Chapter One
Daphne Albright stepped off the plane and sucked in a breath of fresh air, grateful to be let out of the little metal box with wings. She rolled her shoulders and wished she could let her beast out, but this wasn’t the time or place. Her normally complacent beast had gotten stir-crazy while a mile high.
The familiar click of her cowboy boots on the pavement settled her on her way inside. She glanced back, sure that most airports dropped their passengers off directly inside the airport. If that didn’t let her know exactly how small this town was, the giant map inside made sure she knew. It reminded her of those playmats her brother had on his floor when he was younger.
Daphne didn’t understand why her brother had abandoned one of the largest and most secure dragon clans to go off and start one in the middle of nowhere, USA. But he needed her help, and she had no other choice than to oblige him. Even if she didn’t understand him, she still loved Casey.
When he called to ask her to help his mate through the change, Daphne had been unable to say no. She didn’t tell him that she’d spent the last six weeks helping new shifters and hadn’t had a break. She didn’t tell him how thinly stretched she felt. A scream of frustration tried to fight its way up her throat, but she swallowed it down and kept her chin high.
Falling apart wasn’t in Daphne’s repertoire. That was why she got to train the new dragons. Her absolute control made her a model shifter. So, when she found herself not looking forward to meeting her brother, she shoved the feeling aside and focused on what needed to be done.
Instead of dawdling in the itty-bitty airport, Daphne made her way toward the front door and pulled out her phone to request a ride-share service. While the app told her that a driver was on the way, the picture was a generic black silhouette. Daphne shrugged, not at all bothered by a human looking to hide his face. The beast inside her made her stronger than any human man.
The car listed on the app pulled up and the window rolled down. The man in the passenger seat took her breath away. His mahogany hair had been pulled back into a thick ponytail at the base of his skull. A narrow slit in his brow paired with the thick beard hugging his chin made him look rugged.
Daphne muttered a soft, “Damn.”
His brows furrowed as she approached, though. Daphne’s heart sank inch by inch. The driver shook his head, shifted gears, and sped off without so much as a word. She tilted her head in confusion and watched the tail end of the car vanish.
The man’s scent hung in the air, though. He smelled of spices and smoke.
“He was a fucking shifter,” Daphne whispered to herself.
***
Ford Coleman had no intention of fraternizing with the local shifters ever again. Just because she was an absolute hottie in cowboy boots didn’t mean a damn thing. He put the pedal to the floor and did his best to put distance between himself and the dragon woman at the airport.
He wasn’t a fool. He could see the similarities between her and one of the local shifters. They had to be related, a cousin or a sister. Ford’s beast thrashed and demanded he go back to pick her up, but Ford refused.
He wouldn’t ever be a part of a clan again. He wouldn’t let his beast attach to another woman. His last clan had broken him in ways that would never heal. If he had to endure the same pain again, he would never be able to pick up the pieces of his soul.
It was bad enough that he’d gotten pulled into the local clan’s last fiasco. In their search for someone hiding in the town, they’d stumbled upon Ford. While the female shifter harassed him, the one they’d been looking for all along came and attacked her. Since then, the clan had given Ford his space, but he was waiting for the day they came to tell him to join or get out.
He’d worked hard to set up a life here and didn’t want to abandon it, but if the new clan leader in town found out what Ford had done, it would be the end of him. The new clan leader wouldn’t like knowing there was a king killer in town.
To distract himself, Ford went back to his day job. No one said anything as he let himself into the restaurant’s kitchen. He checked the walk-in cooler for extra supplies, so he could test some new recipes for the menu. He needed to do something with his hands because his mind kept wandering back to the beauty at the airport.
Her honey colored hair had been pulled back into a perfect French braid that framed the look of shock in his rearview mirror as he drove away. He wished he could have stayed longer to study her long legs, barely covered by the short shirt dress she wore beneath her denim jacket.
He imagined she was a simple soul, that the only thing she needed in life was sunshine and a good fuck in the field.
Slamming the heel of his palm to his forehead, he told himself to forget about her. He couldn’t bring another woman into his life. Especially not one with ties to a clan.
Ford smacked a frying pan onto the burner. His co-workers shot him inquisitive looks, but he ignored them. He could barely think with his beast roaring inside him. Chopping and slicing calmed him, but only a little. No amount of knife-work would distract his beast from the damned woman.
He would never have another mate, so what was his dragon’s problem?
Chapter Two
Daphne took another car into town. Her brother’s text messages made her phone vibrate until she finally turned it to silent. There was something she needed to do before she went up to the cabin. She’d call him for a ride later.
Right now, she followed the smell of smoke and spice to a little restaurant tucked between two brick buildings. The inside was cozy, with little candles on every table and a gleaming bar running the length of the dining room.
Daphne could smell him everywhere. Her beast purred victoriously. Pretty driver-man was here. She took a seat at the bar and watched the kitchen door, her heart thumping in anticipation. She was going to corner him when he finally came out of hiding and demand to know why he’d abandoned her at the airport.
When the door swung open to reveal him, they both stared at each other. Daphne’s mind blanked at the sight of him. Her beast’s purr grew louder, consuming every thought that tried to make its way to the surface.
The dragon man cursed and ducked back behind the door. Daphne’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe he’d left her a second time. Who did he think he was?
She brushed aside her indignation and reminded herself that this man owed her nothing. Perhaps it would have been for the better if she gave up and called her brother so she could go meet the woman he’d fallen for. Daphne’s feet didn’t follow any kind of logic, though. When she stood, they directed her toward the kitchen door.
Someone shouted at her, but she ignored their warning and headed straight for the dragon man. She narrowed her eyes at him as she approached.
“What are you doing in a professional kitchen, woman?” He stepped back and raised his spatula like a weapon.
She laughed until he took her by the wrist and dragged her out through the back door. She let out an oof and was momentarily stunned by the sensation of his skin on hers. Why did her heart stutter like that? Was her face warm? Why was she so warm?
The man spun around and faced her without relinquishing her wrist. She stared up at him, dumbfounded.
“I want nothing to do with you or your clan. Do you hear me?” His voice rumbled with his beast.