But that first kiss was not going to happen. “I think we’re being watched.”
Fleur glanced toward the window overlooking the front of the house in time to see Jax’s face grinning at them. “Thanks, Jax.”
Doran smiled sinfully as he sighed. “Later.”
“If you’re lucky,” Fleur teased, but Doran’s eyes darkened, igniting a fire within her soul. She longed for his lips, for his touch, to be with him naked. Making love to him, skin against skin.
“I already know I am lucky.” He brushed his fingertips across her cheek. “I have you as a mate, Fleur. I am the luckiest man alive.” And she believed him. Despite the fact he’d lost his family and couldn’t remember who he truly was or why he’d been asleep for a few hundred years, he believed he was lucky.
“We should go inside.” She cleared her throat and approached the porch steps with Doran right by her side. When they got to the door, he raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before his knuckles made contact with the wood.
“I thought you were going to stay out there all day.” Emilia stood in the open doorway, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she eyed Doran eagerly. “Come in.” She stepped back out of the doorway and ushered them inside.
“Thanks.” Doran smiled briefly. “Are you Fiona?”
“No, I’m Emilia.” She held out her hand awkwardly. “Good to meet another dragon shifter.”
A wave of jealousy hit Fleur in the solar plexus, leaving her winded. “Hi, Emilia. How are you?”
Emilia turned her full attention on Fleur for the first time, and a smile spread across her face. “No need for jealousy, I have a mate and a child, remember? I’m not after your mate.”
Oh, goodness, I never knew dragons read minds, her bear said.
Color flushed Fleur’s cheeks. “Sorry. This is all new to me,” Fleur stepped forward and hugged Emilia. “We’re practically family. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s okay, we’ve all been there. It’s difficult to adjust to the intense feelings at first. But it gets easier.” Emilia ushered them in with a wave of her hand. “Come on, we’re all waiting to meet Doran. It’s been a while since anyone awakened a dragon.”
“There are more dragons under Ancient Slumber?” Doran asked hopefully.
“Some. Me and my brother. We’ve heard rumors there might be more in another mountain range high in the north, but no one has found them. And since they only wake when their mates are close by, we might not find any of them. They were buried deep.” Emilia’s voice, edged with sadness, filled Fleur with sympathy.
“How long were you asleep?” Doran asked gently.
Emilia’s eyes misted with tears. “Too long. So much has changed. This world is an amazing place, but I miss the empty skies. Not that we ever flew often. My brother and I kept our other side concealed.”
“As did my family, I believe,” Doran said, his eyes fixed on Emilia. He was curious about her but nothing more and Fleur relaxed.
“Is Emilia the first dragon shifter you’ve met aside from your own family?” Fleur asked as the door opened into a kitchen filled with people and nervous chatter.
“I believe so.” Doran tapped his head. “Although my restored memories might tell me otherwise.”
“Let’s hope we can get them back.” Fleur laced her fingers with her mate’s as they were swept into the room on a tide of excitement.
“That would be both a blessing and a curse.” Doran tightened his fingers around her hand as if clinging to her for strength. His face, pale and dirty, was filled with sorrow that made her heart tighten in her chest.
How would we feel if we went to sleep for hundreds of years and woke to find Mom and Dad and Jax and the others gone? Fleur asked her bear.
Heartbroken, her bear agreed. As if someone had reached in and ripped our soul from our body.
“I’m here for you,” Fleur whispered to Doran.
He lifted the hand that held hers and pressed his lips to her skin. Fleur trembled with longing for this man she’d only just met. If she’d had any doubts or reservations about their belonging together, they were gone.
As long as he doesn’t expect us to cook and clean and be his servant. Wasn’t that the role of a woman when he was awake before? her bear asked.
It’s not the role for us, Fleur said before they were swept into the warm room that smelled of coffee and fresh bread.
“Come in, sit down.” Harlan ushered them in warmly and pulled out a couple of chairs around the kitchen table. “Good to meet you, Doran. I’m Harlan. You’ve met Emilia. This is Fiona, Thorn, Ruby, and Magnus. Jax has told us all about you.”
“Which is not much.” Jax raised his coffee cup to Doran. “This is great coffee. It might just stimulate your brain enough to spill out your memories.”
“Thank you.” Doran sniffed the coffee in the mug Harlan handed to him. “It smells bitter.”
“You’ve never had coffee?” Fleur asked incredulously.
“I don’t think so.” Doran sipped the dark bitter liquid and wrinkled his nose.
“Don’t say you don’t like coffee,” Fleur joked as she sipped her own cup. “Or you might be asked to leave.”
Doran’s forehead creased as he took another sip. “I’m not sure. But it does make my head buzz like a honeybee in spring.”
Fleur giggled. “Drink some more. It gets better.”
Doran sipped his coffee while the other people in the room settled down around the table or leaned against the counter. All eyes were fixed on Doran. Eyes filled with so many questions. They were eager to find out more about this new dragon.
“So you woke when Fleur came close by?” Fiona asked, her patience stretched thin as Doran drank slowly, still suspicious of the coffee in his cup.
“Yes.” Doran nodded. “I don’t remember much, only the nearness of her. It was as if I’d been in a dreamless sleep and someone had shaken me awake.”
“That’s the same way I felt when Thorn entered the cave where I slept,” Emilia explained. “It was extremely disorientating, especially since I was surrounded by an impenetrable barrier.”
“But we got you out.” Thorn slid his arm around Emilia’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “If we hadn’t, I’d have gone to live in that drafty old cave just to stay near you.”
“Did you have your memories?” Doran asked.
“Not all of them. Not at first.” She glanced at Thorn. “When they return, when you recall all that is lost, it’s hard. So hard. But you have to cling to the present and the future. You have to take strength from your mate.”
“And your mate is strong, Doran,” Jax said. “Stronger than she knows.”
Fleur cast a curious look at her brother while fighting the tears that welled in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of strangers. “I’ll be there for you, Doran.” She sniffed loudly and wiped her hand over her eyes before she asked, “Is there anything we can do to help Doran get his memories back?”
“Time and rest,” Emilia said. She leaned forward and stared hard at Doran. “We both were asleep here under the mountain, but I’ve never met you. Not that I recall. Do you have any memories?”
“Only that I chose to sleep.” He shook his head. “There was danger. I recall my brother urged me to use the spell so I wouldn’t get killed.” Doran glanced at Fleur. “My mother was scared, and he said I was selfish to put myself in danger.”
“What kind of danger?” Fiona glossed over all the emotional sentiment of Doran’s words and focused on the facts.
Doran frowned and his eyes became unfocused, while his fingers tightened the grip on her hand. “I can’t remember exactly. But I believe we spoke of a dragon slayer.”
Emilia inhaled sharply. “A dragon slayer.” She shook her head and inched closer to Thorn for comfort and he tightened his arm around her shoulders.
“If you can remember any names or dates, I can go and cross-reference them with the museum archives,” Thorn offered. “We
might find something, we might not.”
“Since Emilia and Magnus woke up, we’ve been trying to compile as much information about dragons as possible. But dragons always were a secretive bunch and it’s not easy.” Harlan caught Thorn’s eye and they shared a secret smile.
“Don’t look like that,” Fiona snapped. “We all have secrets we’d like to keep secret.”
“And some of us have been alive so long that we have a lot of secrets to keep,” Harlan chuckled as Fiona sent a look fueled with fiery flames his way.
“You should write it all down in a journal,” Thorn said as he diverted a heated argument between the two dragon shifters. “Write down anything you remember, no matter how small. It should all come back to you in a few days. We’re not sure if the amnesia lasts longer the more time you were asleep. It also means we can cross-reference anything you remember with the archives at the museum.”
“I have a journal you can use,” Fleur offered. “Emilia, do you have any advice on how to deal with the changes in the world?”
“Take each day as it comes. Practice not freaking out when you see something new. Particularly airplanes. They really freaked me out for a while,” Emilia told Doran.
“Airplanes?” Doran asked.
“Yes!” Fiona clenched her fists together. “I remember when the skies were empty, and dragons had the freedom to fly wherever they pleased. Now we have to think of flight routes and the nearness of airports. And on top of that, there are those hang glider things that fly over the mountains.”
Harlan reached out and took hold of his wife’s hand. “It’s part of the world we live in. And Doran will learn that, too.”
“But what is an airplane?” Doran wrinkled his forehead in confusion.
“Airplanes are like cars, people sit in them and they fly in the sky,” Fleur explained gently.
“People fly in the sky?” Doran’s mouth hung open in shock. “People don’t belong in the sky. Dragons and birds, yes, but not people.”
“Well, they do now. We fly all over the world,” Thorn explained. “And us non-flying types actually think it’s pretty neat. I’ve been all over the world thanks to the miracle of flight.”
“Just use your senses to avoid anything like that,” Emilia explained. “When you are stronger, I’ll fly with you and teach you what you need to know.”
Doran nodded and then looked down at his hands. “I just hope I can remember why I was put into Ancient Slumber and am able to fulfill my destiny.”
“Son,” Harlan put his hand on Doran’s shoulder, “perhaps all you are meant to do is live and make babies with your mate, so your bloodline continues, and dragons remain in the world.”
Make babies. Fleur inched her hand away from Doran’s. She wanted her mate. Part of her already loved him. But she sure wasn’t willing to give up her career to become a baby machine just to keep Doran’s bloodline alive.
“We should go.” Fleur stood up abruptly before anyone else mentioned babies. “Doran needs rest. Maybe after a good sleep, you’ll remember more.”
“Maybe.” Doran stood up and bowed his head. “Thank you for your advice and your hospitality. And your coffee.” He looked at the mug with distaste. “It has woken me up.” He held out his hands. “I think it’s made my fingers tingle.”
“Caffeine. The first shot of the day is always the best,” Jax said as he walked around the table and came to join Fleur and Doran by the door. “I can only imagine what the first shot of your life feels like.”
“Buzzing,” Doran looked a little twitchy as he headed toward the kitchen door.
“Oh, treasure.” Fleur caught hold of Doran and steered him back toward the others. “Doran’s treasure is exposed.”
“That’s an uncomfortable feeling,” Harlan joked as Doran shot Fleur a look that said he was not comfortable talking about his treasure. “I had a vault made that we all store our treasure in. It’s safe and secure and has room for more.”
“Thank you for the kind offer,” Doran said formally.
“Before you refuse, know that it would be safe. Each individual vault has biosecurity enabled.” Harlan walked over to Doran and said, “That means only you can access it. The vault can only be opened by you using a retina scan of your eye and your thumbprint.”
“We used to use passcodes, but Fiona kept forgetting hers,” Ruby joked.
“Urgh. One thing I hate about modern life is the number of passwords and passcodes we’re supposed to remember.” She sighed and shook her head in disgust. “At least my vault only requires me to be present.”
“I will think about it.” Doran nodded.
“The last couple of hours have been a shock,” Fleur added, guiding Doran out of the house. “But thank you all. It’s good to know there are people who know what we’re going through.”
“Don’t be a stranger, Doran,” Harlan called after them. “That goes for all of you. If you need any advice, we’re here for you.”
“Thank you,” Fleur said as she turned to look at the family seated around the kitchen table. There were pictures of children on the wall behind them, all smiling, all happy.
They certainly are working on strengthening their bloodlines, her bear commented.
But Fleur wasn’t ready for her world to become one filled with diapers and baby bottles. Her sister Ronni was pregnant with her first child. It was an exciting time, but as she grew bigger, she found it harder to get around. Her work at the animal shelter she loved so much had suffered and she was now limited to paperwork and light duties.
How could Fleur cope with being that pregnant? How would she get in and out of the car twenty times a day or more to show people around houses?
She stopped on the porch. In all the excitement of finding her mate, she’d almost forgotten about her meeting with Mr. Preston tomorrow.
In some ways, that meeting would seal her fate in the same way as meeting Doran. Her life as she knew it was over.
Not all change is bad, her bear reminded her.
You’re right, Fleur agreed and as Doran stepped off the porch and turned to smile at her, she was ready to embrace change and mold it to her will.
Although, she suspected Doran would not be easily molded. And perhaps that was a good thing, too.
Chapter Seven – Doran
They left the house where the dragons lived and walked back to Fleur’s car. Doran breathed in the mountain air.
It smells different, his dragon said.
It does. But it also smells the same. The freshness of the pines mixed with the damp forest floor. It smells like home.
An image of his brother came to him. They were younger, full of the joys life had to offer them. Doran turned around and looked toward the mountain peaks, his gaze focusing on the second one to the left. He and Edric climbed to the very top one summer where they spent a night on top of the world. He could hear Edric shouting those very words in his head.
The next morning, Doran shifted into his dragon and Edric climbed onto his back, holding on tightly to one of his spines as he carried them back down as the first rays of the sun crested the horizon. He could still recall soaring down the valley on silent wings.
“You’re shaking.” Fleur’s hand on his arm made him jump.
“I was remembering.” His teeth chattered and even the leather armor loaned to him by Jax could not stave off the cool breeze that ruffled his hair. It sliced through him, even though his dragon blood should have kept him warm.
We just need to eat and rest. Then we will recover, his dragon reassured him. Tomorrow we can begin rebuilding our lives with our mate and discover what happened in the hundreds of years since we went to sleep.
“Was it a good memory?” his mate asked.
“Yes.” He pointed to the peak. “I used to jump off the peak with my brother on my back. We were so reckless and carefree.”
“What’s it like to fly?” Fleur asked wistfully as she followed his gaze.
“Freedom. It’s like no
thing can hold you down. Nothing else matters.” He pictured his brother and a sense of loss took his breath away. “And then life happens, priorities change and even the little things matter. I intend to make the most of every moment of the rest of my life. The rest of our lives.”
“I hate to break up your intimate chat,” Jax said from behind them. “But we really should get home, Fleur.”
“Home. Mom and Dad.” She swallowed nervously. “Have you told them about Doran?”
“Nope, this is your big news, not mine.” Jax placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “They will be happy for you.” He cracked a grin. “Even if your mate is dressed in rags.”
“Maybe we should figure out your clothes first,” Fleur said. “But all the clothing stores in Bear Creek will be closed.”
“You two go on home, I’ll swing by my place and grab something for Doran to wear. We’re a similar size. I’ll also grab a spare toothbrush and anything else a dragon who hasn’t washed for hundreds of years might need.” Jax hugged his sister and then sauntered over to his bike. “See you in a few.” The sound of thunder filled the air once more before he rode away, leaving Doran alone with his mate.
“Are you worried about what your parents might think of me?” Doran asked. “We could go back to my lair and I could gather some of my treasure to prove to them I am capable of providing for you.”
“No, they won’t be concerned about that kind of thing at all,” Fleur assured him. “They only ever want me to be happy. The same with my brothers and sisters. As long as we are happy, they are happy.”
“I will swear to them that I will take care of you,” Doran promised. He planned to build a house for them to live in on Woodacre. It was his home. The place that connected his past, present, and future, and he wouldn’t give it up without a fight.
“Yeah, I don’t think we need to word it like that either.” She opened the car door for him, and he went inside. “My parents raised all their children to be independent. Girls and boys alike.”
“But a woman needs a man to shield her from the things that lurk in the dark. Brigands and thieves. Rapists and murderers.” Doran clipped his seatbelt securely.
Hidden Dragon Page 5