Zircon (Awakened Sea Dragons Book 1)

by Terry Bolryder

  “Never mind. That was rude of me. It’s just… I saved up for a while for that couch, and—”

  “No, it was rude of me,” Marina said, walking forward and taking Jenny’s hand. “Please accept my apology.”

  Seaton grunted and stepped forward, separating them once again and making a note to keep an eye on Marina whenever she sought out Jenny.

  Not that she was any real threat, but for some reason, when it came to Jenny, he was unreasonably jealous.

  “Where can we clean up? The last thing we want is to sully your house,” Seaton said.

  “Oh, no,” Jenny replied, flushing as she waved a hand, creating some space between her and Marina. “Never sullying. It’s just, I want it to be nice for all of you. I brought you here so you didn’t have to be on the beach, and I hate to just spread the beach everywhere and make it less comfortable for you.”

  Marina nodded. “We understand.”

  Kai just glared. Thunder cracked overhead.

  “So a shower like the one on the beach?” Seaton asked.

  “Oh, you know about that?” Jenny asked, motioning for them to follow her to the stairs, her long, dark-auburn hair with its reddish highlights swinging behind her. Seaton tried to keep his eyes off her waist, her gorgeous hips, the confident sway of her walk, but it was difficult.

  It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Now that he’d met Jenny, he didn’t think he could consider any other.

  But what would this modern woman think of a dragon castaway on her beach?

  “Yes,” Kai said quietly. “We’ve used it. Thank you.”

  “It’s funny. I’ve never seen you out there,” Jenny said hesitantly. She turned at the top of the steps and walked down the hallway to one of the doors. “Marina, I think it’d be best if you stayed in here. And you’ll have your own bathroom.”

  Marina squeaked in joy and gave Jenny a big hug, nearly lifting her off the ground, and then opened the door to her room and peeked in.

  Jenny flushed and led the way to the next door, swinging it open. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to have the two of you share this one. You’ll have your own bathroom, though. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. There should be soap and shampoo in each of the bathrooms.”

  Shampoo? Seaton wasn’t sure what that meant, but didn’t want to look foolish by asking.

  Kai just snorted and walked inside, looking around, but Seaton stayed at the entrance to the room to talk to Jenny.

  “Thank you for this,” he said.

  “No problem,” she said. “Thanks for rescuing me today.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You shouldn’t let that man come into your restaurant.”

  She sighed. “I know, but he partially owns it. I don’t exactly have a choice.”

  “Can you buy it from him?”

  “He won’t sell,” she said with a sigh. Her eyes were troubled, but she smiled, trying to hide it. “Anyway, don’t worry about that for now. You go get cleaned up. I’m going to run into town for clothing for you and your siblings. See what I can find.” She winked at him. “Try not to let them bring the place down while I’m gone, okay?”

  Seaton nodded. He’d protect her home as if it were his own. If he worked hard enough, maybe it would be.

  “Thanks,” she said. Then, awkwardly, she reached out for a hug, and he cocked his head in confusion before returning it. Her body was so soft that he wanted to melt into it, and she smelled like wildflowers in the sun not far from the ocean.

  She flushed, stepping back. “Sorry if that was awkward. I’m used to doing that with everyone, you know, as a greeting or saying good-bye, but then I don’t know where you’re from or if that’s awkward. But Marina is such a hugger that I thought maybe you were, too.”

  He cocked his head. “Don’t be alone with Marina that often.”

  She narrowed her eyes in confusion, making her long, sooty lashes flutter slightly. “Why?”

  “She’s a tricky one,” he said, turning to the side. Jealousy didn’t become him, and he didn’t particularly want Jenny to see it in his eyes.

  “Okay,” she said. “Whatever you say, boss.”

  “If I work for you, won’t you be my boss?”

  “We’ll see about that,” she said. Her pale cheeks warmed again and the freckles there stood out. Seaton wondered if her blushes would be a perpetual thing with three awkward dragons in her house.

  It was a good thing they were good dragons. Otherwise, she had no idea of the danger she could be in.

  But there had to be bad dragons in this world. Otherwise, he and his siblings would never have been awakened. They’d long ago defeated the ancient sea monsters that weren’t dragons, so there were no threats left.

  His hands curled into fists at the thought of anyone threatening his mate or any other human. It had always been his job to protect them.

  “Well, I’m going out to get clothes, and then we can all meet up and talk. I can’t talk with you right now, not with Kai and Marina half naked and you in those…” Her cheeks went a deeper scarlet as her eyes trailed down to his ragged pants. “Those… shorts?”

  He shrugged. “It was whatever we could find.”

  “Right, well, we’ll talk when I’m back. As I said, keep the house intact.”

  “I will,” Seaton said. “They mean no harm.”

  It was her turn to cock her head to the side, but she did a sassy little hip tilt as well. “You know, people would say I’m crazy for doing this, but I get the same feeling. For some reason, I trust you all, and I’m not even sure why.”

  Seaton nodded. “I promise we won’t hurt you.”

  “Then why did you say stay away from Marina?”

  Seaton blinked. “Nothing like that. Marina couldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “Then why?” she asked, stepping forward, brows drawn together in confusion.

  “I’m jealous,” Seaton said flatly. There was no point lying to her, not now that she was worried he was hiding something worse.

  She stepped back, surprised. “Oh. Well. Um… Okay?” She composed herself quickly and started down the stairs. “I’ll keep my guard up.”

  Then she waved, jogged to the bottom of the stairs, grabbed a leather bag that presumably had her valuables in it, opened the front door, and was gone.

  He felt a little bad that she was going to have to pay for their garments, but once he found a way to get in contact with their friends, the gemstone dragons, he was sure he could recompense her for the expense.

  “Seaton, you have to come see this!” Marina called out, yelling from her bedroom.

  He took the stairs two at a time and walked into Marina’s room casually. “What is it?”

  “This ‘bathroom,’” Marina said. She walked to a large, porcelain, rectangular basin and pointed to two handles. “Hot and cold water! At the turn of a handle! Imagine!”

  Kai came in behind Seaton, walking into the bathroom as well. He folded his arms as he studied the tub. “Amazing.”

  Seaton shook his head. “We are going to have to try to look like we understand some of these things, or she is going to figure out what we are too quickly.”

  “What do you mean too quickly?” Kai asked. “Why does she need to figure it out at all? All we really need to do is get in touch with the other dragons and find a way to get our forms back and see where we are needed.”

  “Yes,” Marina said. “As cute as she is, she isn’t really going to remain involved with us. Wouldn’t that be too risky for a human?”

  “Though we’ll see she is rewarded for her help,” Kai said firmly.

  Seaton sighed. “I suppose.”

  “What is that look?” Marina asked, approaching with suspicious, teasing eyes.

  Seaton turned away. “Nothing.”

  “I heard her leave,” Kai said. “Where is she going?”

  “To get us clothes,” Seaton said, gesturing to Kai’s loincloth. “We can’t really keep going around like this, can we?�
�

  Kai just snorted. “We aren’t going to be here that long, so I don’t know that it matters. But fine, we will play dress-up for the human, enjoy her ‘shower,’ and things like that.”

  “You don’t understand,” Seaton said. “We have no way to contact our kind, and from what I’ve seen observing humans, there are no signs they are aware of any shifters. We can’t just go around asking who knows a dragon. It is going to take time to find someone to help us. Until then, we have to be patient. And we should be grateful that Jenny is helping us out.”

  “I’m grateful,” Marina said. “You know I love human women. Always so sweet and soft and—”

  “About that,” Seaton said. “You have got to stop being so affectionate. I know you don’t mean any harm by it, but it isn’t normal for this time.”

  Marina pouted. “I’m a lover. You know that. I can’t help wanting to make friends and hug them and—”

  “Fine, be her friend,” Seaton said, aggravated. “But less hugging.”

  Kai’s blue eyes went cold and appraising. “I think I know what’s going on. You like her.”

  Marina perked up at that, tossing long, tangled blond hair over her shoulder as she straightened up. “Is that true? You want the human all to yourself? She can be your toy only?”

  “She’s not a toy,” Seaton spat, trying to calm himself.

  “Ooh,” Marina said. “He does like her.” She put her hands up innocently. “Very well, Seaton, I will not hug her so much.”

  “You as well, Kai,” Seaton said.

  Kai wrinkled his long, perfect nose. “Touching humans is something I have no interest in. I simply want to locate the other dragons and do our job.”

  Seaton let out an inward sigh of relief. “Fine. I’m using the shower in our bathroom first, Kai. And I expect all of you to treat this house as if it were our own while we are here.”

  “Yes, master,” Marina said sarcastically.

  “I am the oldest brother,” Seaton said. “What I say goes.”

  “But are you the most powerful dragon?” Kai asked, raising a dark eyebrow that was in contrast to his blond hair.

  Marina’s blue eyes flashed. For a second, Seaton could see the dragon slits there. Then they were back to normal.

  Seaton sighed. “You know I have no interest in determining that. Fighting my own siblings in dragon form is pointless.”

  “That’s because you know you would lose!” Marina yelled after him playfully.

  Seaton fought back a grin at Marina’s words. He was proud of the power of his siblings. He had always been the responsible one, the one looking out for his brother and sister.

  Now they were adults, fully grown, powerful dragons who had fought tremendous battles and turned literal tides for the good of the world.

  Yet they were all at the mercy of a new world, one they didn’t understand, and Seaton couldn’t even put all his focus on helping them through it.

  Because taking up a big part of his mind was the fact he’d found Jenny. He’d found a mate after years of living without the possibility of having one.

  And it was hard to think about anything else, no matter how bad their situation was.

  Chapter 4

  As Jenny packed bags of clothing into her car outside the local supermarket, she wondered if any of it was going to fit the giants living in her house.

  She’d selected all of the biggest sizes she could in the tiny clothing department, but much of it was boxy and not made to fit giants who were almost a half a foot over six feet.

  Marina was the easiest at probably only five feet eleven, but she was a woman, and women’s sizes really weren’t made for tall women. As a result, she’d gotten a mixture of men’s and women’s clothing, plus a few bras, hoping some of it would work.

  She wondered what they were putting in the water wherever these strangers came from. They were all tall, so beautiful and unique as to almost seem alien.

  Perhaps they were?

  She stifled a laugh at the thought and got in to start the car.

  She was still thinking about Seaton and what he’d said about Marina and being jealous.

  She shouldn’t be making so much out of it, but what on earth could a man as gorgeous as him possibly be jealous of in regards to her? There was something about the way he looked at her with those intense, earnest blue eyes that left her shaken every time and then grounded the longer she looked, as if he would take care of her over anything in the world.

  Which was stupid and probably a result of reading too many romance novels. He wasn’t some angel sent to solve all her problems. He was a crazy person living on a beach, who happened to have the body and face of a Greek statue.

  When she pulled up in front of the house, it was starting to get dark outside, and she hoped no one at the restaurant was mad at her for putting the closed sign on her door with little explanation.

  She couldn’t turn away from someone in need, no matter how much she hated missing the dinner rush.

  There were lights on inside the house, and a warm feeling lit her as she realized she wouldn’t be spending the night alone. It made the big empty house somehow feel more like home, even if there were strangers inside.

  Perhaps she hadn’t realized how lonely she’d gotten.

  She unlocked the front door, peeking in through the windows on either side of it as she did, not sure what to expect. After all, with their unbothered state of undress since she’d met them, she wasn’t even sure any of them would be wearing clothes.

  But when she opened the door, she saw that all the doors were closed, with the lights on, and she guessed maybe Seaton had told them all to wait in their rooms.

  She locked the front door behind her and carried the bags up the stairs slowly, a little tired from all the excitement of the day. She set one bag in front of Marina’s door and the other two in front of Seaton and Kai’s.

  “Who is it?” Kai’s voice rang out sharply. There was a gravelly, harsh tone to his voice that made it unmistakable.

  “Jenny,” she said. “I’m just leaving some clothing outside. I have no idea what will fit, so I just brought some options. Take what you want, and I can return the rest.”

  “Return it where?” Kai snapped. “To the seamstress? When she has already done the work?”

  “Shut up,” Seaton hissed. Then he opened the door, just peeking around, his blond hair still damp from the shower. He smelled like rainwater. “Thank you. We’ll get dressed quickly and come down.”

  “Great,” she said, really hoping her cheeks didn’t betray her again. Seaton made blood rush to her face like none other, and she hated that her fair skin showed every bit of it. She turned away. “I’ll go see what I have for dinner.”

  “We could cook for you,” Marina called from the next room over.

  “Only if you want burnt fish,” Kai muttered in response.

  Jenny laughed. “No, it’s no problem. My treat.”

  “Great,” Seaton said. “We’ll see you down there.”

  Jenny nodded. “See you soon.”

  She felt her heart pounding like a drum as she walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen. How did just seeing Seaton have such an effect on her?

  She was a practical woman. She knew her place in life. She’d graduated college with a business degree and longed to live somewhere by the ocean.

  So she’d packed up, come here, taken out a small business loan, and the rest was history.

  But somehow, she hadn’t really planned out the rest of her life. She hadn’t figured out how a man would come into the picture, or a family. Maybe she’d assumed she’d meet someone out here, but there weren’t a lot of options, and she was too busy to meet them anyway.

  A few customers occasionally came on to her, but while they’d been friendly, she hadn’t been interested in any of them.

  And it had been hard to focus on anything but keeping the restaurant afloat and keeping it and herself away from Drew’s undue interfere
nce.

  But a part of her thought that as long as he owned a part of the restaurant, he would feel he owned a part of her as well.

  She let out an exasperated breath as she opened the fridge and looked at her options. She had a package of prime steak that she’d been planning to take into the restaurant for a dinner special, but judging by the size of her guests and the fact that they didn’t seem to have eaten well lately, she thought maybe this was a better use for it.

  She set the meat on the counter, walked onto her small deck to turn on the grill, and then sat at the counter while she waited. She could get up and put a quick salad together while the steaks cooked, but she was tired enough that she just wanted to rest for a second.

  She was surprised when she saw Seaton come down into the kitchen. He was wearing a tee shirt that was tight across his powerful arms and shoulders and baggy at the waist. He had on a pair of jeans and, most oddly, a button-up shirt somehow buttoned around his waist, almost like a kilt. The checkered pattern on it didn’t help, and she snorted as she walked over to him.

  She reached for the shirt and he froze, going stiff and looking down at her imperiously with those unfathomably blue eyes, those handsome, aristocratic, but masculine features. His carved lips were turned down at the corners slightly.

  Could she really be having this kind of effect on him?

  “Is something wrong?” he asked, moving his hips slightly out of her grasp.

  “Yes,” she said. “That’s a shirt, not a skirt. Or whatever you’re doing with it.”

  “Ah,” he said. “Based on the tartan, I assumed it was some sort of wrap.”

  She laughed. “Are you from mars?”

  He tilted his head. “No. Are there humans there?”

  She stared at him, blank-faced. Was he serious with that question? She laughed nervously. “Um, no, I don’t think so… Here, let me help with this.”

  He went still, exhaling softly as she reached her arms around his hips and undid the buttons. She realized just how awkward her position was when he took in a sharp breath, tensing slightly. She finished unbuttoning the shirt and drew back in relief.

  She held it out for him to put his arms through it and then left it unbuttoned. “See? It’s a second shirt.”