Dragon Hopes: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Dragon Island Hideaway Book 3)

by Rinelle Grey

  He wanted to do far more than see it. He wanted to run his hands all over it, kiss every part of it.

  But he couldn’t. He was here under false pretences, and if she knew who he was and why he was really here, she wouldn’t be responding to him like this. If he slept with her now it would be despicable. He wouldn’t do it, not for the investigation and certainly not just because he wanted to.

  She deserved better than that.

  Only when the icy cold water of the pool had cooled some of his ardour did he dare turn around.

  Mora was right behind him. And just as naked. The water hid most of the details, but for some reason, the sight of her body obscured by ripples was even more tempting—tempting enough to set Finn’s blood boiling again. He hoped the water hid his arousal better than it hid her gorgeous curves.

  He was beginning to suspect that jumping into the water naked might not have been the best way to dampen the passion they’d been feeling. Why had he ever thought it would be? Sure, the water was cool, and it had separated them for a moment, but as Mora closed the distance between them, he suspected that wouldn’t last.

  How was he going to say no without hurting her feelings? How was he going to convince her when he couldn’t even convince himself?

  His mind kept saying he wouldn’t really be using her. That sleeping with her wouldn’t give him any information he didn’t already have. He told himself he was doing it because he desperately wanted to, not because of any other motive.

  “So,” Mora said, her voice almost a purr, “are you running from me? Am I supposed to chase you?” She grinned at the second statement, having no idea what it did to Finn’s pulse.

  Or maybe she did. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in that grin. And more than a little passion.

  This had not been a suitable way to change the mood of the moment at all.

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted honestly. “I have no idea where this is going.”

  That surprised her. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him. “I thought it was pretty obvious?” The purr was gone from her voice, and now she sounded uncertain and a little disappointed.

  Finn didn’t want that. He swam a little closer, feeling the water warm a little where his body almost touched hers. She must be just as hot as he was.

  “It’s not that I don’t know where I’d like it to go, but… are you sure this is right? Is this an attempt to annoy your brothers, or is it what you really want?”

  By this stage, he was pretty sure her actions weren’t just an attempt to rebel against overprotective siblings, but the question was as close as he could come to justifying his reluctance to take things further, without admitting that it was his own motivations he was doubting.

  Mora frowned. “Do you really think I’d sleep with someone to annoy my brothers? That’s a bit of a stretch. Besides, they’re not even here and won’t ever know about this unless one of us tells them, so how can it annoy them?”

  At face value, her words made sense, but something in her voice, some tone of defiance mixed with irritation, told Finn he’d hit closer to the mark than he’d intended.

  And the worst part was, although he was disappointed with her motivation, he found it impossible to be angry with her. Instead he felt sympathetic. “Their attitude really bugs you, doesn’t it?” he asked, his voice soft. “Like really bothers you, not just in a ‘my brothers are annoying’ kind of way.”

  He wasn’t sure if she was aware of it, but she moved back a little, putting some distance between them. She stared at him, her face a mixture of irritation and wistfulness, as though she was both annoyed at him for guessing the truth and hoping he’d understand. It was clear this was a real issue for her.

  The question was, would she open up to him?

  Finn hoped so and not because it would help him in his investigation. Right now, that was the last thing on his mind.

  He wanted her to open up so that he could help her. She clearly needed to talk to someone about this, to get it sorted out in her mind. True, Finn probably wasn’t the one to help her with that, he had enough problems of his own, but maybe just talking would help.

  And, he had to admit, there was a part of him that knew they couldn’t have a real relationship with this hanging over their heads.

  Woah, where had that thought come from. Sure, he was attracted to her. Who was he kidding, he was fascinated by her. She was a fascinating woman full of intrigue and mystery, how could he not be fascinated, but when did he start thinking about real relationships?

  How could that even be possible, considering why he was here?

  A stab of guilt hit him again, and for a moment, he wished things were different, wished he was here just to escape his stressful job, as he’d told her. Would things be different then?

  He was never going to get the chance to find out, because they weren’t. Both of them had issues.

  He liked her, and he was pretty sure she liked him, but until she figured this out, neither of them would ever be certain if her desire to control her life wasn’t at least partially why she was interested in him.

  So he waited, not pushing her, but trying to look encouraging.

  “Of course it bothers me,” she finally said with a sigh. She was far enough away now that the water around him was all cold, but Finn didn’t care. She was talking to him, really talking. He wanted to hear everything she had to say.

  And he really wished he could silence that voice in the back of his head that pointed out that she just might divulge something useful to his investigation. He was fast coming to hate that voice.

  “It wasn’t so bad when I was a kid. Then they were just my big brothers, and since they were older, them telling me what to do to keep me safe just felt like my parents doing it. But I’m not a kid anymore.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “I haven’t been for a long time, but none of them can see that. Not my brothers and not my parents either. And nothing I do makes any difference.”

  Finn smiled sympathetically. “And you think sleeping with me will help you assert your independence? That it will make you feel more of an individual, even if they never know about it.” He could understand why that would make her feel better. And he wanted to help her. He just wished there was something more than that.

  “No. Yes. I don’t know.” Mora’s voice was coloured with frustration. She looked over at him, her expression torn. “I do like you, Finn. I’m not just doing this because of my brothers. I’m certain of that. But I do admit that irritating them is an extra point in your favour.” She gave him an uncertain grin, obviously wanting him to understand.

  And he did. He’d done the same thing himself when he was a teenager. It made sense that, living in such an isolated place, it had taken Mora longer to defy her parents and brothers than it had taken him. But it still hurt a little.

  Did it really matter? He was investigating her. Did it really matter that she was using him too? Maybe it even made things a little better.

  But even as he thought that, he knew he was kidding himself.

  This whole thing was a mess, and he should walk away. He should ring his supervising officer and tell him he was too close to the investigation and to send someone else. He should walk away from this before he did something he’d regret, something that might mess up his career.

  But for some reason, he couldn’t make himself. Walking away from her seemed impossible. His career seemed unimportant. Maybe he’d already messed it up anyway, considering that thing with the dragon. How could he be a police officer when he panicked at the sight of dragon in human form?

  He gave a self-depreciating laugh. He was as messed up as she was, maybe even more so.

  “I’m all for points in my favour,” he said wryly, “but surely there’s some other way for you to prove you’re not a kid anymore?”

  “I tried,” Mora said in frustration. “I’ve tried so many things over the years. I even went with my parents and helped them…” She broke off abruptly, staring at h
im, her eyes wide.

  Finn’s senses suddenly sharpened. She’d been about to say something, something she felt she shouldn’t. She’d gone with her parents and what? Where had she gone?

  There was nowhere else it could be. It had to have been the dragon lair. So this was a family affair, if her parents had gone there. His heart beat a little faster in excitement.

  It was ironic, really. He hadn’t even been trying to find out what she’d been doing there, and she’d almost blurted out exactly what he’d been looking for.

  That made him feel more than a little unclean. He should admit the truth now, before she said something she’d regret. But it wasn’t that simple. He didn’t want to see the light in her eyes change or that sweet look she was giving him fade away, replaced by fear and distaste.

  She didn’t deserve that, just like she clearly didn’t deserve her family treating her like a child.

  She was anything but. This woman had done the thing he feared most. She’d seen a human form dragon up close, maybe even one in dragon form. And it sounded like her family knew about it and understood what it meant. And they still couldn’t see that she didn’t need protecting?

  He was beginning to see why she had a problem.

  But he couldn’t say all that. Instead he asked casually, “Went where?”

  “I… uh… just away from the resort, helping my dad with some… business. I did a really important job for them, and then they sent me home again.

  He was tempted to probe more, to see just how much she would reveal. Just what had she been doing at the dragon lair? An important job? The curiosity was eating him up.

  But the other side of him really didn’t want to know. If he didn’t know, he couldn’t give away her secrets, whatever they were.

  “I’m sorry they didn’t appreciate you,” he said softly. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

  She gave him a grin. “No, and neither do you.”

  That was where she was wrong. Finn wanted to tell her. He wanted to explain that he understood her courage, her determination, and her heart. But telling her would be admitting too much, so instead he said, “Oh, I can see it. But if we do anything, and I’m not assuming anything, I want it to be because you want me, not because you want to annoy your brothers.”

  Chapter 10

  Morian almost danced through the hallway on her way to the kitchen. After the morning’s hike and the heated swim, she was starving. Her stomach rumbled, but not as loudly as her heart sang.

  She shouldn’t be so happy. She should be frustrated. She’d really wanted to mate with Finn. She’d wanted to see if that kiss meant the sparks would fly wildly if they got any closer. And she could see he’d really wanted it too.

  But though he’d playfully joked with her all the way back to the resort, he’d kept a respectful distance.

  And that only made her want him more.

  She’d never met anyone quite like him. He clearly wanted her, but he was holding back out of respect. He could see she had issues, and he didn’t want it interfering with anything between them. That indicated he wanted more than to just sleep with her, didn’t it?

  That thought hit Morian like a punch to the gut.

  She wanted more than just to sleep with him too. That was where the singing heart had come from. And why she wasn’t upset he hadn’t mated with her despite the fact she’d really wanted him to.

  Was this what Damrian and Hayrian had felt, and why they’d thrown all caution to the wind and mated while her parents were away?

  Her mother would be ropable if Morian did the same thing.

  For some reason, that thought was hugely amusing, and Morian burst into laughter. The sound echoed through the empty hallway.

  “What’s so amusing?” Hayrian’s voice was grumpy as his poked his head around the corner from the living room.

  A few hours ago Morian probably would have snapped back that she could laugh if she wanted. But now his grumpiness didn’t bother her at all. That was clearly his problem, not hers.

  “Are you and Aubrey having an argument?” she asked him sympathetically.

  “No, you interrupted us.” Hayrian’s voice was short.

  Morian could understand why, now more than ever. “Sorry,” she apologised. “I can go down to the Fins and Chips for lunch if you like.”

  Now Hayrian was staring at her. “First the singing and laughing, and now you’re offering to give us some privacy? Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?”

  Morian giggled at that, even as she felt a little insulted. She hadn’t been that insensitive, had she? Okay, maybe she had teased her brothers about their dates before, but this was different. “What, you don’t want me to respect the fact that you and your mate want to be alone? And… What do you mean, singing?”

  She hadn’t been singing, had she?

  “Yeah, dragon speech singing. It was very irritating. But I guess it did give us some warning.” Hayrian walked out into the hall, fastening jeans as he approached. “What’s gotten into you? Is this that guy Damrian said he saw you with last night?”

  Suddenly any amusement Morian felt at Hayrian hearing her singing in dragon speech vanished. “What do you mean?” she demanded. “Why would my singing have anything to do with a guy? And just what did Damrian say?”

  “Chill.” Hayrian held up a hand placatingly. “I’m not Damrian. If you want to date some human, go for it. It’s none of my business.”

  Morian looked at him suspiciously. “You’re not going to object? Tell me he’s not good enough for me?”

  Hayrian shrugged. “Why would I do that? I’ve never met the guy. Besides, if you like him, I’m sure he’s nice.” He put an arm around her shoulder. “You always did have good taste. I am your favourite brother, aren’t I?”

  His cooperative attitude threw Morian. She felt a little confused by the fact he wasn’t objecting to her dating Finn. Damrian had made such an issue out of it. “You’re not going to complain that I only just met him and know nothing about him?”

  Hayrian gave a wry grin, looking over as Audrey appeared from the living room, fully dressed, though her clothes and hair were mussed. “As if I can talk.”

  He had a point.

  But still, it felt strange.

  Had Morian somehow been imagining her brothers’ overprotectiveness? Been somehow causing it herself? Or had Hayrian just changed since being mated?

  Either way, maybe this could be useful. She had some questions she wanted to ask, but she hadn’t dared after Damrian’s showdown at the Fins and Ships last night. If Hayrian was in a cooperative mood, this was her opportunity.

  “What did it feel like?” she asked him curiously, glancing over at Audrey to include her in the discussion. “Did you guys know straight away that this was different? How long did it take before you knew you wanted to be lifemates?”

  “Woah.” Hayrian stared at her. “Is it that serious?”

  “No, of course not,” Morian said quickly. A little too quickly. “I’m just curious, that’s all. I want to be prepared when the time comes way, way in the future.”

  Hayrian’s grin didn’t look like he’d been convinced. “Oh dear. You’ve got it bad. I’m going to guess it felt just like what you’re feeling right now.” He looked over at his mate, and then walked over and took her hand. “I knew something was different right away. She captured my attention like no one ever had before. And even though I knew all the reasons I should stay away, I just didn’t care.”

  His description sounded all too familiar. Morian’s heart began to beat rapidly.

  The thoughts had been in the back of her mind all this time, but she hadn’t really let them form fully enough to consider what it really meant.

  Was Finn her mate?

  Everything Hayrian had said made sense. She knew she should stay away from Finn. Knew he was hiding something from her. But she just didn’t care. She refused to believe it was something harmful to her. In fact, she was pretty
sure it was about himself, about some inadequacy he felt. But either way, she didn’t care.

  She wanted to be with him. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. And more than anything else, she wanted to feel this tenuous connection she felt with him become permanent.

  Hayrian was watching her, his expression amused. “Dam is going to have a fit,” he said with a big grin. “He doesn’t like the guy for some reason. You’re never going to convince him.”

  Morian looked at her older brother calculatingly. “I can if you help me,” she said firmly. “And Rowan too. If both of you approve of Finn, then his argument will be meaningless.” And so would Finn’s objections that she only wanted to sleep with him to annoy her brothers. If they approved of him, then that argument meant nothing.

  Didn’t the fact that she wanted them to like him mean they already meant nothing?

  Hayrian shook his head in amusement, then turned to his mate. “What do you say, should we help these two lovebirds?”

  “Of course,” Audrey said firmly. “If they feel the way we feel, then they deserve to be together.”

  Hayrian clapped Morian on the back. “Looks like you’ve got yourself backup. I’m sure Rowan will be in too, wherever he is. He loves a good romance.”

  Morian gave a frown. Come to think of it, she’d barely seen her oldest human brother since she’d arrived home. Every time she’d seen him, he’d been passing through. He’d given her a hug, then run out the door. What was he up to?

  Oh well, she’d have to catch Rowan the next time she saw him. For now, she had Hayrian at least. “Why don’t you come down to the Fins and Ships tonight and join us for dinner? You can meet Finn and see that Damrian’s overreacting.”

  “Sure.” Hayrian looked at his mate, and she nodded confirmation. “We’ll see you there.”

  Chapter 11

  Finn tried to keep his nerves under control as he and Mora waited for her brother to arrive. She’d assured him Hayden was looking forward to meeting him, and didn’t disapprove of them dating at all.