Dragon Waves: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Dragon Island Hideaway Book 2)

by Rinelle Grey

But she didn’t stop her friend as she slipped her arm through Ryan’s, and drew him away to the nearby jet ski, listening intently as he began to explain the basics of riding to her.

  “I’m sorry about Eliana,” she said quietly to Hayrian. “She means well.”

  Hayrian raised an eyebrow before he could stop himself. “Yes, but what exactly is it she’s meaning?”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he clamped it shut. That was the sort of joking comment he’d make around his family, not a virtual stranger or one of the island’s guests, and especially not one who probably wasn’t in the best mood to start with. She might have no idea he was teasing and take it the wrong way. Not a good plan when he was representing the resort.

  Normally he was good at separating work responsibilities from personal relationships, but for some reason, his brain seemed to think he already knew her well enough to cross certain boundaries. Not a good sign.

  Audrey scowled. “She has this idea that I need someone to help me get over Mark’s affair. I’m afraid she seems to think you’d fit the bill.” She looked just as startled at her own admission as he was, her face going red.

  Hayrian managed to keep his eyebrows down where they belonged this time. “Well, I’m flattered…” he began, planning to make a polite excuse, while reminding himself of the fact that she’d only recently broken up with her husband to be. And telling his body, that had taken a leap at her suggestion, to back down.

  “Don’t worry. I have no interest in that.” Audrey’s quick rejection took all the wind out of his sails and left him at a loss for words, his own denial dying on his lips. He hadn’t expected that response. He should have, of course. It was perfectly understandable, given the circumstances.

  But he couldn’t help wondering, if she meant she wasn’t interested in any relationship or that she wasn’t interested in him?

  He gave himself a mental shake. It didn’t matter. He was just here to show her how to ride a jet ski, not anything else at all.

  Even if she did look gorgeous in that swimsuit.

  Hayrian cleared his throat. “Yes, well, do you want me to show you how it works.”

  Audrey’s face was still red. “Yes, please.” Her voice was quiet and maybe a little subdued. She listened intently as Hayrian explained how to start the ski and how to maneuver, and explained that the lanyard attached to her wrist would pull the key from the ignition and stop the engine if she fell off.

  “Do you think you’re ready to take it out?” he asked when he was done explaining.

  She looked a little startled. “All by myself? Can I do that? I thought I’d need a licence or something?”

  Hayrian smiled. “Not while you’re here in the cove. You’re being supervised by our staff, and we’re responsible for you. You’ll be fine,” he encouraged.

  Audrey didn’t look convinced. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…” She took a step backwards, away from the ski.

  The sound of an engine started up nearby, and both of them glanced over. Eliana wasn’t quite as nervous and was starting up her jet ski and heading out through the waves. Unfortunately, she was a little overconfident, and she didn’t turn the nose into the waves enough. It tilted slightly, and she slipped off into the water.

  Eliana wasn’t fazed at all. She surfaced, giggling, and climbed straight back on for another go. Hayrian watched as she made it past the breaking waves, then he turned back to Audrey, only to find her looking a little pale.

  “I might just watch,” she said nervously.

  Apparently Eliana had been right. This might take a little more coaxing than usual. Luckily, Hayrian was up to the challenge.

  “Come on, you can do it,” he encouraged. “A little water never hurt anyone.”

  For some reason, he wanted to see her make the attempt. She’d obviously had her reasons for deciding to give it a try, and he hated to see her pull out because she was afraid.

  That wasn’t new. He’d encouraged a lot of nervous riders in his time at the resort. But for some reason, this felt personal.

  And Audrey was shaking her head and backing away. “Maybe another day…”

  Hayrian caught her hand and pulled her back towards the craft. “How about if I come with you?”

  Her skin was warm to the touch, sending a wave of heat through him. His body responded, despite him trying to tell it to settle down and that she was off limits.

  Audrey stared at him, eyes wide, and he wasn’t sure if she was startled by his touch or by his offer.

  He was a little startled himself. He was no stranger to attraction and he’d had his share of dalliances, but he’d never felt anything like this. There was something about her that drew him, something that refused to be silenced, despite all the reasons that it should.

  He should back away now, before he became too close. If her own situation weren’t enough, he already had plenty of drama of his own. His parents were away with the rest of the dragon clan, deciding the fate of dragon and human relationships. He had no idea if their family’s presence here at the resort would remain a secret or if it would soon be common knowledge.

  Now was not the time to get involved.

  His brother and Zara were different. They’d known each other for years.

  Audrey was shaking her head, and despite all the reasons he knew he shouldn’t, Hayrian couldn’t let it go.

  “There must have been a reason you decided to try jet skiing,” he pointed out. “You’ll regret it later if you don’t.”

  That caught her attention. She hesitated for a moment, and he could see the indecision in her eyes. “I… Mark… he disapproved of it. It kind of felt a little like…”

  “Like slapping him in the face?” Hayrian suggested, giving her a slight grin. That was a reason he could encourage without reservations. And not because he had any intentions. The man was obviously a bastard to cheat on a gorgeous, sweet woman like Audrey. Hayrian would love to have a chance to do more than slap him.

  He was encouraged by the fact that the corners of Audrey’s lips lifted slightly at his comment. “Something like that.”

  “Come on then. We’ll slap him together.” He reached behind the counter and held out a life jacket to her.

  Yeah, that was probably a little too much. He barely knew her and definitely didn’t know her ex fiancé. But still, Hayrian couldn’t help feeling good when she took the life jacket and smiled. “Okay then. I’ll give it a go. If you’ll help.”

  It would have taken a far stronger man than him to say no after that.

  Chapter 4

  As Audrey climbed onto the jet ski, straddling the seat, she wondered what was up with her. Doing something like this just to get back at Mark was crazy. Insane.

  But when Hayden had suggested it was like slapping Mark in the face, and had even offered to help, the idea had been so appealing she hadn’t been able to say no. She could just imagine Mark seeing her like this, with Hayden on the jet ski behind her. Seeing her with another man so soon after the breakup, and on a jet ski no less, would be an even bigger shock than her seeing him with Louise had been.

  The jet ski dipped alarmingly in the water as Hayden climbed on behind her. Audrey clutched at the handlebars, half afraid it would tip over and she’d end up in the water.

  The fear was ridiculous. There was no reason to be afraid of falling in the water. The weather was lovely and warm, and she was perfectly capable of swimming. And she had a life jacket on. Not that the water here was deep enough to need either.

  So what was she afraid of?

  “Put the key in, and turn it on,” Hayden instructed.

  Audrey’s heartrate sped up a little more. Perhaps this was the issue. She’d never driven anything other than a car, and the huge jet ski seemed awfully similar to the motorbikes her parents had always warned her were death traps.

  Hayden leaned forwards, his breath brushing her ear, and her heart started acting even more strangely. “There,” he pointed, as though she c
ouldn’t figure it out.

  Well she had been sitting there frozen.

  Audrey called up the pleasing image of slapping Mark’s face, and it gave her the courage to connect the lanyard and press the start button.

  The engine roared to life under her, sending a vibration through her entire body.

  “Right, take her out gently,” Hayden instructed. “Keep the nose into the waves and you won’t tip like your friend did.”

  Taking a deep breath, Audrey tried to do as he’d suggested. The jet ski jerked forwards, moving over the small waves quickly. She’d expected Hayden to put his arms around her waist to hang on. When he didn’t, she was more surprised to realise she’d been looking forward to it.

  When he’d touched her earlier, a jolt of excitement had flashed through her, and she had hoped to feel it again.

  She twisted around a little to see how he was staying on if he wasn’t holding onto her. Unfortunately, twisting her body twisted the handlebars, and the jet ski turned, hit a wave, and threw both of them into the surf.

  Audrey had just enough time to hold her breath, then she was under water. She surfaced with ease, feeling more than a little silly. She’d probably needed that cold water. What was she doing, thinking about him like that?

  Hayden surfaced beside her, shaking the water from his hair and grinning. “Well, you’ve had your first fall now. See, nothing to be worried about. Shall we try again?”

  Audrey was tempted to take the excuse to return to land and get away from him. She couldn’t help hearing Eliana’s crazy suggestion flash through her mind, and she was surprised to find that she didn’t push it away as quickly as she had earlier.

  She had to admit, it did feel nice to know that he was attracted to her. And a little comforting that she was attracted to him. It was good to know that all that still worked, even if now was a really bad time to think about getting involved with anyone.

  The funniest thing of all though, was that all that numb feeling she’d had yesterday had faded, and she realised she was actually enjoying herself. This felt kind of like her uni days, when she and her friends had headed to the beach for the summer holidays. Had it really been that long since she’d had a little fun?

  Hayden was waiting patiently next to her, just watching her.

  Would it really hurt to have a little fun with him? Oh, she wasn’t thinking of getting involved. No, that would be taking things too far. But he seemed to know what fun was. And a little flirting never hurt anyone, did it?

  Feeling a little like she was stepping to the edge of a precipice and staring down, she nodded. “Let’s give it another go.”

  The jet ski hadn’t gone far, the engine having cut out when the lanyard pulled the key loose, and they swam over to it. “I’ll steady it while you climb on,” Hayden offered.

  Audrey wasn’t going to refuse the help. She and pulled himself on. She was pleased when she managed to get on without tipping herself into the surf again, although the jet ski did wobble alarmingly when Hayden climbed on behind her.

  “Right, start the engine,” Hayden said again.

  Audrey almost felt competent as she followed his instructions. She turned the nose of the jet ski into the waves and focused as the craft rode up and down over them. Salt water spray hit her in the face, and for some reason, she felt exhilaration building up in her. She was doing it. And it wasn’t so bad.

  Once they’d cleared the breaking waves, Hayden leaned forwards and put one hand on her waist. “You can give her a bit of throttle now,” he suggested.

  His touch sent a shiver through her. The good kind. And for the first time in quite a while, Audrey felt in control. Like she was the one deciding. She opened the throttle, and the jet ski responded with a burst of speed.

  As they skipped over the gently swelling waves, there was more wind than spray on her face, loosening tendrils of hair from her plait as it whipped in the breeze. She felt a little guilty. Her hair must be attacking Hayden back there.

  She slowed a little, not wanting to turn while she was moving again. That hadn’t gone so well last time.

  Hayden leaned forwards again, putting his arms around her and reaching for the handlebars on either side. “How about we try some turns?” he suggested into her ear.

  His closeness was almost as exhilarating as the ride, and Audrey didn’t trust herself to speak. He probably wouldn’t have been able to hear her anyway, so she just nodded.

  Hayden kept his arms around her, hit the throttle, and they sped up again. His left arm touching hers gave her just enough warning, and she leaned to one side with him as they turned slowly and smoothly. Then they turned the other way.

  Adrenaline pumped through her veins as Hayden sped up, taking the corners faster and faster. The speed and movement were thrilling, and yet, at no point did Audrey feel like she was in any danger.

  Eliana zipped past them, throwing her hand up in a wave, obviously enjoying herself. Audrey risked giving her a wave back.

  She wasn’t sure how long they spent out on the water. It felt like hours, and yet, it also seemed like no time at all before Hayden turned them back towards the shore and rode in. Audrey couldn’t help feeling a little sad that it was over, even though her heart still hammered in her chest from the excitement.

  Eliana was already on the beach, her life jacket off, leaning on the wall of the shelter, and chatting, or rather flirting, with Ryan. She grinned and waved at Audrey, but didn’t come over, and Audrey was glad. She didn’t mind a few more minutes alone with Hayden.

  “So was it worth it?” he asked, flashing her a grin.

  “Definitely,” Audrey agreed. “I had no idea it would be so much fun.”

  “A lot of things that have an edge of danger are,” Hayden said, his eyes flashing.

  For a moment, Audrey lost herself in them. She’d never seen eyes that shade of blue, almost as dark and rich as the ocean behind him. There was something about him. Something thrilling and dangerous.

  Something that tempted her more than she’d been tempted for quite some time. And the allure of danger was only part of it.

  “I can see that,” Audrey said slowly.

  He hesitated, staring at her, and then opened his mouth as if to say something, when the radio he’d left on the counter blipped. “Hayden? You there?”

  He gave a rueful smile. “I’d better get that. They can’t run this place without me.”

  Audrey smiled a little sadly. It was probably better that they’d been interrupted, but she couldn’t help wondering what he’d been about to say. Would he have asked her out?

  What would she have said if he did?

  “Hayden here, what’s up?” Hayden said into the radio.

  “Um… we have reports of a toilet backed up on the second level.”

  Audrey grimaced. That didn’t sound like fun at all.

  Hayden heaved a sigh. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  He turned back to Audrey. “I’d better go deal with this.”

  She nodded. “So how do you find a plumber who will make this sort of house call?” she joked.

  Hayden laughed. “That would be me.”

  Audrey stared at him. “You’re a plumber?” Somehow, that didn’t fit with what she knew of him, which admittedly wasn’t much.

  The shake of his head confirmed his suspicions. “Not by trade, no, but as you said, it’s hard to get a plumber out here. I’ve dealt with our system enough that I know the major problems and how to fix them. Or at least tide us through until we can call someone out.”

  Audrey didn’t ask for any more details. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to know.

  “Well, ah… I guess I’ll see you around?” Her words ended on more of a question than she’d intended.

  But Hayden nodded. “Hopefully not to fix your bathroom,” he joked.

  Audrey stared at him for a moment, a little thrown by his joke. Then she laughed. “Hopefully not,” she agreed.

  Chapter 5


  It was late by the time Hayrian headed home, but he was really looking forward to a nice long shower, especially after the afternoon he’d had. He sighed, trying not to remember the blockage he’d had to deal with.

  Being a water dragon did come in handy in that respect though. He’d been able to sense where the water wasn’t moving and build up enough pressure behind it to shift it. But it hadn’t been pretty.

  None of that though, had stopped him thinking of Audrey. Of how she’d felt between his arms on the jet ski. Of how her face had glowed in exhilaration. Oh, he wasn’t stupid enough to think that was because of him. It had been purely because of the exciting activity.

  But he couldn’t help thinking that he could show her some other exciting activities. He could certainly help her forget that bastard she’d been about to marry, the one who hadn’t been worthy of her in a million years.

  He was still scowling as he walked through the living room.

  “That bad?” Rowan asked, his voice sympathetic.

  Hayrian thought quickly, needing an answer that wouldn’t make his brother in the least bit suspicious. Rowan was far too perceptive, despite his lack of dragon genes. He’d known Zara and Damrian were hot for each other long before they’d announced it. Hayrian didn’t want him guessing that he had a thing for Audrey, especially not when it was only in his own mind.

  “What do you think?” he grumbled. “As if it wasn’t bad enough that I had to deal with that mess, Damrian managed to avoid it all. When are he and Zara going to be back?”

  He was pretty sure his ruse had worked. Rowan was thinking about the newly mated couple, a slight grin on his face. “I did suggest that we could do with a hand, and he promised to head back… in a couple more days.”

  This time, Hayrian’s pained expression at his brother’s absence wasn’t in the least bit feigned. “We need to save up some of the worst jobs for him when he gets back.”

  Rowan laughed. “Sure. In the meantime though, Wendy, our couples photographer, has to leave on tomorrow’s ferry. Her mum was in a car accident and is pretty badly injured. Wendy needs to go home and help her out for a while. We’re not sure how long yet. I’ve checked, and we don’t have any photography sessions booked for the next couple of days, so I can put people off, but I won’t be able to forever.”