Chapter 16
***COOPER***
Cooper kept his feet planted as he fought to keep the huge hose pointed at the flames on the barn's roof. They were slowly dying away, but the ground beneath him had become a slippery mess, and he couldn’t risk falling.
It was a relief when he saw Ricky come sprinting around the side of the barn toward him, a look of determination on his face, and then he was standing behind him, helping with the powerful spray of water.
“The horses are all out, and the sprinkler system is doing its job inside,” Ricky called over the roar of the water and the fire. “If we can just get the roof out, we’ll be fine.”
He nodded but didn’t waste any energy replying; instead, they fought the last of the fire together, their combined strength making it easier to wrangle the firehose. Just as the last flames began to die away, he heard a scream come from the path to the house and froze, then looked over at Ricky.
“Did you hear that?” he asked, shutting down the hose and listening again. “I’m sure I heard someone scream.”
The second scream seemed much louder than the first, and he knew instantly that it was Stephanie. “I told her to stay in the house,” he said, dropping the hose. “I’ll kill them if they hurt her.”
“Go, I’ve got this,” Ricky said. “They’re out of control; there’s no telling what they might do.”
The thought that someone might hurt Stephane woke the dragon inside him, and all he could think about as he raced away from the still-smoldering barn was getting to her.
Sprinting toward the sound of her scream, he kept the dragon inside but barely, then he saw them: three silhouettes standing in the pathway.
One of them backing away from the other two who were laughing and slapping each other on the back.
He was on them before they noticed him and he enjoyed the look of surprise on their faces when he stepped in front of Stephanie.
“You boys should have run away when you had the chance,” he said, barely controlling the creature inside him.
“I was going to let the law deal with you, but you’ve stepped over the line.
I’m going to give you three seconds to get out of here, then what happens is your own fault. ”
They started to laugh. “Look, Butch, little Cooper is a tough guy now,” Marvin Amos sneered at him. “He thinks he can take us both and keep our prize for himself.”
“Not going to happen,” Butch said, shaking his head and taking a step toward them. “She’s ours fair and square, we captured her. Now get out of the way before I have to hurt you.”
“She’s not a prize, she’s a human being, and you’re both disgusting for thinking anything else,” he growled.
“You’ve been bullying everyone in this county for years, and it’s time it stopped.
My grandmother isn’t going to sell out to you.
This is her land and will be until the day she dies, and if that day is any sooner than it’s supposed to be, you’ll have me to answer to.
You’re done, boys, the harassment ends here and now. ”
Butch charged at him first, his fists raised, a deep growl coming from his chest, but he deflected him easily, throwing him into the nearest snow bank, his strength fueled by the magic surging inside him.
Marvin made his move next, hurling himself at Cooper, his eyes filled with brutality.
But he simply stepped aside, and the enraged man went thundering into the snow-covered bushes, instantly trapped in their thorny branches.
They were both raging, shouting threats and curses as they fought their way back to their feet, and he braced himself for the fight that was coming, hoping he didn’t have to shift.
The decision was made for him a second later when both Butch and Marvin released all their magic filling the air with power that crackled around them.
A second later, with an audible snap, they disappeared, and two huge wolves were standing in their place, snarling and growling at him.
He heard Stephanie gasp behind him, but didn’t dare turn away from the deadly creatures in front of him.
Instead, he did the only thing he could and gave in to the instincts humming through him.
The dragon emerged just as the wolves charged at him, and they bounced off his chest, landing on the ground with a cry of surprise, then lay still for a few seconds.
When they stumbled back to their feet, he thought they would back down, but as their senses came back, a hunger for vengeance filled their eyes, and he braced himself for another attack.
When they came at him for a second time in a frenzy of teeth and claws, he defended himself with his sharp beak and pointed talons, leaving the pair bleeding and defeated.
They ran away, tails between their legs, whimpering and yelping in pain.
The night became strangely quiet, and he realized that Stephanie was cowering behind him, her face filled with fear and uncertainty.
Turning completely around to face her, he forced himself to look her in the eyes, hoping she’d see him under the beast, and when she slowly began to relax, he let out the breath that he’d been holding.
Taking a step toward her, he lowered his head, then waited as she slowly got to her feet and walked over to him, then stretched out one hand to touch him.
She jumped a little when her fingertips touched the feathers on his neck, then grew bolder and began to stroke the feathers on his head, before coming closer to wrap her arms around his powerful chest.
“Oh, Cooper, I think I understand now,” she whispered, her face full of wonder. “It all makes sense now that I know the truth. I wish you could have told me sooner.”
Her acceptance pleased the dragon, and his magic slowly faded away.
The dragon slipped back inside him, and he was suddenly back in his human form.
Stephanie was trembling when he pulled her into his arms, and all he could do for several minutes was hold her against him, thanking anyone who was listening that she was still there, that she had seen all of him and still wanted him.
“I think I need to sit down,” she finally said, trying to sink to the ground. “My legs don’t seem to want to work anymore.”
He scooped her up into his arms. “I think we’d better get you back inside,” he said. “You’ve had quite a shock.”
***Stephanie***
Stephanie was only vaguely aware of the change in temperature when they got inside the house; her mind was spinning, and the reality of what she’d just seen was almost more than she could process.
She could smell wood smoke on Cooper’s clothes, felt the warmth of his arms supporting her, and heard the sound of Gilda’s footsteps and her voice floating around her, but right then, nothing felt real, and she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.
“Is she hurt?” Gilda asked. “I told her not to go out there alone.”
“Butch and Marvin had their hands on her when I got there, but I stopped them,” Cooper said, his voice full of concern. “I had to shift to save her. She saw everything.”
There was a brief silence. “Well then, you’d better bring her upstairs,” Gilda said, smoothing the hair from her forehead with her warm fingertips. “I don’t think she was quite ready for that.”
“I didn’t have any choice,” he said, his voice full of regret. “I hope I haven’t ruined everything. I really think she’s the one.”
“Everything will be fine,” Gilda said. “If she’s the one for you, she’ll understand and accept you for who you are; if not, it isn’t meant to be. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I have a feeling that you’re worrying about nothing.”
“Do you really think so?” Cooper asked, his voice full of hope.
“She’s a smart, intelligent woman, she’ll do the right thing,” Gilda said. “I wouldn’t have trusted her with all our secrets if I didn’t think so.”
She heard a door open, then felt the bed beneath her as Cooper laid her down, pulled a blanket over her body, and then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. “Sleep for a while, you’ll feel better when you wake up,” Cooper whispered. “I’ll be right here when you open your eyes.”
A wave of warmth spread through her, followed by a feeling of contentment so comforting that she felt herself growing sleepy instantly.
Only seconds later, she drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
It was still dark outside the window when she woke up later.
Cooper was sleeping in a chair by the bed, his head tilted at an uncomfortable angle, and she felt a wave of warmth again.
Gasping when she made the connection between the feeling and the man sitting at her bedside, she sat up and studied him, feeling the swell of emotion that she thought might be love.
As if he could read her thoughts, Cooper opened his eyes and smiled at her, making her heart do little flip-flops, then she remembered what she’d seen him do only a few hours before.
She waited for the fear, the revulsion, for anything but the desire and warmth flowing through her, but all that she felt was a growing need to be closer to him.
Suddenly shy, she smiled back at him, then looked down at her lap, unsure of what to do next or what to say.
“That chair doesn’t look very comfortable, maybe you should get in here with me,” she finally managed to say, her cheeks flaming, unable to look up at him. “I don’t know what time it is, but I’m sure you need some sleep.”
He leaned forward and tipped her chin up, then gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Don’t be afraid of me, I’m still the same person,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I would never hurt you; I just did what I had to do to protect you.”
“I know,” she said, some of her shyness fading away. “I’m not scared of you, I’m…I don’t know…amazed…enchanted…”
Satisfied with her answer, he got up and slipped into the bed with her, then gathered her into his arms. “That wasn’t the way I wanted you to find out,” he said. “I was trying to break it to you gently. It can be really hard for regular humans to understand.”
“It wasn’t your fault, I should have stayed in the house,” she said, then pulled out of his arms and sat up. “Oh, no, the horses, please tell me they didn’t get hurt.”
He pulled her back down next to him. “All safe and sound,” he said. “Ricky had them out of the barn before I even got there.”
Flooded with relief, she relaxed against Cooper’s chest, then became very aware of his hard body pressed up against hers, the sound of his heart beating, and his intoxicating scent.
Her body began to tingle as she lay there, thoughts of kissing him invading her mind, and she knew that she should put some space between them, but couldn’t bring herself to move.
It felt too right to be cuddled up next to him, too much like she’d found the place she was meant to be, and she wasn’t willing to give up the feeling just yet.
They’d been silent so long, she thought Cooper had fallen asleep, but when she looked up at him, he was watching her. “Aren’t you tired?” she asked, her cheeks turning pink under his gaze.
“I don’t want to miss a second of this night,” he said, smiling down at her. “Having you in my arms is almost more than I could ask for. There’s only one thing that would make it better, but I’m willing to wait until it won’t jeopardize your career for that to happen.”
Her cheeks began to flame as the thought of what he was suggesting made her heart beat faster.
She was so tired of waiting, tired of wondering what it'd be like, and after the close call she’d had that night, she wasn’t sure she wanted to wait anymore.
Looking up at Cooper again, she realized that her job wasn’t as important as he was, her reputation might suffer but she was no longer willing to sacrifice her happiness for what other people thought.
Her mind made up, she felt a sense of peace descend over her, and a smile slowly spread across her face.
“What if I told you that it doesn’t matter anymore?
” she asked, her voice trembling with the enormity of what she was about to do.
“What if I told you that I want you more than I want my perfect reputation?”
He didn’t say anything at first, and a rush of insecurity made her wonder if he really wanted her, but then she looked into his eyes and saw the raw desire there.
It made her heart beat faster, made her want to do reckless things, but instead, she lay waiting, holding her breath, hoping that he wouldn’t turn her away.
“Stephanie, as bad as I want you, I don’t want you to do anything that you’ll be sorry for afterward,” he said, reaching down to stroke her cheek. “We’ve waited this long; there’s no reason not to wait a little longer. What we have isn’t going to go away.”
“I don’t want to wait,” she said, sitting up in bed and stripping off her shirt. “Don’t make me beg, Cooper. I’ve never done this before, so it probably wouldn’t be pretty.”
His eye went instantly to the lace bra she was wearing, then back up to her face. “Stephanie, did you just say you’ve never done this before?” he asked, his entire body stiff. “That might have been something you could have shared before now.”
“What difference does it make?” she asked, shimmying out of her pants. “I didn’t exactly have a normal childhood, and I wanted my first time to be special. Now it will be.”
“You have no idea,” Cooper ground out between clenched teeth. “Stephanie, if we do this, there won’t be any going back, we’ll belong together for the rest of our lives. It’s part of being a shifter, a part I can’t do anything about.”
“If that was supposed to scare me, it didn’t,” she said, surprised that she meant every word.
“You’re the most amazing, caring, intelligent man I’ve ever met, and I’m already half in love with you.
We might as well take it all the way. I’m willing to get my heart broken to have even a day in your arms.”