Dragons For Hire: A Dragon Shifter Romance

by Sadie Sears

  So, it was just us alone, then. For some reason, the thought made my mouth dry. I’d wanted to get him alone since the moment I spotted him across the park. Now that we were here, I didn’t know what to say.

  “Y-you look nice,” I stammered, completely not used to giving a man a compliment.

  He ducked his head, a little embarrassed. His reaction was adorable. As he sipped at his wine and relaxed, his leg pressed more firmly against mine in the swing. The heat coming off of him was enough to keep me warm in the cooling weather.

  Even though I was trying not to be obvious, my gaze kept drifting to my right, to Cam’s profile. He was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. And so different from Riley—It was surprising, really, how I could find such different men both so very attractive. Apparently, I didn’t have a type.

  Cam had beautiful eyes, blond hair, and he was seriously toned. Riley had wavy, dark hair, warm brown eyes, and was just a little pudgy around the middle. It was a dad-bod that I could never keep my hands off of. Call it my intuition, but somehow, I knew it would be the same with Cam, if I ever allowed myself to get a little closer.

  “Do you feel this between us?” I blurted out. Whoops. Apparently, the wine had already turned my filter off.

  I reached out and touched his hand, even though I totally wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. He snagged my hand before I could pull it back. “I feel the same thing you do. You’re so special to me.”

  His kaleidoscope gaze penetrated my very soul. The rest of the world faded away until it was just the two of us, swinging together amidst a cool autumn breeze. The serene moment could’ve lasted a second or a lifetime, I couldn’t tell. I just knew I didn’t want it to end.

  “What do you know about destined mates?” He never looked away, just kept staring into my eyes. “Obviously you know some, after Leath and Lila, and Sam and Gretta.”

  I couldn’t speak. Just nodded and bit my lip anxiously. These were the answers I’d been wanting since Lila had planted the seed in my head the day we’d met. I had thought myself crazy for what I felt for him because, a few days ago, love at first sight had been nothing but a fairy tale.

  His eyes darted to my mouth and back, and he quirked his lips up in a soft smile. “You’re mine,” he whispered.

  Happiness washed over me like stepping into a warm shower. This was real. All these things I’d felt about Cam from the second I saw him finally had validation. I could be experiencing true love twice in my life. Many people didn’t even get once! Joy filled me, and before I thought better of it, I leaned forward.

  He scooted close and his lips were so near mine, his maple scent tinged with white wine. But then the real world surged forward in my mind, and I pressed my forehead to his. “Shae,” I whispered.

  Cam jerked back and looked around. “Where?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment before looking back up at him. “No, I mean I can’t just jump into a destined relationship without thinking about her.” Crestfallen, I pulled back as far as I could go in the swing, but left my leg firmly pressed against Cam’s.

  He sighed and squeezed my hand, averting his gaze. “Honestly, I thought about not doing anything about it. I knew it was going to be hard on Shae, but I couldn't just not say anything.”

  “I understand,” I whispered. “But I lost Riley three years ago, and you’re right that Shae isn’t ready for someone else to come into our lives yet.”

  Cam looked resigned rather than crushed. He’d sensed it already. Not surprising considering he was an ether dragon. It hurt, and I held back the urge to grab his face and kiss him senseless anyway. I wanted this, so bad, but I had to put my daughter first.

  Finally, he nodded and pulled back too, but didn’t let go of my hand, for which I was grateful. Just his touch gave me great comfort, and I would hang on to that as long as I could.

  “Maybe once Zoe is back, and we figure out what’s going on at the house, Shae can take a step back and get to know you. I can’t make promises or go forward with anything without her being comfortable with it.”

  Cam squeezed my hand, but I needed to explain. “If Riley and I had just gotten divorced, it would be different. He would still be alive, Shae would likely still get to see him, and I might be a bit bitter over it. But he died. It was sudden and horrible and the worst pain I’d ever experienced. That’s a whole ballgame apart from how I handle this.”

  “Sophie.” Cam laid our empty glasses on the blanket between us and took my other hand. “I really, truly understand. You’ll stay here, we’ll figure out what’s happening at your place, and then we’ll take it one day at a time, okay?”

  Grateful for what he was offering, I scooted back into his side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and I leaned over to put my head on the edge of his arm, watching as the night grew darker.

  7

  Sophie

  Before it got too late, I excused myself to go tuck Shae into bed. She was always a bear if she didn’t get enough sleep.

  Cam told me which room he thought Shae had chosen, and sure enough, I found her there, spread-eagled on the bed with a smile on her face. She already had her flannel jammies on, at least. “You like it here, huh?” I looked around the room and listened to her gush about the features of the house. The bedroom was, admittedly, pretty impressive. The wallpaper had tiny roses on it, and all the trim in the room was painted white. It was a preteen girl’s dream.

  The comforter under Shae matched the color of the roses exactly. I couldn’t help but wonder if this place had come furnished, or maybe Cam had used a decorator.

  I just couldn’t imagine him matching a bedspread color to a wallpaper color. Maybe it was a hidden passion of his. I didn’t know him that well, after all.

  “Mom, there’s a library. And Vince said there’s a real cellar. They use it for wine.” She scrunched up her nose. “But he said he thinks this house was owned by real witches at some point because the cellar goes deeper, and he said that Cam said that he got serious vibes off of it. Old ones.”

  I widened my eyes appropriately at her story and admired the antique-looking wall sconces. I didn’t know antique from vintage, but I was certainly impressed. “That sounds great. Did you brush your teeth?”

  She jumped off the bed and grabbed my hand. “Yes, look.” She pulled me through a doorway off the bedroom. “See?”

  The kid had reason to be excited. Not only did the room have enough storage spaces, drawers and shelves and hooks, to make even a make-up artist happy, it was gigantic. The paint matched the bedroom roses, of course. I peered around a wall to find a hidden toilet. When I looked back, Shae had climbed into the clawfoot tub, holding her arms out to show how wide and deep it was.

  A bath in that thing would be heavenly.

  “Whoa,” I breathed as I looked around. I had to admit it was a pretty dang gorgeous house. “As pretty as it all is, it’s bedtime, silly girl.”

  She ran her hand along the marble sink before bounding back out of the room and launching herself on the four-poster bed.

  Chuckling at Shae’s enthusiasm, I climbed up beside her and tucked my arm under her shoulders. I’d lain with my girl for a moment before bed since she was born. Truth be told, I’d let her sleep with us for far too long. But I always knew that was what my girl needed, so Riley never minded. He always believed in my gifts.

  “You like it here?” I asked softly as I brushed her hair back from her face. I settled my head back on the pillow and cautioned myself to stay alert. The mattress was thick and comfortable. I was in danger of nodding off on this bed. I just hoped whatever bedroom Cam had assigned me to was as comfortable. This was better than staying at a B&B.

  Shae nodded eagerly, her head rubbing against my arm as the scent of her strawberry shampoo tickled my nose. “It’s so cool here. And I feel so good in this house.”

  Sighing, I squeezed her and trailed my fingers around the sides of her face to encourage her to close her eyes and relax.
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  I knew what she meant. My spirit was at peace here, though I didn’t know if it was the house or being near Cam. With him being my destiny and all, it was probably that. But the house definitely had a welcoming aura to it.

  I paused my finger’s trail and looked down at Shae. “Sweetie, I can’t help but wonder. You seem to like Leath, right?”

  She gave me a suspicious look. This kiddo was too sharp. She already knew where I was going. “Sure, he’s nice, and Zoe loves him. But Zoe never had a dad.”

  Ah, clue one. “What about Sam?”

  “Yeah, he’s cool.” She cut her eyes toward me. “Why?”

  I had to be straightforward with her. She deserved honesty at the least. “Well, you’ve hit it off with Vince.”

  “He’s goofy,” she said in a quiet voice. “I like him.” She knew what was coming next.

  I asked anyway. “So, then if you don’t have a problem with dragons in general, why not Cam?”

  Her eye roll was so severe, for the first time I actually wondered if she could’ve hurt her eyes. “Shae,” I chided. She knew what my disapproving voice meant.

  A flash of guilt crossed her face. “It’s just… I don’t want you to like him, Mom, isn’t it obvious?” She didn’t pull away, but her whole body tensed up.

  “Why in the world not?” I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but I needed her to say it so we could try to work through it.

  “Because he wants to replace Dad.” Her sullen voice was so full of pain that I pulled her close and held her tight. I wished I could convince her that nobody could ever, in a million years, take the place of my first love.

  “Shady-bear.” I used the nickname I’d called her when she was a baby. Her dad had grabbed a little pink teddy bear in the hospital gift shop and somehow Shady-bear had become the bear’s name as well as Shae’s nickname. “Nobody will ever replace your father in my heart or yours. That’s just not possible.”

  Releasing my hold on her a bit, I looked her in the eye. “You hear me? Impossible.”

  She ducked her head and burrowed into me. She knew she’d behaved badly.

  “Give him a chance. Just let Cam be your friend. I promise he doesn’t want to be your father. You might be surprised and find you like him, too.”

  She sighed, but she relaxed, too. “Okay,” she mumbled into my chest. “I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s a good start.” I started humming and held her, tickling her face until her breathing evened out.

  Normally, I wouldn’t have stayed until she went to sleep, but it had been a rough couple of days. She needed some extra strong mom-love.

  When she was good and conked out, I slipped my arm out from under her head and walked out into the hall. I hadn’t explored upstairs, but I spied my bags through an open doorway directly across the hall. With the moonlight streaming through the window at the end of the hall, I decided I was too tired and it was too late to explore more. I could peek around the rest of the second floor another day. It had been a rough, long day, and I was worn to the bone.

  Besides, I didn’t want to inadvertently walk into Vince’s room.

  Or Cam’s. I blushed just thinking about it.

  Yeesh. I shoved away the images that popped into my head about what it would be like to accidentally walk into Cam’s room.

  My bedroom was similar to Shae’s, except the trim was painted black. There was no wallpaper in here, instead the walls were painted a warm shade of gray. I cut on the lights and looked at the bed, a large, black four-poster that matched perfectly.

  It was huge and looked so comfortable. Shutting the door behind me, I clapped my hands together and grabbed my bags so I could wash my face and brush my teeth.

  The bathroom was a mirror image of Shae’s. When I thought about their proximity to each other, I realized they shared a wall. Most of the plumbing would’ve been there, a smart design choice.

  The best part was how fast hot water flowed from the faucets so I could scrub the day off my skin. Old houses often had plumbing issues, but by the looks of this place, it’d been remodeled.

  With my teeth and face clean, I collapsed into the soft-as-I’d-hoped bed and sucked in a deep, cleansing breath. Whether it was Cam or this house or both, I felt so good here, all over. My spirit was so at peace. Was this what normal people felt all the time? Whichever it was, I fell asleep quickly, faster and easier than I had since Riley had died.

  The smell of bacon woke me up, which, all things considered, was a pretty nice way to wake. Moaning, I stretched, sucking in a deep breath of relief when Shae called down the hall. “Coming!” She tapped on my door and stuck her head in. “Mom, come on! You slept late. Breakfast is ready.”

  I smiled at my girl. She was already dressed, with her unruly curly hair as tamed as it ever got. “Be right there.” How nice that she’d gotten up without me having to bang on her door a dozen times.

  I splashed some water on my face and tied my robe around my waist before venturing downstairs. Normally, I would’ve gotten ready first, but I checked the time and she was right. I had slept late. I had to get her to school. It was going to be a ‘drop off in my slippers’ day.

  “Morning.” Cam’s deep voice greeted me at the bottom of the back stairs before I looked up in the kitchen and laid eyes on him.

  The grin that spread across my face was entirely involuntary. I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried. Quickly, I looked away from him and around the large kitchen.

  There was already a plate for me at the table beside Shae, who was digging into her own food. “Wow,” I whispered. I never made breakfasts this elaborate. If Cam made a habit of it and I made a habit of spending time around Cam, I’d have to be careful. This much food would stick to my hips like glue.

  Shae batted her big, blue eyes at me. “Mom, can I stay home, please? With everything going on, wouldn’t it be safer for me to be here?”

  Pfft. I wasn’t fooled for a second. She just wanted to hang out in this house and explore it more. “No, ma’am. After you’re at school, I’ve got to meet Glenda, and then I have appointments at Sacred Spaces.” Besides, with all the craziness going on in our lives, school was one constant for her that I didn’t want interrupted or ruined.

  Vince leaned over. “I could keep an eye on her.”

  Shae gave me her biggest, most innocent eyes, really laying it on thick, but I shook my head. “No. You need the structure and normalcy of school. Besides, didn’t Zoe come home last night?” I’d been surprised she hadn’t begged to use my phone to call her friend the night before when I’d come up.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, that’s true, I totally forgot.” Her voice rose a few octaves. “I can’t wait to tell her we’re staying here. I’ve missed her at school all week.” Lila had told me she’d gotten special permission for Zoe to be out and the girl had done her schoolwork ahead of time to make it work so they could do this family vacation. They were introducing Zoe to dragon life by immersing themselves in nature so she could better decide if she wanted to take the bite. When she came home for school, she’d stayed with Gretta so Leath and Lila could extend their vacation.

  Cam chuckled and set a glass of juice in front of me. “Invite her over after school if her aunt is okay with it.” I shot him a grateful look, and he just shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

  Dragons were protectors. I truly believed that. I would’ve been comfortable leaving Shae and Zoe here with Cam or Vincent. But school was a must. Exploring after would’ve been fine.

  “Okay,” Shae chirped. “Thanks, Cam.” She smiled at him with only a hint of distrust in her eyes. I reached under the table and squeezed her leg. She was trying, and I was so proud of her for that.

  “Are we staying another night?” she asked me. “Please? And maybe Zoe can stay, too.”

  Oh, sheesh. I didn’t know if I had the energy for both girls in this house. They would’ve been keyed up beyond reason. “I’ll think about it.”

  In reality, it depended on wha
t happened at the house and what Glenda thought about the haunting or whatever was going on at my house. I sincerely hoped that Glenda would be able to fix it fast.

  As I dug into my breakfast, Cam sat down across from me. “It’s fine with me if you do,” he murmured with his gaze on his food. “Stay, I mean. I’ve loved having you both under my roof.”

  My spirit warmed at the thought. Maybe we would.

  After hurriedly dressing, Cam rode with me to drive Shae to school. Even after sleeping too late, we got her there just in time and I wasn’t even in my slippers. It had been nice having Cam and Vince there to help make sure Shae had everything she needed for school while I dressed and slapped on a thin layer of makeup.

  After waving at Shae and watching as she made her way in the school, we met Glenda at the Snowshoe Brew café. She was already there in the back booth, three coffee cups resting on the table. Her ever-present wide smile was a bright link that day. As I got closer and she noticed us, her gray eyes sparkled, lined in a pink liner that matched her lips. She was one of the most petite women I’d ever met, and it showed. She looked like she’d sunk into the booth behind the table.

  Where my blonde was naturally platinum, nearly white, hers was a honey color that women spent thousands of dollars trying to mimic. She had it up today, as she always did, with what looked like chopsticks, but I always suspected were magic wands. I slid in across from her and Cam moved into the booth right beside me.

  His leg pressed against mine, bringing the night before and our time on the porch swing to mind. My blood pressure rose, and my cheeks reddened as I tried not to think about it.

  And failed.

  “So, what’s going on?” Glenda asked after I introduced her to Cam. She shrewdly studied both of us but didn’t comment on whatever she picked up.