by Anna Lowe
“I’m in grave danger,” she tried. Maybe that would work.
He snorted. “The person in grave danger is the guy who tries to pull any shit on you.” Then he took a deep breath — deep enough for both of them — and rested his forehead against hers. “And possibly me.”
“You’re in grave danger?” She shook her head. “What could possibly pose a danger to a big, bad dragon?”
Connor looked at her, giving nothing away. But then he took her hand and held it against his heart.
“You,” he said in a shaky voice. “You.”
Her jaw hung open, and she watched with misty eyes as he kissed the knuckles of each hand in turn. Finally, he nodded and let her go with a deep breath.
“Promise me you’ll stay out of the water today.”
She made a face. That would be easy. “And you promise about tonight. No excuses. No second thoughts.”
“Tonight. I promise.”
She held his gaze, making sure he meant it. “Okay, then. See you tonight.”
Neither of them budged after that, though. So she went for a lighter note and let her eyes travel down the length of his body. “You might want to dress up a little, though.”
He laughed out loud and pulled her into a parting hug. “I promise that too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Connor stood perfectly still on the beach, watching Jenna go. That took all his willpower, because his dragon was raging inside.
What the hell are you doing? Never let her go!
He didn’t want to, but it was the right thing to do.
So wrong, his dragon insisted. We belong together.
Yes, they did. Every time they came together, his soul sang, and every time they parted, he mourned. They were destined for each other, all right. But he had to think this through.
What’s to think about? his dragon demanded.
He rolled his eyes. First, he had to figure out what the hell had been in the water. Second, was that connected to Jenna’s fear of vampires? He couldn’t see how, though. And third, how could he possibly win over his mate without losing his job?
“Tonight,” Jenna called, pausing right before she stepped out of view.
He waved and whispered, “Tonight.”
Those two little syllables were a pair of solemnly tolling bells, at least in his mind. Were they heralding a new era — or utter doom?
He stared out over the water before heading back to his house. First things first.
Jenna, his dragon barked.
Clothes, he ordered himself. What he’d been wearing had been shredded in his sudden shift.
Jenna!
Connor shook his head. Clothes, breakfast, and work. Then he’d try to figure something out.
He tried all day, as it turned out, to no avail. No matter how often he pored over possibilities in his mind, he couldn’t tease apart the riddles facing him.
“What’s with you, man?” Tim asked.
Connor shook himself and looked around. “Huh?”
That had been sometime during the interminable morning, when they put the finishing touches on the porch of the main house.
“Another drink, sir?” a waiter asked, startling him. “Compliments of your friend?”
Connor had to blink three or four times to figure out where the guy had come from.
“Friend?” he bluffed, buying time. He wasn’t at Koakea any more, but somewhere else, and a little later in the day. Everything blurred in his mind but Jenna.
“From the gentleman on the green,” the waiter explained, pointing as Draig went by in a golf cart.
Then it clicked. He was at the golf club at midday, making sure old Draig was playing the goodbye round of golf he’d announced. It was the old man’s last day on the island, which meant some of the slowest surveillance work Connor had ever done was about to come to an end.
“No drink, thanks,” he murmured, watching Draig go past.
Another couple of hours dragged by, then a few more.
“Earth to Hoving. Earth to Hoving, come in.”
That sounded vaguely like Dell, but Connor didn’t care any more. He tuned in enough to recall he was back on the plantation, helping paint the interior of the house, thinking lots but not able to conclude too much.
“Either he’s sick or in love,” Dell laughed.
“He’d better be sick,” Tim growled, looking none too pleased.
His words hit Connor like a well-aimed brick, and the impossibility of his situation closed in all over again. He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to talk some sense into himself with little success. Now that he’d gone and promised Jenna to meet, he couldn’t stand her up.
In the end, help came from where he least expected it.
“Don’t mind him,” Dell said, nodding in the direction Tim had gone off in once they had put their tools away at the end of the afternoon. “Mr. Logic doesn’t get matters of the heart.”
Connor stared, because what did Dell — aka Casanova — know about matters of the heart? And, whoa — did those words really apply to a messed-up dragon like himself?
“Trust me.” Dell grinned. “I got this.”
Connor frowned. Those were exactly the words that had gotten his gang into hot water in the first place. It had been Dell’s bright idea to duct tape grenades to footballs. Of course, it had been Connor’s bright idea to go along with that crazy plan.
Still, he found himself nodding along.
“Well, we’d better get cleaned up,” Dell announced once Tim came back. “Chase and I have our first shift on the new job tonight.”
That part was true. Kai had encouraged everyone to find local part-time jobs as a way of keeping their ears to the ground, and Dell had found a perfect solution.
“Can I just say what a genius I am?” Dell grinned. “I mean, where better to hear gossip than as a bartender in a popular local bar?”
Tim gave him a thumbs up. Cynthia shot him a look of disapproval. Chase just looked resigned as Dell smacked him on the shoulder.
“Come on, man. Being a bouncer is awesome. And you’ll get all that fresh air, working the door.”
That, Connor had to give to Dell. It was a pretty perfect setup for each of them. And it only got better from there.
“So, Connor. You’re coming, right?”
At first, Connor had no idea what Dell was talking about. Why would he go visit his friend on the job when he could spend time with Jenna?
“Come on, man.” Dell hid a wink from Cynthia. “I need you to help us get a good start. You know, like ordering a drink and telling everyone how good it is. Tipping high. That kind of thing.”
Connor frowned, still not following.
Run with it, you stupid dragon, Dell whispered into his mind. Do you want the perfect excuse to get out tonight or what?
Connor warmed immediately. Yes, a good excuse would come in handy around now. And he did have the night off from security, with Tim scheduled to cover that tonight.
“Are you coming, Cynth?” Dell asked, sweet as pie.
“Cynthia,” she corrected in a dry voice.
Dell ignored that, as he always did. “Tim here can babysit.”
Connor nearly snorted. Cynthia really didn’t seem like the bar-hopping type, and he doubted she’d leave her son alone.
The corners of her mouth turned down even more sharply, but her tone was — wow, wistful? — when she replied, “I’m afraid not.”
Connor studied her for a moment. Could it be that Cynthia had actually had a wild side, once upon a time?
“Pity,” Dell said almost before she spoke. “Who else can we ask? Oh, I know.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of Koa Point estate. “Jenna. I’m sure she’d enjoy a night out.”
Cynthia’s frown grew, but Connor beamed. “Good idea.”
Great idea, his dragon agreed.
“Perfect.” Dell grinned. “Well, I have to get ready. Gotta make a good impression on my first night. Can you go ask Jenna?”
Dragons didn’t wag tails, but Connor’s inner beast did a few ecstatic backflips. “Uh, sure,” he said, trying hard to sound bored while he shot Dell a sincere I owe you, man.
You do, Dell hummed slyly, and Connor knew damn well the lion shifter would call him on that someday.
“Can I go?” Joey asked.
“Sorry, buddy, not tonight.” Dell tousled his hair. “But you get to stay in with Tim, and I know he tells really good bedtime stories. Right, Tim?”
Tim looked up, startled, then nodded quickly when he saw Joey’s hopes rise. “Uh, sure. That would be fun. Right, Joey?”
Cynthia looked fifty-fifty on that one, but Connor had to give it to Dell. For every dumb idea the lion shifter had ever come up with, he managed to pull off two or three good deeds.
Dell grinned at Joey. “But because Tim is completely incompetent when it comes to giving rides — and who’d want to ride a bear when they could ride a lion? — you get one extra ride before I go tonight.”
Before Cynthia could protest, Joey hooted and launched himself from the couch onto Dell’s back. Dell made a roaring sound and took off at full speed across the porch, heading for the stairs. “Hang on, bud! We’re going airborne!”
“Be caref—” Cynthia blurted, her eyes wide as Dell took the six steps in one jump. But he landed just as smoothly and sprinted across the lawn with Joey squealing in glee. At which point Cynthia clutched her pearls and murmured, “Oh, dear.”
Amazing, Tim murmured for Connor’s ears only. Cynthia is the only woman I know who looks — well, cover-girl gorgeous — but acts like an old aunt.
Connor wasn’t sure about the cover-girl part, because Jenna would get that title, for sure. I don’t know. I guess she’s not my type.
Well, make sure you don’t have too much fun with your type tonight. Tim shot him a look of warning.
Connor didn’t bother replying. He had a chance to beat Dell to the shower, so he’d better use it while he could.
And so it was that an hour later, he found himself purring down the highway to Lahaina in a red Ferrari driven by Jenna, who’d jumped right on board with the plan to help Dell and Chase get a good start at the bar.
“Cool car, huh?” She patted the dashboard.
The wind coming in the convertible tousled her blond hair. Between that and the peacock blue blouse that brought out the intense color of her eyes, Connor couldn’t stop looking at her. Jenna was always beautiful. But Jenna ready for a night out on the town was downright stunning. Her swishy skirt had made it hard not to stare at her legs on the short walk to the car, and her dangly gold earrings mesmerized his dragon. Connor had never really felt the need to hoard treasure, but Jenna gave him all kinds of bad ideas, like spiriting her over to his place and keeping her there forever.
He leaned over to see the speedometer, sneaking in a deep whiff of her heavenly scent while he could. “Cool car and…forty miles per hour don’t really go together.”
Jenna gave him a stern look. “Hey, the speed limit is forty-five.”
“Exactly. Forty-five,” he said, stressing the five. Though, truthfully, he didn’t care how fast or slow they went. Being this close to Jenna suited him just fine.
“It’s Boone’s, and I have to take care of it,” she insisted.
Connor nearly laughed aloud. Should he tell Jenna how reckless and wild the wolf shifter had been before he’d settled down on Koa Point and become the proud dad to twins? But, whatever. Fast or slow — Connor had one night off. One night with Jenna, and a perfectly feasible excuse for spending time with her.
It was nice, seeing her so happy. Relaxed, for a change. Excited about a night out with him.
“Right turn here?” She pointed.
Connor had done enough tailing of Draig by then to have a pretty good sense of the local roads, and he nodded. “About a mile… Now left…”
She arched an eyebrow at the supermarket parking lot he waved toward. “Are we picking up some mustard or something?”
He laughed. “Nope. But the five-dollar parking is hard to beat, and they’ll keep a good eye on the car.”
Also, that gave them a nice, long walk down Lahaina’s Front Street, though he didn’t mention that. His dragon might be yearning to fly wingtip-to-wingtip with Jenna, but this was the next best thing. And when she casually took his hand and swung it while they walked — well, dang. Maybe walking was even better than flying.
The sun had set an hour before, and the cool night air made everything seem fresh and energized. The town was alive with pedestrians, party lights, and the sounds of street musicians playing soulful island tunes on ukuleles and slack-key guitars.
Connor slipped his arm over Jenna’s shoulders, and she snuggled in good and tight. All that hand-to-hand combat training had made them comfortable together — too comfortable?
He decided to park that thought and the worries that accompanied it for the time being. Well, he tried. His gut flipped when it hit him that tonight might be his first and only chance to spend time with Jenna in a normal setting. A safe, normal setting, because he would have Dell and Chase nearby for backup if any fool dared to come too close to Jenna. But apart from that, who knew? Jenna wasn’t staying on Maui forever, and he had too many good reasons to let her go.
“Oh, that’s gorgeous,” Jenna breathed, stopping to admire a photograph of a whale hanging in the window of an art gallery.
The photographer had managed to capture the scene above and below the waterline, with the whale swimming in a graceful arc and the emerald mountains of West Maui filling the upper half of the shot.
“Gorgeous,” he agreed, touching her soft, flowing hair. With the gesture, he made a silent vow to push thoughts of tomorrow far, far away. Tonight was their evening to enjoy.
So, he did — every step and every stop Jenna made along the way.
“Oh, look at those,” she murmured, leaning over a jewelry store display.
Connor glanced at the pearls she indicated then let his eyes stray back over to Jenna. That was way more interesting — watching her expression, the curve of her back, the playful sway of her skirt in the wind. He did regular sweeps of the area as well, keeping alert, just in case. The fact that he kept a hand on Jenna’s back the whole time served both purposes — enjoying being with her and keeping her safe.
“Made right here in Hawaii,” an older islander in a pink, flowery dress said from behind the counter.
Jenna looked out at the sliver of ocean visible between two buildings. “Really?”
“In the old days, pearls were harvested from the wild. Nowadays, most of the world’s pearls come from cultivated oysters, like ours.”
“Oh. Nice.” Jenna looked out at the ocean with dreamy eyes.
Connor rubbed her back a little. Jenna had some serious water-baby genes, for sure.
The saleswoman leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial voice. “There are still some of the old-time pearls around, from a long time back.”
Jenna perked up immediately, hanging on every hushed word.
“Some that belonged to royalty, and some that belonged to…” The woman looked around before whispering the rest. “…to others.”
“What others?” Jenna asked.
“Witches… Warlocks… Sharks.”
Jenna’s eyes went wide. “Sharks?”
Connor frowned at the woman. Jenna didn’t need a reminder of her scare in the water that morning. But the saleswoman rambled on, happy for an audience for her outlandish tales.
“Like Kamohoalii, the shark king, who could change shapes and walk the earth as a man.”
Connor whipped around and exchanged uneasy glances with Jenna. Shapeshifters?
“He had a son, Nanaue. Sad story,” the woman said, as if some tragedy had befallen the boy next door instead of a figure from legends. “But not many folks know that Kamohoalii had a daughter too, and she collected the most precious pearls of all. Precious pearls. Magical pearls. Pearls that could—”<
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A second saleswoman came closer, making the older woman break off sharply and clear her throat. “Anyway, those were the old days. You should read the stories, honey.” She winked.
Jenna took another look at the pearls while Connor studied the woman. Were there really old legends about shark shifters, or was she just playing up the story? He’d have to ask Kai and the others about it later on.
A young couple in matching Hawaiian tops — newlyweds, no doubt — came up to the counter, and Jenna edged away with a polite, “Thank you.” Then she sighed and continued walking down the street. “Not that I’d ever have the money to get one.” Then she brightened and wrapped her arm around his. “But you know what?”
Her smile was pure sunshine, her side warm against his.
“What?”
“There’s some super rich, super unhappy woman out there right now with all the pearls in the world, and she doesn’t get a night like this.”
He grinned. “A night like…?”
Jenna motioned up and around. “The stars. The music.” She gave him a coy look. “The company.”
He pulled her into a hug and looked into her eyes. Big mistake, because every time he did that, his dragon rose to the surface, demanding to make her his. He could feel the beast getting ready to rumble about destiny, need, and forever, and he could feel his body warm with the intense need to kiss her again. To him, those kisses were pure pleasure. To his dragon, they were a means of marking Jenna as his.
Jenna’s eyes dropped to his lips, and her hands touched his sides. Yep, she wanted it, too.
“I’d love to kiss you,” he whispered, running his hands over her shoulders.
She looked up, catching the warning in his tone. “But…?”
He took a deep breath and turned sideways to steer her down the sidewalk again. “But once we start…”
“Stopping is impossible,” Jenna finished.
He wondered for the hundredth time if she had shapeshifter blood. How else could she feel what he felt and with the same intensity?
“Exactly. So we save the kiss for later. Okay with you?”
She slipped her arms around his waist and tucked her hand into the rear pocket of his pants. “Nope.”