by Amelia Jade
Her man held up a hand in casual denial. “No, I think not.”
Cheryl watched him, wondering what had changed. He was so casual now, his movements loose, languid. Like he had suddenly become so utterly confident in his ability to beat them that he no longer worried. Even to her that was a drastic change.
“You are outnumbered. You would never make it out of here. You are weak,” the big man finished with a hiss.
“Tell that to your comrades. I can see the way your muscles flinch with every breath. You are hurt. Don’t pretend like this has been a walk in the park, you mangy mongrel.”
Cheryl had never heard Rowe speak like that. He was harder than steel, his voice cold enough to crack ice. It wouldn’t have surprised her if thunderclouds formed overhead. The shifters facing them all hung back at the crack of his voice, reluctant to move forward.
She studied them in depth, noting the wounds on all of them. Skin flayed open, fur stained red and matted together. More than one ear was missing, and another wolf was missing a limb. A bear limped on three legs, its fourth dangling uselessly. Rowe was right, both sides were just as banged up.
Rowe wasn’t in perfect shape himself. She knew he was under strain. Many of his wounds were on his left side, which he kept angled more toward her, hiding the worst of it from the enemy and exposing it to her. She longed to run to his side, to take care of him. She was no nurse, but she could change bandages, feed him broth, and yell at him for trying to leave his bed before he was fully recovered.
“Any last words?” the alpha wolf asked, signaling his men to be ready.
“Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing. I’ll give you one chance to surrender. I really shouldn’t, not after you threatened my mate.” As he spoke Rowe pointed his right hand lazily at the leader. “But she’s a better person than I am, and she would want me to do this. I suggest you take it,” he finished harshly.
“Nothing has changed.”
“On the contrary,” Rowe said, straightening. “Everything has changed.”
“Do tell.”
Even though she could only see the back of his head, Cheryl could see the nasty smile on his face as he spoke. “Now you’re downwind from me. Last chance.”
Cheryl watched as the man was replaced by the huge black wolf.
“I think that means no,” she said softly.
“Too bad for him.” Rowe looked over at her. “You might want to close your eyes for this part. Plug your ears too and maybe hum.” He looked unhappy about it, but didn’t say any more.
He had no more time to spare and turned back as the shifters came toward him. Cheryl thought about defying his orders, but as two shapes dropped from the sky, revealing themselves to be another pair of emerald dragons, she decided perhaps it was for the best.
The last thing she saw was a triangle of that same green gas spring up around the shifters. Two sides of it came as the descending dragons opened their maws and breathed it, while Rowe gestured sharply with his hand, raising the third wall.
Cheryl shut her eyes and began to hum.
A scream reached her ears and she began to hum louder, trying to drown it out. It didn’t work. The screams grew louder, and she started singing at the top of her lungs, fingers jammed in her ears. It was the first song that came to mind, and though it was old, and rather embarrassing, it was what she had to work with.
“Baaabyyyyyyyy,” she shouted. “Let me see that thooonnggg tha thon—”
A hand grasped her shoulder, cutting her off abruptly.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rowe
“I’ll be right back,” he shouted over her singing.
If it could be called that. Rowe wasn’t sure when she’d developed a fetish for a certain sort of women’s underwear, but if it kept her occupied, then so be it.
“She’s got dumps like a truck, truck, guys like…”
He shook his head, tuning it out. Human music could be so weird sometimes. Apparently the same could be said for his mate.
Inside the circle of gas he could make out the shapes of the shifters who had been wise enough not to try and charge ahead. Nearby both Palin and Torran landed, the ground shaking slightly under the impact of the two huge dragons.
“You’re late!” he shouted.
Palin looked his way. “What is that infernal racket your woman is making?”
Rowe just laughed. “Your punishment. You should have been here ages ago.”
“Traffic was bad,” Torran called out from the other side of the triangle. “And you know Palin drives like a grandma.”
The playful banter was more than welcome. It had been a near thing, stalling for time and outracing the shifters around the property. For a while they nearly hadn’t made it. Too many close calls, and his left side would be a while in healing. However, thanks to the timely arrival of his friends, who had sped back after he’d called them to tell them what was going on, he would heal. The same could not be said for most of them.
“Finish this, Rowe. I am tired of drama,” Palin said wearily.
They must be nearing the end of their stamina he realized. The flights here would have been taxing, and they were traveling in broad daylight, which was a risky thing to do. There would be witnesses.
So be it. His mate was alive because of it. That, and the wolf shifters hadn’t realized that when they’d come back around to the ranch, the wind had sprung up, and was blowing toward them. That safety net had freed him to use his gas to imprison them without risking Cheryl’s safety.
He strode through it without a care, his eyes able to penetrate the mist with ease, since it was essentially part of him. “It’s over,” he announced, standing right on the edges, the gas swirling around him, eager to do his bidding. “Surrender.”
The black wolf paced back and forth in front of him, staring at him with eyes full of hatred.
“Stand down and you can leave with your lives. Continue this, and you’ll not make it out alive.”
All he got was a snarl in return.
“Fine. So be it.” He closed his eyes, letting the power flow through him. It built and built, and he took command of it, harnessing it, infusing it into his very being.
The wolf stared at him as the change happened, but by then it was too late.
Rowe’s body swirled, like a genie out of legend, and he darted forward, a mist-fiend that couldn’t be stopped, flying upon the wings of the very air itself. He concentrated his might on a spot just above the closest wolf’s heart.
The great beast howled for a moment, and then Rowe passed through the shifter, emerging on the other side and continuing on without bothering to slow. He passed around the remaining shifters one by one, until only the alpha was left.
His incorporeal form took an extra second to penetrate the tougher beast, but then it too crumpled to the ground, a hole carved through its chest. Rowe came to a halt and let the power leave him, returning to a solid form once more.
“They never stood a chance,” he spat as Palin and Torran emerged inside the swirling of mists. “Why must they be so damn stubborn!”
“Because that is how they are. Just as we are born the way we are. Some things cannot be helped, unfortunately.” Palin pointed and his own gas, a slightly darker green in color shot forth, surrounding one of the bodies.
Torran did the same. “You go see to your mate, Rowe. We’ll handle cleanup.”
“Thank you,” he said gratefully before jogging back through the mists.
“Let me see that thooooooooOOoooongggggg.”
Oh goody. She was still at it. Rowe raced forward at his fastest dragon speed. The sooner he stopped her the better.
Reaching her, he grabbed her arms and held them tight for a moment as she jumped in surprise.
“It’s okay,” he said, pulling her hands away from her ears. “You can stop singing now.”
He leaned in behind her, in a way so as to block her view of the scene behind him. She didn’t need to witness any of th
at, even if the wall of green would block her view. It was better safe than sorry, in his estimation.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely positive.”
Cheryl frowned at his tone. “You don’t like my singing, do you?”
He winced. Had it been that obvious? “Ummm.”
“Ouch.”
“I did just save our lives.”
“How long are you going to hold onto that one?”
Rowe stammered for words. “It just happened!”
She laughed and leaned in to him. “I know. I’m still dealing with the high of that.”
“We should go inside. When the adrenaline fades, it’s not going to be easy on you. You’re going to want to lie down and not do much else.”
He helped her off the ATV and together they went inside. After downing a glass of water each they just sort of stood there.
“I’m still moving on a super high,” she remarked, bouncing back and forth. “No adrenaline fade yet. So much energy.”
He smiled, happy to see her alive and well. It was over, now. The troubles, and hopefully her stress. Things could proceed smoothly with the farm, and hopefully between them as well.
“Hey Rowe.”
“Yes?”
“Come on.” She stuck out an arm.
“Where are we going?”
“To work off some of my energy. Don’t delay, you don’t have long.” She winked at him, grabbing one of her breasts as she turned away, giving him an incredible profile view of herself.
Sex wasn’t first and foremost on his mind. Not after what he’d just done. Rowe would much rather lie down and come to peace with himself. It looked like that was going to have to wait though, because his mate took top priority. If she felt she needed sex, then that’s what he was going to give her. There were worse ways to occupy his time he conceded.
“Coming,” he called gruffly, chasing up the stairs after her as she giggled and tried to beat him to the bedroom.
She didn’t.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cheryl
“Stop!” she giggled, rolling away from him as he tried to tickle her some more. “No, please. I can’t!”
His hands didn’t relent and she started laughing again, eventually ending in shrieks as he picked an even more sensitive spot. Rowe was laughing. He never pushed it too far, and besides, she didn’t fight fair.
Cheryl pushed out against his knees with her feet and pulled his hands upward.
“Ack!” he yelped, suddenly unbalanced. His head plummeted right into her cleavage.
“Pervert!” she yelped, swatting him with a pillow.
He growled and mounted her, swiftly pinning her down so that he could smother her in kisses. They started fast, but eventually became slower, more deliberate, more purposeful. A craving awoke within her, but she kept it at a simmer for the moment. There was something she needed to talk about before things became sexual.
“We can’t do this forever,” she said.
“Do what? Have sex?”
“Not that!” she hit him lightly, forcing him to see she was being serious. “I meant just act like this. Spending our days doing nothing but exploring each other’s bodies, boundaries, and fetishes.”
Rowe fell silent.
“It’s getting time to move on, don’t you think?”
He lay still. “Palin has told me that you’re free to go anytime you want.”
Cheryl sat up. “What?”
“From the job. He’s not going to make you stay after all that happened here, he understands that. This isn’t a situation a human should have to deal with. At all.”
She snorted. “Did their mates leave? It seems that the mating process is a bit of an adventure for everyone.” Her expression softened. “I’ve seen them together. It’s hard to imagine happier people, or pairs who fit better together.”
Rowe just shrugged, unsure of what to say to that.
He’d explained to her all about mates and dragons. Then over the past five days he’d gone about showing her just how wonderful life mated to a dragon could be. Her school debt was gone. Her car? Gone, replaced by a much newer one. Nicer, too. Then there was the sex. Oh yes, the sex, that was pretty damn amazing too.
Cheryl had never been so spoiled in her life. It wasn’t the easiest thing to get used to, after working so hard, but the effort behind it was appreciated. Rowe enjoyed spoiling her and making her life easier, and so she focused on that particular aspect instead of trying to fight him every time he bought something expensive for her.
Now after all that, he was telling her she should go?
“I don’t understand.” She picked at her nails nervously. “Is it over, then? Just like that you’re through with me? You don’t need me anymore.”
Getting to her feet, she waved his protests off. “No I don’t care. I understand. You had your fun, now you buy me a few hush-presents to keep your secret safe while you get rid of me?”
Rowe was on his feet and blocking the door. “Cheryl Elizabeth Payne,” he boomed. “What has gotten into you?”
She stopped. “You’re telling me to go. That I’m not wanted here.”
He frowned. “That’s not what’s going on at all. Think it over. You know better than that. What is the true issue here?”
Hadn’t he been telling her to go? She thought back over his words. “You’re phrasing it nicely, but I understand.”
“I don’t think you do,” he countered. “I told you that Palin said you were free to go. That if you didn’t want the job anymore he wouldn’t hold it against you. Nowhere in there did I say that you would be leaving without me. If you go somewhere, I will go with you.”
She blinked. “You will?”
He nodded.
“Oh.” Cheryl felt silly. “I guess I’m still a little unsure of this whole thing. To know that you want to spend your entire life with me. It’s kind of overwhelming. You’re so perfect, and it’s almost too good to be true.”
Rowe stepped forward and held her. “Well, it is true. But I still don’t know if that’s the entire source of your outburst. Tell me, my love, what is bothering you?”
She thought about it, mildly unsure herself just what had prompted such a burst of emotion. It was unlike her. “I started a job,” she said slowly. “I signed a contract, and I said that I would get this ranch up and running. Make it profitable. Now one little setback and everyone assumes that just because I’m a woman I’m too weak to overcome it and get the job done.”
Rowe smiled. “I told him you wouldn’t take his offer.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I knew the fire burns brightly in you. I just needed you to see it.”
Cheryl was buoyed by the confidence he’d shown in her. “Yes, you’re right. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to prove it to a lot of people, but most importantly I’m going to prove it to myself. I can do this, and I can do a damn good job of it.”
“I never doubted you for a second.” He swept her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
She rested on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heart, the slow rise and fall of his lungs, and the constant ball of warmth that he seemed to exude at any time. “Sorry for freaking out. But I’m going to finish what I started, Rowe. I have to.”
“I know,” he said, stroking her hair with his large fingers, sending little tingles down her neck. “I know.”
“Will you join me? I could use a right-hand man, and I think we make a good team.”
He made a noise that signaled thinking. “Are you asking me to work for you?”
Cheryl laughed. “I think it’s only fair that I get to boss you around at some point. Since you’ve been doing that to me since this whole issue ended.”
“Perhaps.” He was speaking into her ear now. “But I seem to recall that you’ve benefitted greatly from following my commands as well.”
She blushed. “Have I? I think I’ve forgotten. I might need a refresher.”
&nbs
p; Rowe’s foot closed the door behind him. “That can be arranged.”
She perked up. “So, does that mean we have a deal?”
Her mate picked her up and swung her around.
“I think we can come to some sort of arrangement.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rowe
“Rowe, I need to talk to you after you’re done.”
He glanced over at Cheryl in surprise at the announcement. “Sure.”
Cheryl gave him a tight smile and left the barn behind.
“Well, let’s go then,” he said, motioning to the laborers in front of him.
They were working on the hay bale lift, trying to repair it. The entire system had been sabotaged, though it hadn’t been discovered until they got around to replacing the platform and rope.
“We’ll be all right here, Rowe.” That was James. The same lead hand who had been responsible for the accident that had nearly killed Cheryl had insisted on being the one to fix it. According to him he wouldn’t rest properly if he couldn’t certify that it was done “well above code.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, me and the boys have got this. Go see what Miss Payne wants. It sounded urgent.”
Rowe doubted that, but they were already working late, the end-of-day hour having come and gone. The job had taken on a sort of special status to James and the crew, and they’d decided to put in some extra time so it could be repaired ahead of schedule. All of the workers were eager to show that they wanted to be there.
It was a remarkable change from the way things had been headed leading up to their vacation, as it was now being called. He still marveled at the fact that of all the workers they’d had to temporarily let go, all but one had come back. Not that Rowe would have returned to a job after winning the lottery either if he were in the human’s position.
In the two weeks since they had sounded the recall, a lot of work had gotten done. Snow had fallen however, and it was here to stay, so all the work had now turned indoors. The barns were being repaired, the silos cleaned, and other buildings being emptied for the first time in what was probably decades.
