“Can I ride on your back if I talk even sweeter?” Larisa followed him into the living room.
“For you, anything.” He sat down on the sofa and placed the dessert on a low coffee table.
“You can’t write me a blank check.” Larisa sat down next to him. “It’s not fair to either of us.”
He placed his hand on his thigh and turned to face her. “A shifter will do whatever it takes to make their mate happy.”
“But that’s not fair on you,” she insisted. “And I don’t want to be in a relationship where you don’t push back against what I want. That would be wrong. Especially if we do have children. I’d shoulder too much power and responsibility.”
“Possibly,” Ivan answered. “Although, if you think about it, I will do whatever it takes to make you happy, if you make a decision that I don’t think would accomplish that, then I’d disagree with you. Strongly.”
“The devil is in the details.” She leaned back on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m beginning to like you, dragon shifter.”
“I was worth the wait?” Ivan asked. “You spent a long time trying to find me. Do I live up to your expectations?”
“I didn’t exactly spend a long time looking for you in particular. I was looking for a dragon shifter, for sure. But any old dragon shifter would do.”
“Are you sure?” He reached forward and sliced into the cheesecake. “I think you have been waiting for me your whole life.”
“Let’s see if the cheesecake lives up to my expectations and work from there, shall we?” Larisa wasn’t ready to admit it to him, but Ivan was already beyond her wildest expectations.
Chapter Eight – Ivan
“Are you sure you don’t need to go back to the hotel?” Larisa asked as they left Ivan’s apartment. “If we’re leaving for the fae realm tomorrow, I can amuse myself if you need to go back there and make arrangements.”
Ivan glanced over his shoulder at his mate. “Are you having second thoughts about riding on my back?”
She shook her head, her expression deadly serious. “Never. I just don’t want to get off to a bad start with your family. The restaurant is important to you and the hotel. I don’t want you to have to choose between me and it.”
“There is no choice,” he replied.
Larisa stopped walking and wrapped her arms around her body. “I could go with Karros and Zara into the fae realm. They offered to take me. You could stay here and run the restaurant.”
Ivan turned around and went back to her. Placing his hands on her upper arms, he said, “I’m going with you. I thought we’d agreed on that.”
“We did,” she conceded. “But I thought it over when I was in the shower. And I wondered if perhaps we were taking the mate thing too far. No law says you have to come with me.”
“No, there’s no law. But I am coming.” He raised his eyes and looked at the moon. It was full, its rays casting a pale light over the town. “This is something we’re supposed to do together. I can feel it.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. If the fae really don’t like dragon shifters, then maybe it would be better if you stay here. What if Elise’s grandma...”
“What if she doesn’t trust me and keeps the information we need to herself?” He cocked his head on one side. “I can be very persuasive.”
Her eyes widened and she grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. “You are not going to force her to tell us. That’s really not a good idea.”
A small smile slid across his face. “I was thinking of going with puppy dog eyes.” He screwed up his mouth, his eyes round and misted with tears as he looked at his mate.
She slapped him across the arm. “Are you ever serious?”
He sighed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to him. Larisa didn’t object as she nestled against his chest. “I have been serious my whole life. But with you, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest. I feel free.”
Larisa rested her head on his shoulder. “I wish we were free. Free of the past. Free of the hold it has over us.”
Ivan stepped away from her and threaded his fingers through hers. “Let’s go make that wish official.”
“You really believe in these wishes?” Larisa smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Of course you believe in them. Why wouldn’t you when the town is filled with all kinds of supernatural things?”
“Shifters. Witches and warlocks do their spells, and we have a portal to the fae realm.” He cocked his head on one side. “So why not wishes?”
“I’m going to have to get used to suspending my beliefs.”
“Didn’t you have to do that when you found out dragon shifters were real?” Ivan hooked his hand under her elbow, and they strolled toward her car.
“I grew up with stories of dragon shifters. My dad made stories up, but he also told us about some of the things your dad did for other people. Your dad was my dad’s hero. I never once questioned that he wasn’t real. I knew there was no one else like him, that he was special.” She unlocked the car, and he opened the door for her.
“I wish I’d known him.” His lips were a thin line as he stared up at the moon. “But that is one wish that will never come true.”
Larisa got into the car and put the keys in the ignition. “My dad used to tell me stories about my mom, too. I suppose that brought her to life for me and Simon. Perhaps if my dad talked to you...”
“We spoke a little. But the loss seemed greater.” He leaned on the door and looked down at her. “It made me miss him before all of this started, I didn’t have a clue as to what kind of man my dad was. You can’t miss someone you don’t know existed.”
“My dad made him real when before he was just a ghost.” Larisa started the engine. “Come on. Let’s go to the beach and make our wishes. Then let’s fly. We can shake off this melancholy mood. Neither of us can change the past but we can make a new future together.”
“I like the sound of that.” He closed the car door and went around to the passenger side. Larisa was right, the future was theirs. Once they had figured out who the pendant belonged to, they could focus on their new lives together.
And the children we will bring into this world, his dragon said.
Children will heal us more than anything else, Ivan agreed. Watching them grow and learn.
He looked up at the moon one last time before he got in the car and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It was as if something was stirring, something just outside of the reach of his senses.
Another dragon? Ivan’s dragon flared his nostrils. I can’t smell a dragon. I can’t see a dragon. I can’t even sense one. Yet it’s like an itch I can’t scratch, I’m sure there’s one just on the peripheral of our senses.
We’re just on edge since we returned. Ivan sucked in the night air and cleared his head before pushing his senses out to their limit. He set his focus on the area across the ocean, where the dragon isle lay out of sight of even the strongest shifter senses.
Do you think the one we search for is out there? His dragon spewed fire, his simmering rage barely contained. Why doesn’t he show himself?
Perhaps he’s waiting, biding his time, Ivan suggested.
Biding his time for what? The dragon swung his massive head from side to side.
Until we’re at our weakest. Our most vulnerable.
Then what? The dragon’s eyes burned red as they reflected the fire. Do you think a dragon shifter would attack us in Wishing Moon Bay?
Ivan considered this for a moment. No, not without the risk of causing a rift between the people in Wishing Moon Bay and the dragons. But he could strike while we are in the world beyond.
Perhaps he’s hoping we’ll let our guard down and he’ll come and grab the pendant and destroy the evidence. With no pendant, there would be nothing connecting him to the deaths of our father and Murray.
“Hey, are you getting in the car, or do you plan on flying to the beach?”
Larisa ducked her head and studied Ivan for a moment. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he replied as he got into the car. “I was just looking at the moon.”
“So, the moon is prettier than me and grabbed your attention. I see I have work to do to keep you interested in me.” She put her foot on the gas as soon as Ivan was in his seat and shut the door.
“I’ll never not be interested in you,” Ivan replied.
Larisa smothered a smile as she drove away from the apartment, heading toward the beach. “Do I just head for your precious moon?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t need the moon to shift?” Larisa side-eyed him. “I know other shifters don’t, but since you are so preoccupied with the moon, I wondered if you do.”
“Nope, I can shift whenever and wherever I want.” He held up his hand to the moon’s rays as they shone through the windshield. “But there is something special about the full moon. It stirs my blood.”
“The moon’s power is part of many beliefs and cultures. The witches in Wishing Moon Bay must be out in force tonight.” She leaned forward in her seat. “Is that the parking lot?”
Ivan snapped his head around and nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”
“Are we likely to see witches riding on their broomsticks tonight?” She got out of the car and stretched, her heartbeat quickening as she held out her arms and tilted her face upwards so that the moon bathed her in its pale ethereal light.
“They don’t ride on broomsticks. That’s another myth you can blame on movies and books. The witches work their magic using the elements, they can bend nature to their will, but they cannot defy the laws of physics.” Ivan waited for Larisa to lock the car and then held out his hand to her.
She went to him, placing her hand in his without hesitation.
“And shifting? Isn’t that bending the law of physics?” Larisa curled her fingers tighter around his hand.
I think I need to cool down in the ocean, his dragon said. It’s a little too hot this evening.
Ivan hid a smile. His dragon never complained about the heat. But then they’d never experienced this kind of heat. The kind that set his skin on fire as if he had a fever and set his nerves on edge as if they were exposed to the air. His body tingled with desire as if each inch of his skin craved her touch.
“Shifting is the most natural thing in the world,” Ivan replied.
“To a shifter.” Larisa followed him toward the steps leading down to the beach but then she stopped and stared up at the sky. “I’ve never seen the moon look so big.”
She slipped away from him and held out her arms, twirling around, laughing at her moonlight shadow. Ivan watched, mesmerized by her, she was like a playful child. A broad smile spread over his face, and he took a step toward her and then another. Reaching for her hand, he reveled in her touch and caught her infectious laugh as he twirled around with her. She made him feel young and free, as if life didn’t have to be so serious. He’d spent so many years working hard in the restaurant, building his business, that he’d forgotten what it’s like to have fun.
When he was a child, he and his brothers were lighthearted, they found joy in the smallest of things. A bubbling stream, the leaves swaying in the breeze, the warm sun on their backs as they tried to catch fish with their bare hands. Why had those small joys escaped him?
“I want to paddle in the ocean.” Larisa turned her face to him, her joy shining in her eyes as she dragged him toward the steps leading to the beach. With a leap, she jumped from the top to the bottom, landing in the soft sand with bent knees and a quick glance over her shoulder. Then she ran toward the ocean, her hair streaming behind her as the moon’s rays caught the silver strands of her hair. She was more elf-like than ever as she reached the edge of the ocean and pulled off her shoes before frolicking in the waves. Water droplets splashed around her as she held out her hands to him. “Come on, the water is amazing.”
“Amazingly cold,” he replied as he slipped off his shoes and dipped his toes in the ocean.
“You’re a dragon shifter. I thought you would have hot blood.” She tilted her head to one side, teasing him before she looked up at the moon once more.
“I am hot-blooded.” He reached her, the bottoms of his jeans wet as the water swirled around his calves.
“It feels as if I’ve come home.” Larisa was suddenly serious as she lowered her gaze and locked her eyes with his.
Ivan swallowed hard, her beauty unrivaled as the moon illuminated her face. “You are home.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never been here before. I know I haven’t. Yet it feels as if this is where I was always meant to be.”
“Maybe it’s because we are mates.” Ivan had never heard of a shifter’s mate having the same experience, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t.
Larisa shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Shall we go find a wish stone before your feet freeze off?” He held out his hand to her.
“My feet are just fine, thank you.” Larisa reached for his hand, and they headed out of the water. “But I do want to make a wish.”
“Does that mean you believe in them now?” Ivan glanced up and down the beach. A few other people were milling around, and a couple of wolves were running toward the caves farther along the beach.
“How can I not believe in wishes and magic on a night like this?” Larisa grabbed her shoes and padded after him. “Do we have to search the tide line for the wish stones?”
“They’ll be hard to find on this section of the beach. This is where most people look during the day.” He pointed in the direction of the wolves. “There are usually wish stones to be found farther around the headland.”
“Are you going to protect me from the big bad wolves?” Larisa teased.
“I’ll protect you from anything,” Ivan replied. “But they wouldn’t attack you anyway.”
“Why, because they know you’re a mighty dragon?”
“No, because if they attacked you, they would likely be thrown into jail and then out of town. The authorities are pretty hot on that kind of thing.” He cocked his head to one side. “Although, the mighty dragon angle would work, too.”
“It feels as if I’m living in a fairy tale.” She leaned on his shoulder as they strolled along the beach. “Am I going to wake up and find this was all a dream?”
“No.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. “This is real, and I am never letting you go.”
“Then we’d better find one of the wish stones and wish that we find the answers we need so we can move on with our lives.” Sadness filled her voice as she sighed heavily. “I don’t want to end up like my dad. I don’t want us to become so wrapped up in trying to find answers that we forget to live our lives.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Ivan stopped walking and took hold of her hands. “We belong together. We trust each other.”
“We have only just met,” she reminded him.
“That makes no difference.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hands. “Right here, beneath the moon, we have to promise each other that we will walk away. If we go to the fae realm and don’t get any answers, we come back here and try to figure out our next move. But if we hit a wall, if there’s no way to move forward, we let it go.”
Her mouth turned down at the corners. “What about my dad? I swore I’d clear his name.”
Ivan lifted his hand and threaded it through her hair before he rested his forehead on hers. “He could move here, he could come to Wishing Moon Bay and watch his grandchildren grow up. Wouldn’t that bring him more happiness?”
She nodded. “Yes. It would.”
Larisa cupped his face in her hand and leaned forward, her lips brushing his. Ivan circled her waist with his arm and pulled her close, their moonlight shadows joined as one as they kissed.
Chapter Nine – Larisa
“So, what exactly do these wish stones look like?” Larisa took a deep breath as she pu
lled away from Ivan.
She pressed her fingers to her lips as she turned away from him and stared into the gathering darkness.
The moon overhead seemed to grow brighter, their shadows were longer as she looked along the beach. Wait. Was that a group of bears running ahead of them? She hadn’t spotted them before. How could she have missed them?
Larisa reminded herself that she was with a dragon shifter and if he shifted, he would likely burn them to a crisp if they attacked them.
“Wish stones are flat pebbles that are usually gold-colored. They aren’t valuable at all other than for the wishes they are supposed to make come true.” Ivan walked along the beach with his eyes to the ground.
“You really believe they make wishes come true, or is it more of a tradition?” Larisa followed behind Ivan, kicking at the ground if she saw something promising. “Oh!”
“Do you have one?” Ivan swung around to face her.
“Is this one?” She dusted the sand off and held it out to him on her open palm.
“It is.” He nodded his head as he picked it up between his finger and thumb and held it up to the moon.
“They are so pretty. It seems a shame to throw it in the ocean.” She closed her hand around it as he dropped it back into her palm.
“You can keep it. We can always look for more.” He stood before her, full of patience.
“Are you going to make a wish, too?” She held up her hand. “Please don’t say all your wishes have come true now that you have your mate.” She tilted her head as she surveyed him. “You could wish this would all go away. That would be a good wish.”
“You’re right. On both counts.”
“Of course I am.” She skipped ahead of him, following the tide line as she searched for more stones.
“And modest, too.” Ivan ran to catch up with her.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight. It’s as if the moon has intoxicated me.”
“Or maybe it’s because your mate is here.” He patted his chest and winked.
“Now who is being modest?” Larisa shivered as excitement thrilled her. She wasn’t joking when she said it was as if the moon intoxicated her. Coming to the beach and looking at the moon had kickstarted her senses. It was as if she were on the edge of a precipice about to jump off.
The Dragon Shifter's Desire: A Wishing Moon Bay Shifter Romance Page 6