“It’s no laughing matter,” she whispered through gritted teeth. If she had to put up with Jasper watching her, then she was going to give him a show that he wouldn’t soon forget. Before her instructor could even tell her what to do, Julia had raised her magic ring high into the air.
“Magicae invado!” she yelled out. Sparks flew through the air from her ring, and her surprised instructor took a step back himself. Julia didn’t slow down. She yelled out another spell, and a shimmering magic shield surrounded her. She launched laser beams, smoke attacks, fire attacks, water attacks, and even force field attacks. She ducked, rolled, and somersaulted her way across the room as she attacked the imaginary enemy on the other side of the fitness studio. She never looked back at Jasper, even though she could sense his eyes on her. She felt like she was trying to prove something to him, although she wasn’t sure what. Perhaps she wanted him to see that she wasn’t someone worth messing with.
That thought was rather foolish, though, wasn’t it? Julia was quickly becoming an expert at magical defense, but even the strongest masters had difficulties in fighting against dragons. Dragon hide repelled magic attacks, and Jasper was widely known as the fiercest dragon warrior around. He had singlehandedly saved his entire clan from dark magic during the recent Great Dark War.
Still, Julia wanted him to see that she was more than just a pretty face. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t the type of girl who was easy to mess with. So she put on a show like nothing she’d ever done before. When she finally stopped and turned to face both her instructor and Jasper, she felt gratified to see looks of astonishment on both of their faces. She had impressed them both, and neither one of them was the kind of person who was easily amazed.
Julia bit back a smile as her instructor started a slow clap. She wanted to keep a serious look on her face, to show Jasper that this was no laughing matter. Still, she couldn’t keep from feeling a rush of pride when Jasper started clapping too. Julia was sweaty and panting, but her heart felt full. She’d managed to impress Jasper Moffatt, the Jasper Moffatt.
Take that, Dragon.
Chapter Four
Jasper was no fool. He knew that Julia’s performance last night had been intended to warn him off, not draw him closer. But her plan had severely backfired. All he’d been able to think about for the last twelve hours was the fact that Julia was smart, pretty, and fierce. She was exactly what he wanted in a woman. Why did she have to be pretty much the one woman on the planet who had no interest in him?
No matter, though. Jasper had a plan to change that. A plan that might be a bit extravagant, but what could he say? He never did anything half-assed.
That’s why he found himself at the door of Torch Lake’s most popular flower shop at six o’clock in the morning, banging on the door. A somewhat startled and completely annoyed wizard answered the door. She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and holding a giant travel mug in her hand. The smell of coffee wafting up from the mug made Jasper’s mouth water, but he forced himself not to think about how tired he was, or how much he wished he’d brought along his own travel mug of coffee.
“Good morning,” he said brightly as the door opened. The woman glared at him.
“Can’t you read? The store doesn’t open for another three hours.”
Jasper glanced at the sign in the window that listed the store’s hours, acting as though he’d just seen it for the first time.
“Right. Sorry. But this is an emergency.”
She arched an eyebrow. “An emergency? This is a flower shop. Not too many emergencies require flowers.”
“This one does. Can I come in?”
“No.”
“Please?”
She hesitated for a moment, perhaps weighing whether it would require more effort to get him to go away than it would to just hear him out. She must have decided the latter, because she finally let out a long sigh and opened the door wider. “Fine. But this better be good.”
Jasper flashed her a grateful smile and stepped inside the shop, which was surprisingly warm. He hadn’t realized how cold the early November morning was, even for a hot-natured dragon like himself. He hadn’t worn gloves this morning, and he rubbed his cold fingers together to warm them.
“I’m Jasper,” he began. “Jasper Moffatt.”
He saw a flicker of recognition and then awe pass across her face when she realized who he was, but she hid it quickly. Damn. His famous dragon shifter status wasn’t enough to make her forget that he was barging in three hours before the store opened.
“I’m Vickie. What do you want?”
“I need to impress a girl. Like really impress her.”
Vickie gave him a textbook “you’ve got to be kidding me” look. Jasper suddenly wondered if this hadn’t been the best plan, after all. But all women liked flowers, right? And he thought if he snuck an extra-big bouquet into Julia’s office before she got there this morning that she would realize how serious he was about her. But now he was rethinking this. Vickie was looking at him like he’d lost his marbles.
“Are you serious? You think it’s okay to shove your way into my shop at the crack of dawn just because you want to impress a girl? I’ve got news for you, buddy. At least ninety percent of my sales are from someone wanting to impress a girl. That doesn’t justify rudely interrupting me in the middle of morning prep.”
Jasper took a deep breath. Maybe this plan hadn’t been thought through completely, but he was here now, and he was going to make the best of it. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds, but I really need a big bouquet, and I need it by about seven-forty five this morning. So I couldn’t wait until the store opens at nine.”
He had done his best to sound meek and apologetic, but Vickie still looked pissed at him.
“When did you figure out you needed this bouquet?” she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him. “Couldn’t you have at least called the shop yesterday afternoon so I could work on it then? I can’t just drop all my morning prep to make a bouquet, especially a big, fancy one. Those things take time, you know?”
“I’ll pay you double whatever you normally charge.”
She still looked hesitant.
“Triple?”
The potential to make three times her normal fee must have been too much to resist. Her face relaxed a bit, and she threw her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Fine. But next time you need to impress a girl, do it during normal business hours, okay?”
“Okay. I will. And I’m really sorry to interrupt your morning like this.”
Vickie only grunted in reply, and turned to walk behind the front counter of the store. “So, what did you have in mind?” she called out over her shoulder.
Jasper grinned. Julia was going to be so impressed with him.
* * *
“What the hell, Jasper!”
Jasper nearly fell out of his seat as Julia stormed into the conference room, slamming the door behind her. He’d been scheduled to meet Julia here at nine, but he’d been sitting in this chair since just before eight o’clock. After dropping off the giant floral centerpiece that Vickie had put together for him, Jasper had come here to wait. He’d imagined all sorts of reactions when Julia found the flowers, but he definitely hadn’t imagined her rushing over here to yell at him.
“Um…” he wasn’t sure what to say. Was this about the flowers? Or maybe she hadn’t seen the flowers yet, and she was still mad at him for barging into her training session last night? Yes, that had to be it.
“Where do you get off putting a tropical rainforest’s worth of orchids on my desk?”
Nope, it was about the flowers.
“You don’t like them?”
“They’re beautiful. And entirely inappropriate.”
“I just wanted to thank you for being such a great host during my internship,” he said, trying to sound innocent. Trying to backtrack. Clearly, she wasn’t seeing the flowers as some noble gesture of devotion. I am so bad at this dating thing.
It’s so much easier when the girl is falling all over herself for me.
“I told you already: I’m not interested. So stop making things awkward.”
She was practically hissing at him now. And somehow, that made Jasper a little angry. He sat up straighter in his chair and crossed his arms.
“Don’t be so rude,” he said. “I’m sorry if I made things awkward, but I was only trying to do something nice for you. I’ve never met a woman who didn’t like flowers.”
She rolled her eyes upward and groaned. “I think you’ve never met a woman who told you she wasn’t interested, and you don’t know how to deal with it.”
“No! It’s just that I…” Jasper didn’t know what to say. Julia kind of had a point, and he hated that. He frowned at her. “I don’t understand why you won’t even give me a chance.”
She looked for a moment like she was about to yell at him again, but then she let out a long sigh again. “Okay, fine. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you a chance. I’ll go on one date with you. ONE. And if after that date I still don’t want to date you, you’ll agree to stop pestering me about this.”
Jasper grinned. Maybe those flowers hadn’t been a waste of money after all. “Deal. You’re in for a treat.”
Julia rolled her eyes again. “Whatever. Now, enough of these games. We have actual work to do today.”
Jasper nodded, but he knew he was going to have a hard time not spending the whole day thinking of his upcoming date with Julia. He was determined that there would be a second date. She wasn’t going to know what hit her.
No one could resist a dragon forever.
Chapter Five
Julia parked her car in the nearly-empty lakefront parking lot, relieved to see that Jasper wasn’t there yet. She needed a minute to compose herself before she had to face him, so she was glad she’d arrived early. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. After all, she’d only agreed to this date as a formality. Once she survived today and told Jasper she still wasn’t interested in him, he’d have no choice but to leave her alone. She knew enough about dragons and dragons’ honor to know that Jasper would never dream of breaking his promise. He’d given his word that this was it.
But even though she didn’t consider this a real date, she felt the flutter of nerves in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t dressed up much for this. She hadn’t worn any makeup, unless you counted her tinted chapstick. And her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. She hadn’t wanted to do anything to give Jasper the idea that she was trying to look good for him or impress him. But now, sitting alone in the parking lot, she was rethinking her decision. Jasper had never seen her without makeup. Was he going to think she was ugly? And why did she care? Wasn’t that the point of all this: to drive him away?
A sharp rap on her window made her jump, and she swung her head abruptly to see that Jasper was standing outside her window, grinning like a schoolboy who’d just been sent to recess. He looked handsome in his navy hoodie and relaxed fit jeans. His face had just a hint of stubble on it, which Julia found undeniably sexy. In fact, he looked about as sexy as she’d ever seen him right now. His relaxed outfit reminded her of the first night they’d met at the Winking Wizard. She’d thought he was handsome then, but that had been before she’d found out how annoyingly persistent he was.
Really, Julia? You’re complaining about a guy being interested enough in you to be persistent?
Julia pushed aside her troubled thoughts and forced a friendly smile onto her face. She had to get a hold of her emotions and act natural or she was never going to make it through this day. She took a deep breath and opened the door to her car, stepping out into the surprisingly warm sunshine. The high today was 68 degrees—unseasonably warm for Oregon in November. Julia was surprised that there weren’t more people out by the beach. Even though it was too cold to swim, it was plenty warm enough to enjoy a nice walk on the beach. Julia wondered if that’s what Jasper had planned for them. The thought made her want to roll her eyes. He hadn’t told her what they would be doing. He’d only said to dress warmly and comfortably, so Julia had opted for a hoodie and jeans, just like him. Maybe they were going on a hike? She really hoped he wasn’t going to try for some romantic stroll on the beach. That was so corny. Then again, the huge bouquet of flowers had been corny as well. Julia almost felt a little bad for Jasper. He was trying so hard to impress her, but romantic beaches and huge bouquets of flowers weren’t exactly her style.
“So, what are we doing?” she asked as she climbed out of the car.
“It’s a surprise. Come on.” He looked giddy, which only added to how handsome he was. There was something about a grown man being so excited that was downright adorable. Julia smiled despite herself, and followed him as he headed toward the beach. There was one other couple around, and they were sitting on a picnic blanket in the sand, admiring the lake as they drank from thermoses. Jasper was empty handed, though, so Julia was pretty sure he wasn’t planning a picnic. And it didn’t look like he intended a romantic stroll, either. As they walked along he picked up his pace so much that she had trouble keeping up with him. Her curiosity piqued, she practically jogged so that she wouldn’t be left behind. A few minutes later, he slowed as they approached a boat dock where one lone boat was parked. The sleek boat was painted with glittery blue paint, and it shimmered as it bobbed up and down slightly in the sunlit water. The words “Sapphire Diamond” were painted on the side in thick silver script.
“Here we go,” he said, pointing toward the boat. “Our ride for today.”
“The Sapphire Diamond?” Julia asked in a skeptical tone.
Jasper nodded proudly. “It’s my speedboat, and today is the perfect day to take her out on the lake. It’s relatively warm, but because it’s November nobody else has bothered to bring their boats out. We’ll have the whole lake to ourselves. Our own personal playground.”
Julia was mildly impressed. “This is your idea of a date?”
Jasper mistook the meaning behind her question, and his face fell. “You don’t like it?”
“No, no. I think it’s awesome. Way better than dinner at some boring old restaurant. Or, god forbid, a romantic picnic on the beach. This is much more my speed, no pun intended.”
Jasper grinned. “I knew you were special. Come on, climb in.”
Jasper helped her into the boat and handed her a life jacket, that silly, adorable grin never leaving his face. Julia suddenly felt a whole lot more excited about the day. What she’d thought was going to be a boring day, with a guy she wasn’t interested in fawning all over her, had suddenly turned into an adventure with a dragon shifter. Maybe Jasper wasn’t so bad after all. Sure, he might have overstepped his bounds a little with the flowers, and with inviting himself to her training session the other night. But he was smart, and fun—not to mention handsome. She’d enjoyed talking to him the first night they’d met, and as long as he didn’t get too pushy, this day might turn out to be enjoyable.
“All buckled in and ready?” Jasper asked. Julia nodded, her heart already pounding with excitement. And then, they were off, zooming across the lake at an ever increasing speed. The chilly spray from the lake misted Julia’s face, but she hardly noticed. The boat was incredible, responding smoothly to every little input from Jasper. It went so fast that every now and then it went airborne as it bounced across the waves. Jasper made several sharp, quick turns, and Julia shrieked in delight. Her heart pounded with adrenaline as they crisscrossed back and forth across the lake. Torch Lake was massive, and today, when it was completely empty of other boats, it looked even larger than normal. Julia had been out here on friends’ boats countless times before, but she’d never seen the lake this empty. Jasper was right: it was like having their own personal playground.
Julia lost track of time as they sped around, but all too soon Jasper was slowing the boat to a stop in the middle of the lake. He was grinning from ear to ear, and his cheeks were flushed pink from the cool lake breeze that had
been whipping against his face. His hair was mussed up, sticking out in every possible direction, but he had never looked more handsome.
“How did you like it?” he asked, glancing over at her. There was no undercurrent of trying to impress her in the question. It was a genuine inquiry. She could tell he loved this boat, and she figured that it probably made him happy whenever someone else loved it, too.
“I have to admit, I’m impressed. That was pretty awesome.”
His grin widened, and then he winked at her. “Good. And now, it’s time for our picnic. It’s not a romantic one on the beach, but I think it’s still going to be good.”
He took off his lifejacket and then climbed onto the long, flat back of the boat, where he popped a hatch and pulled out a small cooler. Julia had been so fascinated with the speedboat tour of the lake that she hadn’t realized it was past lunch time. All it took was the sight of the sandwiches Jasper pulled out to make her stomach growl. She felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, but thankfully he seemed to be too busy looking at the labels on the sandwiches to notice the noises her stomach was making.
“Roast beef and provolone or turkey and Swiss?”
“I’ll take turkey.”
He tossed her the turkey sandwich, then turned to look into the storage hatch again. He pulled out a couple of thick blankets before closing the hatch, then spread the blankets across the flat back of the boat.
“Come on. Our picnic blanket is ready.”
Julia smiled. She took off her lifejacket as well, then climbed onto the blankets with her turkey sandwich firmly in hand. She sat cross-legged as she unwrapped her sandwich and bit into it.
“Mmm. This is delicious.”
“From Magic Myle’s Deli. My favorite place in town for a sandwich. So far, at least. I guess I should reserve my judgment until I’ve lived here a little longer. Here, have a beer?”
Dragon Defying Page 3