by Kayla Wolf
But it wasn’t until she’d met Lachlan that she’d realized she was in trouble.
Kath had remarked that he was good looking—she’d agreed, more or less habitually, when she’d seen his photo. Sure—blonde hair, blue eyes, sharp features, he was an attractive dude. But the photo absolutely paled in comparison to the real thing. The minute he opened the door, it was like being hit by a train. How could someone so gorgeous even exist in real life? She had no idea how she’d survived the conversation—she’d stammered something stupid about how pretty the wildlife was, probably making an idiot of herself in the process. And then, thank God, his daughter had saved her. Delilah was a delight—she’d been able to talk to her, no trouble.
He probably thought she was so rude. He even got up and went to the trouble of making breakfast for her—the whole time, she just kept her attention on Delilah, not trusting herself to look at Lachlan for too long. He was just so… god, how did anyone look like that? Those eyes, that face—the way his smile crinkled up his eyes—it was too much. At this rate, she was never going to have a career. She’d waited so long to get her first job … and now she could barely focus on her work, she found the boss so distracting! But what was she going to do? Quit? That wouldn’t look good in interviews, would it? And why did you leave your last position? Well, my boss was too hot, and I had to get out of there. You understand.
She bit her lip as the door shut behind Lachlan who was on his way to his meeting. The annoying thing was, this job was perfect, otherwise. She loved the climate, loved the tiny little eco-friendly settlement, loved the small town vibe and the gorgeous little cottage Lachlan and Delilah lived in. And Delilah herself was an absolute delight—so clever, so cheeky, already so full of promise. This had the potential to be an amazing job. Was she really going to let herself screw it up because she found her boss so attractive?
No, she decided, helping Delilah get dressed. She was going to get control of herself, shake off this stupid crush, and focus on doing what she did best—which was looking after this little human. So once they’d dressed for the hot sun (including a liberal helping of sunscreen—did dragons get sunburned? Better not risk it, she decided) they set off for a walk.
Delilah seemed to know which way she wanted to go, and it wasn’t as though Serena had any other ideas—she was more than happy to follow the toddler’s determined little steps through the settlement. There weren’t many more than a few dozen houses here, and Serena drew more than a few curious looks from the people they passed. To her surprise, they all had eyes the same shade of pale blue that Lachlan’s were. Was that a dragon thing? Her mother had told her that all wolves had silver eyes—perhaps dragons were the same.
“Dad!”
She blinked down at Delilah, who’d stopped dead in her tracks and was pointing enthusiastically across what looked like the central square of the tiny town. Sure enough, there was Lachlan—Serena’s heart did an uneasy little backflip. He was sitting with five other guys, clearly deep in conversation. This must be the meeting he’d mentioned. She and Delilah were crashing it—but Delilah, with surprising strength for a three-year-old, was already tugging Serena determinedly across the town square towards her father. They’d just say hi for a minute, Serena decided, biting her lip. She could handle that. Besides, it would be good to meet a few of the locals.
”Serena,” Lachlan said, smiling at her. She gritted her teeth against the way her name coming from his mouth made her stomach flutter—and caught a look of worry in his face in response. Damnit. He probably thought she was strange, or rude—she wished she could explain that it was her problem, not his, but she couldn’t exactly do that without admitting to him her extremely embarrassing crush, could she?
”Dad’s friends,” Delilah said with satisfaction, pointing at the men who were sitting with Lachlan—most of whom chuckled.
”Accurate, I guess,” Lachlan said, grinning around at the guys. “Everyone, this is Serena, Delilah’s new nanny. Serena, this is Bryce, James, Emerson, Harvey, and Daniel.”
Each of the men waved or nodded—with the exception of James, who tipped her a rather lascivious wink when he was introduced. The guy Lachlan had introduced as Daniel rolled his eyes, jabbing James in the ribs with his elbow.
”Don’t mind James. He has a weakness for anyone female.”
”What? A gorgeous woman like this, she probably gets flirted with all the time. She’d think something was wrong if nobody offered to show her around the neighborhood—say tonight, pick you up around eight?”
”Don’t be gross,” Lachlan snapped, and James raised his hands innocently.
”I’m fine, thanks,” Serena said, amused despite herself.
”Wise move,” Daniel said in an undertone, his blue eyes dancing. “I hope you’re settling in well. We haven’t had a wolf stay here before.”
”For good reason,” the one called Harvey said darkly. She tilted her head, curious.
”What reason?”
”Nothing,” Lachlan said firmly, shooting his friend a glance—the brown-haired man subsided into his chair. Serena glanced around the circle, intrigued by the dynamic. Lachlan hadn’t said he was in charge around here, but it was pretty clear from the way the other guys regarded him that he was their leader. “We’re just discussing a bit of trouble the settlement’s had with a local wolf pack.”
”Old trouble,” Harvey clarified. It was clearly bothering him a lot more than it was bothering the others. “Potentially big trouble.”
”Well, if you need any help,” Serena said, shrugging. “I’m a wolf. Happy to be an ambassador if you need one.” Not that she was much of an expert on being a wolf… still, this was her home now. She wanted to be helpful if she could.
”Walk!”
That was Delilah’s bright little voice—the toddler had clearly decided that they’d spent enough time here, and she felt her slip her little hand into Serena’s and start tugging her away across the square.
”The boss has spoken,” Bryce said solemnly—the big guy had a low, rumbling voice and a dry sense of humor that made Serena grin.
”It was nice to meet you all. I’ll see you around.”
”God, I hope so,” James said coyly—and Serena covered a smile with her hand as Daniel elbowed him hard in the ribs. Delilah led her away across the square, and she glanced back over her shoulder at the men. James seemed like quite a flirt. She wondered if Lachlan was anything like that? Was he the kind of guy who flirted with every woman he saw or was he the stoic leader, devoted to his job and the care of his daughter?
It doesn’t matter what kind of guy he is, she scolded herself. He’s your boss, that’s what kind of guy he is. The only things you need to know about his personal life are the things that will help you take good care of his daughter.
Resolutely, she followed Delilah across the courtyard, determined to spend the day thinking about her work—and not her devastatingly handsome boss.
Chapter 5 – Lachlan
Lachlan took the first patrol. He wanted to make Harvey feel better about the security of the peninsula—the guy got very anxious when it came to safety, probably as a result of the fights he’d been in in his time. The sun was setting when Lachlan headed out on foot, heading north along the road towards where the strip of land their settlement was on joined the mainland. There was only the one road in and out of the settlement, and it was a dirt road, too—they had a handful of vehicles between them, all of them built for rough terrain, and they’d make a few trips per week into town to pick up the groceries and supplies they couldn’t source themselves. Still, he liked going on foot. It gave him a lot more freedom… like the freedom to shift form, once he was outside of the village, and leap into the air to continue his patrol.
There was something so freeing about being in his dragon form. His true body—for all that he spent a lot more time in his human shape, he still thought of this one as his true one—was long and sleek, the same gray-blue color as the surface of the o
cean. Like his water dragon fellows, he had a set of gills at the base of his long, sinuous neck that let him breathe underwater when he needed to, and his sleek, scaled body was covered in fins that stabilized him in the air as well as underwater. That had been the worst part of being on the road—there was nowhere that it was safe to change shape. But out here, the risk of being spotted by a human was laughably small. He could fly as much as he liked.
He couldn’t find many signs of wolf encroachment—though he did find the remains of what looked like a campsite pretty close to the point where the peninsula joined the mainland. It was hard to tell how old it was, though—it could have been a coincidence. If it had been a weekend, he might have headed into the little town nearby, stopped in at the bar to ask around about any new shifters in the area—he had enough friends there that he could probably get some info. But on a weeknight, business would be slow. The bar might even be closed by now. Besides, he needed to get back home before dawn. He trusted Serena—she was great with Delilah, anyone could see that—but staying out till dawn on her second night in town might be pushing it.
It must have been close to midnight by the time he got back to the cottage. He moved quietly into the house, not wanting to wake anyone—but to his surprise, Serena was still up, sitting on the couch cross-legged with a book in her lap. She smiled when she looked up at him, and it nearly threw him off-balance again—she really was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Were all wolves that gorgeous? He’d heard that dragon men were often considered very handsome by human women, for some reason… maybe the same was true when it came to wolf women and dragon men? Unprofessional, he scolded himself. She’s your employee. Be polite.
”How was the patrol?” she asked softly, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Delilah. He’d told her about the patrols before he’d left—she’d offered to take a shift or two herself on her nights off, which had made him smile. It was nice that she was so keen to be part of the community here. He took a seat on the couch beside her—it was a little small for two people, but he’d felt rude standing over her like he had been. He could feel the warmth of her body against him, and he suppressed a strange urge to lean closer to her.
”It was pretty uneventful, honestly. Found an old campsite, but that could’ve been from any time. On the weekend I’ll go into town and see if there’s any information about packs moving through the area.”
”Packs?” She looked curious.
”Yeah, there’s a few that move through pretty regularly. I’m hoping this is one of the friendly ones.”
”Wolf packs tend to move around a lot?”
”Yeah.” He blinked. “Doesn’t yours?”
She looked hesitant, and he found himself second-guessing himself. Had he made an assumption about wolves that wasn’t true? “I don’t really—have a pack.”
”Oh. I’m sorry. I just assumed that wolves usually… live in packs. The same way dragons usually live in family groups like this one.”
”Do they?” She looked genuinely curious. “I’m not really … a very normal wolf, I’m afraid. My mom was human, I went to school with humans… I’ve never even met another wolf. Not since my dad, and I was only a baby when he left.”
”I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly, thinking of his own daughter. She wouldn’t recognize her mother if she met her, he knew that. She’d been barely a few months old when Sarah had left them both. Sometimes, he wondered if Delilah missed her, on some instinctive level—that intuitive connection babies have with their mothers.
”It’s okay.” She smiled. “It’s good to see a dad who’s there for his daughter. Delilah adores you.”
”She’s my life,” he said simply, shrugging. “Her mother…” He hadn’t been sure how much he wanted to share with Delilah’s nanny, but Serena had told him about her father—it seemed only fair to share in return. “Her mother’s a human. She… we were together for a while. I thought we’d be a family, but she didn’t want that, in the end. She left us both.”
”I’m so sorry,” Serena said softly, her silver eyes oddly solemn in the gloom of the living room. He was acutely aware of the intimacy of the moment, the quiet of the evening, the low light, and the emotional intensity of their conversation. It occurred to him that he rarely talked about Sarah—the last time he’d mentioned his relationship with her must have been years ago. “She’s missing out.”
”Yeah,” Lachlan agreed, smiling. “It’s her loss. Delilah’s so wonderful. I can’t imagine missing a minute of all this.”
”Is she a dragon too?” Serena asked softly, curiosity in her eyes. “If her mother was human—”
”We don’t know yet,” Lachlan shrugged. He’d given the issue a fair bit of thought, too, and asked around a lot—but he didn’t have much information. “There are so few examples of humans having children with dragons… we don’t really know how it works. Dragons whose parents are both dragons are usually born in their dragon shape, though, and Delilah’s been nothing but human since she was born. Still, she’s only little.”
”I didn’t shift until I was fifteen,” Serena said. “Mom told me I was a wolf before that, though. She said my eyes gave it away—but she wasn’t completely sure until I actually shifted.”
”Delilah has her mother’s eyes. And her mother’s curls,” he added, grinning.
”What does she have from you?”
”Oh, all the worst qualities are mine, probably. The stubbornness, definitely. The bossiness…”
Serena laughed. It was a beautiful sound—it made a strange warmth spread across his chest. “She’s so bossy! I thought I was taking her out on a walk this afternoon, but she was absolutely driving.”
”That’d be right.” He grinned. “All my fault, of course. She’s always called the shots around here.”
”Well, she’ll make a leader like her dad someday, I bet, dragon or not.”
He smiled at that. “So you’ve never met any other wolves?”
”No,” she said shrugging. “Sometimes I feel like I should, but… well, I think you choose your family. My mom’s the one who raised me, the one who loved me and looked after me—why would I need wolves when I had her?”
”Do you miss her? She’s more than welcome to come and visit down here.”
”That’s kind of you,” Serena said softly. “But she passed away about a year ago.”
”Oh.” He took a deep breath, realizing with a lurch that he’d forgotten that humans tended to have much higher mortality rates than dragons did. There weren’t many diseases that bothered dragons, and they had extraordinarily long lifespans… his own parents were still alive and well, living in Nevada somewhere. Humans—and wolves—were different. “I’m sorry. She sounds like she was a wonderful woman.”
”She was.” Serena smiled at him. “Well, now you know all my sad stuff. Dad left, mom died. Now we can be friends.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m glad we’re friends. Are you—” He hesitated, not sure how to phrase it. “Are you settling in okay? You seemed a little… distant, this morning.”
An odd expression flickered across her face—a mixture of alarm, concern, and something like guilt. She shrugged, fidgeting with the pages of her book. “Oh, I’m fine, totally. I was just—tired, from the trip, and settling in, all of that stuff. A bit nervous about meeting you and Delilah, too.”
”That’s understandable,” he said, looking at her closely. Why did he get the feeling she wasn’t telling him the whole truth? She looked up at him, her bright silver eyes catching his—and suddenly he was acutely aware of how close they were, of the warmth of her body in the room, the still, quiet night they were sharing…
But before he could do anything stupid, he felt himself rising to his feet, clearing his throat hard as he stretched. “I’d better get to bed,” he was saying, his voice running on autopilot, and she was murmuring agreement. They said a somewhat awkward goodnight in the hallway, and he almost bolted for his bedroom, his heart pou
nding, and it wasn’t until he’d undressed and gotten into bed that he managed to get his heartbeat under control. What the hell was wrong with him? Had he seriously just been thinking about—he blushed hard in the darkness, embarrassed by even the thought of what he’d been about to do. She’d been so close—for a second, he’d been about to kiss her. Thank God he’d stopped himself, he thought, biting his lip hard. Talk about inappropriate. He resolved to try harder to keep his distance from her—clearly, he wasn’t doing a very good job of staying in control of himself. She was a beautiful young woman, and it had been a long time since he’d been with anyone romantically, that was all. He’d just have to make more of an effort to keep his distance.
But still, he couldn’t help but wonder in one treacherous corner of his mind as he drifted off to sleep thinking about her… was she thinking about him, too?
Chapter 6 – Serena
After a restless night of sleep, plagued with dreams she had decided not to think about, Serena woke up full of fresh determination to be a goddamned professional. This was ridiculous. There had been a moment the night before—a quick moment, but a moment nonetheless—where she’d almost caved in to her base urges and kissed her boss. That would have been absolutely catastrophic. Thank God he’d gotten up when he had and headed for bed. She refused to acknowledge the possibility that he’d been thinking about kissing her, too—there were more than enough problems to be dealing with for now without adding that to the mix.
Lachlan was her boss, that was all. And even if it killed her, she was going to keep things professional.
Once she’d gently roused a sleepy Delilah from her bed and gotten the little girl dressed, she padded out into the kitchen, where she set about making bacon and eggs—she had it on good authority that it was Lachlan’s favorite breakfast, and she wanted to thank him for making her breakfast the day before. Delilah was more than happy to offer her assistance in the cooking process—breaking the eggs was her favorite part—and it wasn’t long before a feast was laid out on the table before them. Lachlan was pleased—she could tell that the grin on his face was genuine, and it felt nice to sit around the table, the three of them enjoying the breakfast she’d made.