Chapter 19
Liz
Ifollowed Lucan up the narrow path that hugged the shoreline, the sand gradually giving way to packed dirt and pine needles beneath our feet. My arms felt pleasantly tired from paddling, and I knew tomorrow I’d barely be able to lift them.
“You did well out there.” Lucan looked over at me, a smirk forming on his handsome face. “For someone who learned from YouTube videos.”
“Next time, I’ll add some tricks. Maybe a barrel roll or two.”
“I’d pay to see that.”
We fell into an easy silence as we walked. My mind kept replaying the moment in the cove when his eyes had shifted. The sheer intensity of his gaze had sent electricity crackling through my veins.
His hand swung close to mine as we rounded a curve in the path, our knuckles brushing together. I felt the contact like a current running up my arm. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach for me.
I hesitated for three full steps before I slid my hand into his, lacing our fingers together.
His palm was warm against mine, and he squeezed gently, as if afraid I might change my mind and pull away.
The contact sparked that now-familiar warmth in my chest, spreading outward until it reached my fingertips.
Was this my choice? Or was it the supernatural bond I had no control over?
I glanced at his profile as we walked. The fading light filtered through the trees, catching along his jaw and highlighting the curve of his mouth. His thumb traced a small circle against the side of my hand.
The warmth shifted, settling into something calm. If this was manipulation, it felt remarkably like peace.
I decided not to fight it, at least not tonight.
The trees thinned ahead, and a cabin came into view. A dock with a boat stretched from the shore into the water. Voices drifted toward us from a deck at the back of the cabin, followed by a burst of laughter that I recognized as Atlas.
“Is Atlas always the social coordinator?” I asked.
Lucan snorted. “Atlas thinks everyone should be friends with everyone. The man has never met a stranger he didn’t immediately adopt.”
“And Reese? She seems close to all of you.”
“She’s part of our family now.” His voice softened. “Kade’s dragon recognized her as his mate only about a month and a half ago.”
I was taken aback. “I would have thought she’d been here for years.
The way they act together…” It was like they’d been together for a decade.
There was an easy, wordless understanding between them.
I’d seen couples married for years who didn’t have that kind of synchronicity. I certainly never had that with my ex.
If that strong of a connection could develop in such a short time, what did it say about whatever was happening between Lucan and me? We’d known each other for a week, and yet I was holding his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Lucan stopped just before we would have emerged from the tree line, his hand tightening around mine. I looked up at him, questioning. “It’s still new for her, but she fits.”
I heard the unspoken comparison. I would fit too.
“Before we join them...” He took a breath. “I should warn you about Zarek. He wasn’t always like this.”
I frowned. “What happened?”
“His dragon thought he had found his mate once. Years ago.” Lucan’s gaze went to the cabin. “He was wrong, and the fallout was severe. Since then, he’s suspicious of everyone and is always looking for threats.”
“And I’m a threat?”
“You’re an unknown.” He turned to face me fully, still holding my hand. “There was someone near our hoard, and until you told me you were allergic to pistachios, we thought it was you. His dragon doesn’t like mysteries.”
“Pistachios? Wait, didn’t you say your hoard was only accessible by flying or a really skilled rock climber?”
“Yup.” He sighed. “Whoever was there left a pile of shells. They also left them at a campsite you’d used.”
To me, it sounded a little blown out of proportion, but what did I know?
“So I should expect more interrogation tonight?”
Lucan shook his head. “I’ve made it clear that’s not acceptable. I just want you to understand if he seems distant or guarded. It’s not personal, not really.” He paused. “Just don’t run because of him.”
“I’ve dealt with difficult people before.”
“He’s not difficult, exactly. Just...” Lucan searched for the word. “Careful. To a fault.”
“I’m pretty careful myself.” I smiled. “We have that in common.”
Lucan’s expression softened. He lifted our joined hands and pressed his lips to my knuckles. The gesture was so unexpectedly tender that my breath caught.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“For what?”
“For being here. For giving this a chance.”
The sincerity in his eyes made my throat tight. I wasn’t used to this kind of straightforward appreciation. It made me want to trust him, even as the cautious part of my brain screamed warnings about moving too fast.
“The barbecue awaits,” I deflected before my emotions got the better of me. “And I was promised a good chair.”
Lucan grinned, recognizing my retreat but not pressing. “Atlas probably set up a throne by now with cushions and a footrest.”
He tugged my hand gently, and we stepped out from under the trees toward the cabin where his family waited. I took a deep breath and prepared to face whatever came next, including a dragon-man who might not want me there.
One step at a time, I reminded myself. Just like learning to kayak. Stay centered, keep moving forward, and try not to fall in.
The fire crackled and popped, sending a spiral of sparks into the darkened sky. I settled deeper into the Adirondack chair Atlas had dragged over for me. He hadn’t built a throne exactly, though the fleece blanket draped over the armrest was a nice touch.
Dinner had been surprisingly easy. Kade grilled burgers, and Atlas had made the same potato salad from the last dinner we’d had. The conversation had flowed without anyone forcing it, and I’d laughed more in the past two hours than I had in months.
Now the group had migrated from the deck to a fire pit by the water, chairs arranged in a loose circle.
Lucan’s chair sat close enough to mine that his arm stretched along the back of it, his fingers finding the short hair at the nape of my neck.
He toyed with it absently, the pads of his fingertips tracing lazy patterns against my skin.
Each pass sent a quiet shiver rolling down my spine and into my stomach. I didn’t pull away.
“He sent me a fourteen-paragraph email.” Reese sat on my other side, her face animated in the firelight. “Fourteen paragraphs, Liz. Complete with links to rescue organizations and a pros-and-cons list he made in a spreadsheet.”
“For a dog?”
“Or a cat. He’s not picky. He just wants me to have, and I quote, ‘a companion for emotional enrichment.’” Reese rolled her eyes. “The kid is twenty years old and lives three hours away. He wants all the fun of a pet with zero responsibility.”
“Classic move.” I smiled. “My brother pulled that with my parents and a parrot. They still have it, but it outlived their patience by about fifteen years.”
Atlas perked up from across the fire. “What kind of parrot?”
“An African Grey named Gerald. He screams the Jeopardy theme every night at seven sharp.”
Atlas looked delighted. Kade looked horrified.
Lucan’s fingers continued their slow rhythm against my neck, and it almost felt normal. Dangerously so.
Across the fire, Zarek sat in a camp chair with his ankle crossed over his knee. He hadn’t spoken much during dinner, and he hadn’t spoken at all since we’d moved to the fire. His posture read relaxed to anyone who wasn’t paying attention.
I was paying attention.
His eyes tracked every shift in conversation, every laugh, every time Lucan’s hand moved against my hair. His gaze returned to me often enough that I felt it even when I stared into the flames and pretended that I didn’t notice.
“Do you have kids?” Zarek’s voice cut through a gap in the conversation.
The question landed in the circle, and Reese’s story about Max trailed off. Atlas went quiet. Lucan’s fingers stilled against my neck.
It wasn’t casual. It wasn’t small talk. The way Zarek held my gaze made it obvious he already knew the answer mattered less than whether I would give one.
Lucan shifted beside me, his body tensing. I sensed the protest building in him, the protective instinct coiling.
I put my hand on his knee. He stilled.
“No.” I held Zarek’s gaze across the flames. “No kids.”
The silence lingered, and I recognized it for what it was. An opening. An invitation to fill it with deflection or a joke or a quick change of subject.
I was tired of deflecting.
If I expected these people to trust me, to let me into whatever this was, then I had to give them something real. Something that cost me.
“I was with a man for ten years.” My voice came out steady, which surprised me. “We got engaged last year, and we co-owned a construction company together.”
The fire popped. Nobody interrupted.
“Scott had a sports betting problem. I didn’t know about it until the IRS sent a letter about back taxes he owed.
By the time I untangled the finances, I’d discovered he’d drained our business and personal accounts.
I had nothing left.” I swallowed. “The company folded, and because my name was on everything, his debt became my debt.”
Lucan’s hand moved to my shoulder and squeezed once.
“I came to Ashford because I needed a place where I could clear my head and couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.
All I had was a tent, my car, and enough cash to last maybe a month if I ate cheaply.
I found the knife in my tent after a naked man scared me half to death in the middle of the woods.
I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what any of you were. ”
My eyes stayed on Zarek’s. His expression hadn’t changed, his eyes reflecting the fire.
“If I had come here to steal from you or cause trouble, I would have taken the knife and disappeared days ago. I wouldn’t have shown it to Reese.
I wouldn’t have let a local jeweler put it on record.
And I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here telling you the most humiliating chapter of my life while Lucan plays with my hair. ”
Atlas made a sound that might have been a suppressed laugh. Reese’s hand found my arm and rested there.
Zarek studied me for a long moment. The fire shifted, and shadows moved across his sharp features.
“Fair enough.” His voice was quiet. He uncrossed his ankle and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I had to ask.”
“I know.” I exhaled, feeling like a truce had been reached between us. “I would have asked too.”
The tension broke like a wire snapping. Atlas launched into a story about the time Lucan got his claws tangled in a fishing net as Lucan’s fingers resumed playing with my hair and stroking my neck.
I stared into the fire and let myself breathe.