Zircon (Awakened Sea Dragons Book 1) Read online

  “So where are you from?”

  His thick brows drew into a frown. “I already told you.”

  “I mean before the beach. Where are you originally from?”

  He scratched his head and looked honestly troubled.

  She pushed the lemonade toward him.

  “Here, maybe you’re overheated. Try this.”

  He picked it up and threw it back in almost one swallow, leaving her stunned. Then he wiped his mouth. The motion made him seem almost savage. With his looks, she’d sort of expected someone refined and polite. But this man was rougher than he looked, and maybe even dangerous.

  “That was good. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said.

  He looked out at the beach and his body went a little tense as his brows lowered. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how.

  As someone who often worked as a bartender, she picked up on these things.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He shrugged, turning back to her and giving her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Whatever was wrong, he wasn’t eager to tell her about it. “People will be coming soon, won’t they?”

  “Dinner rush,” she said. “It always gets busy. You’re welcome to stay. I can save you a table.”

  “Do you have other workers?”

  “No,” she said. “I mean, I should, but Drew is picky, and—”

  “And Drew is that man who just left?”

  “Yes,” she said, suddenly embarrassed to admit she let Drew push her around like that. “But anyway, there aren’t a lot of teens or anything I could hire around here, and I can’t exactly pay a lot when I only need them through the high season.”

  He frowned, running a finger along the rim of his open glass. “I could help you. My brother and sister, too.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You all live around here?”

  He looked up at her and nodded.

  “Where?”

  He took a deep breath, shoulders rounding, and then steeled himself and pointed a hand out toward the beach.

  “What?” she asked, straightening and looking in the direction he was pointing.

  He was trying to tell her something she clearly wasn’t understanding, but there was no way he could mean…

  “On the beach,” he said. “We’re living on the beach.”

  Memories came back to her of people over the past week talking about a homeless guy on the beach approaching them. She’d never seen any of it, so she assumed they were just being judgmental about one of the surfing locals.

  But they’d said he was beautiful.

  She looked him over. “Wait. You’re homeless?”

  He snorted, folding his arms across his chest and having the audacity to look offended. “Of course not. My home is the…” He trailed off, clearing his throat. He looked at her frankly. “Yes. I’m homeless.”

  She felt her hands trembling as she set down the glass she was cleaning. She leaned on the counter behind her and took a deep breath, wondering if she could believe this crazy person.

  But somehow, staring at her with those frank, blue eyes, he didn’t seem like the type that would lie.

  “And your siblings, your brother and sister, they’re out there?”

  He nodded.

  She bit her lip, trying to make her heart stop racing as she looked out at the beach. “Take me to them.”

  He stood and waved for her to follow him. She untied her apron and left it on the bar and then locked the back and front doors so she could leave for a moment.

  She had no idea how someone like him could end up homeless, but she was going to reserve judgment until she found out more. She owed him at least that much.

  Chapter 2

  I might just be in love with this human, Seaton thought to himself, trepidation rising in him as he walked down the beach in the direction of their camp.

  He had never been particularly drawn to treasure, unlike many other dragons on land or sea, and he had also never been very interested in the many females who had come on to him whenever he’d come to land.

  But Jenny was different. She was the first human in this new world to give him a chance, to not run from him, and he hadn’t even been able to introduce himself in the way he’d wanted.

  He hadn’t had a choice because some awful man had the audacity to put his hand on Seaton’s mate.

  Mate. That was an odd concept. Seaton had never been sure that sea dragons even had mates, given that they weren’t usually on land long enough to bond like that. As legendary monsters of the sea who helped those upon it, they didn’t have time for things like settling with a gorgeous, caring woman in a little hut of their own.

  Perhaps their life in this new world would make up for it.

  The thought pleased him immensely.

  She’d called him homeless, and it still made him want to melt away in embarrassment, but she also had asked to come see his siblings and their camp, and she seemed like the first person who might be willing to help.

  Her being his mate, if she was, only made the situation that much more perfect.

  He hoped she was, that he could trust his instincts, that the fact that he’d been awakened and sent to land without access to his dragon form meant he would finally get to rest.

  She was struggling in the deep sand, and he thought about picking her up, since with his strength, he could carry her easily with one arm, but decided against it.

  She looked like the type that might object to suddenly losing contact with the ground.

  She stopped close to the water’s edge and looked around, hands on her generous, curvy hips. “So where are they?”

  He motioned for her to follow him to a small grove of trees on the far end of the beach. When he got to the small clearing with their fire area and some scattered clothing, he felt himself flush in embarrassment.

  He was a dragon, after all, and this was only temporary. Of course, Marina and Kai weren’t in view, cloaked as they were and standing a few feet off.

  “They might have gone to the bathroom,” he said extra loud for them to hear him. “I’m sure they’ll be back in a moment.” He was trying to tell them to make sure to appear to come from a direction that looked natural.

  A few moments later, they appeared, and Jenny jumped back and stumbled into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist to catch and steady her, and she pushed herself back to a standing position as Marina and Kai came closer.

  “Holy crap, you’re all tall,” Jenny said.

  Marina grinned. She’d always liked human women, flirting with them as much as she did men. Seaton would have to warn her to stay away from Jenny, as she was his mate.

  Hopefully, she would respect that.

  But he doubted it.

  Marina folded her arms under her huge, barely-covered chest and looked at Jenny, blue eyes sparkling. “Seaton, are you going to introduce us?”

  Jenny looked up at him over her shoulder. “You’re Seaton?”

  “Yes,” he said, wishing he’d kept his arms around her longer.

  She stepped forward, extending a hand to Marina. “Hello, I’m Jenny.”

  Marina’s eyes sparkled at Seaton as she took both of Jenny’s hands softly in hers. “I am Marina.” She held them tight as she looked over Jenny, cocking her head as she appraised the smaller human appreciatively. Then her eyes met Seaton’s, a hint of competitive challenge in them before she turned back to Jenny. “You’re beautiful, human.”

  Seaton stepped in between them quickly, clearing his throat. “That’s enough.”

  Jenny looked between him and Marina awkwardly, but then decided to let it go, to Seaton’s relief. Marina didn’t mean any harm, but needed to control herself.

  Kai stepped out from behind Marina, looking coldly at Jenny with stormy blue eyes. His longer blond hair swung over one eye as he walked forward.

  He didn’t extend a hand as he approached, looking Jenny over. He made a slow circle around her,
eyes surveying her figure as Seaton resisted the urge to hit him.

  It wouldn’t do to display violence in front of Jenny before she decided whether to help them.

  “Jenny,” she said shortly, introducing herself to Kai and stepping subtly back into Seaton, as if for protection.

  The movement pleased him.

  Her back bumped his bare chest, and she whipped around to look into his eyes. Her face flushed and there was a sheen of sweat on her head, and she looked around her, almost panicked, before pushing her way past Kai and Marina and stumbling back out onto the beach.

  “Just a second,” she said, turning to put a finger up as she faced them. Her auburn hair whipped in the ocean wind, and thunder cracked overhead as the sky grew cloudy.

  “Kai,” Seaton warned.

  Kai just shrugged. “It’s going to rain soon,” he said matter-of-factly, as if he weren’t the one about to cause it.

  Jenny’s eyes widened slightly. She frowned. “Well, I can’t just leave all of you out here. I guess you’ll have to come home with me.”

  “Now?” Seaton asked. “But your restaurant.”

  “Can wait,” she said. “For now, I’ll say it’s closed due to an emergency. Right now we need to get you somewhere safe…” She looked at Marina. “Get you some clothes. Maybe see if there’s someone we can call.”

  “There’s no one you can call,” Marina said sharply, stepping forward with a lifted chin. “They are all dead.”

  Well, that was harsh but true.

  Jenny put a hand to her head, as if it were hurting her, and Seaton wanted to go to her. Then she dropped it and sighed. “The police, then? Who do you want me to call for you?”

  “No one,” Marina said proudly. “If you cannot help us, we will stay here.”

  Jenny sighed and cast a look at the ocean. Another crack of thunder sounded, and Seaton didn’t know whether to punch Kai for bringing the pressure of a storm or hug him for helping Jenny come to a decision.

  “Fine,” she said. “Just one night. Just until you have somewhere to go and you’re back on your feet. And only because he helped me.”

  Marina smiled at Seaton, and it felt like the sun coming out over the ocean.

  Light cracked through the clouds as they kicked sand over their fire and hid whatever else they needed to in order to look as if they had never been there.

  It would be so good to be under a roof, safe and dry, and with his mate.

  Jenny looked up at the sky as they walked back toward the restaurant at a brisk pace. “Looks like it’s not going to rain after all.”

  Seaton followed after her, trying to stay between her and Marina, who seemed fascinated with the curvy little human. Kai was walking behind, sulking as usual.

  Seaton couldn’t wait to see his mate’s home.

  Jenny couldn’t believe she was going to bring these three lost, derelict-looking supermodels into her home.

  She had no idea how people who looked like this ended up on a beach in only ragged castoffs, but they seemed genuinely desperate for her help.

  And she couldn’t leave anyone out on the beach in the rain.

  The girl, Marina, had long, blond hair and the kind of tall, curvaceous body Jenny had always envied. A total bombshell. But her hair was matted with seawater and her clothing didn’t cover her. She had sand stuck to her, and despite her obvious confidence and sexual charm, she looked a little lost.

  Jenny wrinkled her nose, thinking she’d never had a woman look her over like that, but maybe Marina was a bit crazy.

  Maybe they were all crazy to be living on a public beach in a bunch of trees. Judging by the fish bones she’d seen, their diet hadn’t been great either.

  She walked them to her car, bemoaning only for a second the fact that her visitors would get sand and seaweed all over it. She opened the back, then turned to her three guests and frowned. Were people that tall even going to fit in her car? “Marina, you and Kai can sit back here. Seaton, you can sit up front with me.”

  Of them all, she trusted Seaton the most. It wasn’t just that he’d saved her earlier. He had a calmness about him that steadied her, made her instantly trust him.

  She immediately liked Marina as well, despite her reservations, but she wasn’t sure about Kai. With his harder features, darker blue eyes, and slightly longer, wavy hair, he sort of looked like Seaton’s evil twin. Though, looking closely, Kai seemed like the younger brother.

  Marina gave her a dazzling smile before getting into the backseat, and Jenny worried for a second about how beautiful this girl was going to be when she got a proper rest and cleaned up. Kai scowled at her as he followed but then turned at the last minute and gave Jenny a look that was almost… soft.

  Then he regained his hard demeanor and sat in the backseat, looking petulantly ahead of him.

  She shut the door for them and walked around to the passenger’s side, where Seaton was staring down at the door. She opened it for him with a smile.

  Maybe they hadn’t been sleeping out here. Maybe they were dehydrated or food deprived. Or maybe they’d taken some drugs and had a bad trip. There had to be some explanation for the fact that Seaton was staring at the car as though it were some kind of alien.

  He finally got in, pulling the door shut behind him, and Jenny got in on the driver’s side, shutting her door.

  “My first time in a land ship!” Marina said happily.

  What the…? But Jenny shook off any judgmental thought and just focused on getting home. “Seat belts on, everyone,” she said as she put on her own.

  There was awkward silence from all around.

  “I’m not going to restrain myself in this dangerous beast,” Kai said grumpily.

  Marina squirmed awkwardly. “Kai…”

  Seaton took a deep breath, as if steeling himself, then reached for the seat belt and, after a few clumsy motions, clicked it into place. “Both of you do as she says.”

  There was slight grumbling as Kai and Marina complied. Jenny was relieved, as she had no idea how she was supposed to force any of these giant, gorgeous people to do what she asked.

  She gave Seaton a grateful smile, and he smiled back, his head tilted against the ceiling because he was clearly too large for the car.

  Obviously, Honda Fits weren’t meant for giant castaways.

  As she pulled out, she heard exclamations from Marina and muttering from Kai, but Seaton just looked out the window, a slight expression of concern on his face.

  She knew she should probably take them to a shelter or call the police or something. What if they were fugitives? What if someone was missing them? How did they end up on the beach, and why were they staying there?

  So many questions.

  But they clearly didn’t want her to call anyone, and her gut instinct said they were harmless. She wasn’t one to usually take risks with people, but she knew Seaton would keep them in line.

  At least until she figured out what was going on.

  As she pulled onto the main road that led to her house, she was glad Seaton had come into the bar that day. If she hadn’t met him, he and his family would still be on the beach. She turned on her wipers as rain began to fall lightly.

  “Kai,” Marina said.

  “It’s not me,” he said grumpily.

  What on earth were they talking about? Jenny shook her head and focused on the road. She had to keep herself from getting distracted any more than she already was if she wanted to get them home safely.

  After all, she lived up in the hills and the road there was winding and narrow.

  She was glad that the only house available in her budget when she’d moved had a few extra bedrooms. She’d thought to foster at some point but had gotten busy with the restaurant.

  Now she could put those bedrooms to use.

  She palmed the wheel again as she took them all deeper into the hills. Soon she’d be home. Home with three strangers she’d let in of her own will.

  She laughed quietly to herself
and noticed Seaton watching her. Something about his beautiful eyes was so unnerving. She trusted him above all, yet somehow, he felt the most dangerous. Perhaps because she’d been alone for a long time—maybe resolved herself to be alone forever—and looking at him was stirring old needs and desires.

  And she couldn’t afford to feel like that about someone she shouldn’t be taking advantage of. After all, a beautiful man wandering around the beach in only torn cutoffs, who only gave his first name and lived on the beach with his homeless siblings, wasn’t really relationship material.

  He just needed help, and that was all she was going to give him.

  No matter how much he gave her that heated, sexy smile that made her want more.

  Chapter 3

  “I don’t trust her,” Kai said, looking at the house around them as Jenny led Seaton and his siblings inside.

  It was on older house surrounded by the trees up in the hills above the coast, and Seaton felt the second he saw it that it had the impression of home.

  He hadn’t often gone to land in his time, mostly to meet with other dragons or discuss upcoming threats, but when he had, he’d never felt quite at home with a roof over his head.

  Then again, the “houses” from his day—hard stone and thatch—were nothing like the house in front of him now.

  The door had been painted a faded red, and the outside was a grayish-blue color. It was large, the size for several families he guessed, with two stories and many glass windows looking outside.

  They were in the “living room,” as Jenny called it, and Seaton felt his quickly adaptable dragon mind taking in everything around him.

  “What do you think?” she asked nervously. “I haven’t been here that long, so it isn’t that nice yet, but I have plans to fix it up.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Marina said. She walked to a cushioned-looking object in the center of the room and sat on it, making Jenny wince.

  “Perhaps we should get you all showered and cleaned up,” she said.

  Marina stood from the couch, looking embarrassed, and Jenny shook her head.