“Are you okay?” It was Sand. He had her by the arm and was facing the other way.
Georgia realized that she was panting. Her chest was moving up and down in quick succession. If she didn’t get herself under control soon, she was going to have to breathe into a paper bag. “No,” she managed to push out. “I’m not.”
Georgia couldn’t take her eyes off Shale, who finally realized Perky-Tits was talking to him. He wiped the drool off his mouth and gave the goofiest looking smile to dragon lady. The kind of smile a guy got when he had sex on the brain.
Perky-Tits said something else and then pushed those neat little suckers against his chest. His bare chest.
Georgia was blinking quickly, trying hard not to cry.
“Come with me,” Sand said, returning his gaze to her. “Let’s go,” he added, ushering them from the room.
Georgia’s lip quivered. She nodded, allowing herself to be led. Sand pushed the stroller. He put an arm around her. “That might not be what you think it is.”
“Um…you’re a sweet brother, but don’t do that…” Georgia shook her head. “We both know exactly what that was.” She was shocked at the level of anger in her voice. “I don’t know why I’m even reacting like this.” She gave another shake of her head, feeling sad all over again. “Shale never promised me anything. In fact, he’s always maintained that we’re not together. I pushed him to date. I told him to go tonight and to have fun.” Her voice broke as she said the word.
Fun!
Hah!
“I guess I never expected— We’re going the wrong way,” she said. “I’m sure Shale’s place is that way.” She pointed behind them.
“Here we are.” Sand pushed a door open as they turned a corner. He felt along the wall and turned a light on. “My place. I thought you might want some company in a neutral space.” They went inside.
It was a bachelor pad to a T. Exactly what she had expected to find Shale living in. A pool table dominated the far corner. There was also a foosball table and a wet towel lying on the floor. Sand kicked it to the side, gesturing for her to come in the rest of the way. “I won’t bite, you know!”
“Just to be clear.” She cocked her head. “Shale might be off…doing whatever he’s doing...” she wiped away a tear ‒ stupid, stupid tear, “but I’m not ready to…do anything with you or anyone else. Especially you since you’re his twin.”
Sand laughed. “I know that. My reasons for flirting with you are two-fold. Firstly, I think you’re fucking hot. I mean…” He whistled, giving her the once-over. “Look at you in that dress.”
Georgia laughed, despite the tears were still leaking out of her stupid, stupid eyes.
“Secondly, I’m doing it so that my dickhead brother will catch a damn wake up before he loses you. I wish I had gotten to you first, babe, but I can see when I’m beat. You’re in love with Shale.”
She snorted. “I hardly know Shale, and he’s exactly the opposite of my type. He’s too good-looking, and a player. He’s also arrogant and an ass. I also wish I had met you first. You’re really sweet.”
Sand choked out a laugh. “Hardly. Let’s sit down. I’m going to get you something to drink and then I’m going to call that asshole brother of mine.”
“Don’t bother.” She shook her head. “I doubt he would even answer. He’ll be too busy screwing Perky-Tits.” She burst into tears. Up until then, she’d had leaky eyes but, in that moment, when saying it out loud, the floodgates opened.
“Oh, angel.” Sand opened his arms and she shuffled in closer. She put her head against his chest and balled her eyes out. Like any good friend, he wrapped her up in his arms and hugged her tight. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured.
There was a sudden loud crash that frightened the bejesus out of her. “What the fuck is going on here!” Shale snarled.
“It’s not what you think.” Sand let her go and walked towards Shale. He put up a hand, trying to ward him off. Shale looked pissed. He looked taller than he normally was. His big muscles now bulged. Especially the ones on either side of his neck…and his biceps. Good lord, but his biceps were huge. Probably because he was clenching his fists.
He growled low, reminding her of an angry tiger. “You fucker!” he roared, all of that animosity aimed at his brother.
There was a crunching noise as his fist met with Sand’s jaw. Sand went flying backwards. He used the pool table to keep himself from falling.
“Stop!” she screamed. “Stop it!” she added, when she saw Shale was positioning himself to hit Sand again. What the hell was he doing? Why was Shale there? Where was the dragon lady?
“Stop it!” she yelled again as she pushed the stroller as far away from the fighting men as she could get. Then again, Sand was putting up a defensive position. He held his hands up to block any potential blows.
“What are you doing with my female? Mine!” He roared the last.
“Nothing!” Sand yelled. “I swear—”
“Didn’t look like fucking nothing.” Shale shoved Sand. Thankfully away from where she and the babies were. Sand fell on his ass, landing hard.
“Shale, bro—”
“Don’t you dare ‘Shale bro’ me, you piece of fucking shit.” Shale aimed a finger at Sand. “Don’t you dare say another word.”
Shale turned back to her. His eyes. Good lord! They were a bright, glowing golden color and slitted. Shale was a dragon. A fact she still sometimes forgot. He had a couple of scales on his chest as well. They were a beautiful green and iridescent. “Shale,” she managed to mutter as she watched him advance.
“We’re leaving.” His nostrils flared with every deep inhalation. A vein throbbed on his forehead. He took the stroller and began pushing it towards the door.
“It’s not—” Sand began.
“Shut the fuck up,” Shale said, under his breath, sounding even more terrifying. “Come,” he said to her. “Let’s go,” he added when she didn’t move.
“You’re scaring me,” she said, looking back at Sand. “Are you okay? Will you—”
“Don’t talk to him,” Shale growled. “Let’s go! We need to have a serious conversation and it can’t fucking wait.”
“You’re being an asshole!”
“I’m fine.” Sand rubbed his jaw. “Go!”
“You don’t get to speak to my female. Not fucking ever!” Shale snarled.
“Don’t speak to Sand like that!” She put her hands on her hips. “You can leave. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Fine!” he grunted, letting the handles of the stroller go. “Stay with him. Hope you guys are very happy together.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What’s gotten into you? I’m the one who should be angry. Where’s your dragon girlfriend?” She blurted the last, wishing she hadn’t.
He turned stormy eyes on her. “What dragon girlfri—?” He frowned. “Who, Topaz?” His frown deepened, like he didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Topaz,” Georgia repeated and then nodded. “Figures she’d have a name like that,” she mumbled. “The one who was rubbing her chest all over you. You had a goofy smile plastered on your face and couldn’t stop—”
“I had the goofy look because I was thinking of you and the boys.”
“Yeah, right! Like hell! I wasn’t born yesterday, you know!”
Sand chuckled from somewhere behind them. He winced and clutched his jaw. “Your female was crying because she saw you and Topaz together looking all cozy. I was consoling her when you busted in.”
“Consoling her, my ass,” Shale boomed.
“Take a look at your female’s eyes, wise-ass. You can see she’s been crying, if you actually take the time to look.” Sand got up off the ground.
Shale looked at her, his eyes first narrowing and then softening.
“I’m with Georgia on this one. You and Topaz did look cozy together.” He made a face. “I thought the same as Georgia, for a second. Only, you haven’t hung out with Topa
z in the longest time. Not Topaz or any other female. I don’t think you would start now. Not after the way I’ve seen you look at Georgia. Not after all this possessive bullshit.” He rubbed his jaw again.
“What are you talking about?” she asked Sand.
“It’s mating behavior. It’s directed at you, Georgie Girl.” Sand winked.
Shale growled low and deep.
Sand smirked. “See what I mean? I don’t believe for a second that Shale was ever going to take Topaz up on her offer.”
She scowled. “I know what I saw,” Georgia said. “At least, that’s what it looked like.” Maybe she was wrong about the dragon lady. “You have slept with her before.” God, that came out sounding jealous.
Sand chuckled. “See, you’re just as bad as he is.”
“I apologize for busting in here and for hitting you without getting the facts first.” He turned to her. “I apologize for being a jerk, Georgia. I really think we should go now. We need to talk this through, in private.”
Georgia nodded once. “Okay.” She looked Sand’s way. He was grinning like a madman. “Thank you for your help. Sorry you got beat up.”
Sand’s grin was gone in an instant. Shale chuckled.
“I didn’t get beat up!” Sand half-yelled. “I didn’t fight back. There’s a big difference.”
“Okay, okay.” Georgia put up her hands. “Thanks for your help. I’ll leave it at that.”
“Any time, Georgia.” He winked at her.
Shale muttered a curse under his breath. “You’re doing that on purpose.”
“Damn straight,” Sand chuckled.
Shale’s lips twitched. “Stop! Your jaw can’t take another hit.” He pushed the stroller out into the hall. The babies were still sound asleep, which was nuts after all the growling and shouting that had just gone on.
Georgia walked next to them. If she thought her heart had been pounding before, she was wrong. It was pounding now. So hard and so loudly that she could barely hear anything else.
Chapter 23
They were back at the apartment in what felt like a half a minute but was probably closer to three. The door shut behind them with an ominous click that reverberated around the room.
“I’m going to put the babies in their beds.” He pushed the stroller towards their room.
“No.” Georgia shook her head. “They’re clearly comfortable in their bassinets.” She widened her eyes. “They have to be, after sleeping through all that.”
He nodded, pushing the stroller so that it was up against the wall.
“So, you…” she began.
“That was…” he said, at the same time. “You go first,” Shale said.
“Now that we’re here, I don’t know what to say.” She shook her head. The thing was, she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. What if she was still reading this wrong?
“Yes, you do, Georgia. Just say what’s on your mind.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Who is Topaz to you?”
“Nothing.” He folded his arms. Shale wasn’t making this easy for her. He kept his eyes on hers.
“You have…had a thing with her?”
Shale shrugged. “Not really. We fucked a couple of times. That’s all.”
“Oh! Okay.” She nodded her head, far too quickly. “I can see why you would…have a thing…with her. I mean, she’s really beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” His tone softened.
Ouch! It hurt hearing him say it. “You’re beautiful in your own way, Georgia. You know that, don’t you?”
In her own way. That wasn’t really a compliment. Or was it?
He ran a hand through his hair and made a groaning noise that was laced with frustration. “You’re overthinking it. All of it. Us! For a fucking gorgeous female, you have zero confidence in yourself. Something I find so goddamn sexy and, at the same time—seriously irritating.”
“O-okay,” she stammered. What did you say to that? He found her sexy and fucking gorgeous. His words! Maybe he was saying them because he believed she wanted to hear them. Not because he meant them.
“There you go again.” Shale paced away from her a stride or two before walking back. “You were crying earlier. Why?”
“Because…b-because…I thought you were going to leave with her.” She licked her lips.
“And?” he pushed.
She shrugged. “I didn’t like it.”
“Why not, Georgia? Speak to me.” He came in closer. “We’re not talking to each other here. I’ve been afraid of bombarding you. Of scaring you away. This…” he gestured around them. “It’s all a lot to take in. I felt we could settle into being parents first. Get things straightened out with your mother as well, and then…”
“And then what?”
“According to you, we should move into separate apartments. You want me to start dating other people…yesterday.” He widened his eyes. “Yet, when you think I am doing as you asked, you get upset. I’m getting mixed signals here, Mississippi.”
She shook her head and swiped a hand over her face, feeling like an idiot. She had said that. She had been upset as well.
“What was that about?” he asked.
“I don’t want you to move out or to date other people. I said it because I thought it’s what you wanted. I don’t want to hold you back. You can be a dad to the boys without being with me. I don’t want you doing anything because you feel obligated. You said it yourself when we first arrived. You said it in front of half your lair. You told everyone that we weren’t together. That we were just parents to the twins. That, that was it.”
“At the time it was true. Things change, Georgia.” He took her hand and squeezed. “I knew then that there was something between us. I wasn’t sure if that something was enough. Now I know.”
“It’s only been a few days.” She laughed, but it sounded hollow and a touch nervous.
“It doesn’t matter. I know.” Shale took her other hand. “I don’t want to scare you. I planned on giving you space and it isn’t working out so well. I need to tell you my feelings, here.” He let her hands go; they felt cold, so she clasped them together. “I can still give you space. I’ll even move out, if that’s what you want, but I won’t be taking Topaz or anyone else up on any offers, and while there’s still a chance for us to be together, I might beat anyone who looks at you the wrong way. It might happen often, because you have the finest…” he shook his head. “Let me not be a crass dick right now. I want to explore this.” He gestured between them. “Us. Not just because of the babies.” He shook his head. “Sand was right. I haven’t touched another female since you. I didn’t think too much about it. I told myself it was because I was holding out for another human female. I told myself a bunch of bullshit, but I think I felt something…even then. I’m not saying I was pining for you, or that I would have stayed celibate indefinitely, but it was there. A spark. A ‘something’.”
“Phew!” She pushed out a breath. “This is a lot to take in. You’re right!”
“You’re a little nervous, aren’t you?”
She nodded. Georgia had been so sure about the two of them. About wanting Shale. Right then though, she was feeling apprehensive, like this was moving too fast all of a sudden. “I told you my dad left when I was little.”
He nodded.
“My ex left as well. As soon as things got rough, that was him, gone.”
“What happened?” Shale asked, brow furrowing.
“My mom happened. Her illness.” Her lip quivered, so she bit down on it for a moment while she pulled herself together. “She was getting worse. The time came to make some tough decisions. Tate wanted me to put her in a state home. One with basic care. I guess she would have been okay, but I couldn’t do it. We were saving for our wedding, but I couldn’t anymore. Every spare cent I had. Heck! Money I didn’t really have, all went to my mom. I also couldn’t put her in a home just yet. Not when she still had so many good days. I couldn’t do it to her.” Her vo
ice hitched. She swallowed down her tears. “I brought her home. To my house with Tate. We had a spare bedroom. I hired nurses. Only part of her care was covered. It meant pushing the wedding out indefinitely, but we could do it. We could still afford our lives and pay for mom.” She pushed out a breath.
“What happened?” Shale clenched his jaw. “I can guess.”
Georgia nodded. “I struggled with the whole thing. I felt caught between them. My mom and Tate. We fought all the time. It was endless. I felt so much guilt. Guilt because part of me wanted to give in and put her in a home, and guilt for even thinking such a thing. Then I felt guilt because I felt selfish. I was only thinking of my own feelings and not his.”
“That’s bullshit,” Shale growled. “He should never have put you in that position.”
“Yes, it was bullshit. When Tate gave me an ultimatum…when he told me to essentially choose between him or my mom…” She shrugged. “It was a no brainer. My mom and I moved out a week later.”
“He made you leave?” Shale’s eyes had that stormy look again.
“It was his apartment, so yeah, we moved. My mom would never have abandoned me, and I won’t ever abandon her.”
“We’ll go and see her tomorrow.”
Georgia felt her heart lift. “Do you mean it?”
Shale nodded.
“That’s great.” She threw her hands around his shoulders. They both tensed as their bodies touched. Georgia pulled away first.
“So, you need to tell me where we go from here.” He tugged on one of her curls. “Mating behavior, New York. That means I’m all in. It didn’t take long. Shifters don’t need much time, but you’re human and you’ve been hurt. I get that. You know my feelings and we can take things as fast or as slow as you want, but we communicate from here on out. You are so used to putting others first. Of assuming what the other person wants and trying to give it to them even if it’s to your own detriment. Don’t do that anymore, okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll try.” Her heart raced…with nervous excitement. “I think we should date. Boyfriend and girlfriend.”
He smiled, it turned tense when his jaw tightened. “We’re exclusive, though.”
Dragon Whelps: Earth Dragons Series: Book 3 Page 18
