The Dragon’s Brave Nanny (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #4)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

***KEITH***

K eith was in no mood for a walk, but after Max had scolded him for working too hard and ignoring his son, he really had no choice but to go find him. Trudging through the sand wasn’t improving his mood any, and he grumbled under his breath wondering why Stella had chosen a beach so far away from the village. It wasn’t long before he began to sweat in the hot sun, and he wished that he’d stopped at the cabin to change his clothes.

Heading for the water, he rolled up his pant legs, then stepped into the cool waves, enjoying the sensation of the water washing over his toes. He stood there for a few minutes, looking out at the ocean, the urge to jump in slowly building inside him, and imagined for just a second how nice it would feel on his heated skin. When he felt his magic slowly coming to life, the urge to jump in only getting stronger, he tore his gaze away from the ocean and started back down the shore.

Walking was much easier on the wet sand, and it wasn’t long before he spotted two figures in the distance sitting in the surf, Jordan’s happy squeals carrying across the distance. Stella was just getting to her feet, water dripping down her shapely legs, her hair blowing in the wind coming off the water, and he was forced to suck in a deep breath when a wave of desire spread through him.

He stumbled just a bit when Stella turned, giving him a perfect view of the bikini she was wearing, and it took him a second before he could take another step. The magic inside him buzzed as he walked toward them, sending wave after wave of desire shooting through him, and he began to get angry at both himself and Stella. He shouldn’t be thinking about her that way, and she shouldn’t be wearing something so revealing. It was unprofessional.

Using anger to block out desire, he stomped over to them and suddenly realized that he’d told Stella to keep the baby out of the water. “I thought I told you Jordan wasn’t supposed to go in the water,” he barked when he got close enough. “I’m sure I made that point perfectly clear.”

Stella looked over at him, a strange look on her face. “I tried, I really did, but he kept slipping away,” she said, her voice shaking. “The last time…well…something happened, and I had to give in…I don’t really understand…”

“What happened?” he demanded. “What do you mean you had to give in?”

She looked down at the baby, then back up at him. “Keith, this is going to sound crazy, but Jordan was walking, no, running toward the water,” she said. “And then…when I tried to stop him…his eyes started glowing, and he hissed at me.”

Panic flooded his system. Melissa hadn’t been imagining things, his son was already showing signs of being a shifter. “Have you been drinking?” he asked. “Because that’s impossible.”

“No, I haven’t been drinking, and how dare you accuse me of that,” Stella said, anger flashing in her eyes. “I know what I saw, Keith. The baby’s eyes were glowing. He turned into…something different until he got to the water, then poof, everything was fine.”

“Stella, you were just seeing things. Maybe you’ve had too much sun,” he said. Have you been drinking enough water? Dehydration can do weird things to the mind.”

She shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong with me; I haven’t been drinking, and I’m not on drugs,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “What’s going on, Keith? I think I deserve an answer.”

He couldn’t meet her eyes and looked away. “What’s going on is that you’ve lost your mind,” he said. “Jordan’s eyes didn’t glow, and he didn’t hiss at you. There’s nothing wrong with him. Look at him. He’s a perfectly normal little boy.”

He looked down at where his son had been sitting, but there was only open space; then, to his horror, he saw him bobbing along with the current a few yards from shore. Stella turned and followed his eyes, then let out a gasp. “Oh, no, we should have been watching him,” she said. “I told you he was determined to get in the water. I told you he was walking, I should have been paying more attention to him, this is all my fault.”

Before he could stop her, Stella ran to the edge of the water, then began wading in, screaming Jordan’s name, until she dove in and disappeared under the waves. In that small space of time, the baby had drifted further out to sea, and he could tell instantly that Stella would never make it to him before the current took him away. Stripping off his shirt, he started to wade into the water, aware of his magic beginning to surge through his blood as his protective instincts came to life.

Before he was waist deep in the water, Stella’s head bobbed to the surface just a few feet from Jordan. With two powerful kicks of her legs, she grabbed him and pulled him to her. Relief poured through him, but he kept going, knowing that she’d need help getting the baby back to shore. Then he saw the wave. It came up behind them, rose above them, then swept down over them, and for several long seconds, he couldn’t see them.

They popped up to the surface just as he was beginning to fear the worst, but it was clear that Stella was losing her grip on Jordan, and he knew that the magic still surging through his blood was there for a reason. Welcoming the buzzing sensation, the tingle of his muscles as the magic filled him fully, he let the shift come, not caring that he was exposing himself, his only thought of saving the two people who had become very important to him.

When the shift came, he felt the surge of power that always filled him, then dove into the water, his sleek dragon body cutting through the waves with little effort. Capable of holding his breath for long periods of time, he didn’t have to come up for air and reached his son and Stella in only a few seconds. Shooting back up out of the water, he wrapped his arms around them and kept going, unfolding his wings when he hit the surface. They soared up over the ocean, then back toward shore, Jordan laughing, Stella screaming.

***Stella***

Stella knew that she was screaming, couldn’t stop the sound coming out of her mouth, but wasn’t sure what she was scared of, the creature with its arms wrapped around them, or the fact they were flying through the air skimming over the waves. Only a few seconds later, she felt solid earth under her feet, the wet sand tickling her toes, and the scream died away, leaving her breathless as she stared at the creature that was slowly backing away from her and the baby. Knowing that she was holding onto Jordan too hard, she tried to release her grip, but her muscles were frozen, and the baby began to fuss.

Holding his arms out to the creature, Jordan began to squirm, fighting to get away from her, confusing her fight or flight instincts even more. She told herself to run, but something held her there, an instinct that swam to the surface over the fear, telling her that the creature wasn’t a threat to her or the baby. As the seconds slowly crept by, some of the fear faded away, and she was able to really look at what was standing before her without feeling like she wanted to scream.

Standing on four legs, covered in downy fur, a pair of wings nestled on its back, she gasped when she realized she was looking at a dragon. This time, she managed to take a step back, which only infuriated Jordan, who began to struggle even harder, but then her eyes met the creatures, and she saw a spark of intelligence. Now sucking in ragged breaths as her brain tried to come to terms with what she was seeing, she understood that she was looking into Keith’s eyes, that he was somewhere inside the creature.

Only a second later, she felt the air fill with the crackle of energy. The space around the dragon began to shimmer, and then it was gone, leaving Keith standing right where it had been. It was more than her already shattered mind could take, and she felt the world going black. Her grip on the baby began to loosen, and she knew that she was going to drop him. Before either of them tumbled to the sand, Keith was there, wrapping his arms around them both, and the last thing she remembered was looking up into those blue eyes again.

She came to a few minutes later, lying on the blanket in the shade, the baby playing happily next to her. For a second, she thought it had all been a dream. Then she turned her head and saw Keith sitting next to her, watching her anxiously, and she realized that it had been real. She felt another wave of dizziness sweep over her and closed her eyes with a groan, feeling the darkness of unconsciousness closing in on her again.

“Stella, you’re okay. Don’t go away again,” Keith said, wiping her face with a wet cloth. “I’m sorry that I scared you. It was the only way I could save you. I would never hurt you or the baby.”

His words penetrated the fog in her brain, and the blackness faded away, leaving her lying trembling and shaking with the reality of what Keith was. She opened her eyes and looked over at him, then quickly closed them again, trying to cope with thoughts racing through her mind. What she’d seen wasn’t possible, people didn’t turn into other things, especially not mystical creatures. It just wasn’t a thing.

But when she opened her eyes again, Keith was still there, looking down at her patiently, his eyes still full of concern, and she let out a shaky sigh. “Do you think some water might help?” Keith asked, grabbing a cold water bottle out of the cooler. “I’m sorry, Stella, I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t let the two of you drown.”

She tried to push herself up with her arms, but they were too weak to hold her, and she flopped back down onto the blanket with a groan. Keith reached over and carefully put his arms around her shoulders, then helped her sit up, holding his breath the entire time, and she waited for the fear to awaken again at his touch. When all she felt was a reassuring warmth, she looked up at him, then took the water bottle out of his hands and drained most of it.

When she handed it back to him, he studied her for a second, then reached into the cooler, brought out some sliced fruit, gave her a piece, and watched while she ate it. “I think we should talk when you’re ready,” Keith finally said. “What you saw…well, it’s a secret. Not very many people know what I can do. I hope I can trust you not to tell anyone.”

She had the craziest urge to laugh and could just imagine herself telling anyone about what she’d seen; they’d have her locked up in a padded cell before she could finish her story. “I think your secret is safe with me,” she finally said. “No one would believe me if I told them. I’d just sound crazy. Who knows, maybe I am. I was hoping that this was a dream, but I think I would have woken up by now.”

“I’m so sorry, Stella. I never meant for this to happen,” he said. “I’m sure what you’re feeling is perfectly normal, but nothing like this has ever happened to me. I’ve never shown the other side of me to someone who wasn’t a shifter or didn’t already know about them. I want to help you through this, but I don’t know how.”

She began to feel overwhelmed again, a million questions suddenly popping into her head, and she realized that the only way she was going to be able to cope with the truth was to understand. The baby was beginning to fuss and rub his eyes, and she realized how much time had passed since Keith had walked up to them on the beach.

“I think we should get Jordan back to the cabin, it’s almost nap time,” she said, then looked over at him. “Oh, no, I forgot to feed him lunch.”

“But I didn’t.” Keith said, getting to his feet. “He had two jars of the nasty beef stuff he likes so much and a jar of apple sauce. I can’t believe that’s what you’re worrying about right now.”

“Well, he can’t take care of himself,” she said. “I told you he would always be my first priority.”

“Come on, let’s go back to the cabin, I think you both need a little rest,” he said. “I’m not going back to work today. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t been so focused on the project in the first place.”

She took his hand when he offered it, no longer surprised by the charge of energy that traveled up her arm and through her body. “It was my fault too. I shouldn’t have given in to him,” she said. “I just didn’t know what else to do.”