Well, all of the men except Vance had been on their best behavior. Lily could not believe how rude he had been. First, he had flown like a maniac for their whole harrowing descent down into the forest. Lily had truly thought she was going to die for most of that awful flight downward. And then, he had not even bothered to apologize. The closest he’d come to an apology was mumbling something about how he’d thought she would like the fast-paced flying. After that, he’d ignored her for the rest of the night. Bree had told her not to let him get to her. According to Bree, Vance was constantly showing off or challenging Knox’s rules, and causing trouble for the whole clan. Bree said Knox let a lot of Vance’s behavior slide, though, because he was one of the best dragons in the group at recovering artifacts. Vance was brazen, yes, but he was also fearless. And sometimes fearlessness was exactly what was needed to get the job done.
At least, that’s what Bree had told Lily. Lily had spent her whole working life behind a desk at the Advocacy Bureau. She didn’t have a lot of experience with jobs that required fearlessness. Perhaps it was better that Vance had ticked her off at the start. Her silly little crush on him probably would have gone nowhere, considering how different their lives were. Now, any time Lily found herself thinking about how gorgeous Vance looked, she reminded herself of what an asshole he was. It was the easiest way to keep herself from falling for him.
Lily’s coffee was done brewing now, so she stood and went to find a mug. She poured herself a generous serving of the strong, black liquid, then crossed the small cabin again so that she was standing by the front window. She smiled as she sipped her coffee and looked out. The forest was just as beautiful today as it had been yesterday. The thick trees with their huge, reddish brown trunks gleamed in the sunlight that filtered through their green tops. Lily could hear birds singing, and now that her headache was starting to subside thanks to the medicine, she could truly appreciate the sounds of the forest. Two of the shifters, whom Lily recognized as Myles and Noah, were sitting near the fire pit, drinking coffee and laughing. Lily decided that she would go join them, and started to turn to find her shoes. But just before she looked away, her eyes caught some movement to the right of Myles, and she saw Vance walking toward the fire pit. She froze, instantly annoyed with him for ruining her plan to go outside. There was no way she was going out there when he was there. She wasn’t ready to face him and his snotty attitude again.
But damn, as much as she disliked him, she could not help but admire how wonderful he looked in the morning sunshine. He was wearing a fitted, short-sleeved black t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and the casual look made him look like the kind of guy you could kick back with for hours, talking and laughing. His bicep muscles strained against the sleeves of his t-shirt, and even from here his dark brown hair seemed to shine in the morning light. He kept it cropped close to his head, revealing his slightly elfish ears. It was hard to see their elfish shape from here, but Lily had seen them up close yesterday, and she knew that all dragon shifters had ears like that. She loved the way their ears hinted at the power that lay within them.
A sudden knock on the door startled Lily, causing her to jump and slosh a bit of her coffee onto the floor of the cabin. With a muttered curse, she went to set the mug down and grab a paper towel, calling, “Come in,” over her shoulder.
Bree stepped into the room. Lily had guessed it was her, and she felt strangely shy when she saw her friend. There was no way for Bree to know that she had just been admiring Vance from afar, but still, Lily felt like she’d been caught in the act.
“Hey, Bree,” Lily stammered out. “I just spilled my coffee like a total klutz. Come on in. How’re you doing this morning?”
“I’m great,” Bree said, stepping into the room and looking around at the small cabin. “Wow, they really cleaned this place up for you. You should have seen it beforehand. It was filled with all kinds of random stuff. It’s probably good that you came to visit, so that they were forced to sort through everything.”
“Well, I obviously didn’t see it before, but it’s nice and cozy now,” Lily said as she wiped up the spilled coffee from the floor. “And the bed is so comfy. I slept like a baby.”
“Good,” Bree said. “I was hoping you would. There’s something really peaceful about sleeping out here in the middle of the woods. It’s so quiet at night, and you feel like you can really rest.”
Lily nodded. “Very true. So what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to come talk to you about,” Bree said, looking somewhat guilty. “Knox very unexpectedly got a call about an artifact we need to go recover. We weren’t expecting to have any more for a while, and this does sound like a pretty minor mission. But it also sounds like the artifact will be easier to recover if a woman does the job. The guy who currently has possession of it is apparently fairly easy to distract at a bar if you just have a pretty woman sit next to him.”
“So Knox wants you to go do the mission,” Lily said, quickly catching Bree’s drift.
Bree nodded. “He wants to go with me and leave this morning. I’m really sorry to jet off like this right after you arrived, but it should only be a few days. And this most likely will be the only time I have to leave this summer.”
Lily gave Bree a genuine smile. “It’s totally fine. I can entertain myself easily enough, I’m sure. Besides, I’m still a bit tired from the trip here to the redwoods. I wouldn’t mind just relaxing and resting for a few days.”
Bree smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much,” she said. “I promise I’ll be as quick as I can. I’ve already talked to the guys and they’ve promised to make sure you’re well-taken care of. I even talked to Vance, and told him to just give you some space.”
“Thanks,” Lily said with a small chuckle, although her heart tightened up in her chest a bit at Bree’s words. Lily was feeling a strange desire to see more of Vance, probably due to how wonderful he had looked standing in the morning sun. But she reminded herself that his looks were much nicer than his personality. He was a jerk, and she didn’t want to spend her summer pining away for a jerk.
“Myles, Noah, and Owen should all be here the whole time that Knox and I are gone. And one of the dragons you haven’t met yet, Zeke, should be coming in sometime today. He just wrapped up a long mission, so I’m sure he’ll be in a good mood and be happy to be back. He’s really nice, and shouldn’t give you any trouble. Still, I’m sorry to leave you alone with all the guys.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Lily said. “Don’t worry about me, really. I’ll steer clear of Vance and I’m sure everyone else will take good care of me.”
“Okay,” Bree said, the gratefulness evident in her voice. “I have to take off really soon, but Myles and Noah are making breakfast at the fire pit. They like to fry eggs and sauté potatoes in a pan over the fire, and I’m sure they’d be happy to share with you. They’ve also got coffee, although I see you’ve made some of your own already.”
Lily laughed. “Yup, already made and spilled coffee, so the day is off to a good start. But seriously, Bree. You don’t need to hold my hand. Stop worrying about me and get going. I’ll be fine, and I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures when you get back.”
Bree smiled. “Alright. Although I don’t think this particular mission is going to be very adventurous. It sounds like it’ll be a straightforward there and back job.”
“Anything is more adventurous than working at the Advocacy Bureau. Although, somehow, you managed to make even that adventurous when you were there,” Lily said with a laugh.
“Well, I don’t think the Advocacy Bureau appreciated my efforts back then, but they seem to like me now. Working as a wizard ambassador to the shifters is a pretty good gig, I must say.”
“I’m so jealous,” Lily said. “Life out here in the redwoods seems like a dream.”
“Well, nothing’s ever perfect in life,” Bree said. “But it is pretty sweet. I’ll see you in a day or two, then?”
>
Lily nodded, and gave Bree a quick hug. “Good luck!”
“Thanks,” Bree said. “And I wasn’t kidding. You should go out to the fire pit and have some breakfast with the guys. Sharing meals with them is a great way to get to know the crew.”
Bree gave a small wave, and then disappeared out the front door of the cabin. Lily sipped at the coffee that remained in her mug, and watched Bree disappear across the clearing. Lily did very much want to go eat breakfast by the fire pit, but there’s no way she was going out there while Vance was still there. She was still angry with him for his crazy flying antics, which made the way her heart flip-flopped at the sight of him even more confusing.
She watched through the front window as Vance sat beside Myles, apparently making some sort of joke because a moment later the two of them were roaring with laughter. Vance grabbed a plate from the stack that was sitting by the campfire, and piled it high with food. Lily watched, unable to look away even though she wanted to. Owen showed up a minute later, and soon the whole group was eating, talking, and laughing. Lily felt a pang of regret that she wasn’t out there, too. She wanted to get to know the clan members better, and she felt silly for avoiding them based solely on Vance. She took a couple of deep breaths, then went to find her shoes. She would walk out there with her head held high, and if Vance didn’t like it he could go to his cabin and sulk. There was no reason for Lily to sit here and let him ruin her vacation.
Lily quickly changed out of her PJs into jeans and a t-shirt, laced up her sneakers, and headed out the front door of her cabin before she could change her mind. But she needn’t have worried. She stepped out of her cabin’s front door just in time to see Vance walking away from the campfire. He was walking toward the forest with an easy stride, and he didn’t look back as he disappeared into the large tree trunks.
Lily breathed a sigh that was somewhere between relief and disappointment, and then went to join Noah, Myles, and Owen by the fire pit.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Owen said. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep the whole day away. Want some breakfast?”
Lily smiled. “I’m starving. I’d love some.”
Owen’s grin widened and he began scooping out a large plate of food for Lily. She settled in to eat it, and tried to ignore the way Owen looked at her in a little bit too friendly of a manner. Lily supposed it was naïve of her to think that she could come to a shifter camp full of bachelors and not have one or more of them be interested in her. And, truth be told, the idea had crossed her mind that a summer fling would be fun. The problem was that all of the guys sitting around the fire pit right now, while handsome, weren’t nearly as good looking as Vance—at least not in her opinion. Vance was quite close to what Lily would consider her idea of the perfect male, at least as far as looks were concerned. If only he hadn’t turned out to be such a jerk.
“How’d you sleep?” Noah asked, leaning over to hand Lily a fresh mug of coffee. Lily took the mug happily. Even though she’d already had some coffee back in the cabin, she was still feeling a bit groggy.
“I slept great. The cabin is awesome, and it’s so quiet and peaceful out here,” Lily said, then took a long sip from her mug.
“Yeah, I love the peace out here,” Myles said. “There’s nothing like coming home from a chaotic mission and being able to just chill out here and enjoy yourself. Coming home never gets old.”
“Speaking of missions,” Noah said. “I suppose you heard that Knox and Bree headed off on a mission this morning?”
Lily nodded, and then smiled. “Bree told me. She promised me that all of you would take good care of me and entertain me.”
The dragon shifters laughed at the sassy tone in Lily’s voice, and Owen was the first to speak. “Well, if you want to have a good time out here, I can show you all the best spots in the forest. I know these woods like the back of my hand.”
Noah rolled his eyes at Owen’s words. “Of course you do,” he said. We all do, since we all grew up here. Stop trying to show off.”
Owen’s cheeks turned slightly red at Noah’s words, but Myles threw his head back and laughed. For her part, Lily felt a bit awkward and didn’t know how to respond to Owen’s offer. The man was clearly dropping hints left and right that he was interested in her, but Lily could already tell he wasn’t her type. She tried to avoid answering Owen’s offer to show her around the forest by shoving her mouth full of food. Thankfully, Myles chose that moment to ask Noah a question about Knox’s and Bree’s mission, giving Lily a chance to look at Noah and act intensely interested in whatever it was he was saying. But really, she couldn’t stop wondering whether Vance had gone off on a mission, too. Why had he hiked off into the forest alone? Was he going to be gone for several days, too? And why did that possibility make Lily sad? She had to get a grip on her emotions.
“Where did Vance head off to?” Lily asked, trying to sound nonchalant but desperately wanting to know.
Noah shrugged. “He said he was going for a walk. Didn’t say where or why, but that’s typical Vance. He goes through these phases where he likes to spend a lot of time alone.”
“Don’t worry, he really is a very nice guy,” Myles said. “He’ll probably leave you alone for the most part, and if he doesn’t we’ll get in his face.”
Noah and Owen laughed, and Lily laughed weakly along with them. They had taken her curiosity over Vance’s whereabouts as worry that she was going to have to see him. But there was only a small part of her that was really worried. The other part of her wanted to know how he was spending his day, and wondering what she might have been doing with him right now if he hadn’t messed everything up by flying around like an idiot.
Lily shook her head in frustration as she took another bite of her eggs. What kind of person sat there angry at a man they barely knew while still wondering where he was and wishing to be with him? Lily thought to herself that she was quite a mess, and avoided eye contact with the other shifters, pretending to be intensely occupied with her food. But just then, Myles suggested that they all go down to the swimming hole and spend the day in the water. Lily immediately jumped on the opportunity. If all the guys went, she wouldn’t somehow end up alone on an awkward forest tour with Owen. And swimming did sound like fun, even if it was a bit chilly in the forest this morning.
“I’m game,” Lily said, and Noah and Owen agreed, too.
“Awesome,” Myles said. “I’ve been itching to swim. Meet you guys back here in fifteen minutes and we’ll head out?”
They all agreed, and Lily wolfed down the last bite of her food. She was suddenly looking forward to the day ahead. This would be a good chance to get to know everyone better. Who really cared where Vance had gone?
She’d already let him ruin her afternoon yesterday. There was no sense in letting him ruin any more of her vacation.
Chapter Six
“Wahoo!” Noah yelled, his loud, strong voice echoing through the forest. His yell was punctuated by a large splash as he flew from the rope he’d been swinging on and landed in the large “swimming hole.” The place was beautiful, and would have been hard to find if you didn’t know where it was. Only one small, barely visible path led here off the main trail, but if you knew where that path was, you were richly rewarded. The small swimming hole was located at the bottom of a large waterfall. Gushing water spilled over a rocky cliff into a deep pool below, and the whole place was surrounded by the gorgeous trunks of redwood trees. The trees in this grove right here were some of the largest that Lily had seen, and she’d had to pinch herself several times to believe that this was really her life this summer.
Right now, she was lying on a towel on the uneven grassy bank of the swimming hole, wearing a t-shirt and shorts over her swimsuit. Even though the sun found its way through the treetops to shine on a good portion of the water, the air here was cool, and the water wasn’t exactly warm. Lily hadn’t lasted very long in the small pool before deciding to get out and dry off. The dragon shifters al
l seemed impervious to the temperatures of the pool, however. Lily remembered Bree telling her before that dragon shifters were hot-natured, since they were warmed from within by their fire-breathing abilities. Noah, Myles, and Owen were certainly proving that to be true. They did not flinch in the slightest whenever their bare skin hit the cool water of the pool.
Lily didn’t mind that much that the water was cold. She was perfectly happy lying here watching the boys, lazily popping ripe summer berries into her mouth and exulting in the fact that she had nothing to do—no reports due at work, no bosses breathing down her neck and yelling at her that she was behind on all of her projects. Here, there was nothing to do but breathe in the deep woodsy air and relax under the most magnificent trees she’d ever seen.
A few minutes later, Myles came trudging up the steep bank, his swim trunks dripping wet. He reached into the cooler that was sitting a few feet away from Bree, and fished out a beer. Lily smiled. The shifters always seemed to have a good supply of beer around, and they made good use of it.
“Sorry, I’d sit down near you but I’m soaking wet and I don’t want to completely drench one of our two towels,” Myles said.
Lily laughed. Even though the men had managed to put together two coolers of beer and food in just a few minutes, and had hauled the coolers over the rough path to the swimming hole, they had somehow neglected to remember towels. Lily had happened to bring two, one of which she was sitting on right now. The other one was spread out next to her, and Myles looked at it somewhat longingly.
Summer and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 2) Page 4
