“Would you like to be the big spoon or the little spoon?”
Kane’s teeth flashed in a white smile in the dark. “Big.”
“Fantastic choice. That way your wiener can touch my butt cheek.” She rolled over and waited, not missing the soft chuckle behind her.
Slowly and carefully, Kane rolled toward her and hugged her back tightly against his chest. Indeed, his stony erection pressed against her butt. “This still doesn’t change anything tomorrow.”
Rowan yawned. “Technically, it is tomorrow.”
“Hm,” Kane grunted noncommittally.
Her eyelids grew heavy with the air vent blasting cold air onto her and Kane’s warm, strong body pressed against her back. Even his knees were drawn up, touching the backs of hers. “Kane?”
“What?”
“I don’t mind that part of your leg is missing.” She bent her knee up higher, drawing her calf to where his shin would’ve been. “I mean, I wish you still had it so you wouldn’t hurt, but it makes you unique. I’ve never met a man like you.”
“You’ve never met a shifter without his animal, and a man without all his body parts? That’s not shocking, princess. We’re a rare breed.”
Rowan rolled over in his arms and snuggled against his chest until he relaxed again. “You feel whole to me,” she said sleepily.
Kane went quiet. She would’ve thought him asleep if he wasn’t rubbing her back gently. He smelled so good, like lingering cologne and some masculine deodorant probably called Grizzly Motorcycle Pine Tree or something. His heart beat strong and steady against her cheek, and despite him being a Blackwing, she’d never felt so safe in the arms of a man.
He let out a long, steady breath, as if he’d been holding it for a while. “Rowan?”
“Mmm?”
“Are you magic?”
She smiled sleepily and kissed his chest right along the edge of his tattoo. Silly dragon. He was the one who had made her feel better after the terror of The Sickening. “No. There is no magic in me.”
“Swear?”
Rowan bit him gently, then released his pec. She ignored her inner dragon’s urging to bite him again harder. “I swear.”
Kane swallowed audibly in the dark and whispered, “Night, Roe.”
Rowan’s lips stretched with a smile that felt so good. Roe. Not princess or Bloodrunner, but by the name her friends called her.
He’d just given her a gift. He’d just called her a friend and settled her sickly dragon even more.
Kane didn’t realize it, but he was the magic one.
****
Three days. Rowan gripped the steering wheel harder and heaved a stressed-out sigh. Three days, and she would have her treasure back. The airline guaranteed it. Meanwhile, she didn’t have time or money to hang out in Asheville while they looked for the lost luggage, so here she was, following Kane’s Bronco in her rental convertible.
Kane turned off at an exit that read Bryson City. The GPS was telling her to follow the highway, but she hadn’t said a proper goodbye to him, so like the stalker she was, she followed him off the exit ramp, down a few back roads, and into a gravel parking lot near an old-fashioned tourist train station. Two hours in the car, and she needed to stretch her back and legs. At least she hadn’t had a bloody nose yet today. She didn’t even have a headache, so maybe Kane was right. Maybe she had lots of time.
“Fancy meeting you here,” she called as Kane got out of his Bronco.
“I’m hungry as fuck,” he said. “Come on. I know a place with fried mushrooms that look like little dicks.”
Rowan snorted. “You know the direct way to my heart. I was following you to say goodbye, though.”
“They have homemade ranch. You can make it look like jizz on the mushrooms.”
Well in that case… Rowan marched herself right on over to Kane and linked her arm in his. “Lead on, sexy dragon.”
Kane tensed. “I don’t like you calling me that.”
“Well, you are sexy, so…”
“No, I mean the dragon part. I’m not a dragon.”
“Your glowing dragon eyes say differently. Look at this sparkly rock.” She stooped and picked it up, then showed him because Kane was being sweet and pretending to be interested. It glittered gold like fish scales in the sunlight when she turned it in her palm. “This is for you.”
Kane’s eyebrows lowered, and he took it slowly. “What is it for?” he asked suspiciously.
“To keep in your pocket so you can always think of me.”
“Jesus, woman.” Kane turned to the side and chucked the rock as hard as he could into a small grove of trees.
“Kane!” she yelled, instantly furious.
But when she looked back at him, he was grinning. He held out the rock, still sitting on his palm. The turd. She shoved him hard in the shoulder and didn’t even feel bad when he went off balance and had to right himself on his bad leg. Rowan crossed her arms and marched toward the main drag. “I’m never letting you see my boobs again.”
Kane was laughing now, and it made her even angrier. “Roe, wait.” He caught up in front of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and pulled her to a stop. Even if he was going to apologize, he was still smiling so it wouldn’t count.
“I gave you a treasure, and you were going to throw it away.”
Kane angled his head, dipped down lower so he could catch her averted gaze. “Stop pouting and look.” He held up the pebble between his thumb and forefinger, then shoved it deep into his pocket. Right next to his obvious boner.
“Why are you turned on right now? I’m angry.”
“Yeah, well…” Kane glanced around and adjusted his dick. “You’re really cute when you’re mad.”
Rowan made an offended huff of breath. “Kane, I’m a fucking dragon, as you keep reminding me. I’m not cute when I’m angry. I blow fire, stomp on trees, and destroy stuff.”
“I’ll buy you lunch if you spend eight dollars or less.”
She wanted to stay mad, but his stupid smile was so freaking handsome, and he didn’t have smile lines either. His face was smooth as though he never grinned, yet here he was teasing her. “I’m gonna spend nine of your dollars,” she sassed, turning on her heel and striding toward the stairs to the restaurant he was pointing to.
It was lunch rush, and the hostess told them they had to wait while their table was cleaned. It was too crowded inside, so Kane led her outside. Rowan rested her elbows on the railing that skirted the outside eating area. This was her first real look at the town. A train was blowing a whistle behind them, and a pair of jacked-up trucks were racing down the main street. Tourists were everywhere. She could tell they were tourists because they hauled souvenir bags and wore Bryson City T-shirts with little printed bear logos all over them. Restaurants and souvenir shops lined both sides of the street, and beyond the sleepy town, green mountains jutted up to meet the vibrant blue sky. It would be fall soon, and likely cold, but not today. Today the weather was perfect.
Kane leaned against the railing, mirroring her stance. “Is it a lot different than Saratoga to you?”
“Yes and no. They’re both small towns and have the same sleepy feel. It’s the mountains that are different,” she murmured, staring at the towering hills outside of town. “Damon’s Mountains are covered in evergreens.”
“These will stun you in the fall.”
“You like it here?”
Kane nodded. “I do. I’ve been trying really hard not to get chased out of Bryson City.”
“Who chases you?” She would kill them. Kill them? Clearly she was losing her mind around this man.
“Kane, your table is up,” the hostess called. She was setting a pair of menus on a table outside in the shade. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you eat anywhere but at the bar inside,” she said lightly.
“Yeah.” Kane shot Rowan a frown across the table. “It’s a nice day out here.”
The waitress, Sandy, her nametag said, placed her hand
s on her hips and beamed at Rowan. “Two years eating in here, and he’s never let me sit him anywhere but the bar. Same seat every time, too. Right at the end, away from everyone.”
That drew Rowan up short. How sad to want to be alone for all his meals like that. The server got their drink orders and scurried off. Rowan leaned forward. “Don’t you have friends?”
“No,” Kane said, void of hesitation. Then he lifted his menu in front of his face to show her the conversation was done.
Rowan snatched it out of his hands. “And who chases you?”
Kane growled and leaned forward. “Everyone, Rowan. The wolves, the vampires, the bears, panthers, lions, boars. Whoever settles a territory doesn’t want a dominant shifter living there without fealty to them.”
“But you don’t have the animal.”
“They don’t know that, and it needs to stay that way.”
“So many secrets.”
“And I’ve trusted you with them.”
“Not all of them. What happened to your dragon?”
“Nope.” Kane sat back and lifted his menu in front of his face again, this time too far away from the table for her to yank away.
“I’m spending ten of your dollars now. Do you want to play footsies?”
Kane chuckled from behind the menu. “Play with my good leg so I can feel it.”
And she did. Rowan rested her foot right inside of his and rubbed the toe of her sneaker against his heel. When Kane gave in and dropped the menu, the corners of his lips were still in a smile. “You don’t care about personal space at all, do you?”
“No.”
“Are you one of those girls? You know…the ones who need constant affection in a relationship?”
“Yes.”
“Needy,” he accused.
“Not needy. It’s natural for shifters to crave affection. Even with my friends, I like to hug them or bump their shoulders or sit really close. I grew up in the Gray Back Crew, and we’re an affectionate lot by nature. I’m not weird Kane. Maybe you are.”
“The Bloodrunners are like that,” he said so softly she almost missed it.
She wished he wasn’t wearing the extra pair of sunglasses he apparently kept in his Bronco for when he got his smashed in fights. She wanted to see his eyes when he’d said that. The tenderness in his voice caught her off guard. “How do you know?”
“Because I watch them. I work with Wyatt, and I saw him before Harper came. I saw him before the Bloodrunners formed a crew. He was empty, angry, wanted to fight all the damn time. Now he’s like one of those goats at the petting zoo. You know which ones I’m talking about? They just sit there, getting petted, looking all drunk and happy.”
“I’ll be sure to let Wyatt know you compared him to a drunken billy goat.”
“You know what I mean. And when I see the crew at the bar, they are always touching. Even the ones who aren’t paired up. Hugging and linking arms, like you do to me. It’s…”
“It’s what?”
“Unsettling. Confusing.”
Rowan sighed and rubbed her foot against his ankle. “Does it feel good when I touch you?”
Kane shrugged one shoulder up and muttered, “Sometimes.”
But sometimes not. That’s what he was saying. Rowan frowned down at her menu so he wouldn’t see the hurt on her face. It wasn’t fair for her to get frustrated if he didn’t like touch. It was his body.
“Kane, why aren’t you in a crew?” she asked before she could change her mind.
He took a long drag of his water before he answered in a careful voice, “You know why.”
“You’re a shifter.”
Kane’s gaze tracked a woman walking close by their table. He clenched his jaw and leaned forward, then whispered, “I’m not. I’m just a man now. And I don’t want to have this conversation again.”
“My mom is human.”
Kane leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, angled his face like he was studying her. “So?”
“So she’s a Gray Back just as much as me or my dad, or Beaston, Jason, Aviana, Georgia, Matt, Willa, any of them. She’s crew. Doesn’t matter that she doesn’t have an animal in her. If you found a crew, no one would chase you anymore. You could be safe. You wouldn’t be alone.”
“Rowan—”
“You wouldn’t be sitting at the end of a bar eating by yourself anymore, Kane. You would have people.”
“Yeah, and when they need protection? When they need me to have their back? When they need my fucking dragon? I know how it is, princess. Crews bring battles. Territory disputes alone put the Smoky Mountains into chaos for months when Harper started setting up the Bloodrunners. When I let myself care for these people, let them in, and pledge my life to keep theirs safe, what do I do when it comes to war? I’ll sit on the sidelines, helpless, crippled, watching my friends bleed, and I can’t do a fucking thing about it. And even if I could, even if I still had my dragon—he. Was. A. Monster. You have it in your head I’m some worthy hero, Rowan. I’m not. I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
“Alone?”
“Hell yes, alone. I’m happy like this.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, woman. I’m not your project to fix. I have a good job, I have a routine, I have a house, I have my own life, and it’s a good one. It’s one I’ve carved with my own blood, sweat, and tears. It’s one I’ve built from nothing, Rowan, nothing. I don’t need you to swoop in here and fix me. I’m good. I don’t want friends. I don’t want a crew. Just”—Kane yanked his leg away from hers—“let me be.”
Rowan felt like she’d just been punched in the gut. It took her a few seconds to recover enough to smile politely at the waitress who was asking for their appetizer order. Rowan blinked hard, hating herself for being this weak. For getting emotional over Kane pushing her away. This is what he did. This is how he’d made it so long without connecting with people. He’d trained himself to rip away if things got too deep, too serious. If someone got too close, he turned to embers and burned them for trying.
She swallowed hard, averting her gaze. “I should get to Harper’s Mountains before they worry.” Rowan stood and held out her hand for a shake. “It was nice to meet you, Kane.”
He sat there shaking his head, arms crossed, jaw clenched, red creeping up his neck. She didn’t know why he was refusing to look at her, but she finally gave up and dropped her hand to her side, then made her way down the stairs and back to her car. She forced herself not to look back because she didn’t want him to see the tears streaking her make-up.
Let me be.
Fine. If he wanted her to treat him like everyone else, that was his choice. It wasn’t hers. If it was up to her, she would become his best friend and make him crave her touch, make him want her kisses, but Kane wasn’t like her. And she had no right to shove him into a box. He liked his life and made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want friends. That he didn’t want her.
And as she pulled out of the parking lot, it hit again—The Sickening. Blood trickled down her lip and made the air smell like copper, but luckily, this one wasn’t so bad. Just a few drops, and it was done.
She would go deep into Harper’s Mountains and set up a temporary home, hug her friends, and in three tiny days, she would have her treasure again. Kane could go back to his life, and everything would be okay for the both of them separately.
Except the farther she drove away from Kane, the more her chest hurt. She wasn’t good at see-ya-laters, and she might never see the Blackwing Dragon again.
It should’ve been a relief since she wasn’t supposed to be friends with the enemy.
But it wasn’t.
Leaving Kane physically hurt.
Chapter Eight
Rowan leaned forward and squinted at the sign on the side of the road. At some point it had read Boiled Peanuts, but someone had spray painted a thin layer of white over the B and the Pea, and now it read oiled nuts. There was also a hideous painting of an owl with a giant p
ecker in the bottom corner. Looked like Ryder had struck this place hard. He’d used the same ugly tag when he’d vandalized water towers, street signs, and Willa’s Wormshack when they were kids.
Shaking her head, she took a right onto a dirt road as the rented GPS told her to do. For the tenth time on the drive into Nantahala, she was stunned by the scenery. Everything was so lush and green, like a jungle. A river wound right by the road on one side, and on the other, a mountain went straight up to the sky. Vines hung down from tree branches so low they almost touched her convertible, and the chirping of bugs was a constant song outside as she cruised with the top down.
Harper’s Mountains were so different from Damon’s Mountains.
About thirty-seven potholes later, she reached an open gate. The car bumping and bouncing, she slowed in front of a small cabin with some familiar forest green shutters. Weston must’ve taken them from the old trailer, 1010, and put them on this place. It was late afternoon, but it looked like evening here on account of the mountains and thick forest canopy blocking out the sunlight. Up the dirt road were more rustic cabins, but Rowan stopped in front of the first one with the shutters.
She got out and hesitated on the bottom stair. The number beside the door was crooked, but easily readable. 1010. Gooseflesh blasted up her arms.
An ear-splitting whistle made her hunch her shoulders and cover her ears. Ryder was trotting down the road toward her, followed by a dark-haired woman with a big, greeting smile on her face.
Weston came out of a cabin up the road, and farther up, Aaron, Harper, and Wyatt were running beside a couple of women Rowan didn’t recognize.
She bolted for Ryder, the closest, and he caught her midair, crushed her to him and spun her around, clapping her on the back and laughing. “Holy fuck, scaredy dragon, you came out of Damon’s Mountains.”
“Hey, I came out a couple weeks ago for Weston.”
“Because Beaston made you. This one is voluntary.”
Rowan thought about how Damon and Weston had bullied her into coming here, but okay. She would let Ryder think her a heroine for a little while longer. Rowan was all giggles as she wiggled out of Ryder’s arms and reached for Weston, then Aaron. She met Ryder’s mate, Lexi, and shook her hand, then Alana, Aaron’s mate, who was quite possibly the most striking woman she’d ever laid eyes on. Curvy, beautiful dark skin, bright gold eyes like Aaron’s, and a beaming white smile that made a scar from lip to her nose even deeper.