He tilted his head at her. “And what’s your current opinion of me?”
She laughed softly, her eyes warm as she looked him up and down. “You’re a mystery. A banker who can turn into a dragon. A man who owns an entire tower in the city, but who loves the small-town island life. I still think that you’re too charming for your own good—but you’re not shallow. I think you use the charm to hide your depths. And now I’m intrigued.”
“Hidden depth?” He dramatically clutched his chest. “No one has ever accused me of that!”
“I bet they haven’t,” she said, her eyes gleaming in amusement. “You’re good at playing charming. But I also think you’re more like me than I thought. You like the part of it that’s like a game. Only I like taking out evil wizards in Dungeons & Dragons, and you like taking out evil bankers and corporations.”
Timothy was silent for a moment, staring at her in bafflement.
Was this what it was like to find your mate? Someone who instinctively saw through all your shields and masks, even though the bond between them was still fragile?
“You know,” he murmured at last, his throat strangely tight, “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me. I guess most people just assume that everything I do is like a game to me, and that it means that I don’t care about those little startups and charities I try to rescue. But I do care. I care about the oceans and the rivers and the lakes, about the animals who live in them and the people who live on the shore. Without water, there’s no life. And I care about life, too.”
“Caring is scary,” Liana said and swallowed. She looked out at the ocean, as if she was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. “I always thought that maybe, if I wasn’t so scared of caring, I’d have better luck with men... It hurts if you care and then get disappointed.”
“It’s easier to care about the ocean than to care about people,” Timothy admitted after a moment. Then he reached out and gently covered her hand with his own. He could feel her fingers trembling beneath his—and he could also feel another rush of warmth. It filled his body with heat, but it also filled his heart with certainty.
“But I think sometimes it’s worth it to care...”
She didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she turned her hand over beneath his, and then, tentatively, entwined their fingers.
“I think I already do.” Her eyes were wide and warm. “I’ve never had a relationship that got really serious, so I’m warning you—I might mess up. But I want to try.”
“You never had a relationship with a shifter, so it would be new either way,” he said gently. “I know all of this is different and scary. And I promise we can take this as slowly as you like.”
He hesitated for a moment. Then he tightened his fingers around hers. “It’s new for me too. You’re my mate. That’s new—and very scary, because I’m terrified I’ll mess up. I want you to like me—but the real me, not the charming billionaire. And sometimes I worry I’ve forgotten how to be myse
lf...”
“Hey,” she said softly, reaching out with her other hand to rest it on his. “We can learn together. And I’ve seen you beat up a group of fire dragons for me. Believe me, when I think of you, I don’t think billionaire playboy at all. I think worried shifter who hates babysitting his fire dragon.”
Timothy laughed, a wave of relief rushing through him. “That’s a pretty good start. Definitely closer to the real me than most people ever got. And I guess if that hasn’t scared you away yet—”
“I’m sticking around,” she said firmly. “And not just because I don’t want to face those evil dragons again. But you’re talking to someone who’s spent her entire life dreaming of adventures and dragons and people saving the world. Do you think I’m going to run away from all of that now, just because it turns out that dragons are actually real?”
“No fire dragon will ever get to you. I promise,” he said.
He hesitated for a moment, but then he threw all caution to the wind and leaned forward. He’d promised to go slowly... But he’d yearned for the sensation of her lips against his all morning.
And so, it seemed, had she.
Her eyes fluttered closed when he leaned in. And when their lips met, he could feel her sigh.
Her lips were soft, parting for his tongue. Heat rushed through him again, and he drew her against him, her luscious curves pressing against his skin until he felt he was drowning in her taste and her scent. Nothing else had ever felt as right.
Between his legs, his shaft throbbed with sudden need, the dragon within him rearing up once more, so eager to claim her as his that it was almost painful to resist.
Instead, despite the ache of his erection, he drew back a little. He smiled at the way she stared at him, her eyes dark and soft and her body relaxed.
“How about I show you the peninsula?” he said hoarsely. “You can meet the werewolves if they’re in, and we’ll see who else is around.”
“I want to see your chameleon coffee shop,” she murmured, her tongue coming out to swipe over her lips before she drew back. “It’s really all real?”
“It is,” he said, his heart still pounding with desire at the sight of her. “I promise. It’s all real.”
***
Timothy took the scenic path along the beach as he led Liana away from the house.