There were people walking on the street outside. Shop fronts had changed since he’d been a teenager, but it seemed as though they were thriving. People walked in and out of shop doors, carrying bags and smiling as they sipped their coffees. Aurum Bank signs hung over historic buildings, the very first Aurum Banks. There were even Aurum ATMs on every corner.
When the bank failed, and no one was there to save it, what would happen to Grove? Ashton didn’t want to see the people leave, but they would if the money left. Grove would become a ghost town. It would hold nothing more than their failure.
“What are you scowling so hard about?” Makenna’s muffled voice asked. “And why are you naked in there?”
Ashton’s head jerked up. Makenna watched him with confusion. He reached and rolled the window down as someone in the distance shouted at them.
“Get that copper dragon booty!”
Makenna scowled, her brows falling flat. She didn’t turn around to see who shouted, but Ashton couldn’t ignore his curiosity. At the diner door, Old Georgia waved at them with a silly grin slapped on her face. The relative helping her walk to the car scowled and tried to hush her, but nothing would stop Old Georgia.
He leaned out the window. “She won’t take me back, Georgia! What should I do?”
The old woman paused even though her relative was nearly yanking on her arm to make her move. Old Georgia didn’t miss a beat. “Well, you have to give her everything she dreamed of, of course!”
When he looked back to Makenna, her face was red. The flush on her cheeks made him pause, his breath on hold while he stared at her. He was afraid that if he moved, if he spoke, she would run. While he stayed still, Makenna would remain there.
But the illusion didn’t last long. Makenna shook her head and turned on her heel. Ashton wasn’t about to let her go. He snatched his gym shorts off the seat beside him and wrestled them on before hopping out of the truck. His feet slapped the pavement, shoes forgotten while he caught up to Makenna.
“What are you doing after work?”
“You promised to leave me alone,” she said without missing a beat.
“That’s proving a lot harder than I thought.” In truth, Ashton hadn’t planned to return to the diner. He’d simply gotten behind the wheel and driven in autopilot while he grumbled about Jasper’s attitude.
She cast a sidelong glance at him. Suddenly, her sour expression softened into one of concern. His heart flipped to see it pointed at him.
“You’re bleeding,” she said, hand hovering in the air over his shoulder.
He looked down to find that he was, in fact, bleeding. He hadn’t noticed it before. Jasper must have gotten one last hit on him before he left the asshole behind. Blood trickled down his chest in a thin line, drying into a sticky, rust colored mess among his chest hair.
“Would you look at that? Can you play nurse for me? Patch me up and kiss my wounds? Maybe you can kiss somewhere a little lower, too.”
Makenna’s snarl of frustration was as powerful as any dragon he’d ever heard. She spun around so fast that she left a gust of wind in her wake as she fled his presence. Yet, when she jerked open the diner door, Ashton caught the soft smile she’d been hiding.
Today wasn’t the day, but he knew he could break through to her eventually. Like Old Georgia said, all he needed to do was make her dreams come true. Ashton just needed to figure out what Makenna dreamed about now. It would have been easy years ago. They’d talked about their future every night under the stars.
But she was no longer a girl. Makenna was a woman.
His woman.
She just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Eight
Makenna was exhausted to the point of tears as she climbed the stairs up to her carriage house apartment. When she reached for the light switch, nothing happened. The darkness around her remained no matter how many times she flicked the switch up and down.
She let out a scream and threw her purse across the room. Which was a mistake, of course. Her phone was in the purse and she was going to need the flashlight function if she was going to navigate the impenetrable darkness of living in the country. No street lights illuminated her living room. Not even her landlord’s flood light could reach her windows from where it was.
Makenna held out her hands and felt her way through the apartment until she found her thrown purse. The flashlight on her phone allowed her to see, but she couldn’t waste the battery. She needed to find candles. Hell, she should have just gone to bed. It would have saved both candles and her phone battery.
While her bed should have called her name, she lit a candle and carried it out onto the balcony. There, she pulled her knees to her chest and used the last of the battery in her music player. Music rocked through her while she looked out into the dark woods. She waited for a glimpse of copper, startled to realize how badly she wanted to see Ashton.
He’d distracted her from the drudgery she called her life, casting light every time he was near. She worried about the blood on his chest and the gash it dripped from, but Ashton hadn’t seemed all that bothered. He’d looked down at it, acknowledged it was there, and then proceeded to flirt with her. It made the situation easier to bear while her heart hammered with unexpected fear.
There was no doubt who’d hurt Ashton. The mountains were heralded by a new king, but she didn’t think Jasper was ready for the position. He needed something first. He needed whatever he searched for when he prowled.
Makenna knew the feeling; how deep need could cut through her. A long time ago, she thought she needed fame and money. Now, her needs had changed. Makenna needed freedom. Freedom from the bills that now filled her mailbox, unforgiving as their envelopes changed from white to alarming red.
She could barely keep up with the payments. Some had defaulted to bill collectors who hounded her phone day and night. It would do them no good. She couldn’t pay with what she didn’t have.
The car she drove was the beater she’d had since high school, blessedly still chugging along. Obviously, she’d forgone her electric bill to meet late payments on her aunt’s hospital bills. They were years old now, but she was still trapped paying them.
Ashton didn’t know that, for a short while, she’d managed to escape Grove. Makenna had pursued her dream. She’d struggled in the business. People were clambering over one another, trying to take advantage of every soul that walked by. It had been vicious, but she’d convinced herself it was the only way to get what she wanted.
Then, her aunt called.
Aunt Gwen revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Makenna wasted no time rushing home to her aunt’s side, but before she could make it home the cancer claimed her. The guilt set in when she found the bills and realized how long her aunt had been suffering without telling her. Aunt Gwen had chosen to hide her illness to make sure Makenna had the chance at her dream.
Makenna shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for memories. She plucked the earbuds from her ears and stood, every intention of going to bed. The sound of a dragon roar made her pause. Her heart leapt into her throat.
When she looked up, three forms caught the light of the moon. Two were dark while the one they chased glowed like the summer moon. Ashton and Griffin chased Jasper’s beast. If they kept their aerial dance up all night, he would be exhausted by morning.
Ashton had a large weight on his shoulders. Like her, he’d been called home to care for someone he loved. Jasper didn’t have cancer, but he was close to the edge of becoming more monster than human. If he was going to lead the dragons of this mountain, Ashton and the others would be charged with pulling him back.
Over and over. As many times as it took.
***
The rising sun slapping Ashton’s face through the nearby window woke him well before he planned to get up. He groaned and rolled over, trying to hide from the oppressive sunbeam. The night before had been long. He’d planned to visit Makenna once more, hoping to search for the hi
nt of a dream, but before he could leave, Griffin had appeared on his doorstep.
Jasper was no longer prowling. He’d taken to the skies and looked as though he might leave the mountains. The rules were strict. A dragon could only ever leave the protection of the mountains as a human. Any change off the mountain was to be carefully enacted. Jasper’s beast didn’t care about rules.
They ran, shifting so that their wings launched them into the skies. All night, they chased the golden dragon trying to escape the edge of the mountain range. They would dart and dive around him, like cattle herding dogs determined to keep their cattle from falling off a cliff face. Jasper was not as gentle as cattle. He’d fought and torn through their scales.
Ashton realized whatever Jasper’s beast was trying to find was life or death. The beast in their king knew it. Even if Jasper didn’t.
A small knock sounded at the door. He clenched his teeth, hoping it wasn’t Griffin again. He would take off Jasper’s head once and for all if the monster thought he was going to give them another day of running around. But, moments later, he heard the rumble of an old car just before it zoomed away.
Intrigued, he rolled over and threw his feet to the floor. He reached for his shoulder, rubbing where there had been a gash the day before. It was gone, healed over, but new aches arose. Not enough time had passed since his last battle with Jasper.
What was on the other side of the door was not Griffin, but a small plastic bag with takeout containers. He picked it up and brought it inside. A note sat on the top. Even after all this time, her handwriting was still instantly recognizable. Makenna didn’t even need to sign the note.
I saw your airshow last night. Unimpressed. Add some pyrotechnics next time.
Here’s some fuel to start your day right. This is an investment in the next airshow, not a peace offering.
Get Bent.
Ashton laughed. It seemed she had barely slept the night before, either, if she’d seen what she called his airshow. He opened the door again, hoping to see her waiting on the other side. The car that disappeared had taken Makenna with it.
He should have known she would not stick around. Even if she did like him, she didn’t have time to spare in her busy schedule. All he could do was take the containers to the table. He opened them and let the scent of the fresh food fill the cabin, replacing the old smells lingering in the corners. She’d brought pancakes with real maple syrup. Between each layer was a dollop of butter just the way he liked.
He imagined her face as he popped a piece of half-melted butter into his mouth. She would be disgusted same as she used to, brows furrowed and mouth agape. No matter how much changed, there would always be some things that stayed the same.
His beast squirmed beneath his skin, but the hearty breakfast was heavy enough to anchor the creature deep inside him. When his plate was clean, he let out a long breath and sat back in his chair. He studied the small cabin he rented in a rush.
There was no art on the walls, but he’d never found the time to hang anything on the walls of his city apartment either. The furniture was used, several times over if the stains and smells were any indication. Nothing about the cabin felt like home. Even though he should have gone back to bed, Ashton felt the need to leave.
Not to wander. No, he felt an urge to go home. He rolled the desire over his tongue, trying to taste the meaning behind it. The city apartment didn’t call him back. There was little that could bring him back to the towering glass and metal buildings or the narrow gray streets.
If that wasn’t where Ashton wanted to go, then where exactly was home?
Restless, he grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor and a shirt he assumed was mostly clean. There was only one person he could think of in a time like this. Makenna wouldn’t want to see him, but he knew if he didn’t find her, his beast would rise and begin to gnaw at his control. Even her annoyance was better than staying inside the cabin.
His mission for the day was to turn that annoyance into something better, a smile if he could manage it.
Chapter Nine
Makenna felt like she would keel over at any moment. She wobbled unsteadily on her feet, limbs too heavy to move. She dropped into a chair at job number two and took a moment to catch her breath. Breathing deep, she summoned the will to keep moving. There were three more hours left. That was all she needed to get through.
Yet, when Ashton’s face appeared in the window, her heart leapt with renewed vigor. She deemed it a traitor but accepted the extra rush of energy.
“I wanted to come by and say thanks for breakfast.”
She shrugged and lied. “Someone ordered food but never came to pick it up. I figured you were just as good as a trash bin.”
He slapped a hand over his heart with false offense, though she could see the smile on the corners of his mouth. In truth, she’d paid for the breakfast herself. It hadn’t cost much when her co-worker realized what Makenna was doing and cut her a steep deal. Makenna hadn’t argued. She didn’t have the energy nor the money.
“This trash bin thanks you. It was delicious. I didn’t know there was anyone else in town who took their pancakes with a pound of butter.”
So, he was on to her. That didn’t mean she would tell him the truth. She didn’t have time for Ashton. Just dropping off the breakfast had used her only break at the diner. Working at the gas station was much simpler considering all she had to do was wait at a window for people to pay, but it wasn’t a break by any means. Here, she suffered through the oppressive smell of gasoline mixed with beer and cigarettes that people brought to the window. Sometimes, when patrons smoked too close to the pumps, she waited for it to blow up and take her with it.
It was an abysmal thought, but then her bills would be forgiven once and for all.
Then she could sleep.
Ashton sobered. Seriousness lined his face as he watched her. She tried to hide her thoughts, but she was sure he could still see through whatever guise she tried to throw up.
“I’m still not over being mad at you.” She changed the subject, turning the conversation on him again.
Ashton didn’t seem bothered. He shrugged and folded his arms over the counter between them, relaxed. People were lining up behind him, glaring over his shoulder like the power of their gaze could force him to move. Makenna should have cared, but it was a blissfully work-free moment and she would happily lap it up. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone could blame her for Ashton’s slow behavior.
Her shoulders relaxed a bit.
“Have you eaten anything today?” Ashton turned the conversation on her again.
She could keep this turntable up all day. At least, she thought she could. Truth was that she hadn’t eaten. When she overslept again and had to rush out the door to make it to work on time, she hadn’t grabbed anything. Dropping off food at Ashton’s cabin had cost her another chance to eat. Not that she’d had anything on her to eat anyway.
Aside from the bag of mints in her center console, but mints did nothing for a rumbling stomach.
Ashton snatched several meat sticks and a package of trail mix from the shelf behind the window and slapped them on the counter. Makenna scowled, but rang them up all the same. Ashton paid and pushed them toward her.
“It’s not my meat stick, but I’d still feel better if you ate these.”
Her face warmed again. There were people who could hear him. She caught some eyes widening. Other people coughed nervously.
“You couldn’t handle it if I ate your meat stick,” she retorted, even if it was a weak response.
He winked, grinning like a fool. “I’ve changed a lot. You’d be surprised how long I can last now.”
Even though Makenna heated at the implications, she still found a smile and a quick jab to fire back at him. “That isn’t a good thing when it comes to blow jobs.”
They could have kept up the back and forth about their non-existent sex life all day until someone in line finally shouted at them. The bubble had burst
, and her daily grind caught up with her. Ashton stepped aside, waiting against the nearby window while people hurriedly paid for their gas. Any time someone looked like they were about to complain about the slow service, Ashton coughed, and smoke coiled in the air around him.
Eventually, she told him he was scaring customers. For a moment, she considered telling him when she got off work. Seeing him again would be nice, but she couldn’t waste another night. She needed to sleep before her body gave up altogether. Ever since he’d returned to Grove, sleep had become harder and harder to find. She needed to make a real effort tonight.
Ashton looked hopeful, like he knew what she wanted to say. The look faded when she shooed him away without another word. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them to let this go on much longer. He needed to find a mate who could help tame the beast inside him. She needed to earn enough money to get her lights turned back on.
That would mean picking up another shift for the logging company. She hoped they had enough time in their budget for her. It was time she wouldn’t be able to spend with Ashton. Even though he seemed to have a grasp on his beast around her, she wouldn’t be around most of the time. And he definitely couldn’t hang out at her jobs.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. She could barely remember how she’d gotten home, her body working on muscle memory. Stumbling up the stairs, she flicked the light switch before remembering there was no electricity. The snack foods Ashton bought her earlier hadn’t been enough to get her through the day.
She opened her fridge, but without electricity, nothing inside was edible. Sighing, she turned to the cabinet and grabbed a box of off-brand wheat crackers. Her stomach growled for more, but she couldn’t afford more.
The woods beyond the sliding glass door beckoned her. There was something magical about them. They were primal and old, quietly holding the secrets of dragon shifters while sitting up against a modern town like Grove. She liked the juxtaposition, old and new, magical and mundane. It was the same way she liked her music.
Ashton Drake Page 5
