Dragon Whelps: Earth Dragons Series: Book 3

by Hartnady, Charlene

  Georgia nodded slowly, looking like she was in a state of shock. Her throat worked. She not only looked unsure, but she looked a little…afraid. No rutting then!

  “I’ll leave the two of you to enjoy your tea and I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll be back in a day or two to check in on you. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re unsure of anything.”

  “Okay.” Georgia smiled too brightly and nodded too vigorously.

  “I’ll see you out,” Shale’s voice was far too deep. He tried clearing his throat.

  When he returned moments later, Georgia was clutching her mug tightly in both hands. “Thanks for this.”

  “Sure thing.” He nodded, squeezing the back of his neck. “Um…”

  “About…” They both started talking at once.

  They laughed. Both of them sounded nervous as hell. Was it a good thing? Was Georgia nervous because something the healer had just said had struck a cord? He couldn’t scent arousal. Then again, females were different to males, they didn’t become aroused as easily. Or did they? It was like he didn’t understand females anymore. Like he had zero knowledge of them. The thing was, he didn’t. Not really. He was completely out of his depth.

  “We should talk about what Amethyst just said,” he tried again.

  She nodded. “I guess we should.”

  Shale took a seat, choosing the wingback again. He picked up his mug.

  “Not just Amethyst. Sand as well.”

  “I’m sure loads of assumptions are going to be made. It’s important that we not listen to what anyone else has to say.” He was about to tell her that no one else but them mattered. How they felt about each other or didn’t feel about each other was no one’s business but theirs. He was going to tell her that they should take it day by day. See where things went. He hadn’t planned on pushing hard. He did want to plant a seed, though.

  That when one of the babies yelled. It was loud.

  “Okay.” Georgia put her mug down. “It looks like one of the boys is hungry.”

  “Um, yeah,” he said. “I’ll go and fetch him and…”

  “Look, don’t worry about what everyone is assuming. I’m not worried in the least.” She shrugged, looking like she meant it. “They’ll soon realize that it’s not like that between us.”

  What?

  That was the last thing he had expected to hear.

  “We’re parents to those boys in there.” She smiled, completely relaxed. “But we’re not together. They’ll get over themselves soon enough. You said it earlier. They just need to realize it.”

  “Yep…you’re right,” he muttered.

  No.

  Noooo!

  There was another yell, it was followed by a wail. “I’d better get those hungry boys.”

  Georgia nodded and began to unbutton her blouse.

  Chapter 18

  Two days later…

  Georgia felt warm and… Something niggled in her mind. She was too tired to try to focus on what that was. She didn’t want to wake up. Was far too tired. Exhausted was a better description. She settled against…warmth. Georgia pulled in a deep breath. He smelled nice as well.

  He.

  Warm.

  Nice smell.

  She forced her eyes open, which was hard since they felt like someone had glued them shut.

  “You should sleep.” His voice was a deep baritone. His chest vibrated against her.

  Georgia was in Shale’s arms, against his chest. Snuggled in on the couch. She quickly sat up and scooched away. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was croaky. She felt groggy and was struggling to remember how she’d gotten there in the first place.

  “I mean it, you really should sleep.” He looked concerned. He also looked gorgeous. Who knew yoga-style pants could look so good on a man? Then again, Shale was seriously well-built. His chest and arms were things of beauty. The pants he had on were a deep blue and somehow accentuated his eyes. Okay, so it would seem that despite being half-dead, or at least feeling that way, she still found him attractive. How was that even possible?

  Georgia looked down at herself. She still wore her pajamas. There was a splotch of dried up milk-vomit on her top. She touched her hair and…yeah…it was all scrunched up on the side she had been lying on. She knew she must look like complete shit. Her body ached from being so tired. “I need to shower,” she mumbled.

  “You need sleep,” he reiterated.

  “I need…” She smelled herself, getting hints of sour milk and BO. To think she’d been lying half on top of Shale. “I need a quick shower and then I’ll call Macy to find out how my mom is doing. Then I’ll climb into bed and try to get some more shut-eye. How long was I out for?” Not long enough, by how scratchy her eyes felt. The last she could remember, she’d been feeding one of the boys and then…nothing, which meant that Shale had put their son to bed and… She looked down, noticing that her feeding-bra had been clipped back up and the buttons on her top done up. Her cheeks heated. Shale must have fixed her clothing.

  “About forty minutes.” He scratched his head, then yawned, putting a hand over his mouth. “Not long enough. Sorry about that…just now. I thought I’d sit down for a few minutes after putting the little one to bed and must have passed out as well. We’re both just that tired.”

  “It’s fine.” She stood up. “Let me…” She scratched the back of her head, feeling a yawn building.

  There was a demanding yell from the boys’ room. Georgia sat back down, flopping back against the couch. She groaned. No! Not so soon.

  “I’ll go get him before he wakes his brother.” Shale stood up.

  She nodded, yawning. This was how it had been since coming home. Home? Did she already think of this place as home? That was the thing, it was home to her boys. They couldn’t be out there in normal society, which meant that her home was here with them.

  There was another almighty yell. So much for that healer advising them to wake the boys up every five hours. They were waking up every three hours, on average. Sometimes more often. It was a killer.

  Shale walked back in, carrying the little one, who was calm against his daddy’s wide chest. The baby was tiny in Shale’s big hands. Right then, bare-chested with a baby, he could be on any calendar. Forget puppies, women everywhere would lap this up. Even Georgia, in her exhausted state, took notice.

  The baby made a little gurgling noise. Georgia couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t matter how tired she felt.

  “You go and take that shower,” he urged. “We’ll hang out for a bit. Hey, my boy?” His voice changed as he spoke to their son.

  “You’re sure? What if he starts to fuss?”

  “I’ll cope. We’ll manage, baby, yes we will.” He bounced their son a little. Again, his voice softened and became higher pitched as he spoke to their boy.

  “Okay. I’ll be as quick as I can. Knock on the door if he starts to fuss.” Georgia hurried to her bedroom, passing the nursery as she did. She quickly grabbed fresh clothing, shaking her head all over again at the array of apparel in the closet. Most of the items fit too.

  Georgia started the shower and quickly undressed, wrinkling her nose at the creased, puked on pajamas. They should probably be burned, they were that bad. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and groaned. Her hair was a wild mess and, indeed, scrunched up on the one side. Her eyes looked hollow, and already dark smudges were making an appearance under her eyes. Her boobs were ginormous. They were so big that they made the rest of her look small, which was not the case. She hadn’t been small before, not by a long damned shot. She was packing a few extra pounds after the pregnancy as well, so she was far from small now. Those boobs, though. Georgia shook her head. She needed to de-hair and exfoliate herself at some point. Maybe cut her rat’s nest of hair.

  Then she yawned again. Yeah, all of that could wait. She was so pooped, she wasn’t sure why she was having such stupid ideas. Her only thoughts should be of her sons and of sleep, and in that order. She shouldn’t
be thinking about how she looked. Why on earth…?

  Shale.

  That’s why. It was him. Georgia squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She couldn’t remember when she’d last brushed them. Yup, she had better things to do than think about Shale. She really needed to stop checking him out. She needed to be more careful about where she slept, and about straightening her own clothing as well. They’d had sex once. Just once. It was a while ago. It was over! It wasn’t happening again! The last thing she wanted was for Shale to show interest because he felt obliged to do so. That would be awful. He had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in her in that way. He had been nothing but kind, sweet and helpful since coming back in her life.

  Sweet.

  Kind.

  Nope, he had no feelings for her. He may have been attracted to her once, but not anymore. Georgia turned to look at a side profile of herself. Her ass was bigger. Her hips were…. Arghhhhh! Her boobs were worse. Oh, heaven help her. They were like big melons. Big, milk-filled melons. They were awful! She was hairy and—

  Enough!

  Georgia realized that she was being too hard on herself. She’d given birth just two days before. It felt like weeks. She smiled to herself. She was a mom. Her boys were healthy and beautiful. She was being an idiot. She stepped under the hot spray and groaned. She needed to concentrate on being a good mother. That was all! She also needed to check in with Macy. She hoped her mom was doing okay. Georgia put the toothbrush down on the rack and lathered up. She put shampoo in her hair and rinsed off, feeling some of the tension in her shoulders release. She put a detangling conditioner in her hair and brushed her teeth before doing a final rinse and stepping out of the shower.

  Georgia quickly toweled off and got dressed. It felt like she’d been gone for ages. She already felt so much better. It was amazing what a freshen up could do for a person.

  She contemplated leaving her hair as it was. It would be a wild mess if she did that. Georgia massaged a no-rinse conditioner into her wet locks and brushed it through. She considered putting on a little make-up. No! Not happening! Georgia quickly made her way back to the living room.

  She could hear the baby fussing. Damn! She’d taken too long. She should have just left her hair. Then she heard Shale sing. No freaking fair. The guy had a good voice as well. A body like a warrior god, the face of an angel… Were there male angels? It didn’t matter. He looked like one and sounded like one too. He sang a nursery rhyme but made up his own words. It was too cute.

  Georgia looked around the door jamb, noting that Shale faced the other way. He was bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, rocking the baby, still singing.

  The baby’s fussing grew louder and angrier. He was hungry. She had already come to recognize that particular cry.

  Her breasts felt full and tight. Her nipples tingled. “Let me take him,” she said, walking into the room.

  Shale turned and smiled. “You look better.”

  “I feel better. Thank you.”

  “I changed his diaper,” Shale said as the little one gave a loud wail.

  Her breasts tingled some more. “I think you’d better give him to me.”

  Shale was staring at her chest.

  “What is it?” She looked down. “Oh shit! You’d better give him to me quickly.” There were wet spots on her top. One on each breast. The spots were getting bigger and bigger with every passing second. Her boobs still felt tight. Her nipples were tingling even more. The baby was full-on crying now and her body was reacting.

  Georgia sat down. By now, her top was plastered to her chest and very wet. How much freaking milk was even inside her? This was ridiculous. “Give him to me,” she half-yelled.

  When she looked up, Shale was grinning. He was looking at her chest and grinning. Then he was chuckling. “A different type of wet t-shirt contest, Wyoming, and I have to say, you win!” She could tell that he was joking. “You’re the hands-down winner!” His eyes were still on her boobs.

  Georgia found herself smiling. “I’m the only person in this competition, so it stands to reason I would win.”

  She pulled her soaking top open. It was one of those numbers specially designed for breastfeeding. Then she unclipped her wet bra and held her hands up for her son, who was still crying. Milk still leaked from her nipples. It was a mess.

  “Um…I’m pretty sure you’d win in a room full of contestants, Georgia.” Was it her imagination or had Shale’s voice sounded husky just then? What was that look in his eyes? It wasn’t lust. No damned way!

  She looked back down at her now squirting boob, quickly putting her son to her nipple. He latched beautifully.

  “I’ll go and get you something to help clean up with,” Shale said as he walked from the room.

  Um…nope, there was no way he had been checking her leaky, sticky, milky breasts out. There was just no way.

  Shale reappeared moments later, carrying a towel. “I wasn’t sure whether to get you clean clothing.” He winced. “I didn’t want to rifle through your underwear drawer.”

  “That’ll work.”

  Chapter 19

  She smiled up at him as he placed the towel on the sofa next to her, within reaching distance.

  “I could help you…dry up.” Wipe her breasts. Was he seriously offering to wipe her chest for her?

  “I’m good.” She smiled. “I’ll get to it in a moment. This little guy is already getting sleepy.”

  “Milk drunk,” Shale said, watching his son feeding. Lucky little tyke.

  Not looking.

  Not thinking about Georgia’s breasts.

  Not doing it!

  His dick was taking notice though. It shouldn’t, and again, it may make him a sicko, but there it was. Who made feeding clothing white? That was insane. He swallowed thickly, recalling how she had looked with her top plastered to her chest. Her plump nipples poking holes through the cotton fabric. Her mounds full. So gloriously full.

  He leaned forward, resting on his elbows hoping she didn’t notice that he was sporting a semi, and if he didn’t think about something else, he would have a full-blown erection soon. “We need to come up with names for these boys.”

  “I know.” She pushed out a breath. “It’s a tough one. My brain feels foggy. Naming a child is such an important thing. They have to live with whatever name their parents give them for the rest of their lives.”

  “We have to start somewhere. Did you have something in mind?” he asked. “What about your dad?”

  Shale assumed the male had passed away. Might be nice to—

  “No way!” She shook her head, her shoulders tensing. Her eyes held a look of horror.

  “Oh, I just assumed he was dead and that—”

  “He left my mom and me when I was eight. He came home one day and packed his stuff up. My dad told us that he was done with the rat race. With the nine-to-five drone. He was done with being responsible. Raising a kid apparently wasn’t for him. My mom tried to talk him into staying. I just remember crying and crying. I loved my dad.” She shrugged. “I didn’t want him to go. Then he up and left, and that was the last I saw of him.”

  “What is his name?” Shale asked.

  “Patrick.”

  “Okay, so definitely not Patrick then. I’m sorry you had such a bad experience.” It was such a lame-ass thing to say. It would have been a defining moment in her life. No wonder she had expected him to be a deadbeat. No fucking wonder. Shale ground his teeth together for a moment. “Guy was a real winner!” he added, feeling pissed off.

  “We were okay after he left.” Georgia put their son on her shoulder and tapped his back softly. “My mom had to work two jobs after that. I got a part-time job as soon as I was able. We had each other.” Her voice hitched. He watched the column of her throat work. “Now you understand why I can’t abandon her.”

  “I completely understand,” Shale said. “I’m working on it. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to get your hopes up
. There is a plan in motion.”

  The baby burped. It was soft and at just the right moment. They locked eyes and laughed. “Thank you,” she murmured when the moment ended. “I appreciate it. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. It’s more than I could ever have imagined.” She looked like she was struggling with something. “My dad left because we were cramping his style. We were making him feel claustrophobic. I don’t want you to ever feel that way.”

  What the fuck? Was she really comparing him to her deadbeat asshole of a father? Shale forced himself to hear her out.

  “We’re sharing this apartment right now, but we don’t have to keep this living arrangement. It might be a bit awkward when you date other people. When we both…date…other, um, people.”

  What the hell?

  “I mean you can, that is, date other people. I don’t want to get in your way. If that’s what you want, then…” She shrugged. “You’re a fantastic father. I would never deny you your sons. I just wanted you to know that.”

  “Good to know.” He nodded once, his mind racing. What was she saying? His blood boiled at the thought of her with other males. “Your dad left because he was an asshole. He made a ton of excuses. None of them were valid. You and the boys will never cramp my style.”

  She nodded. “Good. I’m glad. You can date, though, and we don’t have to always live together.”

  “I’m going to assume you don’t plan on dating anyone just yet?” He fucking prayed that wasn’t the case. “I mean you just gave birth and you’re, well…” He pointed at her wet shirt.

  “No!” She choked out a laugh. “Of course not! I have no plans on dating anyone any time soon. That’s for sure. I have my hands full.” She looked down at their son, her eyes filling with warmth.