by Chant, Zoe
Her answer made his eyes light up with hope, which in turn made her stomach tight with a sudden, helpless want again.
“And I think I want to see that ocean town of yours.”
Chapter Eight: Timothy
They’d quickly grabbed some of Liana’s things from her apartment. The fire dragons hadn’t shown, but even so Timothy didn’t want to take any chances. He didn’t take his eyes off Liana even for a second, and fifteen minutes later, they left her apartment with a bag full of her clothes and her laptop.
“My boss won’t mind,” she said. “We’re pretty relaxed about people working from home—at least for us coders. I think it’s because none of our bosses get what we’re doing anyway. I swear, my boss thinks writing code is like doing magic spells, but it’s just boring work most of the time. Anyway, I’ll send him a note that I caught a cold and will log into work from home for a few days. Wait—you’ve got Wi-Fi in your magical town, don’t you? No, don’t worry, I’ve got a data plan on my phone that’ll cover me—”
“It’s all right,” Timothy interrupted, laughing at the way she got completely carried away whenever she talked about her work. “The town’s not all that magical. We’ve got high speed internet. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do any work myself, you know.”
Liana snapped her fingers. “Of course! I forgot, you’re Mr. High Stakes Investment Billionaire.”
“I guess,” Timothy said, still laughing. “If that’s what you want to call it. It’s a dragon thing, though. We love treasure. And I figured I better get a good handle on the 21st century way of hoarding treasure. Don’t want to leave it all to you humans.”
“So does that mean you’ve got a cave full of gold in Switzerland? The Caymans?”
Timothy shook his head. “The cave’s nearby. I’d love to show it to you one day. But the hoard in Switzerland and the Caymans is just numbers, bank accounts. Oh, and the latest big thing—cryptocurrency.” He chuckled. “This is going to sound arrogant, but I like to play the game of the bankers and then funnel the money into the things they like to destroy. Environmental causes, mostly—my element is the water, so I support a lot of charities that work for clean oceans and rivers. It’s a cause that’s very close to my heart.”
“Too good to be true,” Liana muttered darkly, but the look she gave him was warm.
“So are dragons,” he murmured, “and you know what you’ve learned about those.”
“That they’re a lot more violent and bent on destruction than my game would make you think?” she shot back.
Timothy laughed. “That they’re real. And that some—most of them, really—want to live in peace with humans and shifters.”
Liana made a thoughtful sound, although her eyes were still warm as she looked at him.
He’d win her over yet. It just wouldn’t be his charm that did it.
It seemed that Liana actually wanted to know more about the real him. The person he hid behind his tales of flirting with supermodels and spending his nights in clubs.
The part of him that felt actual pain at the sight of a polluted river. The part who’d worked for years in the background, supporting causes and charities that helped the oceans and the humans who lived from it.
It was a bit scary to imagine stripping away this entire facade he’d built for years, and to let her look beneath. But if that was what it took to make her stay, it would be worth it...
“Anyway, shouldn’t we get started on that journey? How will your fire dragon make it?” she asked.
Timothy nodded at the distant silhouette of the Dragon Tower. “We’ll pick him up back home.”
***
They made the drive back to the Dragon Tower in record time. Braeden was looking annoyed, although Timothy didn’t think he had any reason to complain. After all, he wasn’t getting locked into his suite this time.
“Everyone ready?”
Liana nodded. They were standing on the roof of the building, wind pulling at their hair.
Timothy grinned at Liana, a part of him excited at being able to show off again.
Then he shifted. Energy rushed through his body. A second later, he spread his wings, the dragon within him exhilarated at the chance to finally visit the ocean again.
Liana was staring at him open-mouthed. Then she broke into a grin, slowly shaking her head.
“My Ocean Dragon,” she murmured. “I still can’t believe you’re real.”
Gallantly, Timothy went to his knees, lowering one of his wings so that she could comfortably climb onto his back. He kept still while she settled into place, securing her gym bag with her clothes around her body so that it wouldn’t fall off.
Then Braeden came closer, reaching out for his wing to crawl up himself—only for Timothy to lift his wing just in time. He snaked his head around to smirk at Braeden, who glared at him in silent outrage.
Then Timothy lifted off. Liana gasped in shock, holding on tight to the ridges at his neck, while beneath him, Braeden sputtered.
“If you leave me here, I’m going to run up your pay-per-view bill by renting porn movies, and I’ll tell everyone that it was you,” Braeden called out in annoyance.
With a smirk on his face, Timothy dove down again. Then he snatched up Braeden with his claws, carrying him up into the sky in his hand.
“Asshole,” Braeden muttered, although he stopped struggling against his grip almost immediately.
With the dragonsbane and obsidian bracelets blocking his powers, falling out of the sky wasn’t a good idea.
Letting Braeden fall was at very tempting idea for Timothy, on the other hand—but he didn’t enjoy the idea of the chimera scolding him for his rashness.
Still, he might have promised to watch over the fire dragon, but no one had said that he deserved a comfortable journey.
Chapter Nine: Liana
The journey was amazing. The first time a dragon had snatched her up into the sky, she’d nearly died of terror.
But this was something different. As much as a part of her had been a little wary of dragons after being nearly killed by them, riding on a dragon’s back was the most amazing adventure she’d ever had.
Not that she’d had that many adventures to compare this to, outside of video games and playing Dungeons & Dragons at college.
Still, to ride on Timothy’s back was incredible. No book or game came close to it. It was all real—she could taste the wind on her tongue, see the city get smaller and smaller below her, the ocean spreading blue and mysterious on the horizon.
Every time Timothy beat his wings, she could feel the dragon’s muscles shifting beneath her. Now, for the first time, she could truly appreciate his strength.
The feeling was incredible. She’d never felt anything like it before. It wasn’t like being on a plane at all—this was raw power, keeping them aloft with every powerful beat of the dragon’s large wings. Beneath her, blue-green scales shimmered in the sunlight. The wind teased at her hair. They were so high up that she could no longer make out single cars—just the dark lines of roads leading out of the city, and the blue stream of the river winding its way towards the coast.
Even though Timothy had to be flying very fast, she didn’t feel scared at all. It was remarkably comfortable on his back. The scales weren’t pointy or cold; instead, his body gave off a warmth that surrounded her. It felt quite cozy on his back, despite the wind, and after a while, she loosened her grip on his ridges.
The sun was shining into her face now. The ocean had come closer. She could see it stretch in front of her, with large ships in the distance and the white dots of smaller yachts close to the shore.
She took a deep breath. She could almost smell it now: the salt of the water, the warm sand, sun lotion and ice cream that melted faster than you could eat it...
Timothy swerved to the right.
For a while, they followed the curve of the shore, soaring far above the vacation homes and sprawling hotels.
At last, something seemed
to come up in front of them.
The beach curved out into the ocean—no, it was a peninsula, she saw when they came closer.
Timothy was flying lower now, and she could see that only one small road led onto the peninsula. All around, it was surrounded by the deep blue water of the ocean.
She could see generous beaches, white in the sunlight. The center of the peninsula was green—and there were houses everywhere, from small bungalows to the sort of large family home she’d expect to find in a suburb.
There were houses near the beaches too, here and there, a few of them built on wooden stakes directly above the water.
Timothy was flying so low now that she could make out single leaves in the trees right below them.
In front of them, the western tip of the peninsula was coming up. And there, on the white sand and over the bright, blue water, someone had built a mansion sprawling into all directions, with generous balconies equipped with wooden ladders that led straight into the tempting water.
Timothy tilted his wings. They slowed down even more, until it seemed as if they were hanging motionless in the air. And then, he landed, so gently that she didn’t even feel the impact.
Excited, she leaned forward, staring at the sprawling house over the dragon’s neck. Timothy went to his knees again, spreading his left wing for her.
When she descended, she found that Braeden had been released from Timothy’s claws as well. He was standing next to the dragon, looking decidedly pissed off.
Liana felt almost sorry for him—she’d definitely not enjoyed her first experience of being swept up into the sky by a dragon’s large, clawed hand.
On the other hand, he was a dragon, too, so it was probably less scary for him.
Next to her, the large body of the dragon began to shimmer. A second later, Timothy stood by her side again, a smile on his face as he took a deep breath.
“I’ve missed the ocean,” he said quietly, his eyes shining with the intense blue of a sapphire once more.
“Why don’t you live here all the time?” Liana asked curiously. “If you’re the dragon of water...”
“I like rivers and lakes just as much.” Timothy grinned at her. “And as much as I love this town we’ve built, I couldn’t live here all the time, or I’d go crazy. I need my city breaks once in a while. But I always come back. Without the ocean, I think I’d go mad, too.”
Liana turned towards where waves were gently lapping at the shore.
Above them, gulls were circling, their cries filling the air. The breeze smelled like salt water, and the sun was warm on her skin.
It was absolutely quiet and peaceful. There wasn’t the sound of a single car to be heard. It was completely unlike the constant chaos of traffic and noise that she was used to. It felt a little as if Timothy had carried her straight to a tropical paradise.
“It’s not all that warm,” he said, as if he knew what she’d been thinking. “I wouldn’t suggest taking a swim in winter. But during the rest of the year, you’d be surprised by how nice the water is...”
“I wonder who’s behind that,” Braeden said, rolling his eyes at Timothy.
Timothy shrugged. “The ocean loves me. It’s just a gentle little nudge. No harm done. Just means that we get more time to enjoy the beaches here than most places. But then, there aren’t many other beaches where shifters can play and shift, so it all works out.”
“You’re far too proud of yourself,” Braeden said grimly.
Timothy smirked. “So would you be, if you’d actually managed to create a community where people want to live.”
“So you’ve got lots of shifters here?” Liana stared up at the gulls circling above.
Timothy followed her gaze, then raised a hand to wave to them.
“Nice weather today,” Timothy shouted into the wind.
As one, the gulls lifted their left wings, dipping down a little before soaring back up.
“That’s Mrs. Adkins and her brood,” he said. “Not all are her kids, of course. But the gull shifters love it here. She’s got so many nieces and nephews and distant cousins around by now that I’ve lost count.”
“Oh,” Liana said a little weakly, staring up at the gulls again. “I guess that makes sense...”
“We’ve got the shifters you’d expect to see in a shifter town,” Timothy continued as he led them into his house. “Werewolves, lion shifters—no bear shifters right now. Tim the grizzly found his mate and moved back with her into the mountains last month. I was sad to see him go. He was our dentist.”
“Oh,” Liana said again, suddenly imagining herself opening her mouth wide while a bear inspected her teeth with a tiny mirror. “That’s... nice for him.”
“Got another dentist planning to move here next month, though,” Timothy continued happily. “Snake shifter. Seems like the sort of profession they’d pick, doesn’t it?”
Liana nodded, feeling overwhelmed when the bear in her mind warped into a giant snake hissing at her as it held up a drill.
“Uh, anyway. You got any...” She searched desperately for something that would take her mind off that image. “Any coffee shops around here?”
“The best coffee,” Timothy promptly said. “Chameleon Coffee. Well, their latest barista is a coyote girl—honestly, I still think they hired her mostly because she fit the requirement of animal starting with a C. But she’s fitting in nicely with the chameleon kids, you wouldn’t believe it. Probably also helps that she isn’t scared when one of the werewolves wanders into town.”
Liana blinked, imagining a werewolf standing on its hind legs at the coffee counter.
She still wasn’t quite certain if Timothy was just making fun of her, or if it was all true...
“Anyway, the wolves keep to themselves. They’ve got a little house by the water, just behind that bend. They don’t really disturb anyone. It’s just two old guys who wanted to retire by the ocean. A bit taciturn—sometimes there’s howling on the full moon, but honestly, it’s not like I go to bed early myself, so I don’t mind.”
“Okay,” Liana said, raising a hand. “Stop. I really need some coffee before I can listen to any more of this.”
In the background, Braeden snickered quietly.
Timothy gave her a concerned look. “Sorry. It’s all a bit much, isn’t it? How about I show you your room and you get settled down, and then we have coffee on the deck.”
Liana sighed in relief. “Sounds great. Thanks.”
Timothy took hold of her gym bag to carry it into her room for her.
Heat rose inside Liana once more when his hand brushed hers, but she forced herself to ignore it. Even now, she could feel the warmth and softness of his lips against hers, and the way her body had ached for him when he’d drawn her into his arms...
“Here we are,” he said cheerfully, pulling back the curtains to reveal a perfect view of the ocean stretching out beneath her, all the way to the horizon.
Through the open window, she could hear the gentle sound of the waves. There was a light breeze that made the curtains shift gently.
Her room was a generous suite with a large bed, sheets that looked like light-blue silk, and a bathroom that was as large as her bedroom at home.
There was a balcony right over the water, too. Timothy pointed to where it connected to a wooden path leading to another part of the house.
“Just follow that path and you’ll find me. I’ll make some coffee meanwhile. And let me know if there’s anything else you need.”
“Thanks,” Liana said, smiling at him, still overwhelmed by everything that had happened. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
She flopped down face first onto her bed the moment he closed the door behind him, then moaned in surprise at how good it felt. She’d recently bought a new mattress for her own bed, but it really didn’t compare. This was like floating on a cloud.
The sheets were cool and soft beneath her. She gently ran her fingers along it.
Yep, silk. What els
e would you expect in a dragon billionaire’s beach getaway?
How weird that only this morning, she’d woken up in her little apartment, and she hadn’t even known that dragons, werewolves and weregulls existed.
She rolled around and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. The ocean kept lapping at the shore, the rhythm of it soothing.
Everything was so normal here. It was just like any other beach vacation—just way more luxurious.
If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that she’d rented a small house on the beach with her sister, and that nothing had changed, that dragons existed only in her games, and that there wasn’t a pair of werewolves living just around the corner.
Then she sat up, hugging her knees. She’d love to go back to pretending—but it wasn’t that easy. For one thing, there were the fire dragons.
For another, there was the fact that Timothy called her his mate, which meant that the fire dragons and the werewolves and the strangeness of his world would keep turning her life upside down.
If she let him. She could always say no, of course. She could wait out the fire dragon threat and then return to her normal life, where she coded during her work hours and spent her free time coding on her secret little projects.
It wasn’t very exciting, but it had always been enough for her.
And maybe one day, a guy would come around she could fall in love with. Someone funny and geeky, who wouldn’t laugh at the things she loved, but have all the same hobbies.
Of course, there wasn’t a single guy in her company she’d want to date. And the geeky guy she’d dated for a short time in college hadn’t turned out all that great either.
She could just as well date a billionaire banker instead of nerdy Benny. Because while Benny had loved comics and games, too, he hadn’t really cared about Liana’s opinion—he’d just wanted her to listen to his and dutifully nod to everything he’d said.
Timothy was so much not a geek that she couldn’t even imagine dragging him along to Comic Con—but on the other hand, he’d listened to her. He’d listened to her even when she’d gone on and on about her games.