Casey could be nice right now, but she’d heard how he threatened Trevor. Would she have felt the same had she heard him say that for someone else? She didn’t want to think he would burn down Trevor’s house, but she didn’t know him.
She could be stepping into the same shitty relationship all over again. Instead of opening the door, she backtracked to the main gallery and sank into her leather chair.
Nellie nervously puttered around the shop, getting things ready for the day. The guys’ visit had thrown her, and she seemed behind. Evangeline should have gotten up to help her, but her head was a mess, and she probably would have gotten in the way.
“Be careful around those boys,” Nellie said. “They’re going to bring trouble to town. We’re going to get caught in their crossfire if we aren’t careful. They didn’t make appointments, so hopefully they’ll forget about their impulse for a tattoo and move on.”
Evangeline didn’t tell her friend that she’d promised Casey a free tattoo. Even Nellie thought he would be trouble. Did that mean he would end up being the same kind of trouble as Trevor? Or was it more Nellie’s brand of trouble?
“Also! I cannot believe you tried to out me to a bunch of sh—” Nellie cut herself off with a curse. “Don’t tell shitheads about what I am! People don’t like the occult. They barely even like fat girls. When you mix the two, you’re asking for harassment.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Evangeline said, absentmindedly.
Nellie paused, put her hands on her hips and flicked her angled bob away from her face. She eyed Evangeline for a long moment. Silence stretched until Nellie was overtaken by another rush of manic energy, and she went to the stereo system to blast something with a beat.
Was it wrong of Evangeline to want to know what would happen if she got to know Casey better? She didn’t know if she could trust her heart after all the mistakes it’d made in the past. Her head had never been given control, and it shied away from making decisions, leaving her caught in an uncomfortable limbo of longing.
Her noon appointment showed up on time. Evangeline gave herself over to the beat of the music and the hum of her tattoo machine. Inky black lines and blotches of vibrant color filled her vision, but her mind would not give up thoughts of Casey.
Even when the sun sank toward the horizon and Nellie began locking up for the evening, Evangeline still thought about Casey and his bold declaration of protection. Evangeline ripped off her gloves and tossed them into the nearest bin.
“I need a distraction tonight. Let’s call Isabella and see if she can go out.”
“It’s boneless wings and margarita night at the bar down the street,” Nellie suggested.
“That sounds perfect. Let’s get a table and ignore every guy that comes our way.”
Nellie blinked. “That’s a whole mood, but I respect it. We can go online and pick out a new hair color for you, too. Maybe watch some make-up tutorials on how to make our lips look absolutely adorable.”
Evangeline swept her friend into a hug. “That sounds perfect.”
They both sent messages to Isabella as they stepped outside. Evangeline walked backwards, admiring the business they’d built together. Her grandfather had warned her that people didn’t want to spend hundreds on paintings for their walls. He hadn’t wanted her to give up on her art, either. Together, they came up with the idea of tattooing. He had several from his days in the military and told her they were like chips, he always wanted more.
He’d passed before she could open the shop, so she named it after him. The Grumpy Sailor was a name that stuck with people, especially the locals who had loads of stories about her grandfather.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa. I won’t let another idiot fuck with me,” she whispered.
Nellie raised a brow and gave Evangeline a sidelong glance but didn’t say anything. Instead, she brought up hair colors. Since Evangeline’s hair was already light, they could do just about anything to it.
* * *
Two days after arriving, Casey was on beer run duty. They guys had run out and decided that throwing the cans at Gavin wasn’t enough entertainment. Now they wanted glass bottles. And, by they, Casey meant Erik.
The weirdo was growing on him, and he hated it. Even Dillon was starting to seem nice. Maybe that was because every time Erik riled Gavin up, Dillon was there to put out the fires before they got too bad.
Gavin hadn’t warmed up to them yet, though. Casey was about a day away from wrangling the man and dragging his ass home. Keeping to himself, Gavin hadn’t yet shared why he’d left the clan. Casey told himself that Gavin’s excuse didn’t matter, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to know.
Why had Gavin left him? When they got back home, would Erik and Dillon also leave?
Casey knew the answers. This was a simple task. When it was all over, everyone would forget about the time they’d spent together. They would leave Casey behind and get on with their lives.
He grunted and slammed the truck door behind him. The mountain air was thin, but he didn’t mind. This close to the sky, he felt free. This wasn’t like living in the valley with Zander and the others. He understood why Gavin had come up here to hide.
A part of him wanted to stay. If he could bring Gavin back to his father, then maybe Casey could sneak away and lay down roots here. No one would notice if he left. He wasn’t the prodigal son of a clan leader like Gavin.
If Casey left, then he would be free to pursue Evangeline. He could take her under his wing and protect her from more greaseballs. His dragon liked the idea, filling his skull with a soft purr. Casey wanted to know what she would feel like pressed against him. He wanted to know what kind of faces she made when she was happy, pleased, and sated. In fact, he wanted to explore every aspect of her.
But he worried that she would just leave him, too. Casey wasn’t sure he had enough of anything to make someone want to stay. If he had her, even for a single night, and got addicted before she left, then he would break. A broken dragon was a dangerous thing. He couldn’t take the chance.
Inside the grocery store, he made a beeline for the beer selection. A bright head of flamingo pink hair caught his attention. He paused just as the head bobbed out of sight. His beast rose and caught Evangeline’s scent on the air. Her hair had been silver, though. Not pink.
The beast growled in his head and urged him to follow the pink head. Casey scowled, but couldn’t fight the beast. He prowled down the cereal aisle and peered around the corner. He saw a couple fighting at the meat counter and a mother chasing her child, but no pink-haired girl.
Huh, he thought to himself.
Casey told himself to get the beer and run, but he kept inching forward. His chest tightened until he could barely breathe. He shouldn’t have wanted this woman. Evangeline should have been the furthest thing from his mind while a death threat hung over Gavin’s head, but maybe Gavin didn’t deserve his complete attention.
“Are you following me, sir?” Her voice filled his chest with a warm sensation.
* * *
Evangeline tucked her hair behind her ear. Casey watched her, a look of awe painted across his face. Then, he shook himself and his usual demeanor settled back into place. He could pretend to be aloof and uninterested, but she’d already seen how she could affect him.
“Why would you go and do a thing like that to your hair?” Casey asked. “The silver looked nice.”
She pouted, hoping her new lip gloss technique would pay off. “This doesn’t look nice?”
“You look amazing. It’s just…I didn’t expect…I didn’t know girls could do things like that.”
She grinned, all too happy to see him flustered. When she tossed her long, straight hair over her shoulder, Casey blinked like he’d been struck. “It’s a lady tradition. When you go through a break-up as a woman, you dye your hair to signal that you’re over the past.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. “Huh, I like it. Don’t think other women go full flamingo, though.”
“To each her own,” she shrugged.
She didn’t want to leave his presence. There was something comforting about it, but their conversation had halted. Casey stared at her, making her cheeks warm. She wished he would say something, anything.
“Alright,” she said, filling the emptiness. “Well, I have to get some groceries.”
Groceries consisted of a giant bag of cinnamon toast cereal and a box of toaster pastries. She wanted to hide both packages behind her back, so he wouldn’t see how bad her diet was. Trevor had always complained that she ate too much every time he took her out. She’d caved and started ordering salads at places where she would have rather had a burger or a steak.
Surely, Casey would be disgusted by her awful eating habits, too.
“Serious question. Cinnamon toast or peanut butter puffs?” Casey twisted and started walking toward the coolers.
She fell into step behind him. “That’s not a serious question.”
He shrugged. “I still need to know. This is important stuff.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his definition of important. “Cinnamon toast, of course.”
He shook his head and rubbed his beard. “Wrong answer.”
“If you’re a peanut butter puff kind of guy, then you won’t have to be afraid I’ll eat your stash of cereal. I’ll stick to my own. It’s like when one half of a couple likes wing flats and the other likes the drumsticks. It just works, you know?”
He cast a wary glance down at her and she realized she’d implied they would make a good couple. Her face immediately warmed. She took a step back and would have held up her hands had they not been full of junk food.
“It’s not like I was suggesting we be a couple, just that couples like that work well.” She didn’t know what else to say while her cheeks flamed.
Casey bent and hauled two forty packs of beer from the open cooler before tossing a sly grin her way. Her heart pattered against her sternum.
Evangeline was supposed to be focusing on herself, on making better choices. Yet, here she was buying junk food and flirting with a dangerous man. He’d threatened to burn Trevor’s house down. She couldn’t forget that, but a part of her didn’t mind.
That was probably the part of her that kept getting her into trouble.
“Well,” she said, doing an about face. “It was nice running into you again.”
“Hold up. Are you done shopping? I could walk you to your car. Big, dumb guys like me are good for keeping the assholes away.”
She scowled. “You’re definitely a big guy, but I would never call you dumb.”
He grunted and followed her up to the checkout. She wanted to lean into him when he stood behind her in line, but she managed to keep her body parts to herself. His assessment of himself weighed on her mind. She hated hearing anyone talk about themselves that way.
Every person was made differently, but that didn’t make them any less than the next person. She didn’t have a college education or any kind of computer proficiency, but she could mix colors like a master. Casey most likely had a skill set that would blow her away.
She just hoped it wasn’t something like selling drugs or extortion.
When her junk food approached the front of the conveyor belt, Casey snatched the divider between their items and tossed it back where it belonged. He also added a handful of candy bars.
Evangeline wanted to say that she couldn’t pay for his beer to make up for what he’d done for her, but he gently bumped her aside after the cashier rang it all up. He gave her a wink as he slid his card through the machine.
“I’m kind of on a work trip. I figured I should use the company card for everything I can while I have it. Right?”
She pursed her lips, conflicted. She could afford to pay for her own cereal. He didn’t have to do that. If his boss found out that he’d bought her breakfast for her, then he could get into trouble. Casey didn’t seem bothered, though.
He passed the grocery bags to her, even the one filled with candy bars.
“Oh, I don’t need…” she began.
“Don’t women like to enjoy sweets after a break-up, too? I figured if I helped, then you could get through that phase faster, and then we could…”
What was he suggesting? That he would like to date her after she was done mourning her last relationship? A tingle sparked in her core, popping like fireworks.
She bit her lip before recalling her painstakingly applied make-up. “Would you like to share some of these candy bars with me right now? I couldn’t possibly eat them all on my own.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t want all those candy bars to yourself.”
Well, she did, but she didn’t want him thinking that.
He shook his head and ran his hand over his beard, a layer of scruff that clung close to his chin. It hadn’t been there a few days ago. She couldn’t imagine what his beard would look like if left to its own devices much longer.
After finally nodding, he led her over to his truck and lowered the tailgate. When she set her bags down, he lifted her by the waist and set her down before climbing up beside her. She couldn’t deny the way her pulse thundered or the way his touch still warmed her skin even though he’d let go minutes ago.
“Trevor would have put this back if I’d added it to my groceries,” she said as she tore open the first candy bar.
She hadn’t meant to mention her ex, but the truth had slid out of her anyway. She stared down at the chocolate and nougat bar as guilt tore its way through her.
“Sounds like he’s threatened by a woman enjoying her life.” Casey moved, sitting sideways so that one leg pressed against her back while the other hung off the edge of the tailgate. “I’ll buy you a candy bar for every day I’m in town. Load you up with a lifetime of iced coffees, too. Women like that, right?”
She laughed and shook her head. “You wouldn’t like what would happen if I ate candy and drank sugary drinks all day. I learned to take my iced coffee black anyway.”
He scoffed. “You’d what? Gain a couple pounds and have a bit of energy? Ain’t nothing wrong with that. Too many men ask their ladies to be twigs when the ladies would rather have a milkshake. Men like that aren’t even pleasing their women right, either.”
Evangeline choked on her food. Casey leaned forward and patted her on the back, but it couldn’t dislodge the embarrassment she felt. The worst part was that Casey was right.
Trevor hadn’t really delivered in the bedroom. She wasn’t going to admit that, though. She was plenty used to guys talking themselves up and then making sure their needs were met before she could even ask for her own.
“And you think you’re any better?” she asked before she could think better of it.
The light hit his eyes as his head tilted back. That wicked smile promised her many naughty, naughty things. Her core melted. She dragged in a ragged breath, trying to calm her quivering middle.
Casey’s lips parted. She thought he would invite her to find out, then his eyes lifted to the sky. His demeanor immediately changed. He uttered a curse under his breath and jumped off the truck bed.
“Time’s up,” he said, lifting her from her seat and setting her onto her feet.
Evangeline’s head spun. One moment, they were casually flirting, but now it seemed someone had lit a fire under his ass. She wanted to tell him he was running in the wrong direction, but what did she know?
All she had was a bag of uneaten candy bars and disappointment as she watched Casey throw himself into his truck and race away. She listened to the urgent roar of his truck until it faded into nothing.
Only when her head stopped spinning did she look into the sky. Evangeline didn’t know what she expected. A doomsday prophecy written in the clouds? A spaceship hurtling towards this very parking lot? A wayward dragon looking for castles to conquer?
Evangeline scowled and tore a hunk off her candy bar as she walked back to her own car. This served her right. She knew better than to
expect anything from men. The kind she pulled in would always hurt her, one way or another. If there wasn’t some sort of betrayal, then they would physically hurt her. She rubbed at the bruises on her arm.
Casey had seemed different. She’d thought, for maybe a moment, that she could have something other than hurt with him. Maybe even a hint of happiness.
“Fuck that guy,” she muttered, getting behind the wheel.
Beyond the windshield, a shape broke free from the clouds. Evangeline stared at it, unable to make sense of what she was seeing.
4
Casey leaned over his steering wheel, scanning the sky for any sight of Gavin. Of course, the prick had to lose control right when Casey was finally starting to enjoy himself. Evangeline had been between his legs. The desire to close them around her and pull her into his body had nearly been overwhelming, but then he’d caught sight of Gavin flying over what should have been a restricted zone.
Dumb ass red dragon, he thought to himself. Gavin was going to out all of them. Humans didn’t take well to the news of monsters. He’d heard of small towns who knew about their local dragons and kept their secrets for generations, but Casey didn’t think that could work in days like this.
He needed to find Gavin.
Grumbling to himself, he found his phone and called Erik. When the weirdo didn’t answer, Casey feared the worst. Had Gavin finally lost all control to his beast and incinerated the two who were watching over him?
Casey cursed and punched the steering wheel. Nothing was supposed to go down this way. His job was to drag Gavin back home. Kicking and screaming, if necessary.
The curve ahead had no shoulder, only a steep drop-off. Casey yanked the wheel and felt the truck lurch on two wheels before slamming back down. His pulse raced. Anger simmered just beneath his skin, as hot as his beast.
When he caught Gavin, he was going to break his damn horns.
Rogue Dragons Series: Box Set Books 1-5 Page 3