Liam stared back at her. “Maybe they were trying to protect you. Kellan Cormac was in Texas with me. His parents were the leader of our clan. We’ve had ongoing battles with the witches, dangerous battles.”
“I don’t care.” Her voice broke. “They could have told me. I knew they didn’t love me. They don’t seem to have the capacity to have real emotion, though they did take care of me. I would have chosen to be with my tribe if they had told me. What was left of it, anyway.”
“Brynne, I—”
“Stop. There’s nothing you can say that will help.” She pressed her hand to her mouth.
All these years.
Why now? Why would the vampires have given her name to Liam now after all these years of concealing their existence from her? Would they have turned on her?
When she was younger, she asked that question of them. Nicolae had assured her that would never happen. He claimed there was no price tag high enough to make him betray her. What if he lied? He’d lied about the continued existence of dragons. Liam standing here was proof of that.
Or maybe Liam wasn’t even a dragon at all.
What if this wasn’t even real? It had been so long since she’d been around a shifter. What if she didn’t recognize the feeling anymore? What if the witches had come up with a spell? What if they could make one of their own look and feel like a dragon shifter?
She took a step back. She had to get the fuck away from whatever this man was.
He stepped closer. “Brynne. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.“
“Too fucking late for that.“ She grabbed her skis and poles and took off running. She knew every inch of these woods. He’d never catch up to her.
5
Liam
Liam watched her run away from him.
Wow, you really screwed that up.
He tucked his skis under his arm and ran after her. Her enticing scent called to him.
It was no excuse, but he’d been transfixed—absolutely and utterly transfixed—by her presence. In all his years near Kellan’s billions of dollars, Liam had been exposed to some beautiful women. Supermodels, socialites, and occasionally, even A-list actresses attended Kellan’s charity events that were held in Dallas.
He’d chatted with the women and admired them, but never once had he wanted to spend more time with one of them. With Brynne, being near her was all he could think about. His mind had been consumed. All thoughts of asking her to be a surrogate flew right out the window. His dragon pushed at him, wanting to know if she could be his mate.
Mate, mate, mate, his dragon had insisted.
It’s too soon. I’ll terrify her if I start talking about mates five minutes after we met.
His dragon grumbled but finally settled down as he raced through the woods, leaping over large rocks and fallen limbs.
The even more astonishing part was that she’d been part of his clan. He remembered her parents clearly. He had flashes of her in his memory, but she’d been a little girl shifter, one of many that raced around with candied beef jerky and played soccer all day, both in human form and out of it.
The two of them meeting now had to be fate. There was no other explanation. Apparently, Brynne had felt differently.
And what the hell were the vampires playing at? They had raised her? She’d been with them since she was ten? God, what a shitty situation for a child.
When he’d first heard the anguish in her voice, he’d been ready to rip each vampire apart, limb from limb, no matter the consequences. How dare they harm her in any way? But no, it sounded like they’d done their best. Their best just wasn’t going to ever be what she’d have gotten from a shifter clan or from a human family. They had saved her, and Nicolae had been right. If she’d stayed in Ireland, the witches would have taken her for their own. Who knows what those depraved assholes would have done with her at age ten.
Then there was the matter of the vampires lying to her about their knowledge of other shifters. Liam had been sincere when he said maybe that was Nicolae’s way of protecting her. Clearly, that hadn’t been the right thing to say.
Liam could only imagine the years of loneliness she must have suffered.
Also, why the fuck had Aleksandr not told her that Liam was coming to visit? Had he forgotten? Doubtful. Vampires didn’t forget anything unless they wanted to. Damn him.
Liam vowed right then that he’d dump the idea of surrogacy. No matter how appealing it was to have a child with Brynne, it wasn’t fair to her. She was clearly reeling from having him show up. She’d expected a bumbling human to show up for a beginner ski lesson, and she’d gotten a member of her long-lost clan, a member that she hadn’t known existed, and that reminded her of her painful past. Also, Liam had caused a rift in her relationship with the vampires who’d rescued her and raised her.
However, that didn’t mean he was going to leave her alone in her misery. He was going to find her and apologize, and if she was interested, he was going to tell her all about his brothers, his nieces and nephews, and their life in Texas. He was going to invite her to stay in Texas and get to know what was left of her dragon shifter clan, too.
6
Brynne
As Brynne raced through the woods on the mountain, Liam gained on her. She wasn’t used to having anyone around that could physically match her. Not even the fittest bodybuilder or champion olympian could keep up with her if she used her full strength.
As she ran further up the mountain, the snow became deeper. She paused long enough to put her skis on. She had quit going uphill and started going across the mountain. She was off the beaten path, and the trees were thick and hard to navigate. Even if Liam could ski, he wouldn’t be as adept as she was, especially not at cross-country skiing.
Fifteen minutes into one of the hardest skis of her life, Liam sailed by, cutting his skis in the snow as he turned to look at her.
She turned, coming to a stop. She stuck her poles into the ground and leaned over on them. “Why are you here?”
“I told you, the vampires gave me your name.”
“But why?” she asked. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”
“Brynne…”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m unreasonable. You showed up while I was working, with a clearly fake appointment for a ski lesson.”
“It wasn’t fake. I paid for it, and I showed up.”
She put one hand on her hip. She felt her nostrils flare. “Were you going to pretend that you couldn’t ski? Because you’re almost as good as I am, and I do this every day for six months out of the year. Sometimes longer when I fly to Europe in the summers.”
“I wasn’t going to pretend I couldn’t ski. I was just going to ask for you to help me brush up on my skis.”
“Which you didn’t need,” she said.
He planted his poles in the ground. “No. I’ve skied frequently over the years.”
She crossed her arms. “So, you lied.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I thought it was a good way to meet you. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Why couldn’t you have just walked up and introduced yourself?” she asked.
“That would clearly have been the better method. I wasn’t sure you’d realize I was a shifter.”
“I could feel you coming toward me. I was even aware of you being here before that.”
“I didn’t know it would be like that. Or at least so strong. I can feel my brothers and my nieces and nephews, but I thought it was because we were so close,” he said. “I didn’t know it would happen with you.”
“I’m your tribe member, too.” As the words left her mouth, she deflated. She didn’t care what his motives were. He was part of her history and part of who she was as a shifter. The words were powerful, and she hadn’t realized that until she’d spoken them.
His eyes widened. “You’re right. You are. You belong with us.”
She popped her skis off and sat down, right in the snow. She buried her face i
n her hands. “God. I’ve waited fifteen years to hear that. I had no idea how it would feel.”
He popped his skis off and plopped down next to her in the snow. She felt his large hand land on her back. She took a few measured breaths. The cold seeped into her body, grounding her. Whatever this was, she could handle it. “I’m glad you came here,” she said when she was finally ready to speak again. “But I want to know why.”
“It’s going to sound really weird and possibly creepy.”
Snowflakes began to fall harder. “I really need to hear whatever you have to say now,” she insisted.
7
Liam
Once again, damn the vampires and their weird, secretive nature. They’d really hung him out to dry on this one.
How the hell do I tell a female that I want her to carry my child?
Was it offensive to ask her to be a surrogate? He had no fucking clue. He didn’t know anything anymore, other than he didn’t want to lose her for good. He’d only just gotten her.
“Please, Liam,” she said. “Don’t lie to me.”
Fucking shit. Damn the vampires for not telling her that he was coming like he’d asked them to. He was going to do the right thing and tell her the truth. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“We’re talking right now.”
“I’d prefer to have this discussion in private. I’d like to sit down with you in a café.” At least in a café, there’d be other people around. Maybe she’d be more likely to sit and hear his story before deciding that he was one-hundred percent insane.
He thought she might refuse, but she surprised him. “There’s a small gondola a few hundred feet away. If we take it up the mountain, there’s a little café near the summit. It’s only accessible to advanced skiers, and it’s not busy at all this time of year.”
He stood and held out his hand. She didn’t need his help to get up, but he hoped she’d take it anyway. She did, and once again, his skin crackled with energy as her smaller hand was enveloped by his.
They were the only two people on the gondola. He wanted to be respectful, but his cock wasn’t getting the message. His cock wanted to be inside her lush body. The likelihood of that happening might be pretty slim at this point, but he wasn’t going to give up. If she wasn’t interested in surrogacy, maybe she’d be interested in dating. His dragon wanted her, and so did he.
She positioned herself next to him in the gondola. Having all the layers between them was frustrating. He wanted to strip her naked and kiss every inch of her creamy body. He kept his hands to himself, though, and held onto his poles so tightly they nearly broke in half. Once they disembarked the gondola, he learned that skiing with an erection was not fun, but it was possible.
Once they were seated inside the café with a steaming mug of hot chocolate for her and a cup of black coffee for him, she asked him to tell her the truth, again. “Don’t omit details, please,” she said.
He sipped at his coffee. He’d finally gotten his libido under control, thank God, but sitting across from her, staring at her flushed face and her delicate features, made his cock hard all over again. “I want to be a father.”
“How exactly does that involve me?”
“Two of my brothers have children. I want what they have, but I haven’t found a mate. I didn’t adopt because I really don’t want a human child for several reasons, but the main reason is that I think I’d jeopardize a human baby’s life.” She nodded, and he kept talking. “I wanted to find a surrogate mother to carry my child.”
She twisted, turning her entire body to face him. “Say that again.”
“I told you it was bizarre.” He was going to tell her the truth, though. “I went to the vampires because I wanted to find a surrogate mother to carry my child. I didn’t want to involve a human. I wanted a female shifter, but I didn’t know of any. However, I knew the vampires would.” He laughed without humor. “But they didn’t bother to mention that they’d raised you. That would have been nice to know.”
“Yeah, it would have,” she said with a sigh. “I stopped trying to figure the vampires out a long time ago. They operate on a totally different wavelength than the rest of us.”
As much as he relied on them, and valued their help, the idea of living with them made him shudder. Despite her tumultuous upbringing, Brynne was an amazing female, and Liam felt lucky to have met her. He regretted causing her any distress, but now he owed it to her to finish telling her why he was here on her mountain.
8
Brynne
A surrogate? To carry a baby? What the hell? And why me?
“Is there something about me that screams, ‘I want to have a baby for you?’” she asked.
“Of course not, and this isn’t personal. The only reason I’m here is that I asked the vampires to find a surrogate mother for me.” He shrugged. “Yours was the only name they had.”
“So, the vampires who raised me gave out my name as a possible surrogate.”
“Yes,” he said.
“That’s fucking weird.”
“I agree. It’s very weird, and if I’d understood the situation, I’d never have shown up here like this.”
“Would you have contacted me at all?” Brynne asked. As pissed off as she was with the vampires, she could deal with it. What she couldn’t deal with was the thought of never knowing Liam and his family were alive and well, living in Texas. Despite the rough introduction, she wanted to get to know them.
“If I had known you were living here in Colorado without any other dragon shifters, yes. I would have.” He laid his hand on top of hers. “I would have contacted you years ago, had I known you were with the vampires. I’m sorry we didn’t find you.”
Her eyes misted over again. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Nicolae only lets you know the things he deems relevant. So…” She shrugged.
In the back of her mind, she began to let herself consider what it would be like to have Liam’s child. She’d always thought she didn’t want to be a mother. The encounters with the children on the ski slopes had been more than enough of a deterrent, and if she had wanted to have a child, she’d have been unsure if mating with a human male would produce a shifter child or a human child.
If the child was born a dragon shifter, she’d have to tell her husband or partner the truth before their toddler’s eyes started glowing yellow, and she just couldn’t fathom that conversation. So she stayed single, and she didn’t consider having a child. Now, sitting across from this scorching-hot man ignited feelings she’d never had before. Liam was gorgeous, and while she’d been aware of that fact, her inner turmoil had not allowed her to fully appreciate his looks.
God, he was considerate, too. He’d realized how distressed she was about the vampires lying to her, and he’d backed off. He was a strong, successful male, but he hadn’t bulldozed her with his request.
Before she could truly consider his request, she needed to hear about the other shifters he lived near. She took a sip of her hot chocolate, savoring the whipped cream and marshmallow taste. “Tell me about the rest of your family.”
“Do you remember Kellan?” he asked.
She had a vague memory of a tall teenage boy with sparkling blue eyes who’d spent his days swooping along the cliffs and his nights chatting with the tribe elders.
“I do,” she said, leaning forward.
Liam began to tell her all about his three brothers, who had started as friends. He talked at length about Kellan, Quinn, and Brennan, and their lives in Cedar Lake, Texas. He also told her of Kellan and Quinn’s human wives and their children that were born shifters. At first, bitter resentment rippled through her body, but she pushed it back. She had time with Liam now, and resentment wouldn’t do either of them any good. She hung onto every word and detail as Liam described the three male shifters she’d known as a girl.
“Now tell me about the surrogacy,” she said when he had finished.
“We don’t have to discuss that,” Liam
said. “You are welcome in our family. We’d love for you to visit Texas or even come live near us. None of that is conditional on surrogacy.”
Liam was a gentleman, though and though, but she wanted to know what he wanted. “Look, I can’t say it wasn’t a shocking proposition, but I’m an adult, and it’s a perfectly legal thing to ask someone. So ask.”
Liam smiled. “I can do that. As I said, I want to be a father. I’ve never connected with a human woman, and I don’t think it’s fair to use a human as a surrogate without telling her the baby she’s carrying will be a dragon shifter.”
Brynne nodded. “I felt the same way about having kids with a human.”
“So that left having a baby with a shifter female. I’ve heard there are shifters scattered all over Europe, but because of the witches, my brothers tried to stay out of Europe for the most part. Since I didn’t know any shifter females or even where to look, I called the vampires. You know the rest.”
“So, if I agreed, how would this work?”
“First, we’d discuss the terms and go over what we both expect. Then, we’d draw up a contract, and we’d each have our own lawyer. I’ll handle my side, but I’d want someone who specializes in this area to make sure the terms are fair to you.”
She nodded, even though the thought of being indoors with all those humans made her skin crawl. She hated the institutional feel of big office buildings with no natural light. “What’s next?”
“Well, if you agree, I would like it if you moved to Cedar Lake with me for the full nine months of your pregnancy. In addition to the payment, I will take care of all your expenses. You could also get to know the rest of our family.”
“I definitely want to get to know your family.”
“You can do that anytime, with or without the surrogacy.”
Lawyer Dragon's Surrogate (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 3) Page 3
