by Sadie Sears
“I don’t have a plan. I’m just gonna listen and see what he has to say.”
“Right, you mean you’ll let Cam negotiate for you.”
I grinned. “Yeah. Why not use our resident genius’s brains when I can?”
Leath laughed and then pointed to some pines further down the street. “Ooh, check out the conifers.”
The pine’s shed foliage carpeted the ground, making my steps a little more buoyant than usual when I stepped off the path. I meandered through the trees in silence before turning and heading in the direction of the café.
Houses with round doors and sweeping roofs, balconies and flower boxes, stone fronts and stucco, lined the east side of the block. They could've been torn from any fairytale and plunked down here. A little restaurant sat halfway up the street on the east side of the road, but the Spruce Bar neon sign caught Leath's attention.
"That's where we’re meeting Ben and Vincent later. Dom and Taurus are coming too. Theo said he’ll try and make it.”
“Yeah, okay. If things go well with the meeting, I’ll be up for a celebration.”
"And if they go south, we’ll drown your sorrows. I'll see you later, bud." Leath waved at me before heading up the road across from Spruce Park.
I hadn't eaten all day, and the smell of the rosemary, basil, and oregano along the sidewalk made me hungry. I picked up my pace and made it across the street before the stop light started flashing. Once inside the café, I peered around. Cameron and our new neighbor Justin were already seated, and Cam beckoned me over.
"Hey." I pulled out my chair and sat.
Cameron must have been pretty relaxed, because he sat with his back toward the door, something he never did. Neither did I, so I made sure to position myself so I could see everything happening in the busy café.
"I ordered your usual." Cam nodded to the menu.
“Tha—”
A stunningly beautiful woman opened the door to the café and stepped inside. My stomach tightened, and my breath caught in my throat. I had to meet her.
She looked around before walking right toward us. I couldn’t do more than stare. Holy. Shit.
There was a scene in an old TV show about lifeguards, where they ran in slow motion, hair bouncing, lights positioned to cast them in the golden sun. This was her moment in the sun. My moment to see her. The angels sang in perfect harmony as time slowed, and she tossed her mass of dark hair over her shoulders.
The sway of her hips, the sparkling hazel eyes, and oh, God, her smile. I was about to combust from the heat spreading through me. I’d heard about this immediate attraction and the all-consuming need to protect her. And I knew what it meant.
She was my destined mate. The one. My one. I blinked against the power of my need. But a blink wasn’t going to do it.
Cam leaned in. “Are you okay?”
No, I wasn't okay. My whole world tipped on its axis because of a turtleneck sweater, skinny jeans, and the woman wearing them. And all the cinnamon lattes in town weren't going to calm my trembling hands. I tucked them under the table to hide my nerves as fear crept into my heart.
I can't go through that kind of rejection again, especially not with a destined mate.
I hadn’t said the words aloud, but Cameron smiled, maybe to counter my horror or maybe because he found some kind of perverse happiness in my misery.
Cam straightened up and his nostrils flared. He looked from the woman to me and back. He figured it out because his eyes widened. He gave me a meaningful look. I nodded. Yes, she might be my destined mate, but I wouldn't survive losing her once I had her. Fear burned through any confidence I might've had left. I shook my head.
She'll never accept a dragon.
Cameron kicked my shin under the table. I knew what he was saying. Once a dragon found his mate, he was never complete without her. But could I let myself be that vulnerable? I didn’t think so.
The dark-haired beauty sauntered closer, and my body moved of its own volition. I pushed my chair back and stood. I couldn’t just let her pass by even if I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. I tried for a smile, but as she closed the distance between us, she turned and hugged the panther who’d stood up beside me.
The panther. My destined mate was bound to him? No. No way. White-hot rage burned in my blood. She was mine. My mate. My destiny. The one woman in the world with the power to destroy me.
The aroma of cinnamon from my coffee mixed with the taste of bile in my throat. I wanted to scream and vomit at the same time.
"Easy." Cameron spoke softly to me then stood and turned to the woman still in Justin’s arms. "Hello, I'm Cameron Charles, and this is my associate, Samuel O'Lachlan. Justin didn’t mention we’d have the pleasure of your company this evening, Miss…?”
Cam waited for her reply, but she darted her narrowed gaze between the three of us.
"Justin. What is this?" She pushed off his chest then leaned close to hiss in his ear. “If this is your idea of keeping Bill away by speed dating me through the single men in this town, I swear—”
Even her voice stoked my inner inferno.
"Oh, for heaven’s sake, relax, Gretta. This is my neighbor, Sam, and my new shopping buddy, Cameron. Sit down and stop being so moody." He nudged her shoulder with his until she relented and pulled out the chair next to mine.
"I'm so sorry. It's been a long day.” She dropped her purse next to her chair then shook out her napkin and draped it across her lap as she continued talking. “This morning was the worst. I’m under a lot of pressure at the hospital, then I had to make dinner for my sister and my niece. And now I'm rambling.” She pressed her lips together then side-eyed Justin. “Please, let's start over. I'm Gretta."
"Don't pay her any mind. On a normal day, she’s a tried and true sweetheart. Today, she's just overworked and stressed out.” He widened his eyes and grinned at her. “And today is her lucky day. I have a solution to your Bill problem."
My voice finally managed to work. "We don't do money issues." Well, not unless she had a bookie and his goons threatening her.
"What? I don’t have money issues." She bit out every word, obviously pissed I’d suggest such a thing. I didn’t know what to say. I glanced at Cameron, desperate for him to help me out.
"We're sorry, Gretta. Sam didn't mean to imply anything untoward. You see, we're—"
"New in town." Justin shot us a stern look. My heart sank. “They do security.”
He doesn't want her to know we’re dragons. So, I’m starting off on a lie. As if being a dragon wasn’t bad enough.
"Security." Gretta met my gaze and extended her hand to me, forgiving my faux pas.
The radiating heat from her fingertips seeped through my skin straight to my heart. Shifter energy surged through me and made me head-swirling drunk. I wanted to take her hand in mine and never let go, but I was afraid of the synergistic effect. Besides, I couldn't risk her finding out I was a dragon. If her friend didn’t think she could take it, there was no reason for me to be hopeful, either.
Cameron shook her hand when I couldn’t—I needed a moment to regroup.
"Justin told us about your problem with your ex. Samuel has agreed to take the job to help you get him out of your life."
Bill is her ex-boyfriend. Not a money problem. That makes more sense.
Blessed relief really was sweet. I smiled and leaned a fraction closer to Gretta before laying my hand over hers. The instant we touched, an instinctual need to protect her took hold again.
"Don't worry. I’ll never let anything happen to you." Probably too intense for coffees at the local café, but I meant those words from the depths of my soul. To Gretta, they were probably tediously familiar. She most likely had a line of guys saying something similar. But to me, a dragon shifter, they were a lifelong promise, a solemn vow.
She didn’t answer, and my guts twisted. I’d gone too heavy. Too fast. Too much. Suddenly self-conscious, I released her hand and sat back. After a moment, she chatted
on with Cam, kicking around ideas to get rid of Bill, and then she grasped my arm and studied my face.
"Look, you have to promise me, no matter what happens, you won’t put your hands on Bill. I’ve seen guys after fights and after they’ve been, ah, roughed up. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he ended up with PTSD."
If she asked me to dance naked in the street, I would’ve been powerless to deny her. I nodded.
"Excuse me." Cameron shoved his chair back and stood. He was around the table and gone before I fully absorbed what she’d said.
"Is he okay? And what's up with his eyes? They're so beautifully…strange." Gretta raised her chin and scrunched her nose.
"Oh, come on, G. Remember when I showed you those colored contacts? Now, you’ve seen them in action. Aren't they fabulous?" Justin was good; He had an answer for everything.
"Cameron spent some time overseas. Tough tours. Saw things. But now, he suffers from PTSD.” It was Cam’s story, not mine to repeat. He felt everything so intensely, death hit him hard. Life hit him harder. But they deserved some explanation of why he’d taken off like that.
Her eyelids fluttered shut. When she opened them, tears pooled in the corners. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't mean to upset him." She fiddled with the handle of the fork on the table.
"Don't worry about Cam. He's generally easygoing. And we're retired. Not active duty anymore." I didn't want her asking questions, so I brought the conversation back around to her situation. Justin had a social media account pulled up on his phone, and I tapped on the image of a dude in board shorts and too much hair gel sitting on a boat.
"So, this is your ex?" Yikes.
"Yes. I just broke up with him, but he doesn't want to get his stuff out of my house. I’m up for a job with his dad, my boss, and I don’t want Bill causing any issues because I forced him to move his stuff out.”
Justin clicked his tongue, drawing Gretta’s attention to him. "Either way, you can’t let Bill run your life. You need to lay down the law. Put that rat bastard in his cage and lock it down.”
I was liking Justin more and more by the minute.
"I know, but it's so complicated. Maybe I can get a storage unit and put his things in there." She nodded as if she'd just solved world peace.
Justin's nostrils flared. "And you’ll end up paying for it for the rest of your life, too, because if you don’t and something happens to his heaping piles of crap, he’ll sue you. You know how he is. Litigious asshole.”
"What’s the difference between paying for a storage unit or paying this guy?” She jerked her thumb at me. Impersonal. Nearing the line between rude and ruder.
"We're going to give you a new customer discount." Cameron slid back into his seat. "And I think I've found a solution. We can say that you and Sam dated previously but lost touch while he was deployed, and now he's back and wants to take up with you again."
We all turned to stare at Cameron.
"Genius!" Justin clapped his hands together and beamed at me. “You didn’t tell me your boy was a genius!”
I didn’t usually have to.
But Gretta shook her head. “You mean you want Sam to be my boyfriend?”
“Pretend boyfriend. A decoy. A little wedge to push Bill out. Right now, he probably thinks you’ll change your mind; give in and take him back. He’s using you and your fear about him creating a problem with your boss and your job. But if Bill sees you with Sam, he’ll realize he has no leverage, and then he’ll want to get his stuff out of your place.” He nodded at me. “No way a guy wants another guy going through his stuff watching his TV, sitting in his chair.”
My heart dropped. I didn't want to be her fake lover. I wanted her for real. But first, I had to get rid of the ex. With him around, she wouldn’t look twice at me.
"Do you have a better idea, Gretta?” I was torn between wanting her to say yes and wanting her to say no.
"I don't have any ideas at all, but…" Gretta shook her head again. “I don’t know about this.”
"Don't worry. We'll figure out a way to keep your job intact and free from this headache." Big words from a guy—me—who had no idea how the hell we would make this work and keep her job and keep me from putting my hands on good old Bill.
She nodded, but wariness flickered in her eyes. "Thank you."
Justin grinned. "Perfect! I can't wait to see Bill’s face when he gets a load of your new eye candy.”
Gretta’s energy pulsed through her, chaotic and hectic, and strong enough that I didn’t have to concentrate to tune into how she was feeling. She put on a brave face, but at her center, this asshole had her shaken up.
“I’d better go. I’ve got to get back to Lila. Thank you for helping me,” she said before she headed out the door.
As much as I didn't want to see her go, I needed some time to process and explore the turbulent feelings raging in my chest, and there was only one way for a dragon to do that.
Cameron squeezed my shoulder. "Go on, get out of here. Fly. I'll meet the boys at the bar with Justin."
There was no way I was going to disagree. I shook my new neighbor's hand then headed off to take to the skies.
I drove my truck toward the mountainous woods to the east. My heart raced, thumping hard. I felt like a schoolboy again seeing an attractive girl for the first time. But this was so much more than mere physical attraction. Gretta was my destiny. And like generations of dragons before me, it was my duty and honor to protect her in all things.
My dragon surged with energy as I thought of Gretta. The smell of her hair. The curve of her face. The light in her eyes. I wanted to hold her, but more than that, I wanted to protect her. And if that meant I needed to pretend to be her boyfriend, then I’d be her fake boyfriend for the rest of my life.
Destined mate. I never thought it would happen for me, and I certainly couldn’t have imagined the intensity of this feeling. My dragon thrashed, demanding to break free so he could claim his mate. He didn’t understand rejection. Or devastation. Or pain. If I let him have free rein, no telling how this would turn out. The only chance I had was to give her time to like me and accept what I was.
Still, I had to satisfy my dragon, so I turned off a side road and parked at the precipice of a smaller mountain. When I got out of my truck, I stripped naked and folded my clothes on the front seat. Eventually, I would stash clothes around the town and its outskirts for those times when I wouldn’t be able to shift back at the same place I first took flight. We all had bags, and I could have carried mine, but I intended to come back here. I doubted the town was ready for dragons to drop in from the sky.
My flesh burned in the cold night air, and electricity crackled through me. This moment, with my dragon on the surface and expectation thrumming through my body, was like sex. Sweet. Full of passion and desire. I grinned, and then with a deep breath, I gave in to my true nature and shifted into the smaller of my two sizes.
Fiery yellow, orange, and red scales formed on my skin as my bones and sinew stretched and reshaped. It wasn’t painful. It was actually invigorating, and I extended my newly formed wings in anticipation of flight.
Still grinning, I lumbered toward the mountain edge, my talons digging into the musty layers of leaves and dirt. I picked up momentum and threw myself off the side of the mountain, suddenly free and weightless. My wings snapped as I soared over the dark forest and the lights of Spruce below. I flew as far as I could and as high as I could until I lost track of time, only turning for home when the sun broke over the horizon.
I’d laid all my dreams on the tiny town, hoping to find something I hadn’t had for over a hundred years, since I left Australia—a place where I belonged. And now I had a chance to live with my mate by my side.
Thrilled at the prospect, I released a roar and exhaled a fiery breath as I landed at the perimeter of Lake Champlain to the west of the town. I caught a glimpse of my reflection—of my multihued scales shimmering in the morning light, and my wings curled in at
my back. I straightened my long neck and raised my face to the rising sun.
I am Man.
I am Passion.
I am Fire.
I released a hot breath over the water’s surface. The truth of my nature filled my heart and soul as mist rose over the lake. Pride coursed through my veins.
I am Protector.
I am Dragon.
3
Gretta
The afternoon sun sliced through the thick blanket of branches and shrubs as I drove to my sister’s house. It was only about a ten-minute drive but meandering along the forested road always gave me great pleasure and peace of mind. I made the trip more now than I did when Mom and Dad were alive. Lila was diagnosed with MS right after they died. She might’ve been my older sister, but sister was the word that mattered. It was also why I needed to land this research position since it was aimed at curing MS.
I pulled into the horseshoe driveway. She lived in our family home, a cross between an old colonial with big windows and a boxy exterior, and a cedar shake cabin. Smoke billowed from the chimney like a welcome signal. I’d always admired the style of our family home and adored the large fireplace. The oversized wraparound porch still had my parents’ worn wicker furniture, where Lila and I had spent many nights in our teen years talking about life and dreaming about boys.
I wished life were that easy again, but then, most people did. Before I had a chance to wallow in nostalgia, Zoe rushed out the door and threw her arms around me as soon as I was out of the car. A swath of curly brunette hair splayed across my chest, and I kissed the top of her head.
“How’s your mom today?”
Zoe turned her freckled face toward mine and smiled. “Really good.”
I cupped her face and stared, but this kid was a rock—gave nothing away. Something she inherited from me; I was sure. I kissed her forehead. "I love the curls. Did you braid it?" She had our family's good hair. Lila's hair, not the thick, messy strands I'd inherited from Dad.