She leaned in against him, inhaling clean sweat and grass and pure summer air. “Okay. I’ll try.”
Now that she was getting used to the beautiful new yard and feeling safe in Liam’s arms again, she remembered the one thing that had bugged her that day and wondered whether she should tell him.
His arms were over her back, and she decided maybe she wouldn’t. It was just odd, but she’d felt as if she were followed and wasn’t sure what to make of it. She hadn’t felt threatened exactly, but just the feeling someone was watching. That there was something paranormal around.
Then again, she was probably just paranoid because she was learning there was a whole other world around her that she hadn’t known about. She wanted to know more about shifters, more about his world and history, but she knew it was fair enough for him to say he couldn’t tell her more until she was truly committed to him.
And she couldn’t say she was ready for that, as much as she wanted to.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling back and stroking her hair.
“Nothing,” she said.
“I haven’t told you this yet, but we dragons can read minds. Some, like Aegis, do it more flagrantly. But my kind would rather not do it against someone’s will. We would rather they tell us their thoughts on their own.”
She sighed. “I’m still not used to this whole dragon thing.” She wagged a finger at him. “And no reading my thoughts.”
His teal eyes were patient, amused. “All right. Tell me what’s bothering you, then.”
She looked up at him regretfully. “I can’t. I just… I’m not ready.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod, taking her hand in his and leading her over the lawn. “Let me show you what I did today and tell you what I have planned.”
She followed him as he showed her around, telling her what he’d done, talking about the extra water needed while the sod was taking root, and then taking her from bed to bed while telling her what plants or flowers he would like to put there.
She could see neighbors come out through the night, and a few actually waved.
She flushed, thinking it was probably rare for anyone to see her out here because she was usually either resting or staying in her home. Now, with a yard that didn’t look like a bunch of junk and with actual time enjoying the evening air, she felt she was actually living like a normal person.
He looked up at her. “You okay? You’re zoning off again.”
She shook her head with a smile. “No. Sorry. I was just thinking that it’s so odd. I’m learning how to finally live a normal life, and I’m being shown by a medieval dragon.”
He scratched the back of his head. “Not exactly medieval.”
“Wherever you’re from, it isn’t here, yet you seem better at living here than I am.”
He put his arms around her waist and squeezed her tight, grinning down at her. “I just want to give you the best life possible. I wasn’t living like this before I met you.”
“What were you doing?”
“Sailing, exploring the world, trying to find a place where I belonged. Where I could have a home. A mate.”
“And you found one?” she asked, wonderingly.
“Yeah, and her yard was a piece of crap.”
She laughed and jokingly pounded him in the shoulder. “Shut up! Stop it.”
He laughed and ran away from her, and she chased him into the backyard, where she stopped when she saw all the beautiful sod laid there, too.
He walked back to stand beside her with folded arms. “You like it?”
It was hard not to get emotional again, seeing how beautiful her land looked, how big it looked properly landscaped and taken care of.
She escaped a bad relationship, but she’d really only been escaping, not living. Dealing with angry neighbors, letting the land around her practically rot in mess while she barely survived.
It was just like he’d brought some beauty into her life. Showed her there was more than just getting by.
She actually looked forward to coming home from work now. Not just because of the yard, but seeing him and how happy Tank was. Just in general, he hadn’t only landscaped her yard. He’d landscaped her life.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, putting an arm around her.
She leaned in. “How much would this usually cost me?”
“I have no idea in human money,” he said. “But I know that for me, your happiness is payment enough.”
“You’re silly,” she said, feeling a blush burn over her cheeks. “Come on inside. The least I can do is give you dinner.”
He grinned and walked inside with her, patting his leg for Tank to follow them in.
14
In the middle of the night, Kate awoke from a pleasant dream somewhat startled, as if she’d heard something while still asleep.
She looked around, heart pounding, and heard an unfamiliar, sudden sound coming from outside her bedroom door. Immediately, she felt gooseflesh rise up and down her arms.
Her house had its fair share of creaks and groans at times, but there was something eerie in the air around them, permeating the entire room.
She put a hand on the bed next to her in the darkness, checking for Liam, wondering if she should wake him, when she realized he was already up, standing at the foot of the bed between her and whatever was making the noise at the door.
“Shh,” he said quietly, brows furrowed, body rigid as he seemed to be taking in everything around them.
Another creak sounded, and Tank began barking. Not his friendly, look-there’s-a-person bark, but a worried, frantic barking she rarely ever heard. He was safely downstairs in his kennel, so hopefully he wouldn’t be anywhere near the intruder, but she still worried about what was going on.
All the lights were off, and with the moon waning, she could barely make out Liam’s huge, shirtless shape as he made his way to the bedroom door.
And then the door opened, and horror flooded through Kate as she made out the darkened silhouette of someone standing there in the doorway, obscured by the unlit hallway so she saw less of the form of the person and more the absence of hallway where the shape stood.
Liam leapt through the doorway, tackling the figure that was almost nearly as large as he was, and she heard a loud thump rock the house as they hit the floor. For a moment, Kate panicked, unsure if she should call the police.
Outside, Tank’s barking doubled.
Loud thumps and crashes, punctuated by the sounds of punching and grunting, echoed throughout the house, and for a moment, she feared the house might crumble the shaking was so intense from the struggle.
But summoning her courage, Kate jumped out of bed, grabbing her robe and throwing it on as she ran to the door. She flicked on the hallway light and illuminated the upper floor.