“Let’s finish locking up.” He tugged her around with him, latching windows and securing the doors as if they were living in some crime-ridden urban ghetto, instead of in peaceful West Haven. She let him perform this domestic ritual in hopes it would comfort him.
Then she led him out to the side deck and turned on the sauna, making sure the temperature was low enough for a pregnant woman. Even though she was a heat-tolerant dragoness, she would be careful.
Daniel took his clothes off with his usual efficiency. He did not attempt any sensual love play, and he did not speak. But every time she started to move away, he snagged her and kept her within arm’s reach.
He was in shock, she decided. “How about a cup of hot broth?” she asked.
“Aquavit would be better.”
“You’re too cold.”
“Then let’s get you naked and in the sauna.” He pulled off the rest of her clothes.
They usually enjoyed the sauna sprawled on opposite benches. Tonight Daniel kept her beside him. He was actually shivering now, even in the sultry heat of the sauna. She put an arm around his waist and leaned against him.
“Let it go, Daniel,” she advised softly.
“I could have died without ever seeing our child. Never made love to you again. Left you with a fireling to raise,” he blurted.
She could have smacked him. Hadn’t she been saying that for months? But this was no time to start an argument. “You came back safely,” she said.
“I was afraid,” he repeated in bewilderment. “I can’t do my job if my mind is elsewhere. I’m an old man, Angelina mine.”
Having felt his mortality for the first time, he was overreacting. Beneath his façade of level-headed, rational officer, he remained a hot-blooded Viking berserker and her passionate dragon.
“You’ll never be old, Lindorm. Just relax and enjoy the heat.”
“I love you,” he said convulsively. “I didn’t tell you before I left.”
She nestled rather closer and stroked his washboard stomach. “I know. I’ve always known. I love you too.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Daniel~
When he woke, Angelina was in her studio, elbow deep in a tub of clay, mixing it to her favorite consistency.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” He leaned against the archway.
“Moira is getting a friend to fill in. The coffee isn’t too old. And it’s not decaf. I thought I needed a boost this morning.”
He poured himself a cup and drank it while looking out the windows in the studio. Where he could keep an eye on his mate. His need to have her close was irrational. But he couldn’t help peeking at her. As if she might vaporize. Or something.
“I’m tendering my resignation,” he told his reflection in the sliders.
“Hmm. Have you told the Eldest?” She kept right on mixing the clay and paper pulp together. Getting it exactly right. Angie had strong hands for such a tiny woman.
“I just decided,” he said. “I thought your preliminary piece was done. Why do you need more clay?”
“I’m going to add another figure to the group,” she said vaguely. “I warned the Rutherfords that they were buying a concept, not a mold.”
“Will you come with me?” he asked.
She turned from her sludge. “Where? To see the Eldest?”
“Kitchen. I want some breakfast. And then I’m going to phone the Eldest and write a letter to Naval Command.” Saying it aloud eased some constriction in his mind and body.
“Give me a couple of minutes. I need to get this ready, and clean up before it sets hard.”
“Can I help?”
“Sure. You can carry the tub over to the worktable.”
“I thought you had a dolly on wheels?”
“I do, but it’s still heavy.”
“Glad to help.” He wrestled the bucket of clay across to her table and watched while she scraped muck off her hands and washed up. The water seemed to sparkle as it ran over her fingers. As if his vision had a new clarity. “Have you eaten?”
“Just yogurt. I was going to make an omelet. Would you like that?”
This domestic chitchat was reassuring. Calming. “Thank you for staying home.”
“You had quite a shock last night.”
He laid a hand over his heart, half surprised to find it still beating steadily. “I found out I’m past my prime. I would never have had trouble lifting one man before.” Or had to face his own cowardice.
“Melissa says Noel weighs the best part of 400 pounds! He’s a big guy who does serious weight lifting. And Quinn said he panicked and wouldn’t let go of the truck tire. You were trying to lift that weight with just your hind legs. You’re strong, Lindorm, but you’re not Superman.”
“I couldn’t see him,” he said. “I just knew I was about to fail – and die.” He tried to explain, without having to admit to his gutlessness. “I was consumed with the horror of a world in which our love had perished. Of going where I would never see your face again. Never hold our child. I don’t know how I managed to lift myself out of that pit. Or fly home.”
“Why didn’t you let go of him?” she asked casually as she wiped out the sink.
“He would have died!”
“That’s my hero,” she put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his heart. “That’s why I want you to give up heroics.”
He pressed his head into her hair and confessed. “I’m not fit to do my job. Not after last night.”
“It takes more courage, my love, to act when you’re weak with fear. Doing your duty when you can feel death breathing on your neck is a pretty good definition of bravery.”
“Then I have never been brave in my life,” he said in some surprise.
“Always,” she assured him. “Just because you stopped enjoying playing hero at the bitter end, doesn’t negate a lifetime of nobility.”
He couldn’t agree, but he couldn’t bring himself to say so. He changed the subject. “You’re not as gratified as I expected.”
“Gratified?”
“I thought you would be over the moon. Celebrating your victory.”
“I’m happy. Did you expect fairy dust and a chorus of angels?” She waved her hand. A spinning glitter ball appeared suspended from the studio ceiling, refracting the morning sun in a paranormal rainbow. A triumphal military march played. The scent of jasmine and rose wafted in a magical fog of music, lights, and sound.
Angie’s filthy smock vanished, leaving her clad only in a wispy bra and panties. She shimmied her hips. Daniel squinted at her, dazzled by the lights and bemused by the clamorous music and the magical fog permeating the room. The perfume made his head spin. The sunlight made her skin glow and her hair form a nimbus of light around her laughing face. But she didn’t look or feel like his prim, sensible wife.
“Too much?” she asked.
“A bit over the top.”
She waved her hand and restored her clay-smeared smock and jeans. The glitter ball and perfume vanished. The studio became a practical workshop instead of a paranormal disco. “We’re neither of us meant to live on the heights, Lindorm. Sea level will do just fine. Let’s go make breakfast.”
“One moment.” He dropped to his knees. “Will you wear my rings, Angie?”
She took his left hand in both hers and admired his ring. “It’s still shiny,” she said. “You haven’t worn it much.”
“It will get scuffed up soon enough.” He pulled his traveling hoard from his pants pocket and extracted her rings. “Yours look like they were polished yesterday.”
She chuckled. A sweet low sound like the tinkling of raindrops in a pool. “I watched you clean them myself.”
“Will you wear them?”
She held out her finger. “Yes, Daniel.”
For an eye-blink, the emeralds and diamonds glittered like the disco ball, then they settled down on her hand. “I love you, Angelina Lindorm, with all my heart.” He kissed her hand.
&nb
sp; “I love you, Daniel. Now and forever.”
“And you won’t sail west without me?” He confessed his fear.
Her joyful face sobered. She bent to kiss his forehead. “Never. We are bound together until death parts us.”
She laid a hand on her belly and added his to it. Their child bobbed and bounced in a happy dance. “We are going to have a long and happy life with our fireling. And maybe some brothers and sisters.”
He rose to his feet with his wife in his arms. “Shall we seal our bargain in the bedroom?”
“Maybe later. Right now we need to eat.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Six weeks later,
Angie~
“Where did you stash the champagne?” Angie poked her head inside the fridge.
“It’s still in the cases,” Daniel said. “We’ll chill it in an ice bath.”
“Who’s bringing the ice?”
“Melissa and Walter. Unless someone double-parks on Main Street and our fearless sheriff has to stamp out another crime wave.”
She smiled at his witticism and set out the vegetable trays on the kitchen table. “Maybe it’s too cool to sit outdoors this evening.”
“Stop fretting,” he ordered. “If Serena and Anton think the twins are likely to take a chill they will say so. I think the propane heaters will keep the deck toasty until the sun goes down.”
“I’m fussing, aren’t I?”
Daniel drew her into his arms so her back rested against his stomach. She was too large now to hold her closely face to face. “You are. Relax. Where did my placid fairy go?”
She sighed. “Do you think it’s my pregnancy?”
“I think it’s the stress of buying the house, appearing before the town council four times, dealing with my parents’ visit, and starting another sculpture. You could slow down a bit.”
“I heard that,” said a deep voice from behind them.
Daniel’s father, Lord Sven, was still more blond than gray, and his eyes were the same deep blue as his son’s. Right now they were twinkling. Her mother-in-law, Melisande walked in behind Sven.
“What can we do?” Lady Sven asked. She was almost as tall as her son and husband and her blonde coronet towered above Angie’s head.
Angie tried to slip out of Daniel’s embrace, but his arms tightened. “Even happy things can be stressful,” Daniel said.
“I love having you here, Papa and Mamma,” Angie assured her in-laws. “I wish you could stay longer.”
Melisande inclined her head graciously. “We’ll be back often. Particularly since Daniel got permission to build a helipad. We will want to see our grandchild again and again.”
Daniel let her go with a last kiss on top of her head. He pulled out a chair. “Sit,” he commanded, “And put your feet up.”
“He’s right.” Melisande placed a stepstool under Angie’s heels.
It felt wonderful to be cosseted and swathed in bubble wrap, but she had to maintain some independence or these dragons would roll right over her and she would be one flat fairy. “The snacks need to go on the table. And the shower gifts have to come out of the storeroom.”
“You rest, Angelina,” Lord Sven ordered. “We will accomplish these few things before your guests arrive.” He picked up the tray of vegetables and left.
Daniel followed carrying a tray of wine glasses. Melisande stirred the bowl of dip that Angie had made earlier. “I was not sure that Daniel would be happy retiring,” she said serenely. “But this is a good place. And this is a good house. A happy house with a good atmosphere.”
“Thank you.” Angie decided not to mention that the former owners had left their tainted wizardry behind. The purification had worked perfectly. “It’s not perfect yet, but now that we have a proper boathouse, and not just a jetty, we can think about what we will do in the spring. The locals tell us that we can plant fruit trees and berry bushes in the autumn, so that will be step one.”
“That is good. I agree that this lawn is not fitting for so wild a location. You will like it better when there are more birds and animals around.”
“As long as they are not raccoons!”
“I think those raccoons are cute,” argued Melisande.
“Cute and devilish. They scatter the compost, they overturn the garbage, they even got into the car!” Angie exclaimed.
Melisande chuckled and handed her the bowls of chopped tomatoes, onion and herbs and a mixing bowl and spoon. “Stir this,” she said. “I think that will be an easy job for an expectant mother.”
Angie stirred the bruschetta mix. “The bread should be sliced.”
“Daniel did this an hour ago. The slices are arranged on baking sheets, ready for the tomatoes.”
“Oh.”
“You rest and keep your feet up. Before long you will be rushed off your feet, and wishing you had used this time to take it easy. Tell me about these people you are honoring,” Mamma continued.
“Anton Benoit is the director of security at the museum where Daniel volunteers as a restorer. Serena usually works at the Tidewater Inn as a caterer. She’s a mermaid. Anton is from away, as they say on West Haven. He’s a bear shifter. Their twins came a little early but we’re celebrating Pierre and Paula’s safe arrival.”
“Early normal is for twins. They are healthy babies?”
“Healthy and good weights for dates. I had that from Dr. Peterson who delivered them. She is my doctor too.”
Melisande sat at the table and beamed. “I am glad you already have friends. Daniel has never made time to play. Here, he has much to occupy him. Finally he will be a normal Lindorm. And nowadays it is not so easy to find a place where dragons can fly openly. Daniel has promised to take us flying tomorrow.”
“I originally came to West Haven because the paranormal is normal here,” Angie said. “As for Daniel, he’s already taking lessons from the locals on the native flora and fauna so he will be ready to instruct our fireling.”
“That is an important duty that a father should not neglect. Not that my son would ever neglect a duty. But Daniel has not allowed himself to take pleasure in nature for many, many years.” Mamma frowned. “He has not permitted himself to enjoy nature as a Swede ought.”
Angie knew that part of every Swedish child’s education was learning to identify native plants and animals in the wild. It was a rare Swede who did not emerge from this schooling with a deep-seated need to spend time outdoors to be happy. Enjoying forests and oceans was as much part of Swedish culture as regular saunas.
“He is certainly making up for lost time,” Angie assured her mother-in-law. “He has a notebook again, and is filling it with sketches and taking photos when he walks through the property. He’s even talking of funding a submersible so that a proper census of the ocean can be made under the direction of the mer-people.”
“That is as it should be.” Melisande’s broad smile grew broader. “The oceans are still too neglected. Daniel will have much to learn, and an opportunity to help his community. What could be better for his spirit? Other than having a family?”
Angie leaned towards her mother-in-law. “How angry is the Eldest?” she whispered.
Melisande’s elegant brows rose. “Not angry at all. Why should the Eldest be angry that Daniel has at last done as he was supposed to do?”
She patted Angie’s hand briskly. “For years the Eldest has wanted to know when Daniel intended to grow up and have a child. And always Sven and I have replied that we would not interfere. That it had to be Daniel’s free choice. I can tell you that Daniel’s retirement has lifted a weight from all our shoulders.”
As this information had lifted a weight from Angie’s.
Gravel crunched. As soon as they had signed the papers and closed on the property, she and Daniel had mended the driveway.
Melisande rose to her feet. “I will go see. Daughter, you rest.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Daniel~
“If I had realized how tired you wo
uld get, I would have refused to host the baby shower.” Daniel tucked his wife into bed.
Angie snuggled into her pillow and sighed. “I’m tired. But happy. And it was as much a celebration of our being allowed to buy the house, as of the birth of the twins. I’m glad we held it here. I think it was a big success. And people liked your parents.”
“Why not?” Forgetting Angie’s surprise, he yanked his shirt over his head.
She sat up and tucked her pillows behind her, cocking a brow wryly. “Because Mamma and Papa are just the tiniest bit stuffy. What’s that on your chest?”
“A present.” He leaned over her trapping her with his arms and kissed her startled mouth.
Her fingertips traced his left pec.
“Like it?” he asked.
“It’s very sentimental.”
“You don’t like it? I wonder if you know how much getting it hurt?”
Her kiss turned into a chuckle against his abused skin. “Fortunately, your strength is as the strength of ten.” Her palm covered his new tattoo and the swollen skin stopped pulsing. “These banners are blank. Shouldn’t they say something?”
“They will. What would you like them to say?”
Her fingertip traced a curving line on the two floating banners. “Look in the mirror,” she said.
The red double hearts were still pierced by a single arrow. But the banners had been filled in with words. They now proclaimed, ‘Angelina loves Daniel’.
“Shouldn’t they say, ‘Daniel loves Angelina?’” he asked.
She laughed softly, a rippling chuckle of water over stones. She took her hand off her own heart. The mate of his new tattoo blazed on her pearly breast. Identical to his except that hers declared, ‘Daniel loves Angelina’.
“Do you like your present?” he asked.
“As much as you like yours. Now come to bed, Lindorm, I need my sleeping aid.”
“I live to serve, my love, and my dragon is always at your command.”
<<<<>>>>
FATED FOR THE PHOENIX
A SHIFTERS IN LOVE
Adored by A Dragon: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Mystic Bay Book 4) Page 16
