Page 21 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

Oh, I wish his smile weren’t the substance of magic.

Not just his smile, she decided, shooting him a glance. His entire being seemed to be magic. Just being around him was enough to make her body and her heart respond in ways they hadn’t in a while. Maybe she should have stolen that kiss back in Dragon’s Den when she’d had the chance. Whatever awkwardness followed, it would have been worth it.

When he disappeared under the ice all those years ago, the memory of him had haunted her dreams. Now, here he was, in the flesh, and his very presence continued to torment her, albeit in a different way.

No sooner had they stepped into a large glade of trees than Damon froze in his tracks.

“We’re being followed,” he said, holding out a hand to stop her.

It took Julia a few seconds to register what he’d just said. “What? By whom?”

As if in response to her question, there was a rustle of leaves. And the men stepped out of the trees.

Chapter Nine

The Frost Mountain Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Back in high school, Damon had always tried to avoid a fight. Even when it meant getting beat up, he’d held back. As a dragon shifter, he was stronger than pretty much every other kid at Laudville High, not to mention he never really had a reason to fight.

On Frost Mountain, the rules were different. Here, youhadto fight because if you didn’t, your chances of survival were slim—very slim.

Now, Damon eyed the men. There were five of them surrounding them. As he watched, each of them drew a weapon. Damon counted three daggers, a sword, and a hammer.

It took him two seconds to realize who they must be: Collectors.

He’d never met them all because Collectors were scattered all over Frost Mountain, but he knew in his gut that Grim Jim sent these men.

Jan’s words resounded in his memory:He’s growing impatient—

and desperate, it seemed, if Grim Jim had sent other Collectors after him. He must have figured something was up.

Next to him, Julia’s breathing quickened. Damon reached for her hand and squeezed it.

To the men, he said, “I’m going to give you all one chance to drop your weapons and leave before things get ugly.

They did not respond, but Damon thought he heard one of the men snicker. He found that irritating.

Grim Jim had sent these men here for one of two reasons. First, was that the Ice Melter already knew that Damon was with his prize and wanted to take it from him by whatever means necessary. That seemed improbable. However, the secondreason made more sense: Grim Jim had sent his Collectors to punish him.

The men inched closer, tightening the circle. Damon clenched his fists as his pulse slowed. His mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, calculating his possible moves. He couldn’t shift, not with Julia so near, not to mention shifting would draw too much attention. His only option was to fight these men.

“Stay close to the ground,” he whispered to Julia. “Things are about to get ugly.”

She nodded and dropped to a crouch. But when he glanced down at her, Julia was gone. In her place, sitting atop a pile of clothes, was a snow leopard.

“Red, what are you—?”

Gasps erupted around them.

“Snow leopard!” one of the Collectors exclaimed.

That was all he got out before Damon slammed his elbow into the man’s jaw, which made a satisfying crack, and the man hit the snow. The other Collectors, momentarily shocked, quickly recovered their wits and attacked. Damon snatched the dagger from the fallen man’s hand and hurled it at the man standing nearest him. It stuck in his thigh. With a howl of pain, the man dropped to the ground and, in the process, knocked himself out with his own hammer.

Then, there was a snarl that made Damon look up just in time to see Julia slam into one of the men, knocking him to the ground. The man was quick to react. The next thing Damon knew, the snow leopard was sailing through the air straight into a tree.

Julia!

Damon slammed his boot into the man’s head, and the guy passed out with a grunt. The last two guys ended up on their backs in the snow, groaning in pain.

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