A Dragon for Christmas: Shifters for Christmas #2

by Chant, Zoe

  Garrett glanced at her, eyes warm. “Sure. I trust you.”

  “Well, I suppose you are used to living dangerously,” Georgia laughed, flipping through the menu, already feeling excitement coursing through her at the thought of introducing Garrett to some proper Christmas fare.

  She ordered warm, spiced glühwein to start with, which arrived with a star anise and two slices of dried orange on the rim of the mug, a tiny piece of gingerbread nestled on the saucer. Georgia could already feel her cheeks beginning to glow with warmth as she lifted the mug to her lips, letting the sweet, spicy taste flow over her tongue.

  “Mmmmmm.” She couldn’t hold back her satisfied sound. “That’s how it’s supposed to be made.”

  Garrett, sipping his own wine, seemed cautious at first, perhaps at the strong scent of it. But after one small sip, he quickly took another, looking at her almost with surprise.

  “That’s delicious.”

  “You’re telling me,” Georgia said, before taking another sip.

  They drank together in contented silence, the steam from their drinks rising into the air between their faces.

  Georgia couldn’t help herself from studying Garrett’s face as he drank. He was gorgeous – she’d noticed that about him right away. But she found her mind drifting back to the way they’d stared at each other earlier – the way she’d felt drawn to him, as if by magnetism. She’d never felt such a strong connection to a man before, and definitely not so quickly. He flustered her, too: she hadn’t known what to do with herself as she’d watched him patiently teach Logan how to build a fire.

  Her eyes flickered down to his lips as he took another sip of glühwein, his tongue running over them a moment later. Georgia found herself unconsciously mimicking the gesture with her own tongue, and swallowed.

  What would it be like to kiss him?

  He’d taste sweet like the wine, and his mouth would be warm and soft. And she’d notice it all the more because the morning was so crisp and clear, the blue of the sky unbroken by clouds.

  His body would be warm too, as he pulled her close to him, one of his large hands coming up to cradle the back of her head as he kissed her, the other hand winding around her, fitting snugly in the curve of her waist.

  Garrett’s kisses would be just the same as he was: hot, gruff, but shockingly gentle… at least until passion overcame them both, and he threw her down on the bed, his hands scrabbling at her clothes, while she arched up beneath him, moaning his name –

  “COUGH! Ackkk –”

  “Georgia! Are you all right?!”

  Georgia bent over, trying to hide her watering eyes and bright red cheeks from Garrett’s view as she tried to clear her windpipe of the glühwein she’d managed to inhale directly into her lungs.

  “I – I’m – hackhack, ughhh – I’m fine, I promise,” she eventually got out, dabbing as delicately as she could at her nose with a napkin.

  Oh great, this is a good look! Maybe you’d like to throw up in front of him for an encore?!

  “A little bit just went down the wrong way,” Georgia said, her voice strained, when she felt she could finally look him in the eye again.

  She could only manage a quick glance, however, before the memory of why exactly she’d forgotten herself so completely came back to her, and she felt herself coloring once more.

  Right, you were so busy fantasizing you forgot how to drink. How old are you again, exactly?

  Georgia bit her lip. She hadn’t really meant for her fantasy to get so detailed – one moment she’d just been thinking how nice it’d be for Garrett to kiss her, and the next…

  Okay, well, there was no need to dwell on that again, or she’d end up choking on her own tongue next time. She already knew she was powerfully attracted to Garrett. He was hot as hell, with muscles on his muscles and the kind of jawline she hadn’t thought existed in nature. And even more importantly, he was kind and decent and good with Logan: exactly the kind of man she would have wished her son to have as a role model.

  “Before, when you said you weren’t sure if you wanted a family…” Georgia started to say before breaking off, realizing that her train of thought made her question seem logical to her, but to Garrett, it must have been a complete non sequitur.

  But to her surprise, Garrett just cocked his head, his blue eyes intent on her face.

  “It’s not that I didn’t want one,” he said, his voice low. “I did – desperately, at one time. I used to think about it a lot. It’s only my job that makes me hold back.” He paused, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed heavily. “But what you said to me before, about how if a woman chose me anyway…”

  Georgia took a deep breath. “Any woman would be lucky to have you. And you’d be a great father. I just have to see you with Logan to know that.”

  Garrett’s eyes flickered to hers, and once again she felt that pull between them, almost animal in its strength. And somehow, she knew he could feel it too – she could feel the air crackling with electricity, like a live wire was dancing between them.

  “Georgia…”

  Garrett saying her name almost made her groan out loud. His voice reminded her of dark chocolate and late afternoon sunshine, of black tea and dark golden treacle. She could feel herself leaning forward, pulled toward Garrett by the same invisible force she’d been feeling all morning. This close, she could see the flecks of gray in his blue eyes, pick out each individual dark lash that surrounded them. His skin, rough and tanned, seemed to call out to her, begging her to touch it.

  You need to slow down, she thought vaguely to herself, but at the same time, she didn’t want to. She wanted for him to kiss her, to feel his arms around her, to feel that spark between them again…

  “Garrett, I –”

  “Excuse me, but are you Ms. Clarkson, Logan’s mom?”

  Georgia felt like an entire bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. She blinked, utterly disoriented at the sound of the feminine voice by her side. Looking up, she found herself gazing into the smiling face of a woman she didn’t know.

  “I… yes?” she managed to stutter out, before a cold sense of dread clutched at her heart. “Is Logan all right?”

  “Oh – yes! He’s fine!” The woman nodded, smiling enthusiastically. “In fact, he and my son Charlie have been getting along great.”

  Georgia opened her mouth, then shut it again. Her son Charlie?

  Still feeling slightly dazed from staring into Garrett’s eyes, Georgia forced herself to focus, peering around the woman’s side. Logan was racing up the steps of the restaurant from the skate hire shack, a boy she’d never seen before by his side.

  Has he… made a friend?

  Hope blossomed in Georgia’s heart. Logan almost never talked to kids he didn’t already know – and even then, it was clear he preferred spending his time at home.

  “Mom!”

  She hadn’t heard Logan’s voice sound so excited in years.

  “Mom, can I ask you something?”

  Logan reached her side, his cheeks flushed, eyes bright. Georgia felt like she could have cried. Logan was usually such a solemn child. It was wonderful to see him looking so excited. Nonetheless, she checked herself, reining in her emotions. She didn’t want to agree to let him go paragliding or rock climbing or something just because she was carried away by the moment.

  “Well, that depends on what it is,” she said.

  “Oh, I thought I could help explain that,” the woman replied. “Sorry, I’ve been rude, interrupting you here with your husband –” she nodded at Garrett, smiling “– without even introducing myself.”

  Georgia opened her mouth to say He’s not my husband, but decided that might raise more questions than it answered, and quickly shut it again. She glanced at Garrett from beneath her eyelashes, and noted that while she may have recovered from their, uh, moment, he was still sitting there looking vaguely stunned.

  “My name’s Kelly, Kelly Johnstone,” the woma
n said, holding out her hand for Georgia to shake. “My family comes here every year. We just love it. Logan tells me this is your family’s first time, though.”

  “Oh, yes,” Georgia replied. “We won a raffle, so here we are. You’re lucky – this place is beautiful.”

  Kelly beamed. “It’s become a tradition, I suppose. Anyway, Charlie asked Logan if he was coming to the kids’ camp out tonight, and when Logan said he wasn’t, Charlie dragged him over to me saying they had to find his mom to ask her if he could go.”

  “That’s what I wanted to ask, Mom,” Logan broke in. “Can I go to the camp out?”

  Georgia struggled to organize her thoughts. “Well, I’d have to know a little more about it, first,” she said. “What exactly is the camp out?”

  “It’s really cool,” Charlie piped up. “You get to make s’mores on a campfire and tell ghost stories, and then we go sleep in the main hall in sleeping bags. It’d be cool if Logan could come.” His eyes suddenly alighted on Freddy, sitting by Georgia’s feet. “Is that your dog? He’s so cool!”

  Charlie and Logan crouched down to pet Freddy’s head, as Logan began introducing them properly. Freddy stood, tail wagging, reveling in the attention.

  “To be honest, there aren’t so many kids here as there usually is,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “So I’m sure they’d still have places left if you wanted to sign Logan up. The only thing is, the kids have to attend a little teaching session this afternoon to make sure they know the rules. If they don’t attend that, they can’t go on the camp out. So if you’ll let Logan come, you should probably go sign him up right now.”

  Georgia hesitated. The idea of Logan spending the night away made her breath catch in her throat.

  But then again, isn’t this exactly what I wanted? And it’s normal – he’s nine years old. Old enough by far to be going to sleepovers without his mother.

  “All right,” she said, nodding. “But I want to find out a little more information first, okay?”

  Logan nodded, but she could see the excitement in him bubbling just below the surface.

  “I can vouch for their safety,” Kelly said. “Charlie goes every year, and he loves it. The staff here all know first aid, and there’s plenty of them around. And the kids don’t sleep outside – once the cookout and the storytelling is done, they go to the hall.”

  Georgia glanced at Logan once more – at his hopeful smile and at the way his eyes shone. He and Charlie had clearly become fast friends, but wasn’t that always the way when you were kids? She and Emilia had been to elementary school together, and what had started as a shared love of brightly-colored hair scrunchies had become a lifelong friendship.

  “All right,” she said at last. “Let’s go get you signed up.”

  Chapter 4

  Garrett watched as Logan and Charlie raced off together with the other kids, ready to attend the ‘safety first’ instructional session before the camp out. Pets were allowed at the camp out provided they passed an obedience test – which Freddy had, with flying colors – and given how enamored Charlie had seemed of the black Lab, Georgia had allowed him to go along too.

  Logan was clearly excited, which warmed Garrett’s heart – but nonetheless, he could still sense his mate’s unease. He glanced down to where Georgia was looking after her son’s departing back.

  “Do you think he’ll be all right?” she asked, tension in her voice.

  Of course he will, Garrett’s dragon said, rising up within him. When we were his age, we were often alone in the woods, taking care of ourselves.

  Yes, but I’m a shifter, Garrett reminded it. We don’t feel the cold and we heal fast. Plus, I have a feeling even other shifters might find my father’s parenting methods a little bit… unorthodox.

  Garrett’s father might have been a strict disciplinarian, but Garrett supposed that at least it had set him up for his current life in the Shifter Patrol Corps. What it hadn’t prepared him for was finding his mate – or how to tell her that she was his mate.

  He found it impossible to believe that she couldn’t sense the connection between them now. The moment they had shared over the delicious thing called glühwein back at the restaurant had confirmed that for him. The electricity between them had been undeniable. If they had been left alone only a moment longer, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from kissing her.

  He glanced down at her now, feeling heat pull at his groin.

  She is so beautiful.

  From the fall of her wavy auburn hair, to the fullness of her pink lips, over every luscious curve, right down to the tips of her toes, she was perfect.

  Not that he’d seen her toes, but he didn’t have to: he already knew everything about his mate was divine.

  And now, I just have to tell her.

  There was no reason to think she already knew what shifters were, or how their mated bonds worked.

  He knew that humans liked to get to know their chosen mates. They didn’t have a way of just knowing that someone was meant for them.

  Sounds horrible, his dragon said. How do they know if they are choosing correctly? How do they know that the person will be loyal to them forever, until death?

  Perhaps they don’t, Garrett told it – and clearly, Georgia already had experience of the pain this could bring. She’d have even more reason than other women to be cautious about committing too fast.

  If we tell her, she will know at once that we would never do such a thing to her, his dragon purred. She will know we will spend our life cherishing her, adoring her, doing everything in our power to make her happy. She will never need to worry again.

  It seemed so simple when his dragon said it, Garrett thought. But at the same time, he knew there were extremely good reasons why shifters kept their existence secret from humans. There was always a chance she could run from him, screaming in terror, if he revealed his dragon to her.

  I have to choose the right time, he thought. And it has to be before things go any further with her.

  And besides which, Garrett realized there was something else contributing to his sense of unease. The woman Georgia had spoken to, Kelly Johnstone, had confirmed what he and Georgia had noted earlier: there didn’t seem to be that many people here at the resort.

  Garrett couldn’t say why that would have made him feel uneasy – if anything, it should have been the opposite, given how little he liked crowds, and had been planning on staying away from people as much as possible.

  But there was just something about the atmosphere here that he couldn’t shake as being wrong, somehow.

  I must be mistaken, Garrett thought, as a laughing family passed by them, all smiles and warm winter breath. I’m just not used to being somewhere actually relaxing.

  But still, he couldn’t shake the feeling – and he couldn’t completely release the tension from his shoulders.

  It has to be nerves from finally finding my mate, he decided.

  “Was there anything else you wanted to do today?” Garrett asked, looking at Georgia as together they walked away from the camp out sign-ups desk.

  The last of the apprehension that had still clouded Georgia’s face faded away as she glanced at him, her brown eyes sparkling. “I guess we have some time to ourselves for a little bit,” she said, a small smile playing over her lips. “We could really do anything.”

  Garrett’s dragon sat up, eyes glittering, smoke puffing from its mouth.

  Our mate is telling us clearly what she wants, it growled. We should show her what we want, just as clearly.

  As much as Garrett desperately wanted to do just that, he shoved the dragon’s words out of his mind, and did his best to ignore the tug of desire deep in his gut.

  “You did say you wanted to show me what Christmas was all about,” he said, as his dragon began threatening to burst everything around him into flames if he didn’t throw Georgia over his shoulder and fly her back to the chalets right now to show her what being a dragon’s mate really meant.

/>   Georgia didn’t seem fazed, however – she simply raised an eyebrow a little incredulously.

  “Well, I suppose I did,” she said. “Have you ever seen a sixty-foot Christmas tree before? Because the resort brochure tells me we can find one up by the main hall.”

  “Sounds amazing,” Garrett said, meaning it. Perhaps that was where all the other resort guests were: admiring the Christmas tree. That would certainly go some way to easing the strange tension he’d felt ever since he and Georgia had come down to the resort.

  Together, they made their way through the streets, pausing every so often as Georgia pointed out something in a shop window, her excitement obvious.

  She really was adorable, Garrett thought, as she turned her face to look at him, her eyes sparkling, as she handed him a red and white striped candy cane, taken from a bowl sitting on top of a sign reading Main Hall – This Way.

  “Here,” she said. “Try this.”

  Garrett knew what they were, in the sense that he’d seen them around and knew they were a kind of candy. But he’d never actually eaten one before – candy just wasn’t his thing at all.

  Nonetheless, he couldn’t resist the slightly teasing look on Georgia’s face, so he dutifully unwrapped the cane and put one end in his mouth.

  The flavor explosion was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. To him, food had become something he ate because his body needed fuel. He preferred to eat things that got him the most amount of protein and carbs with the least amount of fuss. Indulging in it was never something he’d enjoyed.

  Between first the breakfast Georgia had made, then the glühwein and now this candy cane, Garrett was beginning to realize just how much he’d missed out on over the years.

  “Good, right?” Georgia asked, grinning at him. “I love sweet stuff, though obviously I try not to have too much of it. Not these days, anyway. When I was a kid my dad was forever having to keep my hands out of the cookie jar, or holding back my allowance so I wouldn’t spend it all on candy right away.”

  Garrett took another long suck of the candy cane, enjoying the tang of the peppermint on his tongue.