment, soaring into the air, his heart taking flight along with his body.
He caught up with Vince and Trey easily enough and spoke to them telepathically. Let me do most of the talking.
“You? Why you?”
Because I’m the one who found her.
“You’re the one who almost killed her last year.”
Fuck you, Trey. I saved her, too. You always seem to forget that part.
Trey laughed and brought his wings closer to his body, picking up speed. “We all do the talking. If Brucy-boy gives us any problems, I’ll handle him.”
Don’t go beating up her friend. She won’t like it much. Her friend is our friend now. Remember that.
“I’ll treat him as nicely as I can,” joked Trey. “But I’m not promising anything.”
Flying in a straight line from the first clearing to the next, Vince tipped his head lower, signaling that they were close enough for him to land.
Yeah, I know. Hurry up. If he got any more excited, he’d end up being the first to land.
“You two have a look around from up here,” suggested Vince.
Vince did a quick nose-dive, driving toward the earth headfirst. He pulled up out of the death-dive just in time to land on his feet. The shimmering around his body intensified until, for only a moment, his dragon form was plainly visible. Shifting quickly, he returned to his human form and immediately started checking around for anyone who might happen to be in the area. After turning around in a circle to scan around him, he lifted his arm and began waving.
Clint streamlined his wings and pointed his nose down. Trey did the same.
Damn it. I’m landing before you. Back off.
“Bullshit. You took off last. Last in the air, last on the ground.” Trey’s body was compact, giving less resistance to the air flowing around him as he plummeted to the ground.
Clint didn’t give a shit if his friend was right. He couldn’t wait any longer. The hard truth of it, however, was that he couldn’t outrace Trey. His friend’s small head start was enough to make the difference.
Fuck you.
“Don’t worry. She will.” Trey’s dragon chuckle drifted back to Clint along with wisps of smoke. The lines of smoke showed up even through Trey’s shimmering cloak. He landed gracefully and went into his change a moment later.
Another wave came from Vince showing that it was still safe for Clint to land. The wave wasn’t necessary. Wave or not, he was going to land. He landed less than a minute after his friend. His claws dug into the ground, kicking up dirt and upturning tuffs of grass. The shift pummeled through him, but he kept moving. Now that they’d landed, he wasn’t wasting any time.
They didn’t speak, moving through the trees as quietly as they could. When at last they came to the trail leading toward the cliff, Clint finally gave a voice to his nerves. “What if she doesn’t want any part of us? Either as men or as dragons?”
Through the years, they’d talked about several different possibilities concerning their future mate. What if she wanted one or two of them, but not all three? They’d agreed they’d step aside for the lucky man. Yet now that the same outcome could actually happen, Clint had to wonder. If he was the odd man out, could he bow out?
“We do what’s best for her,” answered Trey as though it was as easy as choosing what to eat for lunch.
“What if she says yes and then can’t stand what we are?” Was he the only one who was nervous?
“We don’t take her as our mate until she knows everything.”
Clint studied Vince. Could his cousin really hold back from claiming her until she knew what he was? Or would he fuck her then tell her? The noble idea would be to tell her first. But reality was often less noble than a man wanted it to be. Would he have the strength to be noble?
“What if we lose our nerve?” He never would’ve thought he’d tell them what he was feeling.
“Don’t worry, cuz. If you can’t handle it, one of us will.”
Shit. I never should’ve said anything. Thankfully, they couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts while in human form. “I’ll handle it just fine.”
They picked up the pace the closer they came to the cliff. Soon enough, they heard voices.
“Is that her?” He’d never heard anything except her scream. It irritated him that Trey had gotten to talk to her before he had.
“Yeah. And Brucy-boy.”
“Cut it out with the Brucy-boy shit,” warned Vince as he took the lead. “It won’t help to antagonize her friend.”
“He’s right, Trey.” Clint pushed past his friend and his cousin. “You’ve already gotten on the guy’s bad side. Let us handle things from now on.” The sound of voices drifted over them. He put his finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.
“Damn it, Bruce, I only wanted one more try. We can leave in a little while.”
“Give it up. I agreed to go along with this harebrained scheme for your sake, but it’s gone on too long.”
“Then you shouldn’t have come with me.” Silence came for a brief few moments. “You don’t believe me, do you? You never did. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Vince’s silver eyes glittered. “So she really believes what she saw. At least about the shimmers. But I’ll bet she’s talking about seeing a dragon, too. Telling her might go better than we thought it would,” he whispered.
“Vince is right. Even if she didn’t believe her own eyes, she still probably saw you. That’ll give us a leg up, all right,” added Trey.
Clint nodded, thrilled to know she’d seen him. “The question is, how many people did she tell? Other than that guy, I mean.”
“I’ll bet not many. We don’t know that she told him about seeing a dragon. If she told anyone, one of two things would’ve happened. Either they would’ve locked her
up or the mountain would’ve been overrun with people looking to see a real, live dragon.” Vince’s tone was filled with excitement.
“You should’ve told me sooner how you really felt.” Her voice was filled with pain and anger. “You shouldn’t have lied to me and told me you believed me.”
“I tried to believe, but, come on, Mon. Your story is ridiculous. A gust of wind knocked you off the cliff, and then you were saved by a dragon? A dragon that you saw for only a second before it disappeared again? Why don’t you write children’s books? Kids are the only ones who’ll believe this shit.”
“So it’s definite.” Clint grinned. “She did see me.”
“Go fuck yourself, Bruce.”
Clint held back a laugh. He liked a woman who could stand her ground and give a man hell.
“Mon, please, I’m only trying to help.”
Bruce was backing off, obviously trying not to make her so angry that she’d really want him gone. He wouldn’t have a chance with her if she told him to fuck off for real.
“Maybe we should hold up and give them some space,” whispered Trey.
Now wasn’t time for the reasonable side of Trey to dominate their decision. He whispered back, hoping Vince would be on his side. “No. Time is running out, and I’m not losing a minute longer with her, especially not for Bruce.” He took to the front, determined to keep them moving.
They came out of the forest and strode the last few yards to the cliff, ready to come to her aid if necessary.
Monica, her black hair shining under the bright sun, stood near the edge with her feet planted apart and her arms crossed. Her friend was next to her. He was just as tense as her, but while she was gazing out over the cliff, Bruce’s attention was fixed on her. Even if the men hadn’t heard their angry voices, they would’ve known the two weren’t getting along from their body language.
“Hi.” Trey stepped forward and slid his gaze from her to Bruce. “Is everything all right?”
Bruce pivoted to face them. His conciliatory expression morphed into an irritated one. “What are you doing here?”
“Good to see you, too, Brucy—” He stopped, glanced at Vince, then corrected himself. “How are you doing, Bruce?”
“We’re in the middle of a private conversation.”
Monica’s mood brightened when she saw Trey. Clint wished she’d looked at him the same way and fought back a wave of jealousy. “Hi. I didn’t expect to see you again.” Her gaze slid to Vince and Clint.
“I figured if you were still around, I could offer you a place to stay again.”
Way to go, Trey!
Her eyes widened a little. “Oh.”
Come on, Monica. Take him up on it.
* * * *
Monica was painfully aware of the awkward silence that came after her brilliant answer of “oh.” Yet the painful awkwardness didn’t last long. Not when the rush of lust traveling outward from her pussy hit her harder than a Mack truck plowing into a VW bug.
She’d thought a lot about Trey since she’d last seen him. Had, in fact, hoped she’d see him again. Now he’d actually tracked her down and brought along two friends. Two really hot friends.
“We’re not staying.”
For a brief moment, she wanted to give Bruce a little shove, just hard enough to send him falling over the cliff. It was only one of those thoughts everyone has every so often. She’d never do anything to hurt him, of course, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t like him to keep his mouth closed.
“That’s too bad.” Trey smiled and motioned to his friends. He pointed at the one with black hair. “This is my friend Clint Bradford, and the other one is his cousin Vince Bradford. They own the land and house where I live.”
“As far as we’re concerned, he owns it as much as we do.” Vince stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Once she’d shaken his hand, he offered it to Bruce, who grudgingly took it and gave it a quick, cursory shake.
“It’s really nice to meet you, Monica.” Clint took her hand and held it.
Why did he seem familiar? “It’s good to meet both of you, but Bruce is right. We were headed out of the park right after we came here. I had to get one more look.”
“For the shimmers?” asked Trey.
She couldn’t deny the truth. “Yes. Did you tell your friends about it?”
“We know all about the shimmers,” offered Clint.
Trey tossed him a hard look.
“Does that mean you’ve seen them?” Confused, she glanced at Trey. Had he lied before? Or, like her, had he seen more than he wanted to admit?
“Mon, don’t start.”
She ignored Bruce. What did she care what he thought now that she knew he didn’t believe her? “Have you?”
They took too long to respond, which told her that they had indeed seen shimmers. She moved closer, needing to touch them, and hoped they had more to tell her. “Please, tell me if you have.”
“Yeah, we have,” answered Clint.
“All of you?”
Confusion burrowed into Clint’s forehead. “Yeah. All of us. Why?”
“Because I asked Trey earlier and he said he hadn’t seen them.” She stared pointedly at Trey.
“I guess I forgot.”
She could’ve challenged him on his earlier denial but decided to let it slide. After all, if she was right in her assumptions, she could understand why he’d lied. Not many people would admit to seeing the shimmers, especially if they’d seen more. Had the men seen the dragon, too?
She faced Clint since he seemed to be the one who wouldn’t hold back as much. “Where’d you see them? If I stay here long enough, will I see them again? Is there a certain time of day that they appear? Or temperature?”
“We’ll tell you everything we can. How about we talk about it at our place?” Vince held out his hand, offering to take her backpack from her.
“You’re not seriously thinking of staying with these guys? You don’t know who they are, Mon.”
Bruce pointing out the obvious couldn’t sway her. If they really knew more about the shimmers, then she had to find out what they knew. Besides, she was a good judge of character, and her gut told her they could be trusted. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to hedge her bet. “Does the invitation include Bruce? I mean we did come here together.”
They’d hoped not to include her friend. That much was obvious from their surprised—and not so happy—expressions.
“Sure thing. You’re welcome to stay at the house, too, Bruce.” Vince’s smile was less than genuine. “I’m sure Monica would feel better having you there.”
“He’s right. We accept.” She turned to Bruce and gave him a pointed look. “Okay?”
He didn’t want to stay with them any more than they wanted him to, but she hadn’t left him much of an out. If he refused, she’d let him take her car and leave. She’d worry about how to get home later. Thankfully, Bruce knew her well enough to have guessed how she was thinking.
“Whatever Mon wants, I want.” Bruce hefted his backpack onto his shoulder. “Got an address?”
“Not really, but I can give you the directions.” Vince put out his hand, waiting for her to give him her phone. Once she had, he started imputing the directions.
“Great. Then we’ll see you there soon?”
She couldn’t help but enjoy Clint’s enthusiasm for her visit. “As soon as I’m through here, we’ll be right over. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Anytime. We’ll head back and get the guest rooms ready.” Trey motioned for his friends to follow him.
They walked down the path, but just before they would’ve gone around the corner, Clint turned back. “Hey, Monica, be careful, okay? We wouldn’t want what happened last year to happen again.”
He’d already turned around and hurried after his friends before what he’d said finally hit home.
How does he know what happened last year?
Chapter Five
“This is crazy, Mon.”
�
��Yeah, Bruce, I know. You’ve said that at least six times since they left.” Monica glanced at the GPS on her phone, although the voice part of it was activated. They’d left the cliff not long after the men had. Waiting around for the shimmers to return seemed silly when she had three men who had actually seen them. “As I’ve said as many times, I’m going to stay. If you want to leave, then go for it. I’ll figure a way to get back. I need to find out what they know about the shimmers. Maybe they know about the dragon, too.”
“They’re only playing along to get you to stay with them.”
“My gut says otherwise.”
“Your gut is wrong.”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out. So? Are you coming with me or not?”
“Fuck, Mon, I can’t leave you alone with three men. What kind of friend would I be?”
He was a good friend and had proved it often. “The good one that you are. Thanks for looking out for me, but this is going to be okay. Trust me.”
“I trust you, but I can’t say the same for them.”
“Why? Have they done anything to make you think that?”
“Not directly.” He shifted in his seat. “It’s just the way they looked at you.”
That had her attention. “Yeah? Like how?”
“Like they wanted to eat you alive. I didn’t like it.”
Eat me alive. Yeah. I could handle that.
Her mind wandered, giving way to carnal thoughts. They’d look great without their shirts, their muscles flexing as they crawled on top of her. Could she handle more than one man at a time? She sure as hell wanted to find out.
They rode several miles in silence.
“Mon?”
“What?”
“Stop thinking about the fictional dragon.”
She blinked. “I wasn’t.”
He muttered something under his breath. Although she didn’t understand the words, she definitely understood the meaning behind them.