Cole

by Emilia Hartley

  “Don’t worry about it. You should get back to sleep. I’ll just…”

  She put her hands on her hips. Cole looked around, pulled out a kitchen chair, and dropped into it. He crossed his arms over his chest, like he was setting up watch. Jude cocked her head as her mind worked.

  “Are you concerned for me? Was your dream about me?”

  He opened his mouth, as if to tell her no, but then closed it. His nostrils flared and smoke poured out of them.

  “It was! You had a nightmare about me, and now you’re here to make sure I’m safe. How sweet.” Even though she teased him, she enjoyed what he was doing. As a gold dragon, no one bothered to make sure she was safe. They all just assumed she could protect herself.

  In the short hallway between the kitchen and the bedroom, she paused. A thought crossed her mind and her beast grasped onto it. The creature was adamant. The dark circles under Cole’s eyes gave it away. He worked so hard to protect everyone from the dragon trapped in the lake, that he wasn’t taking care of himself. So, she turned on her heel, grabbed his shirt, and yanked him out of the chair. He made a noise of protest, but it was weak and had no real complaint behind it.

  She led him to the bedroom and pushed him toward the bed. “My beast says you haven’t slept in days. Make yourself comfortable. Nothing will happen while you sleep.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. She turned away to hide the color rising to her cheeks. As much as she wanted to crawl into the bed beside him, the mattress was too small. Cole wouldn’t be able to get any sleep if she was trying to stay on the mattress all night. She would keep wriggling and annoying him.

  “I have a better idea, then.” He stood, and in one fluid motion, tossed her over his shoulder.

  Jude cried out and clung to his shirt. He carried her outside, where she could have shifted and escaped his grasp, but her beast was too content in Cole’s embrace to even try to fight. Jude had to admit that she was a bit curious. And just a little happy.

  His hands were warm on her. She could feel nothing other than them and the way they seared her skin, as if they could leave behind a mark that she would be able to forever remember him by. She couldn’t tell why her beast was so happy around Cole. The hermit of a man had been nothing but a grump when they first met. And yet, she felt like she’d broken down his walls. Or, at least, infiltrated them.

  He was no longer the grumpy recluse around her. It was like they were old friends who pretended they didn’t care about one another, but secretly would destroy the world if anything happened to the other.

  Was this what it was like to have a mate? She would have to ask Jasper. From one gold dragon shifter to another, he would be able to help her understand what was happening. He would help her decode the way she couldn’t let go of Cole as he set her down on his much larger mattress. Jasper would be able to tell her what it meant when her breath caught as Cole pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.

  Her mouth went dry. She watched him, never taking her eyes away from him. Not even when the screen door creaked, and she heard Asher’s groan of annoyance. Cole didn’t pay his brethren any attention either. The dragon man beside her lowered himself onto the mattress next to her and drew her into his arms.

  “Are you going to leave now that you know our secret?” Cole asked the dark.

  Her heart stuttered. She should have booked her ticket back to Colorado. Hell, she should have called Jasper and at least told him a bit of what was going on. She hadn’t done any of that. Her duties had slipped her mind. The dragons back in Colorado weren’t her family. They weren’t her responsibility, either.

  For once, she felt like she needed to be here. Even if there was a monster calling to her beneath the water’s surface, Jude knew she had to stay. The beast inside her assured her that the monster would never be able to use her. The thing could whisper and entrance all it wanted, but it would never take Jude’s heart.

  It wasn’t meant for him.

  She hugged Cole’s arms. The growl vibrating his chest hummed through her ribcage. Jude didn’t give him an answer, and eventually, Cole slipped into sleep. His snore was deep and contented. She wondered if all it took was for her to be somewhere safe for his beast to finally settle.

  She hadn’t come to this lake to find a mate, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she had. Furthermore, she wondered if Cole would accept her. She wasn’t the best dragon. She certainly wasn’t what Cora would have considered a dragon-wife. Jude couldn’t cook or sew, and she could barely clean. Despite all her parent’s best efforts to make Jude into a proper woman through boarding schools, Jude had failed in every aspect.

  All her boarding schools had really taught her was to fight. All girls’ schools were vicious, and Jude had to show them that she wasn’t to be messed with. All the home economics classes were a vague memory in comparison to the fighting that went on.

  She thought that, maybe, Cole didn’t need a woman who could cook, sew, or clean. Maybe he needed a woman who could fight.

  13

  “I’m so bored!” Asher howled.

  The world came into sharp focus as her heart lurched into overdrive. Jude slapped her hand over it and remembered where she was. This wasn’t her cabin. It was Cole’s. His scent permeated everything and slowly set her mind at ease.

  Outside the door, Asher scratched against the wood like a bored cat demanding more food. “Are the two of you going to fuck? I need to know so I can go somewhere else. If not, then come out and make me breakfast.”

  “I don’t cook,” Jude called out.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” came Asher’s muffled reply. “Cole makes the best waffles this side of the lake and I didn’t come all this way to not get any waffles.”

  Cole groaned and whispered to her. “I was hoping he would go away if we pretended to stay asleep.”

  Jude seriously doubted Asher knew how to give up. He didn’t seem like the type. She sat up and looked down at Cole. He was watching her with his ashen eyes, the edges of them turning red-hot when he reached for her. The dark circles that had been beneath them were gone. She smiled, glad that he had taken care of himself at her insistence.

  “No fucking! WAFFLES!”

  Cole’s growl turned into a roar. He flung himself off the bed, whipped open the door, and watched Asher fall onto his face. The silver haired shifter grinned up at Cole before scrambling to his feet and running down the hall. Cole gave chase, the whole cabin shaking as they ran.

  No one here suspected Jude of wanting to usurp the leader. They didn’t look at her like she had come to ruin everything. The world just kept turning here, and nothing Jude did would stop it. Well, as long as she stayed out of the water. Other than that, she wasn’t a home-wrecker or a threat.

  She was just Jude.

  And she dreaded the idea of leaving. Her phone was back in her own cabin. There hadn’t been time to grab it when Cole snatched her. She didn’t want to go get it, either. The phone meant having duties, bonds that kept her attached to the family that never wanted her.

  “He’s making waffles!” Asher hooted.

  The sound finally drew Jude out of bed. She padded down the hall, remembering that she was in just her underwear and Cole’s t-shirt. Instead of feeling embarrassed, she raised her chin and entered the kitchenette as if nothing was wrong.

  She took the seat across from Asher, who was watching Cole work. She thought she saw drool dripping from Asher’s chin. Tossing him a napkin, she motioned for him to wipe his chin. In front of them, Cole moved gracefully. The motions must have been practiced time and time again, because each flick of his whisk and turn of the waffle iron was fluid.

  Soon, the air was filled with the scent of sugar and vanilla. Cole set down a grey bottle, and Jude eyed it warily. She’d never seen a maple syrup bottle that looked like this. She was used to the clear plastic bottles filled with mouth-watering amber liquid.

  “Oh man,” Asher groaned. “I haven’t had r
eal maple syrup in years.”

  Jude narrowed her eyes. “Real? What do you mean by real? Isn’t all maple syrup real?”

  Asher’s eyes went wide. He slapped the table, leaning forward. “Are you telling me you’ve only ever had that corn syrup crap?”

  Jude didn’t know what to say. To her knowledge, all she’d ever had was the real stuff. She’d never stopped to think that it wasn’t actual maple syrup. Grabbing the grey bottle, she peered at it. The container certainly didn’t make it look appetizing.

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Well, the syrup you get in the clear plastic bottles for a couple of bucks is usually corn syrup dyed brown.” Asher snatched the grey bottle from her and cranked it open. When Cole set down a plate, Asher snatched it up first and drizzled amber liquid over it.

  Cole spun back around and yanked the plate away from Asher. He pushed it toward Jude, saying, “Ladies first.”

  Asher pouted. The man was two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, and he was pouting. Taking food away from shifters was dangerous and, frankly, disrespectful. The fact that Cole had given food to Jude made her warm and tingly inside. It was like she was a part of the group, a part that deserved respect.

  Her chest tightened as she gripped the fork. The world narrowed down to the waffle that was quickly soaking up the syrup. No matter what she felt or what her beast tried to say, she didn’t belong here. Letting herself think that way was dangerous. Her beast wouldn’t let her leave.

  But, did Jude even really want to leave? At this point, the human part of her wanted to call this home, too. She cast a wary glance at Cole. When would his open welcome disappear? She’d weaseled her way into his life and uncovered a mound of old secrets, but this attraction between them couldn’t last forever.

  It wasn’t like he was her fated mate or anything.

  He was just the first male dragon to treat her like an equal.

  “Are you going to eat that?” Asher whined.

  “If you bother her one more time, I’m going to shove this spatula up your ass,” Cole growled. “The flat part. Not the handle.”

  Asher flashed Cole a wink. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

  Jude rolled her eyes. “That isn’t a good time for anyone. You’re just trying to ruffle his feathers.”

  Asher made a blank face. “But he doesn’t have feathers. He has scales.”

  “I’m starting to see why Cole chased everyone off his porch. If he had to deal with you for more than a day at a time, I’d eschew civilization for the rest of my life, too.”

  Asher grinned at her words. He propped his elbows onto the table and rested his chin on his folded hands. “But grumpy old Cole didn’t throw you out. You’re the first person to ever sleep over. I don’t think these walls have ever seen a woman. Sybil definitely doesn’t count.”

  While Cole and Asher squabbled, Jude took the first bite of her syrup-soaked waffle. She nearly groaned in ecstasy. The warm vanilla melded with the natural maple syrup to create a fluffy cloud of sugar in her mouth. All this needed was a can of whipped cream.

  Though, as she watched Cole move around the kitchen, she knew what else she’d like to put whipped cream on. He leaned against the counter, ankles crossed, as he ate his waffle because Jude and Asher had the only two seats. Though he said nothing, she thought he looked happy. It wasn’t a smile or anything, but the way his shoulders slumped with content. He wasn’t preparing for a fight. The beast in the lake was the furthest thing from his mind.

  Jude’s heart swelled with pride. To think that she had a hand in his happiness delighted her. He’d done enough to help her, from fishing her out of the lake to waking her the night before.

  She hadn’t told him, but she’d been in the middle of a nightmare. When the cabin rattled around her and snapped her awake, she’d been a little grateful. Though the grogginess of sleep had made her snap at him, Cole saved her from drowning. It’d felt so real. Her lungs still burned as if the water was still there.

  Whatever the beast in the water had been, its element had changed. The lake and the magic used to bind the two together had turned the beast into something different. Jude had never seen anything like it, and she wondered if it was worth telling Jasper.

  There were no practical applications of this kind of magic. She wasn’t even sure it was right. All she knew was that this clan had done what it could when their lives were in danger. Jasper couldn’t fault them for that. Jude wouldn’t let him.

  An hour later, she was on the phone with Jasper. She didn’t call him from the cabin. No, she didn’t want to be anywhere near the lake while she relayed this information. Not just because it felt like the water had ears, but because she didn’t want Cole to overhear anything Jasper might say.

  Instead, she found a table at the chicken smoking joint. It was just a picnic table but the man behind the counter made an effort to stay out of her way. She appreciated that as the phone rang in her ear. Her heart thumped nervously.

  Sucking in a breath, she straightened. She shouldn’t cower before Jasper. They were equals. No matter what anyone in her life told her. Jude and Jasper were both gold dragons. He only received the crown because his father had power. That and Jasper was a prettier dragon. His scales weren’t burnished like hers.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Jasper said after Jude relayed everything she could. “You’re sleeping beside a prison holding a maniac, one bent on destroying the world? And that doesn’t bother you in the slightest?”

  “Nope,” she lied, picking the threads from the hem of her cut-off shorts. “I sleep like a baby every night.”

  It marveled her how easy it was to lie to Jasper. She’d always given him sass and argued at every turn but had never lied to him. It was like she’d finally perfected the rebellion trifecta. She wasn’t part of the dragon clan in Colorado, no matter what her blood said. She didn’t have to serve them.

  She was her own dragon.

  “I think I’m going to stay, Jasper.”

  There was silence, the line buzzing. She thought this would make her blood sing with anxiety, make her heart race. She didn’t feel any of those things. If anything, it was like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn’t going to try to force herself to fit into a role that was never meant for her in the first place.

  “You mean for a few more weeks?”

  “This is my dragon’s home. I’m not leaving it,” she growled. She slapped her hand over her mouth, taken aback by her reaction. “You can’t tell me that I’m meant to be with you and the other metallic asshats. They might be my cousins, but I barely even know them. They’re just faces I met in passing.”

  Expecting a growl, she was greeted with a small hmm instead. “Well, if that’s how you feel about us, just remember that you’re always welcome to visit. Even if you end up heading your own clan.”

  “Oh, I doubt I’ll become a leader…”

  “Well, they are missing one. Right?” Jasper’s tone was leading.

  No, it was dragging her toward one conclusion. Jude could become the next leader of this dragon clan if she really wanted. She bit her lip and wondered what Cole would make of that. This had been his home far longer.

  Her dragon liked Jasper’s insinuation, but Jude was wary. She didn’t want to be pushed off her new home and forced to burrow. Something told her Cole would never make her do anything like that. Cole was her friend…at the very least.

  14

  “So, you told her about Alistair?” Asher asked.

  They were sitting on the porch again, both looking out over the lake. The bottle of whiskey was dipping dangerously low. Cole would have to make a run to the liquor store to restock. Maybe Asher could throw him some of that blood and fame money he’d made in the past ten years.

  Cole heaved a sigh. “I had to. The fucker was calling out to her. I found her in the lake the other day.”

  “Do you think she could be the one to…you know?”

>   The beast in Cole growled possessively. Alistair would never lay a hand on Jude. Not while Cole breathed. He wouldn’t let the monster anywhere near her.

  “Or maybe not,” Asher said, leaning back. There was a smug look on the younger dragon’s face that annoyed Cole. It said that Asher knew something he didn’t.

  “What?”

  Asher shrugged and tried to play it off, like he wasn’t keeping any secrets.

  “Sybil never should have called you back.”

  “She called all of us back. It’s time, Cole. I know you don’t want to think about it, but that spell is going to break one way or another. We bought ourselves a lot of time. Ten years is long enough for us to get our shit together, to get stronger. You knew from the beginning that the spell wouldn’t hold forever.”

  Cole had held onto hope. He’d thought that if he sacrificed everything he had left, then maybe the others could live out their lives. They could find happiness. Maybe Heath could fall in love again. Asher should have gone on to run a company and become one of the hottest millionaire bachelors. Cole had seen the Colorado dragons in a magazine not too long ago.

  Instead, Asher made money with his fists. Instead, Asher had found his way back to the lake’s edge just to tell Cole that his sacrifice had meant nothing. He growled, thinking of all the time he’d lost. Cole could have drunk at the shifter bar. He could have made some friends, found someone to share in his burden and lessen his loneliness.

  “That woman you brought home, she’s a gold dragon. Isn’t she?”

  Cole looked at his clanmate with surprise.

  Asher laughed. “It’s written all over her face. Every time she looks at you, her eyes go gold. So…are you going to claim her? I haven’t seen a bite on her.”

  Cole growled, lips curling back.

  “I wasn’t threatening to steal her. I just wanted to know if you were going to go for it, considering her dragon is probably more dominant than yours. Do you have a thing for strong women? She could be the next leader.”