Last Immortal Dragon (Gray Back Bears #6)(29)

Clutching onto his hand tighter, ignoring the slight sting of his heated skin against hers, she followed him toward the sound of the waterfall that was now blocked by the thick pine canopy above them.

“In storybooks, dragons protect treasure. Do you have piles of gold and gemstones buried deep in your mountains, and if so, can you draw me a treasure map? I’ve always wanted to swim in a pile of gold coins.”

He laughed and shook his head. “My treasure is this land. The mountains themselves are what my dragon protects.”

Her stomach fluttered at his open admission. She’d only been joking, but he’d gifted her with honesty. She looked around at the mountain peaks surrounding them, covered in evergreens. It was nothing but miles of rolling hills—beautiful, lush, and stoic.

Damon had bound himself to something that could never die. Like him.

With a shake of her head, she said, “Favorite period in time.”

“Medieval. God, I actually got to have fun then.”

Clara inhaled sharply. “The dragon legends. Those were you?”

“And my hybrid offspring at the time. Hellions, the lot of them.” There was a smile in his voice, and from here, she could see his cheeks swell with a grin at the memory. “You should’ve seen the castles, Clara. You would’ve loved that entire era. Well, most of it. We glutted ourselves on ash and, for the first time, I wasn’t hiding or convincing my offspring to hide. We could just be for that short period before I went into hiding again and allowed the stories of that time to fade to legend. I was too heartsick and reckless then, but damn, it felt good to let go. I took my first wife shortly after that to ground me again. I’d bred women before—humans—but I needed more than that to bring me back to my senses. I needed someone steady in my life. I didn’t care for her much, but I felt protective enough to see reason behind keeping my dragon hidden.”

Clara frowned and stifled the green tendrils of jealousy. He’d said he didn’t care for his first wife much, so why was she feeling so possessive? He’d lived for a very long time. Of course he’d been with other women. Smoothing the frown from her face, she said, “Favorite job.”

“Logger,” he said, void of hesitation.

“Wait, you were a lumberjack?”

“Does that surprise you?”

She looked back in the direction of his mansion, but she couldn’t see it through the trees anymore. “A little.”

“I wasn’t always wealthy. I’ve just had infinite time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. I’ve lost my money and gone completely broke several times over taking risks with finances. You caught me after a fifty year good run is all. I’ve done logging several times when the money was gone. It’s my fallback. The physical work settles my dragon and makes me feel almost…content. Even now, when I see the bears on their landings, when I watch them work, I miss it down to my bones.”

“Why don’t you work with them then if you miss it so much?”

“I hadn’t ever considered it before because I was trying to keep distance between myself and the bears. It was easier not to feel anything for them if I didn’t spend the extra time with the crews.” Damon led her out of the woods and onto a black pebble beach. He turned and unbuttoned his jeans with a wicked grin that transformed his face.

Naughty glint in his eyes, he shucked his pants and pulled his shirt over his head, undressing completely.

“We’re skinny-dipping?”

“Scared?”

“No.”

“Lie.”

“I’ve never done it before.”

Damon frowned and angled his head. “I’ve seen your body, Clara. Your beauty steals my breath away. I love all of you. Every pattern I can trace in your freckles, the soft curve of your breasts. Your smooth skin that is only for me to touch.” He reached forward and plucked a wild curl of her ruddy hair, then released it and watched it spring back into place. “I’m attracted to every single thing about you. You don’t have to be shy around me.”

She crinkled her nose at the surrounding woods. “It’s not you that I’m worried about. What if someone sees us?”

“A modest shifter? I thought I’d seen it all. This is private land, and no one ever comes here but me. This is my favorite place, and in all my years here, I’ve never seen anyone at my falls.”

Okay, she felt better now. With a shy smile, she pushed her shorts and panties down and took of her shirt, but when she looked up, Damon was diving gracefully into a wave. He came out of the dark water and shook out his hair like a dog, then gave her a playful grin and jerked his chin for her to join him.

With a giddy laugh, she ran across the river beach and into the lapping waves. When she reached him, she swam past and challenged him, “I’ll race you to the falls!”

She was breathless from exertion and laughter by the time she lost rather badly to Damon in a race to the pounding water and its surrounding mist cloud. In the fog, it felt more private, and she relaxed completely in his arms as he held her and swam her in slow circles until their feet touched the craggy bottom right by the waterfall. His eyes stayed trained on her as though he’d never seen anyone as beautiful.

“This is fast, isn’t it?” she asked. “To feel this deeply about another person in such a short time?”