Gwen Read online

  “Okay, so you and your mum, you travel, she paints, you surf. You avoid humans as much as you can.” Jago repeated what she’d said.

  She nodded.

  He didn’t say anything for a long beat, but he watched her with those beautiful baby blues of his. Then he simply said, “Sounds lonely. You don’t live among dragons, but you can’t make any lasting human friendships either.”

  She bristled. “It’s not lonely. We have one another, and sometimes we go and spend time in our birth clan in Wales. We haven’t turned our backs totally on our dragon brethren. We simply don’t want to live their life.”

  “Us either. We travel a lot.” He glanced out to the sea. “And of course, we both surf. How many dragons surf? Not only do you match us so well physically that we fit one another like a glove, but we all surf. Something in common on top of the biological shit we’ve got going on. You ask me, those are crazy odds.”

  Crazy odds, indeed. The whole past hour had been surreal and intense. She ached with fatigue now that the adrenaline rush had worn off, and she wanted her bed, a hot cup of tea, and a good book.

  “Which car is yours?” Cadan asked.

  She pointed to her battered old Jeep. He spun her keys around one long finger and held the passenger door open for her once he’d unlocked it.

  Taking a deep breath, she clambered in, heart still hammering away. The journey was going to be excruciating.

  Chapter Two

  Cadan walked around the car, teeth clenched. He’d nearly grabbed Gwen and pulled her into him as she’d brushed past him to climb into the car. This journey would test his patience to the limits.

  “I’ll follow you,” Jago smirked.

  “You can wipe that smile from your face,” he snapped, checking Gwen had closed her door and couldn’t hear. “I’m going to have blue fucking balls by the time this is done.”

  “Poor thing. Perhaps I should call one of our human playthings? See if they fancy a bit of fun later?”

  Cade considered it and hated finding he didn’t warm to the idea. Fuck it all, he only wanted her, and he’d spent mere minutes in her company. His dragon rode him hard, and he half wanted to take her back to the clan, whether she argued or not, because what the fuck had she been doing surfing this dangerous spot alone? She’d been seriously reckless, and he already worried. Wanted to keep her safe.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Jay said, voice low. “She’ll hate you…us, if you push it. Drop her off and we’ll know where she lives, and then let’s invite her surfing in a couple of days. She’s going to be shaken up from this incident, and she won’t want to go alone. Slow, my friend. Slow. The tortoise wins the race, remember.”

  Fuck tortoises, he was a damned dragon. But he grunted and nodded before taking in a deep breath and girding his loins against Gwen’s tempting scent. He climbed into the car, and she shot him an annoyed look as he gunned the engine.

  “You’re bossy.” She pursed her delicious lips.

  “And you’re reckless,” he shot back.

  “Maybe.” She chewed her lip, and he bit back a groan. She seemed to do it when she wanted to say something, or wanted to stop herself from saying something.

  “Spit it out,” he said.

  She sighed. “You won’t approve.”

  He placed one arm over her seat back and looked behind him as he turned the wheel and reversed out of the parking spot. Her shoulders tensed the whole while his arm rested there, and he experienced a sadistic shot of satisfaction. Good. Let her stew in their bond. Only young in dragon terms, he’d bet the bonding hormones were blowing anything she’d experienced in her life up to now out of the water.

  “Doesn’t matter whether I approve or not.” He took his arm back and rested it on the wheel as they drove down the small path to the road. A glance in the rearview mirror told him Jay followed in their car. “We’re nothing to one another. You can tell me anything, and it doesn’t matter, right?”

  She nibbled a bit more on her plump lower lip. “I like the rush. It’s the same reason I enjoy partying with human acquaintances. The same reason I sometimes like to drink too much, and as a dragon, that means a lot before I feel it.”

  He glanced at her and wondered what else she liked to do for the rush. Maybe sex with human men? Or women? He hated the idea of either, but he could hardly judge without being a total hypocrite. He swallowed down his raging jealousy and kept his voice light. “An adrenaline junkie, eh?”

  “I suppose so, yes.”

  “Me too.”

  “Really?” She turned to look at him, interest in her eyes. “I normally find dragon people to be a bit…flat. I don’t know. They live in the clans and change form, and that seems about it.”

  “Yep, it’s staid, I agree. It’s the reason Jay and I don’t live the clan life. Not fully anyway. At times, I’ve left the clan land for long periods, but I always end up going back. I have a lot of extended kin there, and I worry if I leave for long. But if I stay too long, I get itchy feet. I like the rush too, Gwen.” He let her name linger on his lips and loved the way her pupils widened in response.

  “It’s why we surf,” he added.

  “Is Jay the same? An adrenaline junkie?”

  Her interest in them was a good sign. He thought about her question and smiled. “I think he is, but not to the degree that I am, perhaps. He’s young for a dragon, not as young as you, but still young. Me? I’m an old fucker. I lived when we were fighting for our very survival. I’ve fought in wars so fucking brutal you lived every day as if it were your last. I remember a time when not only did we fear humans, but others of our kind who practiced the dark arts. Then it all was resolved. The humans made a deal with all the preternatural creatures, and only very few humans now know any such thing as dragon shifters—or magic, or other things that go bump in the night—exist. It’s peaceful, but it’s also boring. So, yeah, I like to get excitement elsewhere.”

  He indicated to turn right and pulled out onto a busy main road, and her car struggled to get to sixty. “This is a pile of junk, by the way.”

  She huffed out an annoyed breath. “I love my car. So…you miss fighting?”

  “Yeah. In some ways, I do. And I get your need for some excitement. The thing is, Gwendoline, there’s nothing on this earth more exciting than fucking a dragon who matches you completely. You can take all the drugs in the world, engage in all the hedonistic partying and sex you want to…”

  She held up her hand. “Whoa, I never said I had loads of sex.”

  He smiled, but it felt grim. “Neither did I. But you’ve had some, with humans, to go along with the partying and the drinking and gods know what else. I don’t give a shit how many humans you’ve been with.” He realized it was true as he said it.

  “Oh, I thought dragon males, especially warriors such as yourself, were all possessive.” She smiled to herself, and he wanted to kiss it off her face.

  “We are, sweetheart. I don’t care because when I’m finished with you, I’ll have obliterated anyone who ever came before me.” He meant it too.

  She laughed, but he saw her throat bob as she swallowed hard. “You’re a bit full of yourself.”

  “Only stating the truth. We match, and you have no idea what that means yet in terms of how incendiary it makes anything between us. But you also have never been with a male with my power and age. Sorry if that makes me sound like I’m full of myself, but it’s the truth.”

  “And I never will be.” She said the words with finality. Too much finality, as if convincing herself.

  “We’ll see, sweetheart. We’ll see.”

  He drove in silence, letting her stew in their combined scent, knowing it would be driving her as crazy as it was him.

  The journey seemed to take forever, and he tensed his muscles to stop himself from touching her the whole time. Finally, she told him to take a left and then a right. They came to a stop at the end of the road, where on a bluff looking out to sea stood an old, whitewashed fisherma
n’s cottage.

  “Nice.” He admired the cozy house with its stunning view.

  “We only rent it. But, yeah, it’s lovely.”

  He turned off the engine and unfolded his long legs from out of the small space they’d been squashed into. She needed a better car, and he’d maybe have a look for something over the coming week. Opening the door, he let the salty air take her scent away, providing a moment of clarity. What the hell was he thinking? There’d be no looking for cars for her. He needed to keep himself in check because if he did anything too full-on, he’d scare her off. She’d up and disappear with her mother, take off somewhere. They needed to play this cool. Her words about her childhood told him she didn’t trust dragon males, so he needed to tread carefully if he wanted her.

  “Here you go.” He handed her keys back.

  “Thanks. Again.” She let her weight rock from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable and unsure what to say.

  “Hey.” Jay jogged up from where he’d parked their car. “How about we all meet for a surf session next week?”

  Cade played devil’s advocate. “Not sure it’s a good idea. Plus, we’re kind of busy.” He kept his face disinterested and tried not to enjoy the confusion washing over her features.

  “Oh yeah.” Jay played along. “Still, I thought we could meet Gwen and make sure she’s okay. First time back out and all that.”

  “I’m sure Gwen has plenty of friends who’ll be willing to meet with her and go surfing, right?”

  “Erm, yes. Of course.” Her eyes shone with something akin to hurt. He hated to see it there, but he wanted her to think they were willing to walk away from this.

  “Okay. Whatever.” Jay smiled. “Well, have a nice life, Gwen. Still think a surf would have been harmless enough.” He shrugged, casual and cool.

  “It wouldn’t hurt. I mean, just to surf. For, like, maybe an hour or so. Nothing more. I’m a bit nervous, to be honest, about getting back out there again. I might feel better with you around.” She nibbled that damned lip again, and Cade nearly told her off, but he stopped himself in time.

  He gave a lazy, one-shouldered shrug. “I’ll have to check the calendar, we really are busy this week. Do you have a number we can reach you on?”

  She paused as her eyes darted from him to Jay and back again.

  “Forget it, sweetheart. If you don’t want to give us your number, you clearly don’t want to see us again. Come on, Jay. We need to get back. Sarah’s coming over this evening, remember?”

  Liar. Such a damned liar, but he didn’t feel even a pang of guilt. Sarah was one of their regular human companions. They enjoyed one another’s company, but she didn’t want anything other than casual. She cared for a sick father and had a busy career. She enjoyed the time to decompress with some sexual gymnastics and nothing more. They had no plans to see her that evening, but Gwen didn’t know that.

  “Great.” Jay smiled a shit-eating grin. “I’d forgotten that.”

  “Bye, Gwen.” Cade went to her and lifted her chin. Looking into her eyes, he lowered his head to hers and saw the moment she thought he’d kiss her. Instead of hitting her lips, he brushed her cheek with his mouth in one soft, brief touch.

  Oh gods! He’d been playing a dangerous game. He thought he’d been in control, but the one touch, as slight as it had been, nearly burned his resolve to take this slow to the ground. He swallowed and stepped back, fighting to keep his face relaxed as his heart hammered and other parts of his body hardened.

  “You can have my number,” she blurted out. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m so used to being careful who I share things with, hiding our identity as we do.”

  “Of course, totally understand.” Jay gave her a relaxed smile and took over, and thank the gods for that because Cade held on to himself by a thread.

  She rattled off her number to Jay, who tapped it into his own phone.

  “Cool. We’ll call, maybe next week, see if you’re ready to face the waves again. I’ll make sure I’ve got your back if you do want to.” Jay cupped her cheek and went in for his own quick peck. “Nice meeting you, Gwen. Sorry about the…you know, the whole bonding thing, but we can ignore that. It’s only biology, right?” He threw her a wink and then sauntered over to the car.

  Still rooted to the spot, fighting against his desire to throw the female over his shoulder and take her back to their home, Cade admired Jay’s control.

  “Okay. Erm…see you next week.” She waved slim fingers at them and headed through the gate and down the path to her cottage.

  As she neared, a woman came to the door. Nothing like Gwen in looks, she still made a striking figure. With long, straight red hair and pale skin, she looked like that painting of a woman standing in a shell. He couldn’t remember the name of it for the life of him.

  Her gaze landed on him, and he saw the exact moment the wind must have carried his scent to her, because her eyes widened in alarm, and her mouth tightened. She’d be worried sick about why dragon males had brought her daughter home, and he hoped she didn’t try to stop Gwen from seeing them again. He gave a casual nod of his head and a wave and then forced himself to turn away and get into the car.

  Once he’d belted up and reversed down the lane, he let out a long breath. “Holy fuck!”

  Jay nodded. “Holy fuck, indeed. We’re so done for if she doesn’t want us.”

  Cade gave a humorless laugh. “She’ll want us, all right. My fear is it makes her do something stupid like run away and we lose track of her. Well played out there, by the way.”

  Jay grinned. “Always got your back, man, you know that.”

  He did, too. He and Jay matched well. Neither of them was interested in a physical relationship with one another, but their bond made them very close, and they read one another’s body language and intentions to a scary degree. They also weren’t weirded out by being in one another’s proximity physically. They shared females, and when you did shit like that, things touched, and you couldn’t be freaked out by another male. But they also weren’t into one another in that sense, so their bonded relationship ran smoothly. Sometimes Cade wished they did go that way, as it would be nice to have someone close to be physical with, but they just didn’t, and you couldn’t make your body want something it didn’t.

  “Should we call Sarah tonight? It might be a good idea. Take the edge off,” Jay suggested.

  Cade considered it, but the idea didn’t seem right. Not only did it leave him cold physically, but he’d feel as if he’d be betraying Gwen, which was so fucked up it wasn’t funny. He’d made her think he’d be doing something he didn’t want to do. And he hated playing games. He generally went for what he wanted in life, but the female had him all messed up, second-guessing himself.

  “I should have put her over my shoulder, fastened her into the back of this car, and brought her home with us.” The words were angry as they escaped him.

  “Whoa.” Jay put his hands up. “Chill, Cade. Jesus. Don’t get ideas like that in your head. It’s not only wrong, but she’d hate us. You played it perfectly back there. Make her want us. It’s the only way.”

  “Fuck.” He hit the steering wheel. “I know, but it’s so hard.”

  “Yeah, like something else.” Jay glanced down at his cock, bulging in his pants. “Let me call Sarah.”

  “No.” He didn’t want the female near him today. Didn’t want Gwen’s scent diluted in any way.

  “Okay. Have it your way, but you’d better get some good porn on and jerk off or something because, otherwise, you’ll be unbearable to live with until we see her next.” Jay rolled his eyes and turned to look out of the window with a smirk.

  Cade sighed. Yeah, it felt pretty unbearable being in his own skin. She’d better want to meet them, or he’d likely lose his mind.

  Chapter Three

  “Were those men Dragonea?”

  She’d known as soon as she’d seen her mum come to the door that she’d get twenty questions.

&nbs
p; “Yes. Could tell just by looking, huh?” She pushed past her mum and into the house.

  “Not only by looking, I caught that big bastard’s scent.” Her mother’s tone dripped disapproval. “What did they want with you?”

  She considered lying, but she didn’t have the energy. “They saved my life, and it turns out I match them.”

  Her mother’s sharp inhale of breath didn’t surprise her. They had a good life here, a good setup. They were one another’s best friends, and now these men had arrived on the scene, threatening it all. And they did threaten it. Gwen wasn’t naive enough to believe otherwise. The moment Cade had said they’d be seeing some female named Sarah, she’d seen red. For a brief moment, she’d wanted to hunt this Sarah down and hurt her. Why did she care? And why had she given them her number? Fuck her life, it’d be so much better never to see them again.

  “How well do you match?” Lara’s face looked so tense, Gwen worried her jaw would shatter.

  “Mum, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “That strong, eh?”

  Lara walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of wine. “Here, have a glass. I think we need one.” She downed her own and topped it back up.

  “It’s irrelevant, Mum.” Gwen tried to reassure Lara as much as herself. “I love our life. You and me, right? Peas and pods.” She used the phrase her mother had used on her when she was younger and had worried that if her mum met suitable mates, she might forget all about Gwen.

  Her mother used to look at her with so much love shining in her eyes and say, “Never, my darling. You’re the pea to my pod.”

  It became a catchphrase they’d use. Peas and pods instead of I love you.