At least, that’s what he told himself.
“Nothing, nothing,” Emerson waved off Liam’s concerns. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Bullshit.” Liam picked up a beer. “You want to know more about my sister.”
Spot. On.
“Well, since you brought her up…”
“Oh, cut the crap, Emerson,” Liam glared at the dragon. Though fully human, he wasn’t the least bit scared of Emerson. Emerson liked that about the young man. Most of the dragons, young and old, were terrified of him. It was nice to have someone around who wasn’t afraid to stand up to him.
“You-“
“No.” Liam cut him off. “You are going to listen to me. You can’t fuck with my sister, Emerson. I don’t give a rat’s ass that you’re the dragon king or whatever your groupies call you. You are not going to break my sister’s heart. You’re not going to treat her like she’s just another conquest.”
Emerson opened his mouth, but for the first time in his adult life, he was speechless. Liam had nailed him. Liam had utterly and completely nailed him. Emerson was a player. He did use women.
But he wouldn’t do that with Janae.
He didn’t even know what he wanted with Janae.
And maybe that was the problem.
Liam could see through Emerson’s bullshit because Liam wasn’t a dragon. He wasn’t a member of the clan. He wasn’t afraid of being murdered or banished over a stupid dragon argument the way most of the clan members were.
Liam stared at Emerson, as if willing him to protest, as if simply waiting for Emerson to try to defend himself.
But the words didn’t come.
Emerson realized, at that moment, he couldn’t simply feel like a changed dragon. He had to actually be a changed dragon.
The problem was that Emerson didn’t know what he was. He had literally just slept with someone whose name he could no longer remember. He had just had Janae give him a ride home because he couldn’t fly back in the daylight and didn’t want to spend any more time with his conquest.
He had just done these things, yet here she was. Here Janae was. She was beautiful and sweet and interesting. When was the last time Emerson had met a girl who was interesting? He couldn’t even remember.
His silence weighed heavily in the room. Liam, ever the patient one, said nothing. Emerson knew that Liam had learned a lot living near the dragons. He had certainly learned a lot working with them. Emerson just hadn’t counted on the fact that an ordinary human would be able to so perfectly articulate what a dragon’s biggest flaws were.
But if Liam could pinpoint the problem, maybe he could also help solve it.
Emerson wanted to ask for help, but it wasn’t really his thing. He had been a tough dragon for a long time. He’d fought his way up from nothing and he’d been at the top for as long as he could remember. There was a problem, though. It was lonely at the top.
Ruling the clan meant nothing without someone to share it with. Emerson had thought for a long time that he would be happiest without anyone to take care, but now he thought differently.
Now he thought he might like to take care of things with a lovely human woman at his side.
But he had to convince her brother he was worthy.
“Liam,” Emerson started. He really had nothing to lose. If he pissed off Liam, he pissed off Liam. Surely the human wouldn’t stop talking to him simply for asking for help. Emerson could tell from the anger radiating off Liam that the human wasn’t very keen on the idea of Emerson chasing after his sister.
Then again, would Emerson want a man-slut like himself chasing after his sister?
Doubtful.
“I like your sister,” Emerson said bluntly. “She’s interesting and fun and she doesn’t put up with my crap.”
“You mean she didn’t blow you the first time you met.”
“That, too.”
“What do you want from me?” Liam glared at the dragon. He was not happy about this conversation. Unfortunately for both of them, Emerson wasn’t sure how to make it not-weird.
“I want to know how I can impress your sister.”
“And why should I help you?” Liam scooted so he was sitting up against the back of the couch. He let his bum leg slide to the floor. He looked almost normal sitting like this, almost scary.
But Emerson still towered over Liam, could chew his head off in one bite.
Emerson had conquered the dragon world and even though he loved Liam, he could kill him before the little human ever knew what hit him.
No, Liam’s physical strengths were not why he had come to the human.
His knowledge of Janae was.
“Because your sister is the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met.”
Liam looked the dragon up and down.
“Let’s get started.”
**
When Janae returned from her laundry list of errands, she was exhausted. No, “exhausted” wasn’t a strong enough word. She was practically dead.
Her feet hurt, her legs hurt, and her arms hurt.
She was tired, she was sore, and she was cranky.
Janae’s sour mood turned even darker when she walked into Liam’s house and saw him laughing on the couch.
Emerson was across from him.
What? Were they best buddies now, all of a sudden? Janae had barely heard her brother say two words about the dragon lord of all, and now they were hanging out until midnight, drinking beer and talking about – what? What were they even talking about?
Janae marched loudly into the room and the men both turned to stare at her.
“Hey sis,” Liam held up his beer. “Want one? Liam and I were just-“
“No,” she cut him off. “Thank you. I’m tired.” She turned to Emerson and put her hands on her hips. “He’s hurt, you know. You should probably let him get some rest instead of keeping him up all night.”
She tried not to think about the way Emerson’s shirt was too tight for his skin. She tried not to think of the fact that he had probably arrived naked. His muscles rippled beneath the fabric. Yes, literally rippled.
And he was looking at her curiously.
Fuck.
His fucking dragon nose was probably sensing that she wasn’t just angry with him.
She was turned on, too.
Before Janae could say anything stupid, before Emerson could leap up and try to talk to her, before Janae threw herself at the man while her helpless brother sat on the couch and watched, she turned and ran upstairs.
Yes, Janae scurried away like a teenage girl. Or, more appropriately, like a little scaredy cat, which is exactly what she was.
7
“Today you have to deliver a box to Mrs. Franklin. She runs the-“
“Trinket shop. Yeah. We’ve met.”
Janae did not want to deliver a box to Mrs. Franklin. She didn’t want to go to Dragon Isle, she didn’t want to be in charge of her brother’s boat, and she certainly didn’t want to deal with a cranky old coot who wouldn’t know a polite word if it bit her in the ass.
“You don’t seem very happy about your day, sis. Why is that?” Liam asked innocently. His perch on the couch was now surrounded by neatly stacked cans of soda. There were two stacks in pyramid shapes. One held cans that had never been opened. The other held cans that had already been drunk.
“I don’t like dragons,” Janae told him firmly. She had to work hard to make sure her voice didn’t come out in a whine. Despite trying her best, she knew by the look on Liam’s face that she hadn’t succeeded.
“Well,” Liam said cheerfully, “I really appreciate you coming all this way to help me.”
Her face fell as she realized she’d been so consumed with Emerson’s hot body that she had almost completely forgotten about her life. She hadn’t even checked in with Evelyn to see how Courtney was handling her work. She hadn’t even looked at apartments or houses in Strathmore Falls. She hadn’t done anything.
“W
hat is it?” Liam asked gently.
Janae hesitated for just a brief moment, then she decided to just come clean with her brother. She knew she could trust him. As kids, they’d shared everything with one another. They were still like that.
Mostly.
“I need to find a place to live and I haven’t been doing any house hunting,” she admitted. “Since I got here, I’ve basically just been focused on you and pleasing ol’ dragon butt.”
“You’ve been here like, a couple of days, sis.”
“Yeah, but I can’t believe I’ve been focused completely on running your errands and making the dark dragon happy.”
“Holy shit, how many different nicknames do you have for him?”
“As many as I need.”
“You like him.”
“A bit more than I ought to.”
“I think he likes you, too.”
“I know he does.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Janae looked at her hands and her feet and the walls. She looked at the ceiling and the floor and the weird stray hair that hung down over Liam’s eyes. Did that really not bother him? How? Should she grab a pair of scissors and just –
“Janae!” Liam’s voice was growly.
“What?”
“What the fuck? You seriously just spaced out.”
“I got nervous!”
“About fucking what?”
“About the fact that I seriously like this freak and I’ve only known him a few days!”
Liam sat back and put his hands behind his head with a smug expression on his face. He crossed his legs and put them up on the coffee table. He didn’t wince, she noticed, though he was still favoring his bum leg. Maybe he’d get better sooner than they hoped.
Maybe she’d get to go back to normalcy.
“What are you so afraid of?” Liam asked. “Emerson is nice enough. He’s got a good job. He’s handsome. What’s holding you back?”
“Why do you think something’s holding me back?”
Why, oh why, did she think she could lie to her brother? She sucked at it when they were kids and she was sure awful now.
“I think you’re scared of letting yourself have something good,” Liam said simply. “You were hurt when Mom and Dad died and you blamed yourself. It wasn’t your fault, but you don’t care about the facts, do you? You like being the victim. You get off on it.”
“Liam!” What the fuck was he going on about? Seriously? Coming from him? She had done everything in her power to make sure Liam had a normal life after their folks died. They had split the money from the estate and gone their separate ways, always keeping in touch but never forcing their lives on one another.
What more had he wanted from her?
And yes, she had blamed herself. That wasn’t going to end anytime soon, but victim? Really? Was that how Liam saw her?
Was that how Emerson saw her?
“Oh, spare me the feigned shock bullshit,” Liam said. And for the first time, Janae realized that maybe he hadn’t asked her to come for him.
Maybe he’d asked her to come for her.
Maybe he’d known she needed something.
Maybe he’d known she needed this.
“You’re living life in a bubble, Janae. You never take any risks, do you? Do you?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. You probably know the complete medical history of every guy you sleep with. You probably run background checks on your dates before dinner. Hell, you probably interview the guys before you even agree to spend time with them. And for what? So you can live alone in some crap motel while you work at a library that doesn’t care enough to give you a decent salary?”
“It’s not-“
“Like that. I know. It never is. But you know what, Janae? At some point, you have to decide what’s more important: being scared or being happy. You’re never going to stumble upon happiness living in a tiny hillbilly town where you do the same thing every single day. You work with the same people, shelving the same books, walking the same aisles. And for what? The emotional satisfaction of being bored?”
“Hey! That’s not fair!” She slapped her hand against the wall. The noise echoed throughout the room, but it didn’t matter. She knew hitting her hand made her look stupid. She just didn’t care. “I do a lot of good in that town! I work my ass off for those people.”
“I know you do.”
Janae was shocked at Liam’s nonchalant tone.
“Then why are you giving me so much shit about it?”
“Because sometimes, doing good for other people isn’t just doing good for other people, Janae. Sometimes doing good is just a way to hide. Sometimes people do good deeds not because they want to be kind, but because they’re too afraid to take risks.”
“And you think I’m too scared?”
“I know it.”
**
Janae picked up the box she needed to deliver and headed down to the docks. When she arrived, she noticed the skies had darkened considerably. Maybe there was a storm coming in.
She walked up to the harbor master’s shack and knocked on the door. Willie opened it quickly and eyed the skies before turning to her.
“There’s a storm brewin’,” Willie said. “You shouldn’t go to Dragon Isle. Might be stuck there all night.”
Janae looked at the box she had tucked under arm and glanced toward the tiny boat. She didn’t much want to go and this was the perfect excuse to stay home. She could head back to Liam’s, watch movies, and order pizza.
In other words, she could continue leading her boring life.
But Janae didn’t really want that.
Janae wanted the adventure.
Besides, the old woman needed whatever was in this box enough to pay an emergency delivery fee. That had to count for something, right?
Janae made up her mind, then turned to Willie. The old man was watching her curiously, with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.
“Listen,” she told him. “I have an important delivery I need to make. If I don’t come back tonight, and it looks like I might not, please call Liam and check on him, okay?”
“Anything you need, miss. Will the man require sustenance?” Now Willie’s eyes were twinkling.
Janae rolled hers.
“I’m sure he has enough potato chips and soda to last him until the middle of next year. He’ll be fine until I get back, but thanks, Willie.”
Janae headed toward the boat, dropped the box in, and climbed inside. Willie waved as she pulled away from shore. The sky was already darker than when she’d arrived at the docks and she still had a bit of a ways to go.
She steered carefully through the waves. They were quickly getting bigger and she knew she didn’t have much time before the storm really started.
By the time she pulled into shore at Dragon Isle, the tiny motorboat was struggling in the strong waters. She docked carefully, trying not to slam the boat against the dock itself. She wasn’t a particularly skilled boater, but she really didn’t want to damage Liam’s pride and joy.
Janae hurriedly tied up the boat, checking to make sure her knots were secure, then grabbed the box and headed for Mrs. Franklin’s shop. Just as she ducked into the tiny shop, the skies opened up and sheets of rain began to pelt against the roof.
Mrs. Franklin looked up in surprise at Janae’s entrance.
“Why, Janae,” the woman said. “I didn’t think you were going to come, what with the storm and all. She came out from behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. “Are you all right, dear?”
Janae nodded, but she knew her teeth were chattering much too loudly for her lie to work. She was wet from the ride over. Like an idiot, she hadn’t worn a raincoat and was completely soaked from the water that had sloshed into the boat from the unusually high waves.
Luckily, Mrs. Franklin’s box was mostly dry. Janae had covered it with a little tarp for the ride over.
She han
ded it to the woman.
Mrs. Franklin set the box on the counter without even looking at it.
“Sweetie, you’re going to get sick. Come on in, now, let’s get you cleaned up.” To Janae’s surprise, the elderly dragon flipped the shop’s sign from “Open” to “Closed” and gently guided Janae through the store.
At the back of the shop, nestled between a rack of postcards and a shelf of miniature music boxes, was a large wooden door.
Mrs. Franklin turned the knob, pushed Janae through, and followed her into the narrow hallway. The two women followed the hallway in silence until they reached a staircase. Janae carefully began to climb the stairs, still not understanding why the woman was suddenly being nice to her.
She was also painfully aware that she was dripping water on the perfectly polished wooden stairs. She cringed with each drop, feeling more and more uncomfortable until Mrs. Franklin finally sighed loudly.
“Sweetheart, you’re overwhelming me with your guilty scent. If it’s the floor you’re worried about, you can stop right now. If it’s something else, you can tell me once I’ve gotten you warmed up with a cup of tea.”
Fucking dragons.
Janae rolled her eyes as she remembered how perfect their scenting abilities were. Mrs. Franklin was right. Janae hadn’t done anything wrong and a towel would quickly get any water drops from the stairs.
The top of the stairwell opened into a large, open studio. The room was obviously the same size as the shop downstairs, but was large and roomy and airy. The storm raged outside and water pelted loudly against the windows, which shook.
Would they break?
Janae pictured glass shards shattering throughout the room and slicing her and Mrs. Franklin to bits.
She shuddered at the thought.
“Don’t you worry about those,” Mrs. Franklin said when she followed Janae’s gaze. “They’ve seen worse.” She grabbed a couple of towels and a set of pajamas from a drawer. Then she pushed them into Janae’s hands and pushed her into the bathroom. “Take a hot shower and come out when you’re done.”
Then she closed the door in Janae’s face.
Dragon Isle Book Bundle 1-3: My Lord and Dragon, The Dragon Fighter, and A Dragon's Bite Page 18