by Riley Storm
Braz nodded. “You probably don’t even know it yet.”
“Oh great, that’s just great. Maybe they want me for my DNA,” she spat. “This is so frustrating. I should never have agreed to come to the funeral. If I’d just trusted my gut, stayed back in Kennewick Falls, none of this would ever have happened to me.”
“I’m sorry you got involved in this,” Braz said, wishing he could return to his human form without putting Grace into more discomfort. The last thing she needed right now was dealing with him being naked around her, especially as he wasn’t sure he could stop himself from reacting to her.
But he longed to wrap her up in a hug, hold her tight to him. It gnawed at his insides, knowing how much she could just use a hug. Braz wanted more. He wanted to lift her chin upward, and press his lips to hers. To feel the heat of her kiss. They would lay on the grass together, bodies intertwined, forgetting the world around them and—
And daydream of things that cannot be. Like that.
“It’s not your fault,” Grace said, surprising him with the forgiveness. “Jack was already involved with you, with your kind. Obviously he did something that is now dragging me back into it. Not that I know what. But you’re at least being open, and upfront with me Braz. I appreciate that.”
He smiled tightly, keeping his huge teeth hidden.
“You’re scaring the crap out of me, and making my brain hurt with all these revelations of the world around me,” she said, changing her tone. “But you’re being honest about it.”
Braz winced. “I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing again. “I didn’t want to do it all so abruptly, but you were leaving town, and I just…I don’t know. I needed to shock you enough to get you to see that this was serious. And, I guess, I kind of wanted to tell you my secret as well, so you would finally know who I really am.”
“Braz Aterna. Dragon shifter,” Grace said, blessing him with a little smile.
She shivered slightly and abruptly plopped herself down next to his leg, leaning back against him. “Ahh, that’s better.”
Braz smiled to himself and curled his wing around her slightly, blocking most of the wind that had just changed direction and was now swirling through the opening. “How’s that?”
“Much better,” she said. “Thanks.”
“The least I could do,” he replied. If they were going to be here until nightfall, he was going to ensure she was comfortable. The days might be warm, but the mountain air was growing chilly at night.
“Now if you could just tell me what it is these people want from me?”
“Well,” he said. “I’ve given that some thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I originally suggested we go and talk to Wilson, the thug, to see what he knows. But, the more I think about it, the more I think that it might be Wilson who sent these men.”
“Oh. So what does that mean?”
This time Braz showed his teeth when he smiled. “It means that I go pay him a…visit.”
Grace watched him carefully. “I notice you didn’t say you were going to talk to him.”
“I will. Eventually. When he’s ready to reveal whatever it is that Jack left you that they want. And why they’re looking for it.”
“I don’t have anything,” Grace said angrily, not at him, but at the situation.
“Did you take anything when you left him years ago?”
“Not anything that wasn’t already mine,” she said. “Besides, was he working for your rogue dragon that long ago? I feel like I would have known that. He was terrible at keeping secrets, unless it came to his other women.”
Braz grimaced, unhappy to have brought that subject up. He’d been the one who had originally found out Jack was a serial cheater. He felt like it was his fault that she’d stayed. Braz should have done more to prove it, to get her to see what a dick Jack was.
“Probably not,” he said in answer to her question. “Have you received anything from him since?”
“A few texts pleading me to come back, but that’s it. I never replied to them. The only other thing I have is a box of stuff that his mom gave me with my name on it.”
Braz stiffened. “What?”
“Yeah. I opened it, there were a few shirts, a picture, you know, that kind of stuff.” She turned her head to look at him in the eye. “There must be something in there.”
Braz nodded, lifting his head from the ground. “Yes, there must be.”
“I just glanced at it, saw it looked like typical breakup stuff, and tossed it in the trunk of my car,” she said. “Crap, I’ve had whatever they wanted all along?”
“It would seem that way,” Braz said, cursing to himself. He’d had it in his hands, and let it go. If it was in her car, they would have found it.
And probably left.
“It might be safe to go back then,” he said quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“They would have searched the car, and my truck I suppose. They’ll have found the box, and whatever it is they’re looking for. No need for them to stick around.”
He shuffled and got to his feet once Grace had untangled herself from him.
“So what do we do now?” she asked, looking around.
“Now we go back to the cars. Then I take you to my place, where you’ll be safe and secure until I go get it back.”
Grace frowned. “Until you go get it back? What are you talking about Braz?”
“I’m going to go and see Wilson,” he said with a toothy smile. “We’re going to have a talk.”
A very polite talk.
Chapter Twelve
Grace
Did Braz just expect her to sit around at his log cabin in the mountain wait around for him to get back?
If so, he had another thing coming. Grace was following him up the mountain because she was going to use his place to freshen up a bit before heading home. That was it. There was no other reason for her to stick around, not anymore.
They’d gotten back to the cars and, as Braz had thought, there was nobody else around. Her car had been ransacked but, as far as she could tell, the only thing that had been stolen was the box of items Jack’s mother had given her.
Braz wasn’t so convinced that everything would be okay. He’d insisted that she come with him back to his place, where she would spend the night, and they could revisit everything in the morning.
Stay the night at his place. I don’t know...
He’d been very upfront, explaining she would have her own room, that he wasn’t trying to shack up with her. That he was doing it for her safety and well-being. Grace was still more than a little unsure, hence her plans to head back to Kennewick Falls after he left.
Being stuck in a tiny cabin in the mountains alone with Braz seemed like a bit of trouble that, while rather enticing, she should probably avoid. Completely.
They rounded a corner and Grace stared. “Huh.”
That was no tiny mountain cabin up ahead of them. She could only make out part of it over the fence before they got too close and it was hidden from sight by the wall that surrounded it, but she was positive it was much larger than what she’d expected.
Braz’s truck slowed in front of her and she did too, watching as he stuck his head out the window and did something. There was a gate, she saw now, and he’d just opened it.
“Holy crap.”
The size of his residence shocked her. It was absolutely huge! This was no house, it was like a ski resort perched on the side of the mountain. It was modern, clearly recently updated, though she saw a foundation below it that spoke of an older origin perhaps.
Sleek, sharp corners and dark blacks mixed with very light grays, with green and glass as the accents. It was beautiful, really.
And imposing. Very imposing.
“This is your place?” she asked as soon as her head was far enough out the door after parking. “It’s huge.”
“It’s my clan’s,” Braz said. “Welcome to the Cla
n Aterna house.”
Clan Aterna.
“Clan?” she echoed as several figures appeared in a glass doorway in the middle of the building.
“Yes. Each of the five mountains is home to a dragon clan. This, having been claimed by my clan, is Mount Aterna.”
Like every resident of Five Peaks, Grace knew that there were five families who owned the five mountains that surrounded the town in the valley between them.
“All…dragons?” she asked. That was a connection she hadn’t made yet. “All dragon clans.”
Braz nodded. “Exactly. One clan per mountain. It keeps us close enough to interact as necessary, but far enough apart that we have space.”
“I can only imagine,” she said dryly. “How much space a dragon must need.”
They both turned as the trio of figures came close enough to engage in speech.
“Logan,” Braz said, indicating the sole male of the three. “This is Grace. Grace, this is Logan, the head of Clan Aterna.”
The male turned a questioning glance at Braz.
“She knows,” Braz said quietly. “Everything. We need to talk.”
“You must have a lot of questions.” One of the women stepped forward as the two men moved off to one side to talk in low, murmured tones.
“I’m Clarice,” the little blonde said, sticking out her hand.
“Grace.” Taking the hand, Grace gave it a firm grip.
The other woman, a copper-haired woman about Grace’s size, meaning she had a few inches of height on Clarice, stepped forward. “I’m Emma. You’re probably hungry. In shock still? It’s a lot to take in. Come have some water. Or wine.”
“Um,” Grace said, glancing over at Braz. She eyed him, the way his shoulders were tense as he talked to Logan. “Do you have coffee by any chance?”
The two women chuckled softly. “Another believer. Of course, come on.”
Grace trailed a step behind the two as they headed into the house. She glanced over her shoulder at Braz, who caught her eye and nodded. The huge man flashed her a giant dragon-sized smile, letting her know it was okay.
“You’re staying here the night?” the blonde asked—Clarice was her name, Grace reminded herself mentally.
“Um,” Grace stepped inside, the door closing swiftly behind her. “I don’t think so. I’ll be leaving soon I think. I’m going to get back to Kennewick Falls.”
Emma grinned. “You live there? It’s nice there. My parents live there actually.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Grace was so confused. “I’m sorry, who are you? I’m so confused.”
“Logan is my mate,” Clarice said in a tone that indicated she’d done this before.
“My mate is Asher. He’s not here right now,” Emma said with a little pout.
“I see.” Grace was looking around. “You all live here?”
“Yes,” Clarice told her as they reached a huge kitchen. “All of Clan Aterna lives here.”
“In this house…” Grace said.
It was not the tiny mountain cabin she’d expected.
Emma walked over to a cabinet and removed a bottle of wine, while Clarice set up a pot of coffee.
“You know what,” Grace said before the other woman got too far. “If it’s not that big a deal to you, maybe I’ll take you up on that offer of wine.”
“Ugh,” Clarice said as Emma cheered lightly.
Grace looked back and forth at the two of them. “What? What did I miss?”
“Emma said you would want the wine. I said you looked like you weren’t staying, so it would be water or coffee.”
“Okay, okay, hold on,” Grace said as a big glass of red wine was all but stuffed into her hand by a grinning Emma. “I feel like I’m way out of the loop here.”
“You just found out,” Clarice said. “About dragons and everything. Right?”
“Right.”
Emma interjected here, taking over the conversation. “It takes a lot out of people to handle that, to accept it. Some need more time to absorb it and deal with the shock. Usually alone. Others, they run. Try to deny it and go back to their old lives, but they can’t, because they’ve seen things they can’t explain. Some go nuts right away. Others, they have a stiff drink, talk about it with people like Clarice and I, who have been through it before, and they accept it.”
“You should have seen Emma,” Clarice said. “Completely shocked, thought she was bughouse nuts.”
Grace’s head swung over to the other woman. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. I was trying hard to accept it, but then I met Clarice, I saw that she had two kids. Two dragon shifter kids, with another dragon. It was just...oh man.”
The other women laughed.
“You’re okay with it now?” Grace asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.
“It took me a while,” Emma admitted. “To really, truly come to grips with it. But I love Asher. With everything, every fiber of my being. Some days I want to throttle him, sure, but that’s because he deserves it, not because I don’t love him.”
Even Grace couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter at that statement. “Men,” she admitted.
“Yeah,” Clarice agreed. “Just wait until you have little ones.”
Emma bit her lip. “Working on it.”
“I know,” Clarice said with a groan and roll of her eyes. “Everyone knows it. We can hear you.”
Grace snickered, drawing the attention of both women. “Um, sorry.”
“Don’t be. We’re pretty open and liberal about sex here,” Clarice said.
“Yeah, Clarice is just upset that she doesn’t get it as often anymore.”
“Oh please. I just don’t make as much noise, because I have respect for others,” Clarice fired back.
“Right,” Emma said. It was her turn to roll her eyes.
“Hey,” Grace said, interrupting the byplay. “That’s wonderful and all, but why are you acting like I’m one of you?”
The two women frowned at one another. It was Clarice who spoke. “Aren’t you and Braz…”
Grace shook her head.
“Oh,” Emma said. “Um. Oops.”
Before they could say any more, Braz appeared in the doorway. “Hey,” he said, motioning his head out of the room.
Grace put down her wine glass and followed him out.
“You’re going to stay here,” he said. “Okay? For the night, until I’m back sort of thing. In the morning we’ll talk everything over, figure it all out. Okay?”
Grace bit her lip, staying silent while she watched Braz’s face. Why had the other women automatically assumed that they were a thing? Had they been acting like it? Why, they hadn’t even kissed!
“I guess,” she said, nodding, unsure if staying the night was the right course of action for her.
“I’ll get everything back,” Braz promised. “I just fear that they might go after you if you go back to Kennewick Falls. I want to ensure everything is finished, first. So that you’re safe. Completely and totally.”
Grace wanted to tell him that she was, that they had what they wanted and she could leave now, put it all behind her. That she could return to her life and forget all about this trip.
But she didn’t. Something held her tongue, telling her that wasn’t what she truly wanted to say to Braz.
She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Braz’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he otherwise remained still as she approached, until she was standing right in front of him.
Then she suddenly stepped right up to him, rising up on her tiptoes, gently pressing her lips to his cheek.
“Thank you,” she said softly, all but whispering the two words into his ear.
Then she pulled back. “Um,” she said, trying to puzzle out why she had just done what she had. Until then, Grace had been so careful to avoid any sort of close interaction with Braz.
She knew that he was dangerous like that. Years ago when they had first met she’d felt t
he pull to him, the attraction, but she had forced herself to ignore it. Because Jack had been there, and she was loyal to him.
Now there was nothing but her own willpower to stop it, and clearly a few sips of wine were enough to inhibit that. Grace would have to be more careful in the future.
And tell Emma and Clarice in no uncertain terms to stop putting ideas about the two of us being together in my head. We aren’t a ‘thing’.
“Uhhhh. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Braz said, breaking the silence that hung heavy between the two of them. “Will you be okay with those two?”
“Yeah, I can handle them,” she said with a smile. “They’re nice.”
“Thanks.” Braz turned to go. Then he glanced back, those mysterious amber eyes of his locking on to her.
For a split second, Grace thought he was going to come back and kiss her, and she was terrified. What would she do if he tried that?
Then he was gone, rushing out the front door, shirt already halfway off.
She wondered if he would remember to take the clothes with him to his chat with Wilson. He’d almost forgotten them in the clearing. Only her desire to see him clothed had reminded him. Apparently dragons were totally okay with nudity.
“I need some wine,” she said to herself as the mental image of completely naked Braz filled her mind.
It didn’t leave any room up there for anything else.
Chapter Thirteen
Braz
Gripping his clothes tightly in one claw, he dropped from the sky.
Wind rushed over his scales and tore at his eyes, but Braz only smiled. This was where he felt most free. In the air, the world spread out below him.
One day he was going to show Grace this sight. Hopefully she would be just as awed by it as he was. Nearly twenty years of flying high above Five Peaks, and Braz still wasn’t tired of the view that it presented him. There was something majestic about soaring through the open skies, unencumbered by tons of hard, cold metal.
It was an experience he wanted to give to her.
First, you need to ensure she’s safe. Then you’ll have to go about convincing her to stay, to give you a chance to show her that you’re…