Stuck in the Cabin (Exiled Dragons Book 8)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Ah, okay. I understand. It’s too tempting to tell everyone what they’ve discovered. Humans aren’t very good at knowing something that they can’t tell anyone else. They tell one person they don’t think will tell anyone, and then that person tells someone…before you know it, the world knows your secret.”

  “Exactly. It’s no problem for them if the wrong people learn we are shifters, but a huge problem for us. That is the primary reason it is forbidden to take a human mate in our village. Not everyone agrees with that, but Aiden insists it remain a rule,” he replied with a dismissive shrug.

  “I suppose it doesn’t matter who agrees with it as long as he has made it law,” she said, her attention directed toward a small diner nearby. “Do you think we could grab a bite to eat before we continue on? I’m starving!”

  “I can’t think of a better idea. I’m pretty hungry myself,” he laughed, steering her to the inside of the eatery.

  “It’s not very crowded in here,” she said curiously, before leaning into him to whisper, “Is that a bad sign?”

  “No, not at all. She just doesn’t have a lot of people dining in, is all. Her food is fantastic, but most grab it and go because she gives such large portions that it makes an easy dinner for the family,” he told her quietly.

  “Oh. I hate wasting food. I guess I can take what’s left home with me if it is too much,” she said uncertainly.

  “You might as well plan on it,” he laughed, pulling out a chair for her near the front window.

  The owner, Cassi Baker, had been running the small diner since she was a young woman, and before that, as a teen, she had waited tables for her parents who had owned it before her. No one knew exactly how old she really was, but she had been in the village when it was founded and longer than anyone else who currently lived there.

  “Cassi, this is Emily. She just moved here to live with her aunt,” Connor told her, realizing suddenly that he had no idea what Emily’s last name was or which member of the village was her aunt. She had been so mesmerizing when he had met her that he hadn’t even thought about it. Now, he found himself suddenly hoping Cassi wouldn’t put him on the spot by asking him for details.

  “Pleasure to meet you, honey. I hope I will see more of you. Too many people eat on the run these days. It’s always nice to have a young couple dine in with me.”

  “Oh, no. We’re not a couple,” Connor stammered, feeling a hot flush spread up over his face.

  “Connor is just showing me around town,” Emily offered, sensing his discomfort. Of course, it wasn’t hard to miss, based on the vivid shade of red he had become.

  “He’s a good boy,” Cassi replied, seeming completely oblivious to his discomfort, patting him on the top of the head as if he were still a tot. “What can I get for the two of you?” she asked.

  Connor’s face began to return to its normal color as they ordered their food and settled in to chat while Cassi returned to the kitchen to prepare their meal. Emily put him at ease quickly, changing the subject to discuss what there was to do locally for fun. He quickly found himself offering to take her around to more activities to help her get acquainted with the place and everyone in it. By the time their meal was finished, he felt like he had known her for a lifetime rather than one afternoon.

  After dinner and a few more introductions around town, Connor and Emily headed up the mountain, walking until they reached the peak. The sun was going down as they stood there, overlooking the sea below them. Something about being here with her felt magical. How could she have such an effect on him so quickly? He told himself to shake it off, to snap out of it. It was far too soon to be so hung up on a woman, especially since it might not even be mutual.

  “Ready?” Connor asked, smiling down at her softly.

  “Beyond ready,” Emily said, stepping away from him and toward the edge of the overhang on which they stood.

  He watched as she morphed from her already beautiful form into the most gorgeous blue and silver dragon he had ever laid eyes on. Her blue eyes glimmered a metallic shade as they peered through the silver stripe that crossed her brow and spanned down her neck, flowing toward the tips of her wings as they began to spread. She turned and took flight out over the water.

  Connor jumped from the cliff behind her, enjoying the free fall in his human form for a moment before he morphed midair into a bright red and orange dragon. His wings spanned twice the distance of hers as he tried to catch up. She was so much smaller, and yet incredibly fast. He felt something stir within him as she seemed to slow, waiting for him to catch up. He dove below her as they continued their flight, with her soaring only slightly above him as they made their way further out to sea.

  To anyone that might have seen them, they would have been a glorious sight. The large orange dragon with red flecks soaring protectively just beneath the small blue and silver one, both of them beneath the moonlight that flickered across their scales. It was always such a shame to have to hide their beauty from the world, Connor thought. Their kind had been around since long before most of the humans they were forced to hide themselves from, yet they were deemed the intruders.

  As the stars lit up the sky, they had come quite a way out from the village. Conner moved forward ahead of Emily to guide her toward a place for them to rest a bit before they began the return trip home. They landed on a small island far away from prying eyes and shifted back to human form. Lying beneath the star-laden sky above them, they talked well into the night.

  “It is so beautiful here, especially at night,” Emily said breathlessly.

  “It is. I’ve always found it magical to fly over the waters at night, to look up at the stars that we can’t fly quite high enough to reach.”

  “I know. All the human people always mourn that they can’t fly. We can fly but still mourn our limitations. I guess everyone has their limitations in some way.”

  “That’s very observant and very true,” Connor said. “I sometimes wonder if there is anyone out there who is truly content with what they have, with who they are.”

  “I think a good many people are as close as they can be. We accept our limitations and get on with life.”

  “I suppose we do, but I think we all have regrets,” Connor replied, lost in his own thoughts for a bit as he continued to look up at the sky above.

  “Perhaps,” she said. “What are your regrets? If there was one thing you could change, what would it be?” Emily asked, rolling onto her side to face him.

  “I would have saved my father,” came his rather solemn reply.

  “I never knew my father. He died before I was born. All I know is that he was an engineer and after he died, Mom didn’t want to leave their home in Dublin where they had spent their lives together. I would have saved my mother if I had been able. I’m sure your brother would have saved your father, too, if he could have,” she said kindly.

  “Possibly, but the choice would be harder for him,” he said. “He lost someone – a woman he loved. He has been different since then. We were young when our father died. It was painful, but you don’t understand as much as you do later on. He had barely come to an understanding that our father was not going to return when he suffered a tragedy that did far more damage. He was eighteen when he lost Margaret, his high school sweetheart. He’s never quite recovered from it.”

  “That explains his demeanor. He strikes me as a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I mean, he was nice to me, but very reserved and withdrawn into his own thoughts during the little time I was with him. It was as if he couldn’t find you fast enough and get me off his hands. I honestly thought he had taken an instant dislike to me, though he was polite about it,” Emily observed.

  “That wasn’t the case at all. He is just horrible at one on one, especially with attractive women,” Connor said softly, turning to pull her closer to him against the chill of the night as they continued to talk. He wasn’t sure that she wanted him to hold her, but it felt right, so he just went with
it. It was a mix of relief and joy when she nuzzled in closer to him, rather than pulling away.

  As morning drew ever nearer, they found themselves still in one another’s arms, lost to a passionate kiss. Connor had never felt anything like what he was experiencing with Emily. It was something that he knew he could never let go, even now, when they hardly knew one another. It was all he could do to pull away from her, but he had to, knowing they had to get home before the dawn.

  “We need to get back home,” he told her reluctantly.

  “I suppose we do.” She smiled at him and planted another light kiss on his lips before pulling away from him and standing up.

  “I don’t want to go,” he told her, wanting to express how much he was enjoying being here with her.

  “Me neither,” she replied, adding, “Catch me if you can!” before morphing and sailing back out over the sea toward home.

  Connor quickly followed her, once again marveling at how fast she was even as he struggled to keep up with her speed. He might be bigger, but he would never take her in a race. It was something he was willing to accept. Then again, he had the feeling that there was very little he couldn’t accept about her.

  Chapter 2

  “Did you have a nice night with Emily last night?” Owen asked over breakfast later that morning.

  Connor smiled sheepishly at him as he reached across the table to stab another piece of bacon and bite into it wordlessly.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. I thought you might,” he said with a knowing smile.

  Connor looked at him, observing him closely. Owen rarely smiled about anything, and even when he did, there was always this air of sadness you could see just below the surface. It was if he tried hard to pretend he was content when he was anything but that on the inside. It was wretched to watch him wallow in his own heartache year after year, but efforts to help him gain some sense of peace with himself had proved fruitless over the years.

  Owen was strong in all the ways that mattered, but he was shut off emotionally. He preferred the company of the animals out on the mountain trails he was fond of roaming, over any of the women who showed him the slightest bit of interest. In fact, nothing would send him scurrying away faster than a woman flirting. In the years since Margaret had been gone, he had never been unfaithful to her memory as far as Connor knew. No one could convince him that it was time to move on. Still, they all tried from time to time.

  “You should consider finding someone you might like,” Connor told him, knowing it was useless.

  “I don’t see it happening,” Owen mumbled, taking the last bite of his eggs and then picking up his plate to take to the sink.

  “You will never know unless you give someone a chance,” Connor told him, pointing his fork toward him for emphasis.

  “I know all I need to know, brother. You don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” Owen replied, busying himself with cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

  “I just hate to see you all alone all the time.”

  “I’m not alone. I have you. Who needs a mate when I have you to make me breakfast and wash my clothes?” Owen said sarcastically.

  “You might just find yourself cut off with that attitude,” Connor laughed.

  “Never. You love your big brother. You can’t deny it,” Owen teased.

  Connor made a grunting noise at him and took his plate over to where Owen had begun to wash up the breakfast dishes. They did get along pretty well for siblings that lived together, but he suspected a large part of that was the fact that Owen was hardly ever there, and when he was, he was in his own little world, lost in thoughts that often made Connor wonder where he went to when his gaze was so distant.

  “Alright, well, I have made plans with Emily today. Do you want to come with us?”

  “I’ll pass,” Owen replied as he put another dish in the drainer.

  “I didn’t even tell you what we are doing,” Connor glumly pointed out.

  “It doesn’t matter. I have other plans.”

  “Like what?”

  “I have a date with Cassi,” Owen replied seriously.

  “I hadn’t pegged her for a cougar,” Connor joked.

  “Old chicks dig me,” Owen replied glibly as he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Right. Well, I’m glad you are getting out…I think. Don’t give the old bird a heart attack. I rather like her cooking and would like to keep her around another thousand years or so.”

  “More like she is going to give me one. She invited me over to help her move furniture,” Connor laughed.

  “Ah, that sounds more plausible. What do you get out of it?”

  “We, brother. We. She is giving us a free dinner for four.”

  “So, who will you bring to dinner then?” Connor teased.

  “Mom, of course!” Owen said, turning to face him with a slow smile.

  Connor didn’t know whether to laugh or grumble at him some more, but the laughter seemed to win out as he chuckled and shook his head in his direction.

  “Alright then. You enjoy your day with Cassi. I’ll see you later back here.”

  “Oh, I won’t be home. I’m going to climb a bit and camp out near the cliffs.”

  “There’s a shock,” Connor replied, rolling his eyes.

  “See you tomorrow,” Owen said dismissively as he finished up the dishes.

  Connor grabbed a quick shower and got dressed for his day out with Emily. He was excited to be seeing her again so soon. He really couldn’t remember ever having met someone who made him tingle at just the thought of them being near. Best of all, she seemed just as taken with him. At least, he certainly hoped so. Otherwise, he would probably end up making a fool of himself over her.

  “See you later,” he called toward Owen, who was lounging on the sofa, reading the paper. He was already out the door before he got a reply, eager to get to the little coffee shop where he was supposed to meet Emily, when something occurred to him and he ran back inside. “Owen, what is Emily’s last name? Who is her aunt?”

  “You spent the whole afternoon and most of the night with the girl and didn’t get her last name?” Owen replied with a raised eyebrow.

  “Pretty much,” Connor admitted reluctantly.

  “Good going, brother. Her last name is O’Hanlan. Her aunt is Rose O’Hanlan.”

  “Really?” Connor said, flabbergasted.

  “Really,” Owen replied with a grin.

  “That figures,” Connor laughed. “Okay, thanks!”

  “You’re welcome,” Owen said to him as he darted back out the door again.

  Rose O’Hanlan had taught both of them in primary school. She was Connor’s first teacher crush. It was no wonder he was drawn so much to her niece, as odd as that might seem. He wondered, as he headed off again to meet Emily, if she had mentioned him to her aunt and what conversation had transpired after that. How embarrassing to think how her aunt might have known and recounted how he had doted on her as a child.

  He felt nervous as he approached the coffee shop. It wasn’t like him. He was normally very self-assured, but Emily made him so nervous that he might do or say the wrong thing and run her off before he’d had a chance to really get to know her. What if she had changed her mind and didn’t even show up?

  “You’re here!” he said, spotting her at a corner table as he entered the front door.

  “Of course, I’m here. You did tell me to meet you, after all,” she replied, seeming confused by his surprise.

  “Right. I know, of course. I’m just glad to see you. That’s all,” he laughed, trying to play off his ridiculous fears.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she replied brightly.

  “Are you ready for the beach?”

  “Oh, yes! I can’t wait. It’s even a nice day for it,” she replied.

  Connor ordered a cup of tea and they chatted for a bit before heading out to the seaside. She was amazingly easy to talk to. He really couldn’t be any happier about having met a girl like her as they
seemed to have a lot in common. An hour later, they had made their way to the small beach below the cliffs. He didn’t tell her about the significance of this place. It was where his father’s body had been found.

  Many were surprised that he could still even return to it, but he found an odd solace in being in the place where his father last existed. It gave him a strength that was hard to explain. He couldn’t really say why it was that he wanted to share that with Emily, but for some reason he did. Perhaps he might even share with her why this place was special to him.

  “It’s gorgeous here,” she told him, squinting upward toward the sun.

  “Yes. It’s one of my favorite places. I can’t believe how nice it is here today. Seems to rain every time I come here.”

  “Perhaps I am your good luck charm,” she said, pushing an errant hair away from her eyes.

  “Perhaps you are,” he replied, taking a step toward her and pulling her closer to him.

  His hands found their way into her hair, combing his fingers through the rich copper strands as the sunlight spun them into a rich hue. Her blue eyes met his as he lowered his head toward hers, his heart racing as he drew her into another kiss. Everything about her felt perfect and right. Though he had only met her yesterday, he was certain it was meant to be.

  He wanted her, wanted to take her right then and there, but he cautioned himself to back off and not to push things. The last thing he wanted was to push too hard, move too fast, and scare her away. Instead, he took a deep breath as he pulled away and caressed her cheek with his right hand.

  “You are so beautiful,” he breathed.

  “Thank you. You are pretty gorgeous yourself,” she replied, drawing him in again with the way her eyes lit up as she gazed at him.

  “I’m really enjoying spending time with you,” he said, casting a sideways glance at her even as he attempted to put a little bit of distance between them to get his thoughts back in order. She had a way about her that spun him out of control.