Dragon's Secret Baby (West Coast Water Dragons Book 3) Read online

  Dragon’s Secret Baby

  A Paranormal Romance

  West Coast Water Dragons Book 3

  Kayla Wolf

  Copyright © 2019 by The Wolf Sisters Books.

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1 – James

  Chapter 2 - Julia

  Chapter 3 – James

  Chapter 4 – Julia

  Chapter 5 – James

  Chapter 6 – Julia

  Chapter 7 - James

  Chapter 8 – Julia

  Chapter 9 – James

  Chapter 10 - Julia

  Chapter 11 - James

  Chapter 12 - Julia

  Chapter 13 - James

  Chapter 14 - Julia

  About the Author

  Books by The Wolf Sisters

  Chapter 1 – James

  It was midsummer in northern California. The weather had been warm and dry for a week solid, and while it meant an increased risk of fire, for the time being, the peninsula where James and his community made their home was safe and sound … with the added benefit of the weather being absolutely perfect for long, lazy days spent on the beach.

  It had been one such perfect day. There hadn’t been a cloud in the sky when James had jumped out of bed, and with no work to do (well, no work that couldn’t be put off until tomorrow, anyway …) it had been the work of a moment to call around to his friends and propose a beach day. Now, the sun was setting over the ocean, bathing them in orange light … and though it wasn’t safe to have any kind of campfire up on the mainland, they’d dragged some stones down close to the waterline and set a pleasant little fire by the ocean. Lachlan—their leader—might have disapproved, but he wasn’t here, was he?

  Not many of the guys were, actually. It was just James and Daniel, lounging around the fire. Daniel, ever the foodie, had brought along a collection of things to toast on the fire—James, ever the sweet tooth, had made a direct beeline for the marshmallows and not concerned himself with any of the healthier foods on offer. James stretched out on the sand, feeling pleasantly exhausted after a long day of swimming and surfing. There was a warm, contented glow in his muscles, and he’d always enjoyed the feeling of salt on his well-tanned skin … even if he could tell that his hair was going to need a fair bit of combing once he got home. He’d always had difficulties with his mane—it was thick, dark, and wildly curly, but James always resisted cutting it short. He’d had too many compliments from the women he’d been with … his vanity simply wouldn’t allow a more practical cut.

  “I know we’re not exactly beholden to human nutritional needs,” Daniel pointed out, breaking a comfortable silence with a wry smile, “but dude. You can’t live on marshmallows.”

  ”I’ve eaten other things,’ James said defensively. “We had that barbeque for lunch to try out the new grills.”

  ”Grilled meat and marshmallows don’t make a full food pyramid, James.”

  ”Sure, they do. It’s just a—simple pyramid, that’s all. Besides, you put so many herbs and oils on the meat it may as well have been a three-course meal. Not that I’m complaining. They’re good grills, too, hey?”

  ”Definitely,” Daniel said. “Top of the line. Our guests will be able to barbecue to their hearts’ content.”

  That was a new development this summer. Their little group had been living on the peninsula—a short strip of land extending from the northern part of California—for decades now, but recently they’d had the idea to open their beautiful home to tourists. It was a pristine piece of wilderness, and in the current climate of increased interest in environmental sustainability and natural beauty, it had been Lachlan’s idea to capitalize on their beautiful home by sharing it with human guests. The trick to that, of course, was maintaining their own privacy.

  Because the little community of once-nomads who’d settled down on this peninsula weren’t your average group of people. They were a community of dragons. And that provided its own unique difficulties and challenges when it came to cohabiting with human beings, who, for the most part, were still completely unaware of the existence of the shapeshifters who lived in their midst. After all, dragons—in their human bodies, at least—were indistinguishable from regular human beings … at least at first. True, they didn’t age like humans did, which made long-term friendships with humans difficult. But aside from that, the only thing that made their group seem unusual was their above-average height and physical ability. They were tall, broad, powerful men—James was often asked if he was a professional athlete. And James had a theory that there was something about dragons that was inherently attractive to human women especially … a kind of innate charisma, maybe, or even a pheromone that drew a chemical response. The others always made fun of that idea, but he was pretty sure he was onto something.

  And he’d done plenty of research that confirmed his theory, at least anecdotally. Where a lot of his friends tended to keep to themselves, especially when it came to romance, James was the absolute opposite. His whole life, he’d loved the thrill of the chase. It had been a lot easier when they’d been on the road, in their earlier days—riding their motorbikes from town to town, meeting a new gorgeous woman at each new place, and spending an explosive night or two with her before heading onto the next destination … god, that had been the life. These days, he had to make the trip into town whenever he felt like seeking an entanglement like that. At least this part of the world was popular with tourists—especially in summer, there were always women coming in on trips for business or pleasure who were easily swayed by a tall, handsome, dark-haired man with a sinful glint in his deep blue eyes …

  ”Can’t believe it’s just us tonight,” James grumbled now. Thinking about the old days always made him a bit despondent. Back then, the five of them—James, Daniel, and their friends Bryce, Emerson, and Harvey—had been as close as brothers. It had felt like it was them against the world. After they’d settled down here, formed this little community with a handful of other dragons they’d met … well, they were still James’s closest friends in the world. But it felt like something had changed ... like they were moving into a new phase of their lives. The settling down phase. The nest-building phase. And James wasn’t sure he was ready for that.

  ”Everyone’s tired from work,” Daniel shrugged. “And Lachlan wants to stay with Serena as much as possible; you get it.”

  ”Yeah, yeah,” James grumbled. Lachlan’s mate Serena was another recent addition to the peninsula—and they were expecting a new baby in a matter of weeks, or even days. He’d never seen Lachlan so excited about anything. “And Bryce seems to think if he leaves Jasmine’s side for a second, she’s going to disappear, or something …”

  Daniel was grinning at him. “Really? You, of all people, are annoyed that your friends are busy with women?”

  ”It’s not the same thing,” James objected. “Chasing women is way different to … sitting at home with your mate like some old married couple. Look what they’re missing out on!” He gestured to the darkening sky, the blanket of stars that were beginning to appear as the sun drained from the sky. “Don’t you miss
them?”

  ”They’re not dead, James.”

  ”I know they’re not dead. But they may as well be, as often as I get to see them.”

  ”We saw them all last week. Dinner at Bryce and Jasmine’s, remember?”

  ”Yeah, but … still.”

  Daniel laughed. “You know, anyone who didn’t know you better would think you were jealous,” he teased, his dark blue eyes glinting with amusement.

  ”I am jealous,” James said irritably. “Jealous of these women who get to see my best friends more than I do.”

  ”And jealous of your friends for having found their soulmates—”

  ”Oh, don’t start on all that crap, Daniel, please.” James heaved a sigh, giving his friend a murderous look over the crackling fire. He sat up, aggressively dragging the half-empty bag of marshmallows towards him and impaling one on the stick he’d been using to toast them. Setting them on fire then quickly blowing them out, that was the way—for all that Daniel might scold him for eating charcoal.

  ”You’re going to burn your tongue,” Daniel said placidly. “And what’s wrong with the idea of soulmates?”

  ”No such thing,” James said brusquely. “Come on, dude, we’re not really having this conversation again, are we?”

  ”You really don’t believe in soulmates. Even after Lachlan and Bryce—”

  ”I believe in love,” James said, though he wrinkled his nose when he said it. “But I don’t believe that there’s one specific person out there that we’re fated to be with. I don’t care what the old folks say—it’s a dumb old superstition. What about free will?”

  ”How does having a soulmate interfere with free will, exactly?”

  ”Any idea of fate or destiny interferes with free will,” James argued, leaning forward. He could tell by the grin on Daniel’s face that he was being goaded into this argument—but what could he say? The goading had worked. Harvey might have been the one among them with a quick temper, but James was the one who’d always take an argument if it was offered to him. “If there’s a fixed point in the universe that has to happen—say, meeting and falling in love with the woman or man you’re destined to be with—then that means that there are certain steps you absolutely have to take.”

  ”How does that follow?”

  ”I mean, Serena and Lachlan, right? She lived on the other side of the country—they only met because he hired her to look after his daughter. If it was fate that brought them together, then her looking for jobs interstate wasn’t her choice, exactly. It had to happen, because of fate or destiny or whatever. So what made her do that? What made Lachlan start looking for a nanny?”

  ”Your sister, as I recall,” Daniel said, eyebrow raised in amusement. James nodded—his little sister had done a lot of babysitting for Lachlan before he’d finally caved in and hired a nanny to take care of his rambunctious little daughter.

  ”Yeah, obviously, but—you get what I’m saying, right? The minute you start believing in soulmates, you also have to believe in some kind of force that’s making our choices for us. And I’m not into that. I make my own choices.” He sat back, satisfied with that conclusion. But Daniel was still grinning at him with that smug expression that suggested he’d won some kind of victory.

  ”That’s all very … philosophical of you,” Daniel nodded. “Free will, the power to choose your own destiny … all very interesting concepts. If Emerson were here, I’m sure you’d both be neck-deep in some abstract philosophical discussion by now.” James couldn’t help but grin—their friend Emerson was definitely a poet and a philosopher at heart. “But I’m not Emerson. I see through you, buddy.”

  ”What do you mean?”

  ”You’re just scared of the idea of feeling something beyond passing interest in a woman.” Daniel’s eyes were intent. “Or is it more than that? Have you already felt something? Was one of your hundreds of conquests a little bit special—and you’ve had to drown that memory in all this talk about freedom and personal power and free will—”

  ”You’ve given this way too much thought, dude,” James said irritably, waving a hand as if Daniel’s argument was a fly he could swat away. “I’m happy with my life exactly as it is. Beautiful beach, good friends, and as many beautiful tourists as I can bed. Speaking of,” he said quickly—he could tell that Daniel was about to start arguing with him again—“there’s a new club opening up this weekend. What do you say?”

  ”Opening where?”

  ”Down the coast. Couple of hours drive. You in?” Daniel looked hesitant—James put on his best wheedling expression. “Come on, dude. What if your soulmate’s waiting for you in that bar?” He wiggled his fingers, putting on a mocking, sing-song voice. “It’s me, the Soulmate Spirit, steering you towards the love of your life … she’s waiting for you, Daniel, don’t say no to your friend James or you’ll be alone forever—”

  ”Very funny,” Daniel said drily. “Have you ever heard of using humor as a defense mechanism?”

  ”Heard of it? I invented it. Should be charging royalties. Now, are you coming to the club or not?”

  ”Fine,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “But I’m not going to wingman for you until you admit that a part of you believes in soulmates.”

  ”Fine,” James echoed, grinning. “I’ll pick up all by myself.”

  They spent another hour or so on the beach, talking and laughing. Daniel, to his credit, didn’t pick up the argument about soulmates again—he seemed to sense when a conversation had been exhausted. But to his irritation, James found himself returning to the subject in his own mind after they’d finally called it a night and headed up into the sand dunes and towards their respective homes.

  It was only a small community—a few dozen houses maybe, dotted about on a few streets that hadn’t been planned so much as added as an afterthought after the original settlers had built their homes exactly where they wanted them. James had claimed an odd spot, further from the beach than most of the other houses, on the northern edge of the settlement right where the forest began in earnest. He walked Daniel to his cottage and headed on towards his home, where he’d left the porch light on.

  He’d spent ages getting the place just right. A simple kitchen, a big, spacious, comfortable living room, an enormous master bedroom with a king-sized bed … not that he ever brought his romantic conquests back to his home. No, this bed was all his … as were the other rooms. He’d built a study when he’d moved in, wanting a space to keep his books—but he barely used it, not since he’d discovered the joy of compacting his physical library into a slim little e-reader. Now, the door to the study remained closed most days, and he gave it a regretful glance as he headed past it on his way to wash the salt off.

  He’d never say a word about it to Daniel—but as he stepped into a scorching hot shower, shutting his eyes as the water washed over his tired muscles, he couldn’t stop his mind drifting back to a particular summer night, almost four years ago now. He’d been on the east coast for a trip, completely solo—he’d needed to get away from the stress of the settlement, from the claustrophobia he was starting to feel as a result of settling down here. A kind of one-off return to life on the road … he’d hired a motorbike just like the one he’d ridden back in their wild old days and ventured out with no set destination in mind. And of course, every place he’d stopped had been a new opportunity for a conquest.

  She’d been among a gaggle of women at a bachelorette party somewhere in Miami. He’d given momentary thought to attempting to seduce the bride-to-be—but instead, his eye had been caught by one of the bridesmaids. She was one of the quieter ones, which usually would have put James off—he usually had a better chance with extroverts—but there had been something about the half-smile that danced across her face when he introduced himself to the group that had snared his attention. They’d barely spoken … but what they’d lacked in conversation they’d made up for tenfold on the dance floor. He’d wound up in her hotel room, and the sex they’d had … god, i
t had set such a benchmark.

  But when he woke up the next morning, she was gone. His usual M.O. was to bail as quickly as possible, so he had … but there had been a strange sense of reluctance as he packed his things and got back onto his bike. Usually, his conquests faded from his memory, all blurring into one—he’d be hard-pressed to remember the names of the last dozen women he’d slept with. But for some reason, Julia had always stood out in his memory.

  Irritated with himself, James shut off the water and toweled himself dry, trying to put his mind on other things. It had just been great sex, that was all. Sometimes, you got lucky and met someone who just happened to be very … compatible. Maybe it was anatomical; maybe it was chemical … who knew? Whatever the case, it sure as hell didn’t mean Daniel was right about soulmates. How could Julia be his soulmate? She was human, she was from the east coast … and she’d never even told him her last name. And if he’d been having recurring dreams about her ever since they’d met … that didn’t mean anything.

  Did it?

  Chapter 2 - Julia

  Julia sighed and buried her face in her hands, resisting the urge to drag her fingers through her short blond hair. It was a nervous habit, but she’d learned that it made her look like a mad scientist … and while that wasn’t exactly a bad thing, as far as she was concerned, she had an office job now, and it was important to look presentable. Or so she suspected. At any rate, she couldn’t risk doing anything that could jeopardize her position here. Jobs like this were hard to come by—jobs tangentially related to her field, jobs with a steady paycheck and a reasonably flexible schedule that would fit around her rather complicated life.

  Which wasn’t to say it wasn’t a deeply frustrating job. She was midway through writing up a fundraising report for an upcoming event. It didn’t matter how many times she told her boss that money stuff had never been her strong suit—her degree was in environmental science, not finance or accounting—some of it always seemed to find its way onto her to-do list. She supposed she shouldn’t complain—it wasn’t as if the organization was big enough to have a dedicated accounting section. Still, would it have killed her boss to assign the money stuff to Zach? He was always bragging about how good he was with money—but he meant the big, glamorous stuff like negotiating sponsorship deals, not the boring boilerplate stuff of writing up how much things were going to cost and where the money was going to come from. Or sending thousands of emails double-checking figures … or redoing calculations a hundred times because there was a mysterious twelve dollar discrepancy in the final numbers that she couldn’t for the life of her figure out …