13. Maya

13

Maya

“If you’re not going to check the hoard yourself, then what is your plan?” she asked as she laid out the picnic and tried to think of anything except Corin’s naked body.

Her brain wasn’t playing along. She focused on the food, and her mind served up an image of her licking raspberries off his bare chest. She tried to think about Corin going big bad dragon at whatever poor bastard was looking into the vault, and all she saw was him brooding nakedly at his desk while she slid to her knees underneath it.

Oh god oh god. She pressed her thighs together. They’d come out here to talk , not that.

“I’m expecting a full report tomorrow,” he said behind her.

“A full report from every member of staff, all of whom you’ve set to investigate all the others?”

“From a trusted advisor,” he replied, deadpan.

She laughed. Only a small laugh, but it made her heart hurt. Where had this Corin been all the time they spent together?

How different would her life have been if either of them had been honest about … anything?

Then he’d have seen you for who you really are much earlier. And he’d be just as disgusted. The memory of how he’d looked at her when she came down from the window was like a bucket of ice water.

She knew who he thought she was. Miss Flores, always professional, always punctual, always in control of the situation and herself.

What a lie.

“If you need help deciphering it, let me know,” she said, as though her heart wasn’t crumbling to pieces in her chest. “Or a strengthening drink before you face it. We could schedule in one of those dinners at Caro’s.”

His eyes flashed, but beneath the veneer of interest he looked distracted. Exhausted. The way he always looked when he set his own work aside to clean up the Dans’ latest mess, or disappeared for weeks on end to deal with ‘family business’. And it wasn’t as though he enjoyed his family obligations—which, now she thought about it, must be to do with him being leader of his clan. He always came back extra irritated and grumpy.

Huh. All that ‘family business’ was dragon stuff, wasn’t it? He always put dragon stuff above everything else. Even his own comfort.

She eyed him warily. Speaking of putting dragon stuff over his own comfort—she’d never seen him look so bedraggled. Shifter clothing didn’t generally survive its wearer transforming, especially when the transformation was from human-sized to something as massive as a dragon. Corin had managed to salvage enough that he wasn’t clothed completely in rags—over the past few months she’d come to terms with the fact that a lot of her neighbors were by necessity naturists—but he was far from the highly polished man of business she was used to.

Maybe that was what was worrying him.

Or maybe it wasn’t. That was worse, somehow. All that stolen treasure, weighing down on his dragon’s big scaly shoulders so heavily he didn’t care he was wearing a torn shirt and pants that—pants that…

Anyway.

She kept a careful eye on him as they each filled their plates with crisp salad and Caro’s delicious hot sandwiches. Corin poured drinks—a non-alcoholic, pink sparkling wine that had appeared on the Hook and Sinker menu recently. She waited for him to comment on it being an insult to beverages everywhere, but he just frowned down at his fish sandwich and said nothing.

“The fish came off a boat yesterday,” she said. “The Menzies, probably. They sell into the next town over, but Caro always gets first pick.”

“No one who makes their living on the water says no to an orca shifter,” Corin mused.

“No one in this whole town says no to her.” Maya’s fingers twitched. “I don’t know why. Apart from the obvious. I mean, I’m not a shifter, I can’t sense anyone’s inner animal, and even I feel like I’m going to get chomped if I get in her way. The way she stalks around when she’s in a mood is very … teeth.” She shot him a mischievous look. The sort she never would have dared back when he was her boss. “It’s a familiar feeling, actually.”

“I walk around all teeth?”

“Frequently.” She laughed at the expression on his face, then blinked. She’d laughed at him. And he was … fine with it?

He still looked distracted. That must be it. He was thinking about something else, and hadn’t noticed her giggling.

Not that she cared if he did notice her laughing at him. In fact, he should notice. Now she was thinking about it, she was kind of annoyed he hadn’t reacted.

“You haven’t wasted your time here.” Corin’s voice cut through her internal monologue. “Figuring out supply routes.”

“You’re making me sound very mercenary.”

“Making friends.”

Her breath caught. “Well. I mean, Felicity and I have been friends for years. Jacqueline is as new to being a shifter-mom as I am, so we have that to talk about. Lainie—did you meet her yet? We’ve had some good chats, though obviously she’s busy with the baby. And—Hideaway has had some issues around humans living here. Non-shifters being allowed to stay is a relatively new thing, so everyone is careful to, you know. Be nice around me.”

“Or perhaps they enjoy your company.”

She snorted. “I spend most of my time trying to stop Tomás from peeling shiny things off the walls or stealing people’s spare change. Some of my neighbors, the only words I’ve exchanged with them are ‘Oh, god, I’m so sorry.’ I’m sure their lives would be much simpler without my company. But—Hideaway is a sanctuary. Everyone here is very clear on that. It’s what the town was founded on. So that’s what they’re doing. Giving him a place to grow up safe, around people who understand him.”

“You think they only let you stay because of Tomás?” Corin regarded her curiously. “Then you should know that while she was packing our lunch, Caro sent me a very detailed and specific warning about what would happen to me if I treated you poorly.”

“Really? Caro? ”

“ Extremely detailed. I was impressed. She could give Saint-John Montfort lessons.”

“I don’t—that’s—oh.” She pressed her lips together.

“Why does it surprise you so much that the people here care for you?” He leaned forwards, his eyes intent, and suddenly Maya was floundering out of her depths.

“I’m just—aware that things can change quickly.”

Corin stilled. It was a predator’s stillness, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck tremble, but she wasn’t afraid. “You’ve never had anyone on your side before.”

Alarm bells went off in her head. She didn’t even know what they were trying to warn her about.

“That’s not true,” she protested. “I’ve always had Felicity.”

“Not when it came to the fact that your infant son could turn into a dragon.” Corin’s voice was the same as ever, but there was a burr of heat behind his clipped tones. “You were entirely alone. There was nobody you could trust with the truth. I—I should have been the person you could trust. And I wasn’t.”

His face twisted. “Miss Flores. Maya. You will never be in that position again. You know what I am. What we all are. Hideaway has welcomed you. You’ll be safe here.”

You can’t promise me that. She didn’t say it out loud, but damn him, Corin looked at her as though he’d heard the words anyway.

His voice softened. “After everything I’ve put you through, you have no reason to trust me now. But listen to me, at least. I will not allow anything to harm you or Tomás. Whoever stole the treasure—”

“The treasure,” she repeated on a gasp. Of course. The treasure. That was why he was here. He wasn’t even mentioning being her mate. She shook herself and something in Corin’s eyes hardened.

“I will find the thief. I will protect you from whoever has been stalking through Hideaway’s waters. Whatever you need, I will provide.” His voice lowered. “No more secrets. From this moment on, I am yours.”

Her heart stopped. Everything stopped. There was only Corin, sitting in the shreds of his clothes, his dark eyes piercing her soul.

He continued, “Anything you want to know, you only have to ask.”

He hadn’t meant it. He wasn’t hers. He meant he would answer her questions.

She should have been relieved. Instead, her ribs tightened.

As soon as he caught the thief, he was leaving. That was what he’d said. And Corin always kept his word.

He would leave. She would be safe.

She wet her lips. “There are a few things I wanted to ask you, actually.”