She felt a rush of longing for her parents. Sometimes it seemed like they’d died only yesterday, even though they’d been gone for close to two decades. She missed them both so much.
She turned over and placed an arm around Rianna. Nic moved his hand so that her hand lay on Rianna’s waist above his. Cassidy’s breath sighed out and she relaxed.
The next thing she knew it was morning, and Rianna was standing next to the bed shaking her shoulder. “Wake up, Mam! It’s time for breakfast.”
Cassidy opened an eye. The storm had passed, and sunlight streamed through slits in the cavern’s ceiling. Nic stood behind Rianna, dressed in a pair of loose cotton shorts, his chest bare and his hard jaw covered with black stubble.
Desire curled through her belly. She smiled sleepily up at him before she remembered how they’d left things last night, but he gave her an easy smile in return.
“Guess what, Mam?” Rianna hopped up and down. “Mister Nic helped me get dressed all by myself.”
Cassidy smothered a grin. “Did he now?”
Rianna’s hair had been pulled into a pigtail on the side of her head, and she wore a pink polka-dotted T-shirt and her favorite orange-and-blue striped leggings. The crowning touch was Joe’s felt horns. She looked like a tiny, demented jester.
“You look beautiful,” Cassidy said. “Very…colorful.”
“Thank you!” Rianna gave a happy bounce that set the pigtail waving wildly. “Mister Nic said not to wake you up, but I knew you’d want to see me.”
“Of course I would.” She held out her arms, and Rianna scrambled onto the bed to give her a sloppy kiss, while Nic looked on, a fond curve to his mouth.
Their eyes met over Rianna’s head. The hunger on his face made Cassidy’s breath catch.
He wanted them—both of them. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the tension vibrating between them. The mate bond quivered—and this time, it was Cassidy who slammed it shut.
She moistened her lips and said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Thanks for getting her dressed.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m her—” He halted with a glance at Rianna.
Oblivious to the undercurrents, the little girl hopped to the floor. “Mister Nic’s going to take me to see the goats after breakfast!”
“That’s nice, baby.” Cassidy threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the futon. “Come here, Rianna. I have something to tell you.”
She tilted her head. “Is something wrong, Mam?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong.” Cassidy took her hands. “I just want you to know something. Something important.”
She took a deep breath. When she’d fled Ireland, things had seemed so simple—reach Nic, and save Rianna from the fae. She’d been too panic-stricken to think things through. But it felt wrong, hearing Rianna call her own father Mister—and she deserved to know the truth. Cassidy had never meant to raise her without a father.
“Mister Nic—he’s your daddy.”
Rianna’s brow creased. “A real daddy? Like Seamus’s daddy?” She named her best friend’s father.
Behind her, Nic had gone as still as a statue.
Cassidy looked at him over the top of their daughter’s head. “Yeah. A real daddy. Like Seamus has.”
Rianna pumped her fist. “All right!” Then she twisted to peer shyly up at Nic. “So I can call you Daddy?”
His strong throat worked. “You can.” He ruffled her ponytail. “I’d like that—very much.”
“Okay.” Rianna grabbed his hand and reached for Cassidy with her other hand. “Let’s go to breakfast, Mam and Daddy.”
“You go ahead,” Cassidy said. “I have to go to the loo.”
“We’ll wait,” Rianna decided.
And so Cassidy and Nic entered the dining hall with Rianna between them. The other three men were already assembled.
“Hey, men!” Rianna said. “Mister Nic is my daddy.”
They all grinned at her, even Joe.
“Good for you,” Marlin said from where he was presiding over a griddle balanced on metal stakes over the firepit.
The mouthwatering scent of sizzling batter filled the air. Cassidy’s stomach growled. Suddenly she was starving. “You have drop scones?”
“We call them pancakes,” Marlin said, “but yeah.”
“We even have butter,” Ben added, “thanks to the goats.”
Rianna gave Nic’s hand a tug. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s eat the pannacakes.”
The look Nic gave her could only be described as besotted. “Sounds good, garotinha.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Little girl.”
“’Cause I’m your little girl?”
“That’s right.”
Cassidy’s heart tugged as he let their daughter lead him to the plastic table. She hadn’t expected him to be a good father. Even when she’d been falling in love with him, she’d recognized that he was a hard, reserved man.
But Nic was gentle and attentive with Rianna, and their daughter was eating it up. Cassidy watched as he helped her onto the black lava stool and got her a plate of drop scones from Marlin. Nic even cut them into bite-size pieces for her as Cassidy took a seat across from them.
“Do you want some butter?” he asked.
Rianna dimpled up at him. “Yes, please.”
The goat’s milk butter was almost pure white. Rianna narrowed her eyes at it, but when Nic dribbled some honey over top of the hot buttered scones, she eagerly dug in.
“Yours will be right up,” Marlin said.
She nodded while Ben asked, “Do you drink coffee?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to wait on me.” She made to stand up, but he set a big hand on her shoulder.
“Sit. We don’t have guests—ever. Especially female ones. You don’t know how nice it is to have you and Rianna. Besides, you need to rest that leg.”
“All right.” She slanted him a smile as he filled a thick ceramic mug and set it in front of her. “And thank you.” At home, Cassidy drank tea, but she’d developed a fondness for the dark, bitter brew on her way across the States.
“Milk?” Ben asked.
“No, thanks.” She wrapped her hands around the warm mug and inhaled deeply. “This is perfect.”
He sat next to her. “I can see your leg is better. You’re barely limping.”
“Thanks to you and Nic.” She grimaced. “I can’t believe that feckin’ thing was in me for three weeks.”
“It’s in a spiny lobster now.”
“What?” Cassidy and Ben said at the same time.
Nic’s mouth took on a wicked curve. “I took it to the other side of the island and fed it to the poor bastard. He was hiding in the rocks about two hundred feet down. They’ll have a devil of a time retrieving it.”
Marlin snorted from where he was presiding over the firepit, and despite herself, she burst out laughing.
“Smart,” said Joe. “They’ll think Cassidy is hiding in the ocean.”
“It should buy us some time,” said Nic. “Meanwhile, we’ll set a trap for them.”
“A trap?” Cassidy’s fingers tightened on the mug. She should’ve guessed Nic would do something like this. They couldn’t hide on this island forever, and Nic wasn’t the type to wait for the fae to come to him. But he intended to take on four fae? “I thought you intended to take it out to sea.”
“I did, but this is better. Sooner or later they’ll find you. This way it will be on our territory—on our terms.”
The other men murmured agreement, but Nic’s eyes were on her. “It’s the only way, Cassidy. But”—he glanced at Rianna—“we’ll talk about it after breakfast.”
She forced herself to take a sip of coffee. “All right.”
“Here you are, love.” Marlin set a plate in front of her.
“Thank you.” She wasn’t so hungry anymore, but she knew she needed to eat.
The dreadlocked shifter squeezed her shoulder in silent sympa
thy and sat down on her other side.
13
Nic watched with satisfaction as Cassidy and Rianna downed the pancakes. This much he could do: keep them safe and well-fed.
When he’d left the caverns last night, his heart had been heavy. He’d shifted to his dragon and disposed of the tracking device, then swum far out into the ocean, chest tight and his tail dragging.
His dragon didn’t understand the problem. She’s the mate, it hissed. Take her.
She has to choose us, Nic had shot back. According to tradição—the fada system of law—the female had the right to accept or reject the bond.
The dragon had snarled. She did. And you left her behind.
I fucked up. You think I don’t know that?
The dragon huffed, but subsided. Nic had appeased it by chasing a school of fish. If they couldn’t have sex, at least they could fill their bellies.
But the long, hard swim gave him time to think. By the time he returned, he’d known Cassidy was right. The problem was deeper than her forgiving him for leaving four years ago. He’d rejected the bond between them and he had no idea how to fix things.
He’d entered the caverns through his secret entrance, so many fathoms deep that only a marine animal could bear the pressure, and followed the tunnel through the center of the island to the pool in his quarters. There he’d sought out his treasure, a teak chest filled with precious jewels and coins salvaged from shipwrecks. Over the years, a fortune had been lost off the coast of California and Mexico.
If Nic wanted, he could live like a king, but things meant nothing to him. It was the beauty of the gold and jewels that his dragon’s soul craved. He’d curled his body around the chest and nudged it open, sifting a claw through the glittering contents—rubies, emeralds, diamonds…semi-precious stones…heavy Spanish doubloons.
But for once, he took no joy from his hoard. He was too aware of Cassidy and Rianna, sleeping in the room above him. For them, he’d trade the entire contents of the chest in a heartbeat.
He amused himself by selecting jewelry for them. For Cassidy, a delicate gold anklet. For Rianna, a showy tiara.
He let the jewelry drop. Someday, he would adorn them with his treasure, but right now he suspected Cassidy would merely sear him with a scornful look and ask if he was trying to buy her love.
Then Rianna had whimpered and he’d had an excuse to go to them both. Sleeping beside Cassidy without touching her was a special kind of torment, but he’d gritted his teeth and born it.
And then, this morning, she’d stunned him by telling Rianna to call him Daddy.
Joy had flooded him. She trusted him with Rianna, her most precious possession. That was huge, something he could build on.
Now he watched the pair of them, trying not to hover while they ate.
Cassidy finished her pancakes, and he picked up the platter in the center of the table and urged her to have some more.
She held up a hand, laughing. “I’m good, thanks. You’ll be making me fat.”
He shrugged and set down the platter. In his opinion, she could use a few pounds, but he wasn’t stupid enough to tell a woman that.
“I’m done!” Rianna hopped off her stool, leaving half her food untouched.
Nic frowned. “Did she eat enough?” he asked Cassidy.
Cassidy nodded. “She has a tiny stomach. That was a lot for her.”
Rianna raced to the cavern’s edge and stared into the ocean water surging in and out of the exit tunnel. The sun had come out, and a sliver of blue sky was visible at the tunnel’s other end.
Nic rose to his feet and strode after her. She was a good swimmer, but the tunnel had a dangerous current at times. A small pup like her could be sucked into the Pacific before they knew it.
“Don’t go into the water without an adult,” he told her. “The ocean is too strong for you.”
“Okay,” she replied with a sunny smile. She pointed at the gold kelp strands that the storm had pushed through the tunnel. “I see something pretty.”
His mouth quirked. The little girl was a dragon through and through, with their animal’s love of bright, shiny objects. “That’s kelp. It’s gold here in the islands. Lots of animals live in it—fish, shellfish, even otters.”
Her mouth rounded.
Cassidy came up on Rianna’s other side, and he explained about the current. “Why don’t you take her to the pools?” he said.
“While you men plan this thing without me?” Cassidy set a hand on her hip. “I don’t think so. You need my input. Don’t forget, I’m the one who outran them for the past three weeks.”
Behind them, the other men busied themselves cleaning up, but he knew they were listening. Frankly, he was relieved Cassidy had gotten her spunk back. That exhausted, weepy female of yesterday wasn’t the woman he’d known in Ireland
“I know, and anything you can tell us would be helpful. But no way in hell you’re going out with us.” Rianna turned to look at them, so he lowered his voice to subvocal levels so she wouldn’t overhear. “Your job is to guard Rianna—if things go wrong, you can hide her in the tunnels. I’ll show you a couple of places.”
The little girl tugged on her mother’s arm. “Daddy said a bad word.”
Nic grimaced. “Sorry.”
Cassidy concealed a grin. “He’s an adult. He can use those words if he wants.”
She folded her arms over her small chest. “Why?”
“Because. He’s big and you’re not. Now, why don’t we go swimming?”
“But Daddy promised to take me to see the goats after breakfast.”
“I will,” Nic said. “I have to speak to my men first, and then we’ll go see the goats. Okay?”
Rianna’s lower lip pushed out in a pout.
Cassidy started to say something, but Marlin stepped up. “If he doesn’t, I will. Okay, princess?”
“I’m not a princess,” she said, but the pout disappeared.
Cassidy shook her head. “Someone’s going to be spoiled if we stay long.”
“She could use a little spoiling,” said Nic. “You both could.”
Cassidy ignored that to set her hands on her hips. “I want to know everything you decide, got it?”
“I will. That’s a promise.”
She searched his eyes and then gave a satisfied nod. “Don’t be forgetting about my tracking Gift. It’s like an early-warning system.”
He had forgotten. He made a mental note not to overlook it again. “Can you sense anything right now?”
“No—I would’ve told you. I have my Gift amped up, though. I’ll stay on it.”
“Good.” He watched as she and Rianna entered the center tunnel. Her limp had almost disappeared, and there was a sway to her hips that hadn’t been there yesterday. She might not want to admit it, but her animal was reacting to his.
Ben and Marlin gave him knowing smiles, while Joe just raised a single black brow.
“Better work on that groveling,” Marlin said.
He snarled. “When I need advice on how to handle my woman, I’ll ask for it.”
His friend just chuckled.
The four of them drew up stools by the firepit, the site of all their serious discussions. The embers still glowed from cooking breakfast. Nic stared into the flickering red-and-orange light, gathering his thoughts. Fire always settled him.
Around him, the other three sat in various positions: Ben relaxed and easy, big hands resting on his thighs, and Joe straight-backed, arms crossed over his chest. Marlin slouched, his right foot tapping a rapid rhythm on the cavern floor—the man couldn’t sit still to save his life.
“So,” Nic said, “this is what we’re up against—four fae of unknown origin. We don’t know what their Gifts are, or even if they’re all fae. They could have a fada tracker with them, for example. But at least one of them is powerful—that tracking device was created by someone with a strong Gift. And as we know, at least one of them is capable of making a fae ball.”
&nbs
p; They nodded.
“When I left here, I intended to drop the device somewhere far out in the ocean where they could never retrieve it. But sooner or later, they’d realize it wasn’t in Cassidy anymore. And I want these S.O.B.s.” He gave them a toothy grin. “I vote we set a trap—on our own territory.”
Marlin gave him a thumbs up. “We’re with you, bro.”
“Thanks, but I want to hear from everyone.” He looked at Ben and Joe. “You’re welcome to leave. As my dragon, I’m immune to fae balls, but the rest of you…” He didn’t have to say more. They all knew a fae ball could incinerate a man.
“You have to ask?” Ben’s soft voice was dangerous. “You took an earth fada in when I had nowhere else to go. That makes you my brother. My cougar is itching to rip out their fucking throats.”
Joe had produced an iron dagger with an ivory handle from somewhere and was honing the already sharp blade against a whetstone. An iron blade to the heart was one of the few ways to kill a fae.
“I’m in.”
Nic’s chest warmed. He’d been a loner for more than a decade. It had been his own choice—his brother Dion had asked him to stay at Rock Run, but Nic knew he could never live under the rule of another man.
He’d thought he couldn’t trust anyone, but now he realized that he trusted all three men with his greatest treasure—Cassidy and Rianna. If something went wrong, they’d keep his family safe. Somehow, these men had become his friends, and he was grateful.
“Thank you,” he said gruffly. He took a charred stick from the fire and drew a rough map of the island on the floor. “The device is on the north side of the island about two hundred yards offshore.” He tapped the approximate spot.
“In that rocky section,” Marlin said.
“Exactly. I attached it to a spiny lobster twenty-five fathoms down.” Spiny lobsters preferred deep waters with hidden crevices where they could hide during the day. “You don’t need to know exactly where it is, just keep an eye on that area.”
Marlin guffawed. “Genius. The lobster will move around, so—”
“—they’ll think that it’s Cassidy underwater. It won’t fool them for long, but it will buy us some time once they arrive.”
Sea Dragon's Hunger: BAD Alpha Dads (The Fada Shapeshifter Series) Page 7