Eli’s clan was traditional sometimes, and they would prefer all of their members stay in Cape Meares and never stray. But some had left, like Eli’s cousin who worked for NASA. And Jackson’s cousin Garrett, who was a rock star in Las Vegas. The clan elders grumbled about their absence, but they would never kick them out—the clan was their home. All at once, Eli felt the need to thank his clan elders for their understanding.
Owen shrugged. “I get it. I chose to leave. They have a rule: if you leave, don’t come back. I left.”
“That must be painful.”
Owen looked away. “It was a long time ago.”
No wonder he was so odd. A dragon shifter was always bereft when he or she was deprived of his or her clan. Eli had heard all about the Portuguese dragon shifters who lived in Galway and were part of Niall and Nora’s small clan. Both of the Portuguese shifters had been separated from their clans, and both had suffered terribly during the five years they were alone.
Another shifter, one of the females who lived in Texas, had lost her clan when she was only ten and had been raised by vampires, and those vampires had encouraged her to pretend to be human. She was the one he’d mentioned to Owen. She’d spent the last few years searching the world over to find any shifters who’d been accidentally abandoned like she had been. She didn’t want anyone else to feel so cut off from the dragon shifter part of themselves.
But Owen had been an adult, and he’d left his clan willingly. There probably wasn’t much Eli could do about that.
“It’s still an unpleasant situation.”
Owen nodded. “Your clan doesn’t mind if you leave?”
“They would prefer it if all of us stayed, but they understand. They’ve had to make a few adjustments over the years. Two years ago, my friend’s cousin married a human, and that caused a few ripples.”
Owen’s jaw dropped. “Your friend’s cousin married a human? That was allowed?”
“Yes. There was never any discussion of forbidding it. They accepted it and moved on. They just had to grapple with the fact that the happy couple is going to stay in Nevada and not move home.”
Owen cracked his knuckles. “I’m having a hard time imagining a clan could be that understanding. Or that they’d allow a human to even know they existed.”
“She’s a member of our clan now,” Eli said. Eli checked the time on his phone. He really needed to get back to the hotel. He wanted to get back to Ava. “I have to go.” He pulled one of his cards from his wallet. “Please stay in contact.”
Owen pointed at his phone. “I don’t carry business cards. There’s no point, as a pilot. But I’ll give you my number.”
Eli was shocked. Getting Owen’s cellphone number was more than he’d expected, but he pushed his phone over and watched as Owen tapped the keys, entering his information.
He held out his hand, and Owen gripped it. “It was nice to meet you. Call me anytime. I’ll be here for a few days, and then I’ll be back in Oregon.”
“Thank you,” Owen said quietly.
10
Ava
As Ava had said, she’d been to Ireland plenty of times before. But being in Ireland with Eli was far better than the trips she’d taken in the past.
So far, the trip felt romantic, even if Eli was her boss and not her boyfriend. To her dismay, she’d fallen asleep as soon as they arrived at the hotel, and Eli had left her a handwritten note telling her that he was going out. He didn’t owe her an explanation, but his thoughtfulness made her smile.
She’d asked to open the doors to their adjoining rooms, and he’d agreed. Then, they just never closed them.
Despite the horribly weird emotional strain she’d endured after they slept together, they had once again reached a friendly camaraderie that was almost like it had been before the charity gala. Neither of them had spoken of it at all.
One day at the lab, she had been afraid that Eli would bring it up, but then she’d launched into a series of questions about the conference and the moment had passed.
Now, they were on their way to have dinner with Eli’s friend Nora and her husband Niall. They were a married couple who lived in Galway. Niall was a professor, and Nora was about to finish up her degree at the university.
“How do you know Nora?” Ava asked Eli as they walked down the street. The evening was nice. The wind had died down and they were close together as they made their way toward the restaurant.
Eli froze for just a second. Then, he recovered. “She’s a family friend,” he said. “I met her through my best friend, Jackson.”
He’d mentioned Jackson before, but he’d never been odd about it. Ava wondered if maybe Nora was an ex-girlfriend or someone he’d dated. Jealousy surged in Ava’s chest, which was ridiculous, and she knew it. She had no claim on Eli. Each time he’d tried to talk to her immediately after they slept together, she’d rebuffed him.
It hadn’t taken long for him to quit trying and only talk to her about work topics.
She refused to let herself be someone who manipulated her boss through sex. She’d seen it happen at the university. She’d watched other teachers’ assistants sleep with their supervising professors, and then she’d watched all of their lives fall apart. She wasn’t going to be the one to create lurid gossip for someone else to spread.
But now they’d reached a pleasant equilibrium. She hoped they could maintain it. Staying in the same hotel, especially with adjoining rooms, probably wasn’t their brightest idea. But she didn’t have the willpower to stay away from him, especially now that they’d gotten back to some form of normalcy.
They reached the restaurant, and a couple stood outside the door waiting on them. The woman
