Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Julian had changed out of his business suit and into a pair of low slung jeans and a dark gray T-shirt that clung to his ripped upper torso and more loosely around his tapered waist. He’d even forgone his usual polished black leather shoes for a pair of flip flops that looked as if he’d actually worn them before. He’d shocked her in the best way. Julian Ferrari had a casual side, and she bet he had shared it with very few people. She felt like the luckiest that he shared so much of his secret self with her.

Clutching onto his hand tighter, ignoring the slight sting of his heated skin against hers, she followed him toward the sound of the waterfall that was now blocked by the thick pine canopy above them.

“In storybooks, vampires drink people all the time and dragons protect treasures. How come it seems like you don’t do either of that? Don’t you have piles of gold and gemstones buried deep in your mountains, and if so, can you draw me a treasure map? I’ve always wanted to swim in a pile of gold coins.”

He laughed and shook his head. “My treasure is this land. The mountains themselves are what my powers allow me to protect.”

Her stomach fluttered at his open admission. She’d only been joking, but he’d gifted her with honesty. She looked around at the mountain peaks surrounding them, covered in evergreens. It was nothing but miles of rolling hills—beautiful, lush, and stoic.

Julian had bound himself to something that could never die. Like him.

With a shake of her head, she said, “Favorite period in time.”

“Medieval. God, I actually got to have fun then.”

Erin inhaled sharply. “The dragon warlock legends. Those were you?”

“And my hybrid offspring at the time. Hellions, the lot of them.” There was a smile in his voice, and from here, she could see his cheeks swell with a grin at the memory. “You should’ve seen the castles Erin. You would’ve loved that entire era. Well, most of it. We glutted ourselves on ash and, for the first time, I wasn’t hiding or convincing my offspring to hide. We could just be for that short period before I went into hiding again and allowed the stories of that time to fade to legend. I was too heartsick and reckless then, but damn, it felt good to let go. I took my first wife shortly after that to ground me again. I’d bred women before—humans—but I needed more than that to bring me back to my senses. I needed someone steady in my life. I didn’t care for her much, but I felt protective enough to see reason behind keeping my dragon hidden.”

Erin frowned and stifled the green tendrils of jealousy. He’d said he didn’t care for his first wife much, so why was she feeling so possessive? He’d lived for a very long time. Of course he’d been with other women. Smoothing the frown from her face, she said, “Favorite job.”

“Logger,” he said, void of hesitation.

“Wait, you were a lumberjack?”

“Does that surprise you?”

She looked back in the direction of his mansion, but she couldn’t see it through the trees anymore. “A little.”

“I wasn’t always wealthy. I’ve just had infinite time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. I’ve lost my money and gone completely broke several times over taking risks with finances. You caught me after a fifty year good run is all. I’ve done logging several times when the money was gone. It’s my fallback. The physical work settles my dragon and makes me feel almost…content. Even now, when I see the bears on their landings, when I watch them work, I miss it down to my bones.”

“Why don’t you work with them then if you miss it so much?”

“I hadn’t ever considered it before because I was trying to keep distance between myself and the bears. It was easier not to feel anything for them if I didn’t spend the extra time with the crews.” Julian led her out of the woods and onto a black pebble beach. He turned and unbuttoned his jeans with a wicked grin that transformed his face.

Naughty glint in his eyes, he shucked his pants and pulled his shirt over his head, undressing completely.

“We’re skinny-dipping?”

“Scared?”

“No.”

“Lie.”

“I’ve never done it before.”

Julian frowned and angled his head. “I’ve seen your body, Erin. Your beauty steals my breath away. I love all of you. Every pattern I can trace in your freckles, the soft curve of your breasts. Your smooth skin that is only for me to touch.” He reached forward and plucked a wild curl of her ruddy hair, then released it and watched it spring back into place. “I’m attracted to every single thing about you. You don’t have to be shy around me.”

She crinkled her nose at the surrounding woods. “It’s not you that I’m worried about. What if someone sees us?”

“A modest shifter? I thought I’d seen it all. This is private land, and no one ever comes here but me. This is my favorite place, and in all my years here, I’ve never seen anyone at my falls.”

Okay, she felt better now. With a shy smile, she pushed her shorts and panties down and took of her shirt, but when she looked up, Julian was diving gracefully into a wave. He came out of the dark water and shook out his hair like a dog, then gave her a playful grin and jerked his chin for her to join him.

With a giddy laugh, she ran across the river beach and into the lapping waves. When she reached him, she swam past and challenged him, “I’ll race you to the waterfalls!”

She was breathless from exertion and laughter by the time she lost rather badly to Julian in a race to the pounding water and its surrounding mist cloud. In the fog, it felt more private, and she relaxed completely in his arms as he held her and swam her in slow circles until their feet touched the craggy bottom right by the waterfall. His eyes stayed trained on her as though he’d never seen anyone as beautiful.

“This is fast, isn’t it?” she asked. “To feel this deeply about another person in such a short time?”

“Maybe for others. Our love story is different, though. For me, it started eons ago when I forged a connection with your ancestors. Chlorine wasn’t meant for me. She was only meant to be the beginning of my journey to you. It doesn’t feel fast to me.”

Cheeks flushing, she pulled Julian in close and rested her chin on his shoulder. The water lapped at her in a relaxing rhythm. “I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

“Haven’t you though? Through your visions?”

He was right. A piece of her had always known him. Had always yearned for him. “You sure were easy to fall in love with, Dangerous Julian.”

The corner of his mouth lifted against her cheek, and he angled his head just enough to rest his lips on hers and take a languid, gentle sip. “So were you, Dangerous Erin.”

“Can I see him?”

“You want to see the monster inside of me?”

She angled her head and nodded. “Don’t you know that’s what love is? It’s seeing the monster inside and staying anyway.”

He shook his head and stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she was in his arms right now. As if he couldn’t understand how they’d gotten here. As if he was the lucky one. Silly vampire dragon.

The first thing she noticed was how his eyes instantly turned blood red. He looked like a ravenous vampire there and then. And then he began to morph into something more. Something that promised to be more bigger than just a blood drinking vampire.

Stepping carefully over the jagged rocks beneath her bare feet, she held her palms out and made a relieved sound in her throat when her hands connected with his body. She’d expected him to be cold, but he was just as warm as he was in his human skin.

With a slow, clicking rumble, he steadied her on the rocky bottom and backed closer to the waterfall. His eyes blazed silver, and he hunched into himself an instant before his skin ripped open and the enormous dragon inside of him was freed. He towered over her like a building and arched his long neck high. The waterfall pounded against the sharp spikes down his back, and streams of water trailed down his scales. His head was as wide as a barn, and when he blinked, two separate eyelids closed over his eyes from the side. The snarl in his chest sounded throatier and louder now, and he moved with snake-like grace. Two long, curved spikes unfurled from the base of his head backward and were accented by smaller ones that grew in lines down his cheekbones. His armor-like scales boasted the tarnish of burns and slash marks of old battle scars, but the old injuries didn’t hinder his movement as he stepped carefully through the water, arching around her, as if, even now, in the safety of the secret waterfall, he had the instinct to protect her.

He was lethal and terrifying and beautiful.

Slowly, she spread her arms out like wings and pressed her body against his. Julian's stomach rose and fell under her with his steady breath, and the slow vibration of his constant rumbling rattled her body. When he lowered his massive head, his churning silver eyes with those long, contracting pupils beheld her with something akin to pleasure.

She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and grinned as her chest filled with overwhelming joy. She’d seen him when he was blowing fire and angry, and she’d seen him like this—a gentle giant that could be so careful with her in the lapping waters of the falls.

When she opened her eyes again, the sunlight was reflecting beautifully off of his iridescent scales.

She was in this.

Erin was staying because she’d seen Julian for what he truly was.

She was staying because he was so easy to love.

With a slow smile, she whispered, “I see no monster. You’re completely beautiful and marvelous, Julian. A miracle.”

*****