Chapter Twenty
Jody twisted her bracelets around and around as she followed Cruz over the bridge that divided his private world from the rest of the estate. Ten o’clock had seemed so far off, but once again, time had gotten away from her. They’d ended up rushing to get dressed.
“Are you sure I look okay?” She tugged on Cruz’s hand, making him stop.
His eyes wandered up and down her body, giving her all kinds of bad ideas, and she gave him a little shove. “Forget I asked. I’m not sure you’re thinking straight.”
“Of course, I’m not thinking straight. Can I help it if you’re gorgeous?”
Truthfully, she felt gorgeous, though it was only because of him. She even felt radiant — literally. The bite marks on her neck had already healed over, but her body still tingled from the high. The first chance she got, she was going to have Cruz repeat that bite just to make sure it hadn’t been a wild fantasy.
“You already know Kai and Tessa,” he assured her.
At least there was that. Tessa was super nice, and so was Kai, who’d been incredibly worried that awful day up in the mountains. The second he’d helped locate the lost sailors, he’d rushed back to the waterfall. Too late to assist in the shifter fight, but just in time to bring her and Cruz back to Koa Point.
What a day, huh? Kai had sighed when they’d touched down.
The understatement of the year, which was one reason Jody had spent so long holed up with Cruz. But she couldn’t hide away at the tree house forever. And if everyone was as nice as Cruz said…
They were, as it turned out, and Tessa even strong-armed Silas into putting off the meeting until everyone had eaten.
“I’m sure that can wait an hour, Silas. We all need to settle in a little first. Plus, Dawn gave me a great new recipe I want to try out.”
Dawn grinned. “Pancakes, Hawaiian style.”
Even Cruz licked his lips at that, and before long, everyone was gathered around the kitchen, shooting the breeze. Dawn and Hunter had just returned from what sounded like a lovely honeymoon in Alaska, and they barely had eyes for anything but each other. Nina, a sweet brunette, and her mate, Boone, were just back from the East Coast, and everyone was friendly and talkative. Well, Hunter, the bear shifter, wasn’t so talkative, but he tipped his head and listened to every word. They asked Jody about surfing and told funny Cruz stories he pretended to resent. It was like a big family gathering, and Jody’s heart warmed. The men were all tough military types, but they obviously had their softer sides, too. The women were intelligent, outgoing, and plenty assertive if the men got out of line.
“Watch it, wolf,” Tessa scolded, smacking Boone’s hand away from the pineapples she’d diced.
“Hey, someone has to do quality control,” he protested.
Jody looked closely but couldn’t find the slightest hint of wolf in Boone. More like cheery lifeguard or happy-go-lucky ski bum. It was only when his tousled hair fell over his eyes that she caught a hint of canine. And when he looked at his mate, Nina, his eyes lit up so bright, it was easy to picture him wagging a tail.
Jody exhaled and looked around. Okay, so maybe shifters weren’t all scary, after all. Not this bunch, at least.
Then she remembered the scene in the mountain valley and corrected herself. She was lucky to have survived the experience unscathed. And, damn. Her new friends could be downright scary when they chose to be.
“Hey, did you see this?” Boone asked Kai, holding up a newspaper.
Helicopter Crashes in West Maui Mountains, a headline said. Lightning Strike Sets Aircraft Ablaze.
“Lightning, my ass,” Kai laughed, looking at Silas.
Jody tried not to dwell on the article at the top of the paper — Seven Lost in Flash Flood. She was genuinely sad for Richard and Guy, though she couldn’t summon any sympathy for Vasco and his men.
Property damage minimal, the article continued. At least there was that — no innocent citizens of Maui had been impacted by the shifter fight.
“Can I help with something?” Jody asked Tessa to get her mind off the unpleasant memories.
Even with four skillets going at the same time, Tessa had everything under control. Still, she let Jody tend one while engaging in small talk that settled Jody’s nerves again. Nina insisted on doing all the serving, claiming it was in her blood, and in the end, all Jody really did was eat.
“Oh my gosh, these are so good,” Dawn gushed, biting into a mouthful of coconut-pineapple pancakes.
“Everything Tessa makes is good,” Kai agreed.
“We really have to start doing pancake Sundays,” Nina sighed. “I mean, now that everyone is back home and things are settling down.”
Jody pursed her lips. We was a big word. Could she really fit in at Koa Point? Was it really home?
Nina’s friendly smile reassured her, and Cruz backed that up with a throaty rumble that warned everyone they’d better accept Jody — or else. Not that they needed the reminder; as he’d promised, everyone was as welcoming as could be.
It was only when the stacks of pancakes grew lower and everyone leaned back, patting their bellies in satisfaction, that they got around to discussing the unavoidable.
“So, you’re part mermaid, huh?” Nina asked as she cleared the table with Boone.
Jody shook her head. “Not really. My dad is, apparently, but I’m sure he doesn’t know.” Which meant her younger sister was part mermaid, too. Did that mean her life was in danger?
Cruz smoothed a hand over her leg, reminding her the vampires were gone. But what if another came along?
Slowly, she let out a long breath. Sooner or later, she’d figure out how to break the news to her sister and find a way to keep her safe. But first, she’d get to share good news, which made her smile all over again. Her sisters and dad would be so excited. Proud, even. The way she liked to think her mom would have felt.
“No one in my family ever mentioned anything about mermaids. Well, except my crazy old aunt…” She trailed off, looking at her bracelets. Maybe old Tilda wasn’t as nutty as everyone said. She would definitely have to pay the old woman a visit soon.
Tessa looked sympathetic. “I went most of my life not knowing I had some dragon blood.”
Dawn mused over her coffee mug. “Can you imagine my surprise when I changed into an owl instead of a bear on my third shift?” Her eyes sparkled at Hunter.
“You make a great owl — and a great bear.” His soulful brown eyes shone at his mate.
Jody sighed and glanced at Cruz. And wow, his eyes were sparkling just as intently at her. She let out a long, slow breath. How did she ever get so lucky?
Nina laughed. “I was always just plain old human.”
Boone took her hand and kissed it. “Nothing plain about you.”
An ocean breeze wafted through the open space, carrying the sound of breakers from the reef. Jody might have guessed the koa of Koa Point meant heavenly place of love and tranquility if hadn’t been for what Cruz had once said.
Koa is a class of warrior, named for the hardest type of wood.
Well, that fit, too, she decided, looking at the men and women gathered around the table. Their love was tender yet fierce at the same time.
Tessa fingered the pendant around her neck. “Maybe your bracelets are a mermaid thing. You said they were a family heirloom, right? Maybe they give you some mermaid qualities, too.”
Jody looked down and fingered the design.
“Nah,” Cruz cut in. “Jody has all the qualities she needs all on her own.”
Her cheeks went warm, and she couldn’t resist cupping his cheek. Who knew a grouchy tiger could be so sweet?
“So what was with the lions?” Hunter asked, frowning for the first time.
“Vasco was a rare mix,” Silas explained. “Half vampire, half lion. The lion part seemed recessive, the vampire dominant. Hence his taste for blood and the thugs he surrounded himself with.”
“Lions,” Cruz muttered in distaste.
“And they were after Jody because…?” Dawn asked, showing her police officer side.
Jody traced a finger over the tablecloth, trying not to tense up all over again.
Silas stirred his coffee. “From what we’ve gathered, Vasco wasn’t originally after Jody. One of his men was hired to shoot at Jody—”
“To kill Jody,” Cruz grumbled, leaning into her side.
“—in an attempt to create publicity for the advertising campaign.” Silas shook his head wearily. “A good thing Toby has been cleared of all charges.”
“Toby?” Dawn exclaimed. “The valet? He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I hope no one roughed him up,” Hunter said.
Dawn scowled. “The Maui police don’t rough people up.”
Kai grinned. “Don’t worry. I made it all up to him. I let him drive the Rolls-Royce yesterday.”
Silas jerked his head up. “You let Toby drive what?”
Kai shrugged. “Come on, Silas. Give the poor kid a break. He was thrilled. And careful,” he hurried to add, looking between Hunter and Silas. “Very careful.”
“Wait. Someone wanted to kill Jody as a publicity stunt? Who would do such a thing?” Nina asked, aghast.
Silas looked at the floor. Kai looked at Cruz, and Cruz looked at Silas.
“Moira,” Cruz said at last.
“Moira?” Tessa yelped, then covered her mouth.
Silas went still as a stone, as did everyone in the room. Jody, too, because Cruz had told her about Moira — the woman who’d broken Silas’s heart.
Jody crinkled her nose. She hated Moira as much as everyone, but all she felt for Silas was sorrow. It did explain a lot, though. His solitary lifestyle. The yearning in his eyes. She wouldn’t have thought a dragon would show flashes of vulnerability, but she’d glimpsed that side of him a few times.
“The gunman Vasco originally sent was a vampire, too,” Cruz growled, rescuing Silas from the awkward silence that ensued. “That would explain why I couldn’t pick up a scent at the resort.”
“But the attempt on Jody’s life failed, which is when Vasco came in,” Silas added wearily. “Apparently, he did some research and discovered there was mermaid blood in Jody’s father’s side of the family.”
“My stepfather, technically,” she explained to the others. “So it’s not in my blood. Poor Vasco was so disappointed.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
“There hasn’t been a mermaid sighting in decades, not even among shifters,” Silas said. “All the more reason for a vampire to want to—”
Cruz growled before Silas got to the suck Jody’s blood part. “The guy was sick, even for a vampire.” His eyes burned with hate.
Jody squeezed Cruz’s hand. He wasn’t just thinking of her; he was thinking of his family members murdered by Vasco for their rich tiger blood.
“He won’t be collecting any more flavors,” she reminded him. “You took care of that.”
“You, too,” Cruz whispered.
“You both did,” Kai added.
A quiet minute ticked by, and everyone grew somber. Each couple snuggled a little closer as if remembering their own trials. Cruz had filled Jody in on a few of their stories, so she knew she wasn’t the only one to have survived a nightmare. A nightmare with a happy end, she reminded herself, happy to have Cruz’s reassuring bulk at her side.
“Both of us did it, along with this.” She pulled the sapphire necklace from under her shirt and set it on the white tablecloth.
“The Waterstone,” Tessa said in a hushed voice. “Wow.”
“Your hunch was right,” Cruz said to Silas. “A Spirit Stone.”
Silas’s pained expression said he wished he hadn’t been right.
“It scares me a little,” Jody whispered, looking at it. Even now, the stone shot all kinds of watery images into her mind. Tranquil ones, like placid, misty lakes and quietly meandering rivers, but still. Who knew when the stone might demand that she summon a tidal wave?
“All the stones are scary in a way,” Nina agreed.
“All?” Jody looked at the others. Cruz had mentioned other Spirit Stones, but she’d had so much to absorb in such a short time, she hadn’t asked for details.
One by one, the other women pulled off necklaces or drew jewels from pockets. Dawn set out a glittering amethyst. Nina laid out a brilliant red ruby, her face soft with memories. Tessa added a glowing emerald to the collection and kept her hand on a lookalike pendant she wore around her neck.
“The Spirit Stones,” Silas said in the silence that ensued. “A long-lost dragon hoard with magical powers. The Lifestone. The Earthstone. The Firestone.” He pointed to each in turn. “And now, the Waterstone. In the right hands, their powers can be controlled — or at least directed toward worthy ends.”
Jody frowned at the sapphire. “I’m not so sure I did much controlling.”
Silas shook his head. “Few could direct a flood of that force, but you did.”
Tessa shot Jody a proud wink, while Dawn and Nina nodded, bolstering her mood. A lump grew in her throat as she saw the men join in, too, dipping their chins with respect for what she’d done. Her, the not-even-a-mermaid.
She looked at Cruz, who smiled, making her heart beat faster. Prouder. The Waterstone glowed, shooting a faint beam of blue light in her direction.
“In the right hands, the power of the Spirit Stones is not to be feared so much as respected,” Silas said. “But in the wrong hands…”
No one said a word. No one even shooed Keiki off the table. The kitten pranced from person to person, blissfully ignorant as each person petted her, lost in their own thoughts.
“So that’s that. It’s over,” Jody said, looking around. “Everything’s okay now, right?”
The silence in the room was resounding, and everyone looked pained.
“What?” she asked, looking from face to face. What was wrong?
No one seemed eager to be the bearer of bad news until Tessa spoke up. “There’s one more Spirit Stone.”
Silas tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “The Windstone.”
Jody tightened her grip on Cruz’s hand. Why did that not sound good?
“The Spirit Stones call to each other,” Cruz said in a low, raspy voice. “When one awakes, it calls to the others.”
“They call to shifters, too. Powerful shifters,” Kai added.
Jody clenched her fist before her fingers trembled. “Such as?”
Kai shrugged, but the gesture didn’t mask his concern. “All kinds of shifters. But dragons above all.”
Jody glanced at Silas. She’d never forget the size of his dragon’s shadow or the thunderous roar he’d emitted along with crackling flames. In human form, he seemed so controlled, so sophisticated. As a dragon, he had been terrifying.
“Good dragons?” she ventured. After all, Kai, Tessa, and Silas were all dragon shifters, and they were nice. That boded well for the species, right?
Tessa shook her head. “Bad dragons are after the Spirit Stones, too.”
“Drax,” Kai spat out the name.
Jody leaned back in her seat. Whoever Drax was, she never wanted to tangle with him.
“And now Moira,” Kai muttered. “Sorry, Silas. It has to be said. Whatever she was in the past… She’s changed.”
Silas fingered the tablecloth, rubbing one spot as if to erase a smudge. If Keiki hadn’t come over and pawed at it, too, he might have scratched a hole right through the fabric.
“Here, Keiki,” he whispered, leaning over for a ball of yarn. He threw it across the floor, watching the ball unravel.
Jody watched, too. Something about the long red strand reminded her of a dragon’s tail, and not in a good way. Then Keiki pounced, conquering it.
Kai spoke loud and clear as if hoping those other dragons, wherever they were, could hear. “If nothing else, they haven’t been cocky enough to march in here and take us on in a direct fight. Our power has grown, Silas. They respect that.”
It was a pep talk, Jody realized, though it didn’t seem to bolster Silas much.
“Maybe,” he murmured, still intent on the tablecloth.
“Definitely,” Tessa said, backing Kai up. “We have four stones. Drax has none. The Windstone is slumbering, and you know what?”
Her defiant tone made everyone look up.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” Tessa continued. “Another stone brought to safety. A new friend and ally.” She raised her glass at Jody then smiled mischievously at Cruz. “And best of all, we can celebrate the fact that Cruz hasn’t been pacing holes into the ground or complaining about humans for an entire hour.”
Everyone laughed, and Boone added, “Amen.”
Cruz looked ready to protest, but Kai slapped him on the back, teasing him. “So whatever happened to humans being…what was it, again?”
“Unpredictable,” Tessa filled in immediately.
Cruz aimed a finger at Jody. “She is unpredictable.”
“Hey!” she protested.
“What about irrational?” Boone joked.
The dawn of a smile played over Cruz’s lips, but Jody saw him fight it away. “She is irrational.”
She snorted. “Says the man who lives in a tree house.”
“What about dangerous? I seem to remember something about that.” Kai laughed.
“Have you seen her surf? She is dangerous.”
“Am not,” Jody laughed, looping an arm across his shoulders.
Cruz caught her free hand and looked at her with sparkling eyes. “You’re all of those things — and more. That’s why I love you.”
Tessa sighed. Kai grinned from ear to ear, and Nina sniffled. Well, Jody thought that’s who it was, but she wasn’t sure, not with her vision focused on Cruz. The outside world was fading away again, leaving everything a blur except her and him.
She nodded to herself. It was easy to get caught up in scary thoughts. But the truth was that life was beautiful. Love was beautiful.
“I believe,” she whispered to no one in particular.
Cruz seemed to know exactly what she meant because he murmured, too. “I believe.” Then he snapped back to attention and looked around with chagrin. A moment later, he was on his feet and pulling her with him.
“You believe what?” Boone asked.
“I believe my mate and I have… What was it? Pressing business,” Cruz announced, heading for the trail to his place.
Jody’s neck tingled, and her cheeks flushed as a dozen steamy scenarios flashed through her mind.
“Thanks for the pancakes,” she called over her shoulder, barely remembering to be polite to her new, um — friends? Neighbors? Family? Yes, family sounded good. Then she dashed off with her man. “They were delicious.”
“I’ll show you delicious,” Cruz growled, breaking into a trot.
She giggled as they turned the corner, and by the time they made it to the footbridge, she’d undone the top button of her blouse, thinking ahead. She thought back, too, over everything that had happened since that crazy night at the golf club. Cruz had gone from potential enemy to ally, bodyguard, and lover.
Mate, a voice grumbled in her mind. A feline voice, throaty yet feminine at the same time.
Wow. It was really happening. Someday, she’d be able to shift like Cruz did. But right now… She was all human, full of human desires.
She stopped Cruz with a firm tug, wrapped him in a surprise hug, and covered his lips with hers. Suddenly, she was insatiable with more than just human desires.
“Tiger desires,” Cruz mumbled, reading her mind. He ran one hand up the inside of her shirt and the other down her rear.
She pressed her body against his, trying to touch him everywhere at once. “Watch out, mister. When I get this tiger thing down pat, I’ll be coming at you with my own mating bite.” She nipped his neck.
“I’ll watch out, then.” He chuckled.
“You’d better believe it.”
“That, I do.” He grew serious and cupped her face in both hands. “I believe, my mate.”