Page 41 of Cole's Command

“I’m not embarrassed,” she insisted, hoping he wouldn’t be able to discern her heated cheeks in the late afternoon sunshine.

“Good.” His brow rose. “Neither am I. I happen to be pretty comfortable with my body.”

“I can see why.” The words escaped before she had a chance to regulate them, her hand rising to her mouth as if she could yank them back to her lips. “I m-mean, I’m glad you’re happy with yourself.” She was backtracking. “That’s important.”

“Thank you.” In his defense, Cole managed her stammering display with a level of humility which was arguably well beyond his years. Fighting for composure, she watched as his expression changed. “Are you ready for what I have to show you?”

The wind picked up as though it too sensed the significance of the moment.

This is it. He thinks he’s about to shift into a dragon. “I don’t know, Cole. Am I?”

Clearly, he thinks he is a dragon-shifter, and I’ve come this far with him. I don’t want to feed his delusion, but I should play along, if for no other reason, so that he has the decency to take me back!

“It’s going to be a shock.” Stepping away from his pile of clothes, he seemed totally happy in his own skin. “I want you to be prepared, but remember that whatever happens, I won’t hurt you.”

“Okay.” Nodding, she retreated, as if to prepare. “Thank you for the warning. I’m ready.”

His abdominal muscles rippled as he stepped away from her, and she had to wonder if he wasn’t putting on a show. Fair enough. With a body like that, I’m not complaining.

Stretching his arms wide, he drew in a deep breath, before falling to his haunches.

“Cole?” Heart racing, she wondered if this was part of the performance. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” One palm rose to settle her, although she noticed that his skin appeared to be shimmering in the sunlight. Brows knitting, she inched closer, awed at the way light seemed to be shining through his flesh.

“What’s happening?” Transfixed, she edged toward him.

Standing there, she could see his skin changing before her eyes. Its tanned hue was morphing into what looked like a startling azure blue. She was witnessing things that just weren’t possible.

As she struggled to comprehend what was happening, the man hunched over in the dirt disappeared—right before her eyes—replaced in one shocking instant by a bloody enormous creature.

“Jesus!” Stumbling backward, Eden fell, landing on her ass as her galloping heart threatened to leap into her throat.

What’s happening? The question sped through her mind, followed soon after by the more pertinent one, ‘how’ is this happening?

“Are you all right?” It was Cole’s voice speaking, but its deep gravelly resonance was unrecognizable, his tone reverberating through her body.

“What the fuck just happened?” She appeared to have abandoned all professional reason, as sitting there, heart hammering, she grappled in the dirt.

“I shifted.” His timbre resounded through her. “As I told you I would.”

“I...” Throat drying, she tried to ignore the pounding in her head. “I didn’t think you actually meant it!”

“Evidently.” If it was possible, the blue dragon looming over her smirked.

“How can you be a dragon?” Brushing the dirt from her palms, she clambered gingerly to her feet. Her swaying head made her wonder if this wasn’t all just a hallucination instilled by her earlier giddiness.

“All the men in my family have the gene.” Lowering his snout, the dragon fixed his stare on her, the creature’s green eyes the only recognizable feature of the man who’d driven her there.

“Jesus, Cole.” Lifting her hand to her head, she tried to steady her unraveling thoughts. This couldn’t be happening, except it was. Cole could not be a dragon, except he was. “I can’t believe this.”

“I can imagine.” His tone was sympathetic. “You are, Eden, the first person I’ve ever shifted in front of.”

“What?” Wrestling with the weight of the contradictions, along with the absurd shock of watching a man shift into a gigantic dragon, she could hardly comprehend what was playing out before her.

“You’re the first.” The dragon tilted his head.

“Why?” The growing pain in her head wasn’t easing up, and as she stepped forward, she realized the world around her had become a bleached version of itself, the white-out reminding her of the way she’d felt in her office. “Oh, God, no.” She forced herself to one knee, recognizing that if she didn’t lower her center of gravity, then she might end up flat on her back.