Finding Faith (Return of the Dragons)

She brushed past him to go outside, and then stiffened as she caught just a hint of a scent on him. Eyes narrowed, she studied him closely as he said they needed to walk around the house, checking the brick and the foundation. She nodded, but she wasn’t sure she really heard a word he said.

That hint of a scent wouldn’t leave her nose, even as they moved farther apart while walking around the house. Was that… had that been a hint of fur? She couldn’t tell if that was what she’d smelled, or if she was imagining things.

Is Cody… is he a shifter? she asked her dragon.

Her animal was silent for several long moments before she replied, her voice puzzled and subdued. I… I don’t know.

Well, fuck.

Chapter 5

Cody

Cody glanced at Olivia surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. She was walking along beside him, her arms wrapped around herself, barely saying a word. And, like him, she kept snatching little glances when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Was that because of what her friends said? He couldn’t think of what else it could be. She’d been relaxing with him the more they talked downstairs, but after she was alone with them, she’d gone quiet on him.

He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but his hearing was excellent, and he’d heard what one of her friends—Paisley, he thought—was saying. At least, the tail end of it.

That Olivia shouldn’t let her fear be what stopped her from seeing where things could go between them… and that he’d been eating her up with his eyes.

That last part was absolutely the truth. He’d been doing it whenever she wasn’t looking, unable to help himself. It was like the past day since they’d met, he’d been starving to see her again. And once he did, he couldn’t stop looking.

He just hadn’t expected to get caught. But then, he hadn’t known her friends were up there. It’d been so quiet in the house, and no one had been downstairs. He just assumed they were all off doing their own things.

Not that he was ashamed to be looking at her like he was. He wasn’t, at all. But something inside him told him he needed to go slow and easy with her, so he’d tried not to make it obvious.

Something he was glad he was doing, after overhearing the first part. His instincts had been leading him in the right direction. But then, they rarely ever failed him. The one time they did—

No. He wasn’t going to think about that. Not here, and not now. Not while he had Olivia walking by his side.

Taking a moment to look more openly at her while she gazed at the mountains, he wondered what had caused her fear. Was it men in general? He didn’t know for sure, but judging by the way Paisley and Carlie were urging her to overcome her fear for him, he thought he was on the right track.

His gut tightened at the thought of her living in fear, and his hands clenched into fists as anger at an unknown foe simmered inside him. Whoever caused her to live her life afraid of others deserved at the least a serious beatdown.

He didn’t know her well at all yet, but it felt like he did. And she was good to her soul, he knew that already. The thought of someone hurting her had him all riled up.

The heat in his chest flared bright, and he swallowed down the rumble that went with it. Fuck, he was letting himself get too worked up. He needed to think of something else before that rumbling convinced him that the bastard who hurt her deserved more than just a few broken ribs and a cracked jaw.

Taking a deep breath and blowing it back out slowly, he studied the foundation and bricks on the exterior. It was all in surprisingly good shape, which was a good thing—because depending on just how much of a reno she and her friends wanted, this could end up being a costly project.

Speaking of her friends… “So, five of you live here?” She glanced over at him, her eyebrows raised and suspicion blossoming in her moss green eyes. “There are five bedrooms, and they’re all occupied, so I just wondered.”

Her tensed shoulders immediately loosened, and she gave him a smile. It was small, but it was genuine, so he’d take it. But he was also going to file that reaction away to think over later.

“Yeah. My sister Fiona and friend Sierra live here, too. They’re out exploring right now,” she replied with a wave of her hand toward the woods.

He nodded, silently thanking the fates that they’d bought a house on the other side of town from where he lived. And since both of them lived on the outskirts of their respective ends of town, that should be enough room.

The woods where he lived sometimes weren’t safe. Not unless a person was given explicit permission to roam.

“So, it’s basically like you’ve already got a tiny town living in your house, huh? With your sister and three friends.”

She laughed, and the light sound danced over his skin, creating a buzz. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. And like you, when it gets to be too much, I’m usually out here, either reading or just gazing at the land. It’s a beautiful spot.”

For a moment, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He wanted to tell her she was far more beautiful than the view, but he bit the words back. Gazing out at the surrounding land, he nodded, unable to deny her statement.

When he was younger—when he thought he still might be able to escape his duty to his people—he’d dreamed of buying this land and making this his home. He knew Rob would never come back after leaving for college, and he wanted to buy it from him.