Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 12 - Sarah

The wood-burning fire crackles appetizingly in front of me, and I watch its orange dance as I curl up on the couch under a fluffy blanket. It’s good to be home—especially since, for a long moment, I didn’t think I’d make it here.

I was so cold and wet when I came in that sitting right next to the fire barely made a dent in how freezing I was. But the fire’s been going for a while, and the room has gradually become cozier and cozier. Behind me, there’s the light clattering of dishes as Rufus makes hot chocolate. I don’t want to look at him—he’s still naked from his dragon’s shift, save for my largest towel, which still looks tiny on him. I didn’t have any clothing that would come close to fitting a large man like him, except perhaps the fluffy blanket, but he insisted I needed that more than he did.

I’m still kind of confused, kind of taken aback by how intense this has all gotten so fast. One moment, the guy irritated the hell out of me; the next, I couldn’t keep my hands off him; the next, I’m spilling my guts to him—telling him things I haven’t even told my best friends.

But… after everything that’s happened, it’s nice having him here. I can hear him moving about in my kitchen, and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It feels natural.

“Here,” Rufus says, handing me a steaming mug, “Let me know if it needs anything—I can add more cream and sugar if you want.”

I take a sip and sigh.

“Oh, it’s perfect. Right temp, right sweetness—right everything.”

He chuckles, sitting down with his own cup.

“Good,” he replies, “I thought I knew how you liked it, but I second-guessed myself as I was bringing it over.”

I frown and smile at him at the same time.

“How would you know how I liked my hot chocolate?”

He averts his gaze, giving me a shake of the head and a shrug at the same time.

“I don’t know,” he replies, “I just picked it up from somewhere, I guess.”

And he remembered?

I feel like there was a time not too recently when I would have found that unsettling, but right now... I don’t know. Maybe I just need to embrace all of this. It’s too exhausting to fight, and… this is nice. Just sitting on my couch, sipping a milky hot chocolate with a man I realize I can really, really trust.

Perhaps tomorrow, we’ll be back to our arguments, but in a weird way, I’m looking forward to that, too.

I just… like being with Rufus. I feel like I can trust him. I just wonder if he feels the same.

We sip hot chocolate for a moment longer, and then I gently break the silence:

“Rufus?”

“Yeah?” he asks, voice gently but his attention snapping onto me.

“I asked you why you cared so much,” I murmur, “and you deflected—asking me why I cared as a police officer.”

“Yeah?” he says again, his voice still gentle.

“Well, I’ll tell you why I care as a police officer if you’ll tell me why you care.”

He swallows his next mouthful of hot chocolate a little more awkwardly than the last few. But he nods, the lightest ghost of a smile on his lips.

I look down at the mug in my hands, swirling the appetizing brown drink inside.

“I’m sure Lena has let you all know that we were friends since we were kids,” I say, “But when we were all in school together, and as usually happens, there were bullies. Lena and I became friends when some mean girl had taken her schoolbooks, and she was threatening to throw them into the school pond. I didn’t know Lena at the time, but when I saw that, it made my child self angry. It was just so unfair, so I stepped in.”

Rufus chuckles lightly.

“You little hero,” he murmurs.

I smile and shrug back.

“I don’t know,” I reply, blushing a little, “I’ve always been like that. When I saw something unfair happening, I always felt like I had to do something. But yeah, after I took Lena’s book back and pushed the bully in the pond, we were fast friends.”

“I guess Lena knew a good thing when she saw it,” Rufus agrees.

I give a flattered laugh.

“I was always like that,” I continue, “I always hated it when I saw people getting bullied, or when I saw something unfair happening, or when I saw someone cheating, but I didn’t really settle on being a police officer until much later. You remember Peyton? I don’t know how much you’ve talked with her.”

“Yeah, I remember Peyton,” Rufus says, “She comes to your book club every time.”

“Yeah, good,” I say briskly, “Well, it was a while ago now, but at some point Peyton’s house was broken into. It was awful—she and her three boys were sleeping in the same house when it happened, and she was freaking out afterward. They’re all about Rosie’s age now, but I think the oldest was six when this happened. She was so upset. For days, she couldn’t sleep in that house—she sent the boys to be with other family and spent some time crashing on couches around friends because she just didn’t feel safe…”

I stare off into my hot chocolate for a moment.

“That’s awful,” Rufus says quietly.

“I know,” I growl, “But the worst part was that the cops didn’t do jack shit.”

“What?” Rufus asks, “They didn’t?”

“Well, they sent some officers round, had a snoop around—but the thing is, they basically got it into their head that it was this one guy,” I grumble, “Now, I won’t tell you who he is because I don’t want you looking at him differently, but everyone and their mom could have told you it wasn’t this guy. It was just not possible—we’d grown up with him, and he wouldn’t do that. Point blank. But what’s even worse is that we knew the dirtbag who probably did it.”

“You did?” Rufus asks.

“We all did,” I answer, “It was town gossip forever —you know, I probably shouldn’t tell you his name either, since it’s probably not a good idea to release the dragons on him—but everyone knew the scumbag who probably did it. Barely anyone knew him after he moved in, and the people who did, didn’t like him. Plus, he skipped town suddenly one morning, and that was weird—until Peyton told us all that she’d been robbed in the night later.”

Rufus gives a bitter, angry laugh.

“I know, right?” I say, “The cops had it in their head that it was this guy. Everyone said, “No, chase this other guy!” But they didn’t. They arrested their guy, wasted a bunch of time questioning him and raiding his house, and what a surprise, it wasn’t him. By the time they realized they’d gotten the wrong guy and let him go, the scumbag who actually did it must have been long gone. And you know what they did then?”

“What?” Rufus asks quietly.

I slam a fist into the armrest on the couch.

“Nothing!” I snap, “They released the guy they had and then closed the case! I guess they couldn’t be bothered to do everything they needed to do to track him down. They just figured that he wasn’t Greyson Ridge’s problem anymore, so they closed it.”

I growl a little under my breath.

“It didn’t matter to them that Peyton and the boys needed closure. She was in a panic. Hell, Greyson Ridge was in a panic because this horrible thing happened, and the police picked up the wrong guy, then gave up before they found the right one.”

I finally meet Rufus’s gaze again. His gaze is intense but sympathetic.

“You should have seen it,” I tell him, “People just didn’t feel safe anymore, Rufus. It was more than just the cops letting one guy get away. It was how it destroyed the idea that Greyson Ridge was safe, but if it ever weren’t safe, someone would be there to help.”

He nods sternly. There’s a rich understanding in his eyes, and I feel like he’s truly listening.

“So… that’s why I care,” I answer, “Not because I like the police more than the average person—in fact, I was pissed off with them after what they did to Peyton and her family—I just knew that the only way a lot of people around here would feel safe would be if someone they trusted were taking that role seriously, and I wanted to help. I don’t want to see everyone shuffling around scared anymore. That’s why I care.”

Rufus leans forward and puts his hand on mine. His smile sends the smallest shiver through me.

“You’re a better officer than any of them,” he says firmly.

I smile a coy grin.

“You know what, yeah, I am, and I’m not scared to say it,” I reply, “I worked my ass off to become sheriff so quickly, and I kicked them all in the balls here to get them moving. No more lazy cops, or they’d be kicked to the curb.”

Rufus chuckles.

“You little hero,” he says again.

Again, I blush a little before I answer.

“I don’t know. It was what Greyson Ridge needed. It worked, too; this was a very nice little town where people felt really safe. Well—” I scowl at him playfully, “—it was until you dragons turned up and brought all the magic and bullshit with you.”

Rufus chuckles lightly.

“Sorry about that,” he murmurs.

“It’s fine,” I answer, “If you’re all going to stay and protect Greyson Ridge properly from the threats the police can’t, you’ll make up for it.”

He chuckles.

“I’m sure we can get Cyrus to agree to that,” Rufus says.

I give him a crooked smirk.

“Don’t you do anything without his permission?”

Rufus chuckles lightly. He puts his empty cup aside and slides closer to me on the couch. I feel his leg press against mine, separated by the blanket I’m still cuddled under. I drag the blanket out from around me and spread it over him. Now, his bare thigh, his hot skin rests against mine. Despite being exhausted from freezing to death, I’d love to rub my hand over his thigh, crawling further inwards and seeing where that leads us...

“Well,” Rufus purrs, “I married you. We had that amazing night in the car. I’m pretty sure he didn’t intend for me to spend the night here, either. I’ve never broken command before, but apparently, for you, I will.”

I feel a warm glow. I don’t know the details of dragons and their Alpha, but if it’s anything like wolves, the idea that he’d break command specifically for me… I can’t help but feel special. I nestle my head into his collarbone, and his arm slinks around mine in return, warming me faster than the fire ever could.

“Well, I’m glad about that,” I murmur, “If you hadn’t, I might have frozen to death by now. Or the dragon would have taken me god knows where and done god knows what to me.”

A little growl rumbles in his chest—something more draconic than his regular tones.

“Yes…” He says, “I don’t like that we don’t know why they did that yet…”

I nod. I snuggle further into him, breathing in his gentle, spicy scent.

“We’ll figure it out,” I reply.

Rufus gives a light grunt. He turns his head into my hair—I feel him plant a kiss on my head. We just embrace each other in silence for a moment. Then, he murmurs:

“I suppose it’s my turn now, isn’t it?”

“To do what?” I say, head against his chest

“Tell you why I care,” he answers.

I sit up a little.

“Yeah?”

“To be honest, I understand exactly what you mean when you say it was always in you to try and help people,” Rufus says, “Because I was the same. Even down to seeing someone else getting bullied and feeling like I had to do something about it.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “If you imagine how mean human children are, imagine dragon children. Except, the ones who were picking on Amelie were much older and bigger than her. I was already friends with Cyrus—this was long before he became Alpha, by the way—so I couldn’t just stand by and watch them bullying my friend’s little sister.”

He gives a light chuckle. I feel it rumble all the way through his chest under my head.

“I’m not as noble as you; I didn’t step in to protect a stranger,” he says, “But I know how you feel; I hate seeing people treated that way. I suppose it was good it was Amelie I saved though, because even though it was a long time before Cyrus became Alpha, or even before the Candara team was formed, I know he remembered that. It’s probably why I’m on the team now.”

He rubs his face through my hair again.

“But that’s not as interesting,” he chuckles.

I just nod. I wonder if he’s aware of what I meant when I asked why he cared or if he’s deflecting again…

I snuggle even further into his warm body.

I suppose it doesn’t matter why he cares… the only thing that matters is that he does…