by Anna Lowe
It was an amazing dress, but he couldn’t think. Not with his dragon turning cartwheels in his head. Cassandra was beautiful. Well, even more beautiful than ever. Classy. Perfect. And she was coming straight for him. No hesitation. No sign of regret.
The closer she got, the harder his heart thumped. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t release his gaze.
“Ready to go?” she asked, as if they had a date or something.
You do have a date, you idiot, his dragon bellowed into his mind.
He blinked a few times. No, it wasn’t a dream. And yes, she really was holding his hand.
“We told Cassandra how often you get stood up by your dates, and she felt sorry for you,” Tessa winked as if that had ever been a problem. “Isn’t it nice of her to fill in this last-minute?”
“Very nice,” he agreed.
With a click and whirl, the gears of his mind creaked back into action, and he realized Tessa had set it all up.
Wait a minute, Tessa. What have you done? he barked into her mind.
She grinned and stepped back into the shadows, leaving him and Cassandra alone.
Me? Nothing much. Just doing what a powerful alpha can’t manage to do for himself.
“If you don’t want me to come…” Cassandra said, lowering her eyes.
His hand shot out and grabbed hers. “I’d love for you to come.”
Cassandra looked up, beaming, and he nearly had to take a step back from the effect she had on him. It was ridiculous for a grown man to get so excited over one night – and over a woman who’d been strong-armed into being his date. But okay, he could live with being ridiculous, as long as she was his.
She is mine, his dragon growled. My destined mate.
Slowly, breathlessly, he turned toward the garage and stuck out his elbow. And slowly, gingerly, Cassandra wove her arm through his.
Heat rushed through his veins as she nestled closer, and his dragon cooed.
“Have fun!” Tessa called, obviously pleased with herself.
And off he and Cassandra went on a real date.
“Are you sure you want to go?” he murmured, giving her one last out.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Cassandra chuckled. “I do this all the time. Going out with desperate men, I mean, just to make them feel good.”
“Well, I don’t do it every day,” he whispered, leaving it at that. Let her read between the lines. Let her puzzle out how special this was to him.
He walked her to the center bay of the garage then to the left side of the car. “It’s a right-side drive,” he explained, lengthening his stride to get to the passenger-side door before she did.
“Mercedes 300 SL, right?” she asked as he popped the gull wing door up. “1954?”
He stared at her. “1955.”
“Ah, of course,” she said without missing a beat. A moment later, her eyes flashed merrily. “I used to work in a bar with a classic-car theme. You can quiz me on the way.”
He would rather quiz her on every facet of her life. To get to know her better. To fill in all the years he’d missed sharing with her. Sure, his East Coast sources had reported everything they could find, but so much was missing. Her interests. Her passions. Her favorite jokes, flavors, and poems. All the important things.
“Thank you,” she said, gliding gracefully into the car.
“My pleasure,” he murmured, trying not to stare at the long, bare leg that appeared between the side slits of that elegant dress.
Normally, he would bang the door down without a second thought, but this time, he placed both hands on the edge and lowered it with a careful click. Then he paced around to the driver’s side and slid in. They drove the first few minutes in silence, and he wondered what was going through her head.
“So, do you do a lot of these events?” she asked in a voice that gave nothing away.
“Too many,” he admitted, looking straight ahead.
She tilted her head at him. “Then why do you go?” She took a printed leaflet off the dashboard and squinted as the car rolled down the coastal road. “Are you really that committed to the…um…”
“The Society for the Benevolent Protection of Native Hawaiian Wildlife? Three Paws Rescue Center?” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong — the causes are great. Of course, if I could just send in a check, I would. But events bring attention to those organizations and raise public awareness, which brings in more money, more volunteers, and helps change mind-sets. I just wish the same could be accomplished without the media attention or the crowds.” He tugged at his collar.
She laughed. “And here I was thinking you were a philanthropic James Bond.”
He snorted. “Not that glamorous, believe me.”
He wished he could explain it. Yes, he had a healthy bank account, and yes, he was lucky to live on an amazing estate. But he would be just as fine – even better off, maybe – living a simpler life in a smaller place. A smaller world, if that made any sense.
And a mate, his Dragon added immediately. I could live anywhere as long as I had my mate.
The Mercedes zoomed down the Honoapi’ilani Highway, and he pointed to the right. “There. See that food truck?”
She nodded as they flashed past a boxy, silver truck parked in its usual spot at Puamana Beach Park.
“I’d rather have a seven-dollar dinner at a place like that then the thousand-dollar feast tonight.”
She looked at him. Really looked at him. “So why not do it? Why not just go?”
He stared through the windshield, wishing he could explain what crushing duty felt like. The obligation to carry on the family legacy.
And anyway, it was too late. The food truck was already far behind, and he had a gala to get to on the other side of Maui. He checked his watch.
Plenty of time, his dragon whispered in his mind.
And just like that, his mouth started watering for a good old-fashioned Maui poke bowl or a fish taco. Something straight and simple he could eat with chopsticks or his bare hands rather than picking exactly the right silverware for each course.
He revved the engine higher as they reached the low saddle of land that united the two halves of Maui. Haleakala rose to the right, wearing her usual crown of clouds, and the jagged West Maui mountains poked up to the left. The windows he’d had retrofitted to the fixed frames were open, and the wind whipped his hair. Cassandra rested her head against the headrest, soaking in the views.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
He looked from side to side, taking in the magic of Maui as if for the first time. The scraggly, abandoned fields of sugarcane. The patchwork colors on the mountain slopes. The rich, humid scent of the tropics. Funny how having Cassandra enjoy something made him appreciate it too.
“Cassandra,” he ventured. “Why did you agree to come with me tonight?”
“Maybe I’m keeping an eye on you. The way you’ve been keeping an eye on me.”
He tried joking that off. “Funny, I thought I was just being a good host, giving you the run of the estate.”
She nodded. “You have been a great host. Gracious, polite, considerate.”
His gut warmed, hearing that from her.
“And you’ve been keeping an eye on me,” she added.
Okay, so he had — sometimes too closely for his own good. But hell, she’d been doing the same to him.
“We used to have a rule against allowing humans on the estate,” he said, as if that explained anything.
“Humans?” she snorted. “Dragons are what worry me.” He shot her a critical look, and she backpedaled. “Well, maybe not all dragons.”
His dragon grinned. I knew she liked me.
“But wait a second,” she said. “You had a rule against humans? What changed?”
He ran a hand over his chin, thinking back. “Well, Tessa came along and ended up staying with Kai. Then Nina was in trouble, and we couldn’t turn her away.” He laughed. “Boone definitely couldn’t turn her away. Then D
awn and Hunter finally got together, and Cruz found Jody…”
He trailed off. Somehow, the changes at Koa Point had snuck up on him. Changes for the better. One by one, his shifter brothers had found their destined mates. He never believed it might happen to him, but now…
He held his breath and looked into her shining eyes.
I believe, his dragon said in a reverent hush.
Did Cassandra believe? Did she even know what she was getting into with him?
Sugarcane stalks waved from the roadside like scarecrows, mocking him. A car beeped from behind, and he wrestled his gaze back to the road.
“Anyway, we dropped the rule,” he finished, and they both left it at that, drifting into silence again.
A tour bus had pulled over, and people stood on the side of the road taking pictures of Haleakala in the saturated afternoon light.
“Oh. I should warn you there will be cameras at the gala. Reporters, I mean.” His heart thumped harder. Damn it, she’d balk for sure, and his date would be over before it really began.
Cassandra just nodded casually. “Tessa told me.”
Silas made a mental note to get Tessa a bouquet of flowers. Better yet, a basket of fancy cooking oils or herbs that might help her develop new recipes for the cookbook she was working on.
“And you’re okay with that?” He looked at Cassandra.
“Drax already knows I’m here, right?”
Silas’s jaw went hard. He gave a curt nod and tried shooing hate out of his heart, at least for one night.
“All right, then.” She waved a hand and winked. “Just make sure they get my good side.”
You only have a good side, his dragon said.
And just like that, the tension eased out of his body again. So much so, he was tempted to turn down the coastal road to Hana, just to stretch out the trip. As in, stretched out by hours and hours.
We could stay out all night. His dragon nodded eagerly.
Of course, he did no such thing. All too soon, they reached the outskirts of Kahului, and he dutifully turned into the left lane to head for the Arts and Cultural Center where the gala was scheduled to take place.
Cassandra pointed ahead. “What’s that way?”
“The beach,” he said, a little too wistfully.
So close, his dragon whispered.
“Oh. Nice.” Cassandra said in a perfectly neutral voice.
He drummed on the steering wheel, waiting for the signal to turn green.
Still plenty of time for a little detour, his inner beast purred.
But a detour wasn’t part of his plan. The plan was to attend the dinner, get it over with, and then go home.
Of course, that was before he had Cassandra as a date.
Live a little, his dragon said.
Silas had lost track of how many times in his life he’d ignored that advice. He never lived a little. He always stuck to his plan.
The car behind him beeped, and Silas glanced up to find both lights green — the left turn and the one straight ahead. He pulled slowly forward, then…
He grinned. Maybe he would live a little for a change.
He gunned the engine and cut into the next lane, driving straight through the intersection instead of making the turn. Cars beeped in protest as he sped ahead.
That’s my boy, his dragon cheered.
Cassandra chuckled. “Oh, is this the back way to the Arts Center?” she asked in a faux-innocent tone.
No, it is not the back way, he chastised his dragon. This is the way to the beach.
And with any luck, to one of the best food trucks in Maui, the beast snipped back.
He checked his watch and finally gave in. “I guess you could call it the scenic route.”
Sure can, his dragon said, looking over at his date.
Chapter Ten
Cassandra laughed, and her voice was music to Silas’s ears. “Scenic route. I like the sound of that.”
He shook his head at himself but drove on. In for a penny, in for a pound, he supposed. And really, they did have a little time for dinner before the event truly kicked off. All he needed to do was show up at some point, shake a few hands, speak a few words. That didn’t mean he had to spend the entire evening there.
The smooth roll of tires over asphalt changed to a rumble as he turned onto the side road to Kanaha Beach Park. Silas leaned forward, as excited as a kid at Christmas. Would the food truck be there, or would this whole detour expose what a lost cause he was?
The sun glinted off a metal surface ahead, and his dragon cheered inside.
“There it is,” he said, casual as can be.
“Jenny’s Hawaiian Mixed Plate?” Cassandra asked a little skeptically.
He nodded. “They have the best poke bowl on Maui.” Then he rushed to add, “At least, according to Boone.”
Cassandra laughed. “So you hardly ever come here, right?”
She looked right at him, and he grinned. In truth, he rarely ate at Jenny’s. Somehow, he never found the time.
You have to make time, his dragon said.
Which, he supposed, was exactly what he’d just done.
He parked the Mercedes between a dented pickup and a decades-old green Nissan with a surfboard on the roof. Then he stepped from the car to help Cassandra out. The minute she stood, she linked her arm through his and smiled. They made quite the sight — what with him in his tux, Cassandra in her stylish dress, both looking spiffed up enough for a red-carpet reception in Hollywood even though Jenny’s was a bare-feet-in-the-sand kind of place. But Silas didn’t care what he looked like. He cared what he felt like.
I feel good, his dragon murmured. Really good.
So he strode right up to Jenny’s food truck and nodded to the Asian woman at the counter. “Two poke bowls, please.”
The woman didn’t even bat an eye at her overdressed customers. “Drinks?”
“What do you recommend?” Cassandra asked.
He nearly laughed, picturing her fingers drifting over a wine list.
“The guava-papaya iced tea sounds good. If you can handle that stiff a drink,” he joked.
Cassandra nodded firmly. “Bet your ass, I can.” She turned to the woman in the truck, holding her fingers up. “Make it two, please.”
And so it was that, instead of stepping into the midst of a stiff and stuffy reception at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Silas found himself swinging a leg over the bench of a picnic table in the sand. Cassandra wiggled into the narrow slot and took a seat by his side.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, looking at the ocean.
Beautiful, his dragon agreed, peeking at her.
His nostrils flared, picking out her lavender-dandelion fragrance from the background scents of the ocean and beach. Salt air and pohuehue were everyday experiences on Maui, where Cassandra stood out like an exotic flower.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
Their eyes met for an instant before jerking apart. Their legs were nearly close enough to touch, and he could feel her heat at his side.
“So, ready to dig in?” she asked.
He poked at his Styrofoam bowl with his plastic fork and frowned. “The ladies of the Dunes, Wetlands, and Coastline Trust would lynch me if they saw this.”
Cassandra patted his hand, setting heated sparks through his veins. “Maybe every once in a while, you’re allowed.” She stabbed her fork into her dish. “What is this exactly?”
“Poke bowl. Marinated fish. It’s a traditional Hawaiian dish.”
Their legs brushed under the table, but Cassandra didn’t pull away. In fact, she kept hers nudged up against his.
Nice, his dragon hummed, filling his mind with all kinds of inappropriate images — like her bare leg, winding around his. A horizontal leg, with both of them lying down…
He cleared his throat and took a hasty swig of his iced tea.
“Well, then,” Cassandra said. “I guess I have to try it.”
His mouth went dry just
from the sight of her bringing a forkful to her mouth. He loved seeing her let her guard down. Being a normal woman and treating him like a normal man, with none of the shifter/witch/Spirit Stone complications that had clouded his world for the past week.
Cassandra held her fork in her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, making a little groaning sound. “This is so good.”
Silas scuffed his leather shoes in the sand and clutched his cold glass, desperately fighting off a hard-on.
Cassandra was on her third forkful by the time he tried his first. When he did, he closed his eyes too. He’d forgotten how good food truck meals could be. And he’d never imagined how temptingly sensual it could be, simply watching a woman eat.
Their elbows touched, and the heat of her thigh warmed his. Her scent seemed to wrap even closer, weaving around his body.
“Not bad,” he murmured, waging a losing battle to focus on the food.
Cassandra pointed her fork toward the line of breakers rolling over Maui’s windward shore. The sky was a rich pink, the beach practically glowing in the slanting evening light. Somewhere behind them, the sun was setting on Maui’s West side.
“Not bad?” She snorted. “I’d say it’s pretty damn good. Good food. Good view.” She paused as if weighing up her words and finally added, “Good company.”
It was almost an afterthought, and she spoke so quietly, he nearly missed it.
“Good company,” he agreed.
He turned to look at her, and when their eyes locked, the sunset didn’t matter any more. Neither did the crashing breakers or the rice on his fork. Nothing seemed to matter except her.
Beautiful, his dragon breathed, staring into her eyes.
Rich, brown eyes that shone and sparked. His heart thumped a little harder, and he clamped down hard on his glass. Her eyes dropped to his lips, and he held his breath.
Kiss me, his dragon whispered, practically begging Cassandra. Please.
She leaned a tiny bit closer, and his pulse skipped. The kiss in the library had been the best of his life, and this was sure to be—
Bang! The lid of a pot slammed inside the food truck, and Jenny yelled out.
“Last call!”
They shot apart as fast as a couple of teens caught in the act, and Cassandra’s face went pink. Silas could feel his cheeks heat. But hell, even that was nice. When was the last time he’d felt so alive?