Chapter 5
Eventually,the last furniture truck drove away.
I could faintly hear Brynn and Bash talking as they did something inside the house. I wasn’t sure where August was, but he wasn’t outside, so I was finally alone.
Or aloneish.
The ache in my muscles was still getting worse, though.
And I was definitely sweating.
I kept hoping that focusing on my project would distract me from heat’s magic, but it hadn’t.
Vi and Randa showed up again after a bit longer, with all of my stuff. They’d packed it in the set of pink rolling suitcases and matching duffel bag I’d picked out before my freshman year in college. The suitcases had seen better days, but they’d survived years of flying back home for all of the major holidays.
I didn’t talk with my older brother and sister much, but I was close with my parents. My mom, mainly. We chatted on the phone a few times a week, and she was definitely one of my closest friends.
I had no idea how I was going to tell her about heat.
And August.
It would probably be best if I just kept my mouth shut until after we made it through without sealing the bond, but I didn’t know if I’d manage keeping the truth from her for that long. I was a terrible liar. And if we ever did a video call, which we did often, she would definitely notice that I was living somewhere new. My little apartment was nowhere near as pretty as August’s cabin.
“Hey!” Randa smiled, a duffel bag hanging off one of her shoulders and the handle of a beat-up pink suitcase in her opposite hand.
I set my laptop down on the porch swing and headed toward them.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Vi warned, hauling two suitcases herself.
“If there was a way out, I would’ve already taken it.” I grabbed the biggest suitcase from Vi and the duffel from Randa on our way in.
It took major self-control not to stop in my tracks when I saw the newly-furnished living room.
There was a soft rug on the floor, with a comfortable-looking sectional positioned on the edge of it.
August was mounting a TV on the wall, with a drill in his hand.
I had a hard time looking away from him, too.
The kitchen had been furnished with barstools, plus a table and chairs. All of them were in dark colors that made the purposefully-rugged wood cabinets stand out more.
There were pictures of the mountains on the walls, soft-looking blankets draped artfully over the couch, and decorations placed perfectly around the room. The combination made it look cozy, but classy too.
“Wow,” Vi remarked.
“It’s beautiful,” Randa agreed, her eyes still moving over the room.
“Not a terrible place to wait for our mating bond to break, right?” I tried to make myself sound somewhat cheerful, but totally failed.
And I still hadn’t managed to peel my gaze off August, so I didn’t know if they were even paying attention to me.
“Your room’s across the hall from mine,” August said, looking over his shoulder at us.
The way his eyes moved up and down my figure made me feel even hotter.
Hopefully Vi and Randa had packed my deodorant, because I was going to need it.
…and my birth control pills.
Condoms too, maybe?
August had made it sound like everything other than penis-in-vagina sex was going to go down, so actually, we could forget the condoms. I’d stay on the birth control just in case, though.
“Thanks,” I said, and led them down the hallway.
August’s was at the far end on the right, but there were a few more doors on the way. Vi and Randa peeked inside of all of them, discovering a furnished spare room, two hall closets with a vacuum, a few blankets, and some extra sheets. The one on the left, before August’s door, was mine.
It was decorated just like the rest of the house, with mountain landscapes on the walls. The furniture was dark wood, the bed was massive, and the comforter was a soft white duvet. The bedding was all light and airy, and there were so many pillows it was ridiculous.
If I hadn’t been sweating so damn much, I would’ve thought it looked really welcoming.
But I was sweating.
An ice bath sounded more comfortable to me.
Or maybe an ice cream cone…
“At least you’ll be comfortable here. This place is gorgeous,” Vi said.
Randa left my suitcase at the foot of the bed and stepped over to the large windows, pulling the curtains back. “Wow, look at this view.” There was thick appreciation in her voice. “I want a dragon shifter.”
“You can have this one after our bond breaks,” I drawled.
Vi snorted, and Randa laughed.
My stomach clenched, though.
Despite my words, I didn’t like the thought of her with August. It made me nauseous to even consider it.
The reaction was bizarre, but I didn’t let myself overthink it. It was probably another part of heat.
“I can move into the spare room down the hall if you want,” Vi said. “To make sure you’re safe.”
“He won’t hurt me.” Despite my uncertainty, I was starting to actually believe that. Brynn had eased whatever lingering fear I had after seeing them argue outside the coffee shop. “And you’d be way too far from the restaurant. Plus, I don’t think August would agree with it.”
“He probably wants you all to himself,” Randa teased.
“You are way too on-board with this,” Vi grumbled at her.
“We need to talk about something normal. I feel like I’m losing my mind here,” I said, as I unzipped my first suitcase and started unpacking my things.
Though Vi was reluctant, they both filled me in on what I’d missed. Randa told us about her classes that morning, and Vi told us about her shift at the restaurant the night before.
When they finally headed out, leaving me with massive hugs and promises to kill August if he did anything wrong, I felt slightly more at ease.
Only slightly, though.
And wow, I was uncomfortably hot. The underboob sweat was driving me insane.
I would’ve put on a bra as soon as I unpacked, but I knew August thought all my stuff smelled like my friends. If I put any of it on, he’d just tell me to take another shower.
As soon as they were gone, I grabbed my laptop off the porch and headed back into the kitchen. August and Bash were lifting the gigantic TV onto the wall mount, and my gaze immediately landed on the blond dragon.
I couldn’t help but stop and watch.
His tight ass…
Those massive thighs…
Yum.
Just yum.
Maybe Randa had a point about wanting a dragon shifter. Or any supernatural, really.
I’d only been with Dickwad for a few months, and much of the relationship had been a toxic mess, but we’d had enough sex to ruin me for human guys. I hadn’t even attempted to hook up with anyone since I left him.
“If you’re staring at the demon, you know I’ll have to kill him, Fireball,” August grumbled.
“She’s staring at you, asshole,” Brynn shot back from the kitchen. My gaze jerked to hers, and she winked at me. “I’m the only one checking out Bash.”
The guys made sure the TV was on the mount’s rails properly, then stepped back.
“This place looks amazing,” I admitted, forcing myself to look around the open living room and kitchen area.
“We paid the furniture store for some of their floor models with all the decorations,” Brynn said with a grin.
“Their designers have good taste, then.”
She nodded. “I threw some stuff together for dinner, to make your lives easier. You’ll just need to stick it in the oven. The instructions are on your grocery list.”
Apparently, we had a grocery list.
It was too weird to think of there being an us for the grocery list thing to seem that odd.
“Thank you.”
“Any time. And since you already smell like your friends…” She crossed the room and pulled me in for a massive hug. “Our other brothers should be getting here soon. Jasper and Eli. They’re with some other members of the thunder—which is a group of dragons, like a wolf pack almost. They’ll be pissed if they find us here, so we have to go, but you have my number. Use it. I will if you don’t. Welcome to the family.”
“Temporarily,” I reminded her, though I returned her hug.
“Once a Sky, always a Sky.” She finally released me and stepped back. I hadn’t known their last name was Sky, but thought it was kind of funny, considering they were dragons. “Ready, Crash?”
I blinked at the name.
His name was Bash, wasn’t it?
“Yup.” The demon wrapped his arm around her waist, tucking her against his side and kissing her forehead before they headed out. “Good luck fighting fate,” he called over his shoulder. “For your sakes, I hope you’re better at it than I was.”
My gaze flicked between them, my curiosity suddenly sky-high.
August followed them to the door, and I couldn’t help but do the same. Peering past him, I watched Bash lift Brynn into their Hummer before he walked around to the driver’s side.
“What happened between them?” I asked August, who was already looking at me instead of them.
“I left her at his place so he would keep her safe while I went home to deal with the thunder. He fucked her, instead.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure there was more to it than that.”
He forced his attention back to the now-empty dirt road. “His brother mated with one of her best friends, so they were around each other fairly often. He fought the urge to make her his mate for around a year. When she found out, she made it her mission in life to talk him into sealing their bond. After a while, she succeeded. They’ve been inseparable since.”
“Wow.” I had to respect a woman willing to fight for what she wanted. “How long ago was that?”
“Four or five years.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “You need to shower again before the thunder gets here.”
“Why are they coming at all?”
“It’s a long story.”
I waited.
He let out a long breath. “Jasper, Eli, and I raised Brynn. We’re protective of her. The thunder found out that I made a deal with the demons to keep her safe, and they want to punish me for it. I’m supposed to be on my way to prison right now. Jas took my place as the leader last week.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“The conversation you interrupted was me saying goodbye to my sister. She was trying to convince me to refuse the rest of the dragons.”
My horror grew. “They want to put you in the supernatural prison? Isn’t it full of violent criminals?”
“Yep.” His gaze remained trained on the forest. “When they see that we’re genuinely in heat, they’ll assign me a guard to stay outside. If we seal the bond, you’ll end up in prison with me.”
“Holy shit.”
“I won’t let it happen.”
“You said everyone seals the bond, August.”
“Everyone but us.”
I shook my head, raking a hand through the top of my hair a little desperately. “I would not survive in a supernatural jail.”
“I know,” he growled, finally looking at me again. “I won’t let them lock you up.”
I let out an unsteady breath. “I’m going to put some of my clothes in the wash, then shower. I’ll be quick.”
“Don’t worry about them. If the bastards have to wait, they’ll wait.”
I would hurry anyway.
The last thing I needed was a bunch of pissed-off dragons hating me for taking a long shower.
It only took me a minute to grab a few sets of my clothes and start them in the washer. Showering was almost as fast. I got to use my own soap and shampoo, thankfully. And the cold water helped a little with the sweating.
As I dried off, I realized I needed another set of August’s clothes. Reluctantly, I called for him.
He came striding back in, his gaze immediately landing on my towel-clad figure. Despite it being the second time he’d seen me like that, his gaze was hot.
Hungry, too.
“I need another set of your clothes until mine are washed and dried,” I said.
“You can have them any time you want.” His voice was low.
It nearly made me shiver.
“Thanks.” He stared at me for another moment, then finally peeled his shirt over his head.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you my clothes.”
“I didn’t ask for the ones you’re wearing.”
“This shirt smells like me.”
“I don’t need to smell like you. I washed off, just like you asked—now, I just want some clean clothes.”
His nostrils flared. “You reek of flowers.”
“Flowers smell good!”
“Like hell they do.” He put the shirt in my hand. “Wear this. I’ll find you a clean pair of my boxers.”
With that, he stormed off.
I resisted the urge to throw his shirt at his head as he did.
He broughtme boxers that looked and smelled clean, so I decided not to argue anymore, and just put them on. He’d found a fresh shirt to wear himself, so I couldn’t ogle his chest, either.
When I was dressed, I carried my laptop back out to the porch. August was in the kitchen, wiping everything down with some kind of cleaning solution, when I walked by.
Maybe he really was sensitive to smells.
Curiosity got the best of me.
After I sat down, I lifted the collar of his shirt to my nose and inhaled lightly.
Nope, didn’t smell anything.
And I’d put on a ton of deodorant, so hopefully that remained true even though I’d already started sweating.
I worked on my project for a bit, before the gleam of silver caught my eyes.
When I looked up, I saw a dragon in the sky.
A few dragons.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five.
Five dragons.
Two silvers, a red, a blue, and a green. They were insanely shiny, and still high enough above me that I couldn’t tell how big they were compared to me.
I didn’t trust August, but I felt more comfortable with him than I did with five gigantic, fire-breathing strangers.
“August!” I called out.
He was on the porch a heartbeat later, immediately looking to the sky. He barely glanced at them before focusing on me. “Jasper and Eli are leading the group. The others are some of the most difficult dragons we have. Gordon, Kev, and Lox.”
“Okay.”
“You’ll stay on the porch while I talk to them. One of them will come up here to check your temperature, but other than that, don’t interact with them. And for the love of the damn sky, don’t stare at them. I’m in enough hot water with the thunder without killing someone because you’re attracted to them.”
“Why do you care who I’m attracted to?”
He leaned a little closer. “You’re mine for the next few weeks, Fireball. Mine. Got it?”
“Screw off,” I whispered, though my eyes were locked with his.
His lips curved upward.
The wind picked up around us, and I closed my laptop.
The dragons were landing.
August’s chest rumbled in annoyance, and he stepped in front of me so I couldn’t see them shift.
I dropped my laptop on the porch swing and stood up, trying to move around him so I could see. I caught sight of a flash of bare skin before his gigantic hand landed on my hip, and he yanked me behind him.
“Are they naked?” I called over the rushing wind.
“Clothes don’t shift with us.”
Guess that was a yes.
And suddenly, I understood why he’d tried to stop me from looking at them. If it pissed him off when I glanced at a guy who was wearing clothes, I didn’t want to know what he’d do if I checked out some other naked guy.
Especially if the naked guy happened to be his brother.
The wind died down.
“I changed my mind. You’re staying with me,” he grumbled. “Put your hands on my waist.”
“I really don’t want to?—”
“It wasn’t a request, Fireball. Hands on my waist.”
I huffed, but did as he’d commanded.
His body was strong beneath my fingers, like the man was made out of stone. He didn’t feel warm to me, given my ridiculously-sweaty self, but he still felt good.
A tiny, itty-bitty part of me wished he hadn’t found another shirt, so I could’ve put my hands on his bare skin.
I wasn’t about to acknowledge that part, though.
“Did they bring pants?” I asked, my voice muffled against his back.
“No.”
So there were five hot, naked supernatural men in what was basically my new front yard.
Lovely.
“Should I be scared?” I asked, not feeling scared.
Mostly, I just felt like my hands were on the sexiest man alive.
But I was ignoring that, too.
“No. I won’t let them hurt you, and if they try, my brothers will take my side.”
So it would be three to three. Not great odds, but good enough that I didn’t have to worry, at least.
“Great,” I said.
His hand remained on my hip as he walked down the porch steps, still holding me close enough to his back that he could catch me if I stumbled.
Then again, I’d probably just fall right into his back if I tripped.
And I’d probably like it.
Sigh.
We made our way out to the guys. I saw five shadows around the same heights and size, and thankfully, none of the shadows showed anything steamy.
Figuratively or literally.
“Well, it looks like you started heat,” a masculine voice said, with humor. It reminded me of August’s.
“Shut up, Eli,” another guy grumbled. His voice didn’t sound like August’s.
“The fire in his eyes is enough evidence. Gordon, check her skin,” a third man said. Like the first, he sounded similar to August. I had to think those two were probably his brothers.
My skin?
August had said they’d need to take my temperature somehow.
One of the shadows moved, and a guy stepped up in front of August. August’s hand snapped out, blocking him before he could get any closer to me. “Reach up, Elodie.”
It was weird hearing him use my name.
Maybe I didn’t mind the nickname as much as I’d thought.
I lifted my hand above August’s shoulder.
“Two fingers, for three seconds. Touch her any longer and I snap your wrist.” August’s voice was low, and more gravelly than I’d ever heard it.
Goosebumps spread over my arms.
It was kind of sexy when he protected me like that.
Not that I could admit it, of course. If he asked, it was unsexy.
Un.
Sexy.
Two fingers pressed to the inside of my wrist.
I counted silently.
One.
Two.
Three.
His fingers were gone before I finished.
“She’s hotter than any of us,” Gordon said.
It sounded like he was hitting on me, so it didn’t surprise me at all when August growled at him.
His shadow moved again as he backed away, and I saw his hands raise.
“We can all accept that we’re not imprisoning a pair of potential mates going through heat, as much as August might deserve it, right?” one of his brothers said.
Probably Jasper, since Eli had sounded more playful the last time he spoke.
A few of them agreed grudgingly.
“Gordon will stay here to keep an eye on August. Eli will too, to make sure he doesn’t lose his mind to heat as they try to resist it,” Jasper said. “Understood?”
When they all voiced their agreement, two of the guys shifted and took to the sky. The green and red dragons.
I couldn’t stop my eyes from following them. I’d never seen a dragon up close. They were both gorgeous and terrifying at the same time.
“Good luck fighting the bond,” Jasper said, before he shifted too. He was one of the silver ones, so I assumed Eli was the other.
“Did you buy a cabin for me?” Eli checked.
“Of course I did,” August grumbled. “It’s a few miles north. Red roof.”
Apparently money wasn’t an issue for them.
“Thanks. We’ll get settled, and come by in the morning to officially meet your female. You’ve got at least a few days before you lose your mind completely.”
With that, he and Gordon flew off too.
I made a noise of irritation at him calling me “your female”, and August let out a long breath, finally turning around to face me.
Our bodies almost brushed, but didn’t.
That was for the best, because I didn’t need him reminding me that his touch could make me stop sweating and hurting.
“I want to see your brother’s dragon form up close when he comes back,” I said, instead of protesting the ownership-claiming thing that kept happening.
August’s eyes narrowed. “The only dragon you’re meeting up close is me, Fireball.”
“Then I want to see your dragon form up close in the morning.”
He grunted.
It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no, either.
We started toward the cabin, and he reached the door before me. Instead of going inside, he grabbed my laptop off the porch.
Though I wanted to be irritated that he’d picked it up, I was pretty sure he’d done so just to be nice.
To prove my suspicion, he handed it to me before he pulled the door open and gestured me inside.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Of course.” His voice was calmer than it had been a few moments earlier.
I stepped past him, suddenly hit with a wave of uncertainty. It was the middle of the afternoon, and we were alone together, in a secluded cabin.
It was just me and August.
How was I supposed to act?
What was I supposed to feel?
“I’m going back to cleaning,” August said. “This place smells awful.”
I sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything.”
“You’re not a shifter.” His hand brushed my side lightly before he strode back into the kitchen, where he’d left his cleaning solution.
Though I didn’t think it was necessary, his cleaning did clear the air a bit. So, I headed to the couch and opened up my computer. I threw myself back into my project, and the lingering awkwardness vanished.