Her stomach churned just as a bright ray of sunlight hit her in the face. She covered her eyes with her hand and tried to concentrate on breathing.
“Ava?”
She lowered her hand.
“Are you okay? Are you ill?”
Eli was so sweet. He probably thought she was acting like a crazy person. “I’m fine. I probably just need to eat or drink something.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “That’s good.” He stood up then and stepped away from the bed. Like her, he was completely naked. She stared at him, unwilling to tear her eyes away from his toned body.
He seemed to realize he wasn’t wearing clothes, and he looked around until he found his tux pants. He pulled them on without his underwear, and zipped them up but didn’t button them. “I’ll get you something.”
Before she could say anything, he was in the kitchen. She heard the refrigerator door open. “Do you want orange juice?” he called out. “Or water? Or tea?”
“Orange juice is good,” she managed to say. Her voice sounded squeaky. Why was she still lying there, letting her boss wait on her? This was her apartment. She should be the one in the kitchen making breakfast.
She scrubbed her hands over her face. She had no idea what the etiquette was for this situation. While he was gone, she hopped up and grabbed her robe, quickly tying it around her waist.
Eli came back holding a full glass of juice and a toasted bagel. She usually only drank just a little bit and she never ate this early, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I hope you like cream cheese and jam.”
“Of course.” She accepted the plate from him. She stared at his empty hands. “Don’t you want anything?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “No, I better go. I still have to go home and shower.”
She was ready for him to go. Not because she didn’t want him there, but because she needed a moment to freak out in peace before going into the lab. But she didn’t want him to feel like she was pushing him out. She inclined her head toward the bathroom. “You’re welcome to shower here.”
She thought she might have seen the hint of a blush on his face. “Thank you. I appreciate that, but I better go.”
She was still sitting on her bed like a dork. She put the plate down on the bedspread and stood, catching her leg in the sheets. She fell forward, but he moved swiftly and caught her in one smooth motion.
She covered her mouth with her hand. “Thanks. I would have smashed my face on the floor if you hadn’t caught me.”
He didn’t let go of her. “We definitely don’t want that.” He pulled her a little closer and kissed her forehead. Then, he let go of her and started gathering his clothes.
Not wanting to look unappreciative, she sat back down and started drinking her juice. She took a big bite of the bagel, watching him as he shrugged his dress shirt back on. The white contrasted nicely with his tan skin. She flushed all over, remembering him naked against her white sheets. And inside her body.
He draped his jacket over his elbow. “You sure you’re okay? You can take the day off if you need to.”
I’m fine. I’m only turned on thinking about you in my bed. Right.
She coughed. She had to get moving. She stood up, bagel in hand. “I’m good. It just takes me a while to wake up.” That wasn’t true at all. But he wouldn’t know that, and she couldn’t imagine they’d spend another night together. It was obvious from his skills that he was not inexperienced in the bedroom.
He moved to the doorway of her bedroom. “Thank you again for accompanying me to the event last night. Your presence made it a truly enjoyable evening.”
His easy manner had evaporated. That was probably her fault. He wasn’t the one who started acting weird; she was. He’d tried to get up and make her breakfast, and she’d barely reacted.
She took a deep breath. She followed him to the main door, opening it for him. “Thank you for inviting me. I loved meeting everyone.”
He nodded, and then he was gone.
She wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over her head, but there was no time. She quickly showered and got ready for the day. She was only ten minutes late to work, but everyone was a little sluggish getting started. She heard several jokes that morning about saving all the really sensitive work for the afternoon.
But luckily, they had a lot of paperwork to do and a hectic day, and she was happy to stay very busy for the first few hours of work.
But all of that ended a few hours later.
Ava had managed to avoid Eli for most of the morning, but by the afternoon, it was impossible. They were both using the same equipment and working on the same project.
Not only was the conversation stilted, but she kept dropping things, which was very unlike her. And when she was walking some equipment to the decontamination area, she nearly ran right into him.
Okay, Jeez. You need a break.
She washed her hands and removed her protective equipment. She went to sit outside for a few minutes. This was why it wasn’t smart to sleep with your boss. Because you developed feelings, then acted weird when he brought you juice, and then proceeded to fumble around all day at work.
And none of this was Eli’s fault.
She was the only one acting odd. It was up to her to grow up.
9
Eli
Eli hung up the phone and immediately checked his email. As promised, the itinerary for the upcoming genetics conference was in his inbox.
He’d just been asked to be the keynote speaker for the conference, which was taking place in Galway, Ireland. He was a frequent attendee of conferences, and he often spoke, too, but he hadn’t been to Ireland in years.
He was looking forward to the trip, not just because of the topic he’d be addressing with his colleagues, but for the location.
His friends Nora and Niall lived in Galway. Nora was a witch, and she’d played a crucial role in saving his clan the year before. They’d been threatened by a group of demons, and until it happened, Eli hadn’t even known demons existed.
Nora had flown over alone and single-handedly enchanted all of his clan’s weapons. Without her, his clan might have been decimated.
Nora’s husband Niall was a dragon shifter, and he was a professor at the University of Galway. When Nora came to help with the demons, he’d stayed behind with their baby, but Eli had heard he was a formidable fighter as well.
He looked at his calendar. The conference was only one week away. He’d taken his assistants in the past—the medical conferences were a great place to learn new concepts and hear new ideas, as well as network with like-minded scientists. He had enough funding to take Ava with him.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to tell her she was coming, no excuses. But that wouldn’t work. He might be her boss, but he couldn’t be that heavy-handed. He wanted to invite her immediately, but they’d barely spoken in the days since the charity gala. Which also happened to be the night they’d slept together.
The night he’d spent with Ava had been hands-down the best night he’d ever had. He’d had several dragon shifter girlfriends, and he’d been intimate with all of them, but not one of those nights had come close to what he’d shared with Ava. He’d thought they were on the same page, but the next morning, she’d seemed bashful and possibly regretful.
He’d been excited to wake up in her bed and see her lying there next to him. But as he’d rushed to make her breakfast, it had slowly dawned on him that she wanted him to leave. She had gotten up and put her robe on, covering up her gorgeous body. She’d tied the sash tight, and her body language told him that she was embarrassed.
He might be oblivious to many human cues, but his dragon shifter instincts gave him an advantage.
If they’d been on a real date, he’d have asked her to tell him what was wrong. But they hadn’t been on a date. He was still her boss, and he owed her privacy.
Since that morning, he’d been careful to be polite and
cordial, but not cross the line. He knew if he tried to ask her any questions, he’d end up coming on way too strong. The last thing he wanted was to interrogate her.
He was certain she’d enjoy the conference. Besides his own interest in genetics, Ava was the most invested in the field of any person that he’d ever met. She would thrive in that environment, surrounded by other scholars.
He would just have to invite her and let it be no strings attached. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to get her alone again so that he could seduce her. He wanted to be clear that this was a work trip only.
That afternoon, she came to his office. After they discussed the data points of their latest research project, he cleared his throat.
“I’ve been invited to a conference in Ireland. If you’d like to go, you have a spot. I do need to let them know so they can reserve you a seat in all the lectures and a room at the hotel.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I can go?”
“Yes, the hospital is willing to send us both.”
A bright smile crept across her face. “I’d love to.”
On the plane, Eli settled into his seat. He’d personally upgraded them to first-class. He was just too tall to sit comfortably in coach, especially if he was going to be sitting next to Ava.
The strained atmosphere between them had faded somewhat in light of their trip. Ava had been peppering him with questions about the conference for the last few days, and it had alleviated the lingering tension between them.
“Have you been to Ireland before?” he asked her as the plane started to roll forward on the runway.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ve been to Cork and Dublin, and when I was—”
He always loved listening to her talk, but her voice faded into the background as he became aware that there was a dragon shifter nearby—one he’d never met before. A male.
His dragon growled. He wasn’t particularly territorial, not compared to other males in his clan, and the plane was hardly his territory. But he couldn’t help but feel alert with another shifter so close to him, both of them trapped in a small metal tube together.
As far as he knew, there were no other dragon shifters in the area. One of the female dragon shifters that lived in Texas had been searching for other clans for years. According to Eli’s friend Jackson, there weren’t many clans in the United States at all.
He closed his eyes. Of course, the shifter could be from anywhere. Not all of them had their own private jets like Jackson’s cousin Garrett, who was a famous singer in Las Vegas. Plenty of shifters flew on commercial jets, but this was the first time he’d encountered one while doing so.
He focused, zeroing in on the location of the shifter. He wasn’t in first-class. He wasn’t in the coach area either. Eli turned his focus forward, pushing it toward the front of the plane.
The pilot.
The dragon shifter was the pilot.
That made sense. Eli had thought he felt a twinge of awareness in the airport, but he’d ignored it. He’d been so relieved that Ava had agreed to accompany him that he’d brushed his instincts aside.
Underneath them, the plane rumbled, lifting off the ground. Eli exhaled. He wanted to go talk to him and find out where he was from originally. But he couldn’t do that. No one was allowed in the cockpit, and even if he could get in, he wouldn’t be able to explain it to Ava.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Eli opened his eyes to see her small hand on his arm.
He looked down, realizing that he was gripping the armrests to the point of nearly ripping them off. Way to go not making Ava think something odd was going on.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you worried about flying?”
He kept himself from scoffing. He was neutral on flying in a plane. It wasn’t dangerous to him. If the plane crashed, he’d survive, no matter the cause or the altitude. An explosion wouldn’t even affect him. Nor was flying interesting to him. He’d been able to shift and fly over the ocean from a young age with a view unobstructed by dingy plane windows.
“Um.” He had to make something up.
Before he could answer, a sympathetic look clouded her eyes. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.”
Great. Now she thought he was afraid to fly and that he was too much of a wimp to admit it.
He let go of the armrests and put his hands in his lap. His dragon was pushing, wanting him to get up and pound on the cockpit door. He wanted to demand the pilot open it so he could lay eyes on this dragon he’d never met before.
But his dragon didn’t understand federal aviation laws, and there was no reasoning with him. He wrestled him back into submission and looked over at Ava. She looked beautiful, as usual. She was dressed in jeans and a flowy blouse. It was a more feminine outfit than she usually wore to work.
If he kept staring at her, he’d get hard. The last thing he needed was to get turned on right before beginning a four-hour plane ride to New York City, where they’d catch their connecting flight.
She wrapped her hand around his. She leaned in and whispered right into his ear, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you’re a nervous flyer.”
He chuckled. Despite the insult to his manhood, he wasn’t going to protest. He could hardly tell her why he was restless, and he didn’t want to discourage the feel of her warm hand in his.
He put his other hand over hers. “So, tell me again about your trip to Dublin.”
Seventeen hours later, they were finally settled in their hotel rooms, and Ava was fast asleep from the jet lag. Luckily, the conference didn’t officially start until the following day. They had adjoining rooms, and Ava had opened her door as soon as they’d arrived and told him to do the same.
He always enjoyed Ireland. It was much like his home on the Oregon coast, and today was no exception. There was a chill in the air and a light mist was falling from the sky.
He’d never been to West Ireland before. He’d only been to the areas surrounding Dublin, but from the view of the rocky coast as they’d flown into the Shannon Airport, he could see why a shifter clan had chosen the Cliffs of Moher as their home.
He’d only seen photos of the cliffs, but even from the air, the coast near Galway was stunning. According to Jackson, a thriving clan had once lived on the Cliffs of Moher for centuries, but twenty years ago, it had been destroyed by witches. Most of the surviving shifters had fled to Texas.
But Niall remained, and another shifter couple from Portugal had joined him to help remake their clan.
Eli was restless. He wanted to go out and visit the coast, but that would have to wait. He couldn’t sit still or do any sightseeing, not until he’d found the dragon shifter pilot. He left Ava a note telling her he went for a walk and made sure he had his cellphone.
He grabbed his coat. He didn’t need it, but he needed to blend in. Outside under the cloudy sky, Eli closed his eyes. He could feel the shifter. He was close by. He walked the streets instead of taking a taxi or bus, and pushed his awareness out, trying to pinpoint where the shifter was.
His senses took him to Quay Street, which was already packed with both tourists and locals. He wandered down the cobblestone streets among the bright storefronts.
Then, he felt him again. He was close, really close.
Near an outdoor bistro serving traditional Irish food, he found the shifter.
He sat there with his body crammed between a chair and a small wooden table. He was still in his pilot’s uniform. He was a big male, even bigger than Eli, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was alone, and he was staring straight ahead, eyes unfocused. Only a mug of coffee sat in front of him.
Eli did not want to startle him, but the shifter gave no indication that he had noticed Eli was there.
The name tag on his uniform shirt read, Captain Owen Kaplan.
“Owen.” From ten feet away, Eli called his name in a loud, steady voice, thinking that would be less jarring than pulling up a chair and sitting down across f
rom him.
Owen’s head jerked up. His eyes met Eli’s.
He sat up straighter, but made no other movements.
Eli came closer. He didn’t sense any aggression from the other dragon at all.
He reached the table, and the dragon still hadn’t moved. His eyes followed Eli’s movements, and his expression was wary.
“Hello.” Eli spoke in English, hoping Owen would understand. If he didn’t, Spanish was the only other language he was familiar with. “Mind if I sit down?” Eli touched the back of the empty chair but didn’t pull it out.
The shifter shook his head.
“Thanks,” Eli said. “I’m Eli. I was on the flight with you.”
The other shifter just nodded. He didn’t offer his name.
“Does that happen often?” Maybe the pilot was unfazed because having a shifter on the plane was commonplace for him. Maybe he had one on the plane every day, whereas Eli’s day-to-day interactions were very routine. He came in contact with the same people day in and day out. He was with his coworkers at the lab and his clan, and occasionally left town for a conference like this one. Yet he’d never encountered another dragon shifter on those trips.
“No,” Owen said.
Eli had been told by his clan that he was reserved. And it was true that he wasn’t quite as chatty as most of his family and friends, but he was way more talkative than this guy.
Eli didn’t have the causal charm or the outgoing manner that many of his family had either. He’d always been the most uptight out of all of them, but it was clear that he was going to have to find a way to relate to this guy if he wanted any answers at all.
“How often would you say it happens?”
Owen took a sip of his coffee. “Almost never.”
Okay. He needed a different strategy. When he hit a roadblock in the lab, he would regroup and examine his methodology. He just needed a different approach here. Asking questions wasn’t working. He would try being the one to give information.
Scientist Dragon's Assistant (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 9) Page 5
