by Riley Storm
“Right.” Braz was tight lipped now, obviously upset by her firm position on the matter.
Grace decided this wasn’t a battle worth fighting. Certainly not now when she was several glasses of wine deep. In the morning she would tackle any remaining objections from Braz and ensure he understood that she was, in fact, going to go home on Sunday, and he wasn’t going to stop her.
Not even his deliciously huge arms could stop her. Not the tightly corded muscle and taut, flat stomach. As inviting as it was to look at, it wouldn’t be enough to keep her.
She followed him in silence as he led her through the maze of a house. It really was massive.
And I thought he had some sort of tiny log cabin. Ha.
“Here you are Grace,” he said at last, twisting a handle and pushing a door open before stepping back, out of her way.
She approached the open doorway and peered in. “Wow.”
“Bit nicer than a hotel room,” he joked.
“Little bit,” she said, looking over the plush bed, thick pillows and nicely appointed décor. It was very fancy. Almost too fancy for her.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” he asked. “Hungry?”
“Goodness no, those women stuffed me to the gills with food!” she exclaimed, waving a hand around to protest. “No, I think I’m good Braz.”
She looked up at him, falling silent. He didn’t say anything either. It was just the two of them, alone, in the hallway.
He’s not going to make a move. You’ve been giving off all sorts of negative signals tonight since he returned. Why would he do anything now? It would be extremely bold of him if he did.
“Uh, thank you,” she said, cocking her head slightly to the side as she stared up at him, watching his broad features, noting the little details like the dimples where his frown bunched the lines together, or the little spot on his cheek where the hair grew ever so slightly thinner.
“You’re welcome,” Braz replied. His voice was even, but she noticed his throat bob after he spoke.
Was he nervous?
“Goodnight Braz,” she said, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his thick, powerful torso, feeling the slabs of muscle in his chest as they pressed against her cheek.
Giant arms forged from pure steel wrapped around her back, holding her tight. A feeling of safety descended over Grace, prompting her to linger in what was supposed to have been a polite goodnight hug and no more. As the seconds ticked on, she found herself listening to his heartbeat, and enjoying the heat rising off his chest as it warmed her skin pleasantly.
“Thank you again for, um, taking care of me,” she said, the words tumbling from her mouth awkwardly.
She gave him a squeeze and backed away, pausing when she noticed the wince on his face.
“Everything okay?” she asked, looking at him in concern. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”
“No, no,” he said waving her off. “I think I just tweaked a muscle. Caught an airdraft wrong with one of my wings. That’s all.”
She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t.
“Goodnight Braz,” she said again.
This time she ducked into her room and closed the door before he could hear her heart pounding against her chest.
What is going on with me? Why am I so wired? And why is my stomach twisting itself into knots?
It wasn’t Braz who was having that effect on her, was it?
No, she decided, locking the door and backing away from it. It was most definitely the wine, and not Braz and his rugged good looks, genuine smile, gorgeous physique and—
Uh oh. I think I might be in trouble here.
Chapter Fifteen
Braz
“Damn.”
“I’m sorry Braz,” Carla said, taking a sip of her coffee as she sat across the table from him. “I called in and had the Sheriff take a look at his file. The only other place we have on file is his place of residence, but it’s empty.”
“Maybe he’s got a panic room installed there.”
“Anything’s possible,” the Sheriff’s deputy said over the rim of her mug before taking a sip. “But I highly, highly doubt it. He’s gone to ground somewhere else. Somewhere neither the police nor your intelligence network knows about. Which means he was prepared for something like this.”
“Yeah.” Braz wanted to spit in disgust. “He anticipated that we would come after him. Does he know our secret I wonder? Has he puzzled it out?”
“You’re the third dragon to have a run in with him lately,” Carla pointed out. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s begun to keep tabs on your family at a minimum. I doubt he’s figured your secret out just yet, but it’s a good bet he knows there is something special about you.”
Braz nodded, then knocked back his coffee. The bitter taste filled his mouth and went straight to his bloodstream—theoretically—and would hopefully give him a boost of mental capacity that would allow him to figure out what the heck was going on.
“This can’t be random,” he said.
“No, I agree.” Carla’s mouth twisted from side to side. “I don’t know what it means, though.”
“Same.”
Braz was pulled away from the conversation by the sound of feet shuffling down the hallway. A few seconds later a still half-asleep Grace entered the room, waving tiredly at the pair.
“Morning,” she said, following her nose over to the coffee machine.
He watched her make and stir her cup.
“I’ll get in touch if I find out anything more,” Carla said, sliding out of her seat and nodding politely to Grace as she left.
“Is it just me,” Grace said blearily. “Or does everyone always try to give us time alone?”
Braz coughed to cover his surprise at her question. He’d noticed that as well and, though he was appreciative of it, he’d been wondering when Grace would catch on. He’d not expected it right now however, and scrambled to find a response.
“Um.”
“Thought so.”
He shrugged, deciding not to bother hiding it. “How did you sleep?” he asked, wondering if she would go with the flow of the conversation.
“Good, actually really good,” she said, slipping into the recently vacated chair and taking a long sip. “It’s definitely comfier than the hotel bed, no argument about that.”
Braz smiled. “Good, I’m glad. You can stay here again tonight. Uh. If you want,” he added after the fact.
Grace nodded slightly, taking another sip. “Thank you, Braz, but I don’t know. I think I’ll just go back to the hotel, get one of their rooms for the night. It’ll be easier that way.”
He could sense her unease and wished he could tell her that it would be okay, that she didn’t need to feel that away around him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just come out and tell her everything. That would spook her away, he was certain of it. Grace had to choose to come to the same conclusions he had.
Fate had brought her back to him, had allowed them to cross paths, but the final choice of action, that was up to them alone. Braz couldn’t force her to do something she didn’t want to. Not only that, he wouldn’t do so. That wasn’t his style.
“Well, I really would prefer if you didn’t,” he said. “For simple safety reasons, if nothing else. I can find another room, if um, you know…”
If you don’t want to be so close to me, he finished silently, assuming that was her issue with the setup.
How could he assure her that he wasn’t going to force anything upon her that she didn’t want? That as strongly as Braz desired to sweep her up in his arms and kiss her, that if she decided no, that he would respect that decision. How to tell her?
“I told you Braz. I’m fine now. They have what they want. I’m no longer important.”
“To them,” he said softly.
Grace shot him a glance that communicated very clearly—in bold, underlined and oversized print—that now was not the right time for that.
“So,
uh, what did you want to do today?” he asked stiffly, trying to smile, then thinking better of it, knowing how forced it must look.
“What?”
He shrugged. “Carla is going to go do some digging, to see if she can’t turn up any information on where Wilson has taken off to. In the meantime though, that leaves us with nothing really to do. I, uh, I figured we may as well hang out together for any news.”
That way I can keep an eye on you, and make sure you’re safe.
Braz absolutely did not share the same confidence that Grace was no longer important to Wilson’s plans. Not until he’d found the slimy crook and gotten the entire story out of him would Braz rest easy.
“It’s in the police’s hands Braz,” Grace said somewhat forcefully. “Quite literally, since Carla is looking into it. Let them handle it, will you? I am not involved anymore. I had something they wanted. They took it. It was never me that they wanted. I’m done, just drop it, okay?”
The sudden harsh outburst took them both by surprise. Braz leaned back, unsure of what to say or do. He hadn’t seen that coming.
“Aw crap,” Grace said, sighing. “I’m sorry Braz. That was so unnecessary.”
“Yet it’s how you truly feel,” he pointed out, not willing to let it go so easily.
“It’s how I want to feel,” she replied.
Braz frowned at the slight distinction in her choice of words.
“I don’t like feeling scared. I want to believe that they are truly done with me now. Is that so hard for you to accept?”
“No, of course not,” he told her. “Not at all. I get it, I do. It’s just…well, things are rarely that simple. That’s why I wanted to stay with you. So that we could do something, um, normal, but you would be safe.”
In a perfect world Braz would keep Grace confined to the Clan Aterna compound, but he knew better than to try that. Grace needed to have some semblance of normalcy. He’d just shaken up her world with the revelation of dragons less than twenty-four hours earlier. She needed to ground herself.
“You were really planning on spending all day with me?” she asked, taking another sip.
“Yes,” he replied carefully, wary of any further outbursts.
“I see.” Grace bit her lip, glancing down at her mug. “I actually didn’t have any plans, to be truthful. I’d left it open, just in case there was something I wanted to do while I was back. You never know what might come up. Who knew it would be Braz and dragons and a wild plot with some gangster?” she tried to laugh, but they were both too wound up for that sort of joke.
“That seems like smart planning,” he said awkwardly, not sure where the conversation was headed. Was she trying to tell him she still wanted to keep it open?
“Would you…would you like to do something with me?” Grace asked.
Was that a nervous catch in her voice? Braz shook it off, no, he had to be imagining things.
“I would,” he told her.
“Do you have anything in mind?” she asked, giving him a little smile.
“Um.”
Think brain. Think! What can you do to occupy enough of her time, to waste most of the day?
Chapter Sixteen
Grace
“I honestly did not expect to spend my Saturday shopping in Five Peaks,” she said with a laugh. “This is ridiculous Braz. You need to stop spending money on me. It’s too much.”
“Too much? There is no such thing as too much retail therapy,” the big man said, making it a pronouncement. “I certainly gave you a lot to think about yesterday. Without asking if you wanted in on it.”
“So you show you’re sorry by showering me with money? I’m not sure if that says more about you, or about me.” Grace flashed a smile up at him to let Braz know she was just joking.
“I feel as if our definitions of ‘showering with money’ are on different levels,” he pointed out. “So maybe I need to relearn.”
Now Grace outright laughed. “Braz you’ve spent sixty-dollars on me. You absolutely did not have to, and I am capable of providing for myself, but the gesture is…appreciated, I suppose. There is some truth in your statement.”
“I don’t regret what I did,” Braz said with sudden seriousness. “But I do think that I should have lead into it a little better. I forced you to learn something about this world that now puts a terrible burden on you as well, Grace. That wasn’t fair of me.”
She considered his words. “Maybe not,” she agreed. It was hard to dispute the truth of what he was saying after all. She hadn’t asked for the knowledge about dragons, nor had she even gone seeking it. Braz had forced it upon her. Now she had to carry that secret with her, forever, without ever telling another soul.
“I’m sorry,” he said with uncharacteristic softness.
Grace glanced upward to find him staring down at her with those enticing golden-brown eyes of his. They were open and wide, unguarded with her.
“Then again,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Learning your secret, your true being Braz, it’s made so much more about you make sense. Why you were always just a little aloof, why you sometimes seemed to appear or disappear without a trace. You were always just a bit too strong. Things like that, now I understand. I feel, honored, in a way, that you brought me into your world, that you trusted me enough to include me in it.”
Braz hmm’d that over for a bit while they walked up main street. “I guess that’s one way to look at it,” he agreed. “I never wanted you to think that I was doing it because I didn’t like you.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Honestly, it’s fine. Adjusting to knowing all this is going to take some time of course, there’s no doubt about that. Know that I don’t hold any ill-will to you over it though Braz. Not a single bit, okay? Understand that please.”
“I will do my best,” he rumbled.
“I guess that’s all I can ask for.” Grace needled him in the side so that he’d know she was truly okay with it and not faking. “I feel like I know you a lot better now. Which is nice.”
“I’m an open book to you Grace. All you have to do is ask.”
She pondered that for a moment. There was one question she’d always wanted to ask, to know the answer to. “All those years ago. When you first came to me and told me about Jack’s infidelity. Were you hoping that I would dump him and be with you?”
Braz shook his head, then stopped, then shrugged. “Yes and no.”
“Explain.”
“I had been hoping since before I found evidence of his cheating ways, that you would see Jack wasn’t right for you, and end things with him. I also hoped that, once you’d had time to recover, perhaps I could, well, you know. But I did not tell you about it in an effort to make that happen. I told you because you deserved to know.”
Grace nodded silently. She really, truly hated thinking back to that time of her life. It brought back so many painful memories, so much embarrassment. For a long time she’d blamed it on Braz. Telling herself that if he’d just kept to himself and not tried so hard to win her over, she would have made it work just fine.
But lately that mindset had begun to change a little.
“That’s a new place,” she said, pointing across the street to a white painted building with mostly glass frontage. Above it a sign read ‘Five Peaks Pub’.
Braz chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Well, I guess nothing, really. Other than that Carla’s mate, Pace—you haven’t met him yet—he had a bit of a run-in there. Got his ass kicked, actually.”
“What?” Grace gasped.
“Yeah. Chasing a dragon shifter…” Braz suddenly fell quiet.
“What, what is it Braz?”
“Crap,” he muttered, looking away.
Grace wasn’t about to let it go that easily. “What just happened? I don’t get it?”
Braz sighed. “He was chasing a dragon shifter who had just tried to rob us. The same one who we believe killed Jack. I…I didn’t put
two and two together before I started laughing. I’m sorry Grace.”
“Oh.” Grace spent a few moments paused on the sidewalk absorbing that information. “Whatever happened to him? I don’t think I’ve asked about that yet.”
“Pace killed him,” Braz said without preamble. “Carla, being law enforcement, wasn’t too happy about it, but she understood in the end, that he could never be held by human authorities. He would simply break free.”
“Right.” Grace composed herself. “Then it sounds like justice was meted out appropriately.”
Braz looked at her in surprise.
“What?” she asked.
“I just didn’t expect you to understand our ways quite so easily,” he said with a shrug. “I always figured that sort of thing would shock you, like it does most humans who find out.”
“Yeah I would have thought so too,” she agreed. “But, here we are. It just sort of…makes sense. A dragon should be punished by other dragons.”
Grace continued to stare at the new pub while she talked. Something else was nagging at her. Something about that spot, that building exactly was trying to tell her something.
“Is everything okay Grace?”
“Change,” she said slowly.
“What?”
She turned to face him. “I thought I was the only thing that would change. That by going to the big city I would become enlightened, opening myself up to opportunities. Share myself with the world, whatever you want to call it. And I did, I learned so much. I took a trip to the coast too, traveled a bit to Europe. Things I never would have done if I’d stayed in Five Peaks four years ago.”
Braz’s lips compressed tightly, but he didn’t speak.
“All this time, I held a picture of Five Peaks in my head. An image of the way it was, how it was, and it stayed. Unmoving. Unchanging.” She shook her head wryly. “How arrogant of me to assume that that’s the way it would be.”
“The world changes, Grace,” Braz said at last. “Just like the people in it do.”
“You haven’t changed,” she said.
“I’m older. Wiser. Things are happening here now. Changes not just in Five Peaks, but among us as well,” Braz said quietly. “I can feel it.”
