Instantly alert, Finn reached out to his beast. Is it true? Tell me.
His dragon paused as he took a few more inhalations and then let out a sigh. Yes. She carries our child. No one else will try to steal her.
Happiness shot through his body. He was going to be a father. Then let me take control. I want to hold our pregnant mate.
Yawning, his dragon moved to the back of his mind. Go ahead. My job is done. I want a nap.
Rather than reply, Finn moved from lying on top of his mate to the side and brushed Arabella’s cheek. Her eyes fluttered open. Since her pupils were still slitted, her dragon had no idea the frenzy was over. It wasn’t surprising since male dragon-shifters could always tell first.
He smiled. “Tell your dragon to bugger off.”
Her eyes flashed and her gravelly voice replied, “More. One more time and then we rest.”
“No. It’s done. Give Ara back to me.”
Arabella’s dragon eyes searched his for a second. “If you are in charge, it must be true.”
“Of course it’s bloody true. Now, give me my mate.”
“You get both of us.”
He opened his mouth, but then Arabella’s pupils turned round and she blinked. Looking up to Finn, she asked, “Are you sure?”
“Why? Are you in need of more sex? I thought days on end would soothe even your appetite.”
She frowned. “I’m too tired to argue. Just tell me if it’s done.”
He placed a hand over her lower belly. “It’s done.”
A bevy of emotions flashed in Arabella’s eyes, although relief and joy were the most prominent. “Thank fuck, because I’m beyond tired. It’s going to take days of hot baths to ease the soreness between my legs.”
He chuckled and lowered his head to nuzzle her cheek. “You mostly laid there. I’m the one who’s tired, and do you hear me complaining?”
“You would be if I hadn’t prevented my dragon from breaking you.”
Raising an eyebrow, he caressed her cheek. “She wouldn’t stand a chance against my dragon.”
“Later, when I’m not so bloody tired, we can let the beasts out and settle this.”
“No.”
“What do you mean no? Are you afraid you’ll lose?”
He moved closer, the mixture of his scent and hers reminding him of their child. Leave it to Arabella to turn this moment into a contest instead of a celebration. “No, I’m not allowing my dragon to take you for a long time. I need to test your patience and make you beg without your dragon’s need forcing you to do it.” He kissed her ear and whispered, “I want to treasure you properly.”
He moved back to look at her face. Her frown eased. “You’re spouting fancy words. I’m not sure if I should be happy or worried.”
“For once, you infuriating dragonwoman, can you let me be sincere?” He rubbed his hand on her belly in slow circles. “You are giving me a child. There is no greater gift to a dragon-shifter.”
Arabella’s eyes softened. “Finn, I—” she paused and then continued, “It’s still sinking in, is all. Right now, I just want to eat and then sleep in your arms. Can you do that without making me fight you for it?”
Brushing the dark smudge under her left eye and then the right one, he murmured, “As long as I get to hold you after we eat, then I’ll let you sleep.”
He expected a challenge, but Arabella just snuggled into his chest. “On second thought, let’s sleep first.” She yawned. “I want my wits about me before you try to make deals in exchange for food, which I’m sure you’ll do.” Looking up, her eyes were tender. “Also, maybe after the nap, everything will sink in and become more concrete. I’m sure then I can guilt trip you into doing whatever I want.”
“Oh, aye? Simpering and subservient would be boring.”
She snuggled her head into his chest. “As if you would ever be that.”
The sight of Arabella curled up against him warmed his heart. While he knew the clan and all of its problems lay outside the door, he wasn’t ready to face it just yet. He wanted just a little bit longer with his mate.
Besides, a tired clan leader made mistakes. He needed the rest as much as Arabella.
Settling on his pillow, he hugged Arabella tightly. “A quick nap, then. But don’t try to sneak out and eat without me. I could eat a mountain’s worth of food right now.”
Her voice was sleepy as she patted his chest. “I know you like to talk, but just go to sleep.”
Finn closed his eyes and laid his head against Arabella’s. Her scent calmed him enough to fall asleep with a smile on his face.
Chapter Five
Finn woke up with Arabella asleep on his chest. He half expected his dragon to demand more sex, but then he remembered the truth—Arabella was pregnant.
Over the last week, his need to mate had battled with sadness. But in that second, every worry vanished as happiness warmed his heart. He would be a father.
Dragon-shifters treasured children, yes, but as Finn smoothed a few strands of hair from Arabella’s cheek, he was grateful that Arabella would be the mother of his child. Stronger than almost anyone he knew, as well as clever, she would make a fine mother. Their baby would be a second chance at family for them both.
True, he had the MacKenzies, but being a parent would be entirely different.
Thinking of his second family, sadness squeezed Finn’s heart again. As much as he wanted only to focus on the happy, he needed to find out what had happened during his time trapped by the mate-claim frenzy. Was his cousin all right? Were the traitors contained? So many questions, but so few answers; he hated it.
His dragon huffed. You put good clan members in charge. Stop worrying.
Kissing Arabella’s forehead, Finn moved slowly until his mate was sleeping on the pillow instead of his chest. The circles under her eyes told him she needed more rest. She might hate him later, but he would give her the rest she needed while he checked in with the clan.
His dragon grumbled. She will be angry.
I know, but she needs sleep. I will fill her in later.
Don’t complain to me later when she yells.
Too tired to argue, Finn quietly snuck out of the safe room. Grant and Aunt Lorna were sitting at a table on the other side of the door.
While Finn didn’t usually care about nakedness, he wished his aunt would look away. He was tired and covered in Arabella’s scent; he needed a shower.
Aunt Lorna clicked her tongue. “Six days is pretty good, although your uncle only took five and gave me twins to boot.”
So, it’d been six days.
He scrutinized his aunt, looking for the slightest sign of worry. Yet her face was relaxed and her smile seemed genuine. “You wouldn’t be so calm unless Faye had pulled through.”
Lorna’s gaze turned soft. “Aye, she’s alive although she hasn’t been allowed to shift back into her human form yet.”
His aunt’s tone told him she was hiding something, and Aunt Lorna never held back. “What aren’t you telling me?”
When Lorna’s eyes turned wet, Grant answered, “Faye will live, but she may never fly again.”
Finn felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. “What?”
Grant embellished more. “When she landed on her wing, Faye broke too many bones. Some are knitting back together strangely, despite the doctors’ best efforts. We won’t know for sure until Faye’s completely healed, but there’s always the chance she won’t fly again.”
Lorna straightened her shoulders. “Aye, but Faye’s a fighter. She won’t give up easily.”
Finn wanted to agree and say everything would be fine, but he wouldn’t give false hope. “I need to see her.”
He moved toward the bathroom on the far side to clean up and his stomach rumbled at the same time as his step faltered. Lorna’s steely voice filled the room. “You will shower, eat, and take care of your pregnant mate first. You put me, Grant, and Meg Boyd in charge. So far, we’re doing just fine. That bastard, Dunca
n, is still in custody, as are several of his lackeys. The DDA is taking care of the Dragon Knights for the time being. And Stonefire still has reinforcements on our land. The clan can wait twenty minutes for you to be more presentable.”
Finn looked over his shoulder and frowned. “I lost six days, Auntie. Arabella’s sleeping right now, so let me do my job.”
Arabella’s voice floated from behind him. “Arabella’s awake and wants to know what the bloody hell is going on.”
Finn turned around. Arabella had her arms crossed over her chest and her left eyebrow quirked. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered the fact she was naked, but since she carried his baby and his scent, his dragon didn’t worry about other males stealing her away.
Ignoring the rumbling in his stomach, Finn answered, “You should be sleeping. Why are you awake?”
Arabella rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not injured. My brain still works.” Her eyes turned serious. “I noticed the sadness in your eyes the very first day you came to me, and judging by Aunt Lorna’s still wet eyes, something is going on. Now, tell me what happened.”
~~~
Waking up alone had scared Arabella for a second, until she’d heard voices from the other side of the door. Despite her exhaustion and feeling more peckish than she had ever been in her life, she made it to the door and asked Finn to explain.
She didn’t falter under his scrutinizing gaze. Arabella knew full well from her time around her brother and his mate how protective male dragon-shifters could be when it came to a pregnant female, but she wasn’t about to let Finn coddle her.
Finn’s stern expression melted into one of exhaustion and sadness. The sight erased most of her irritation. While she didn’t like being in the dark, she liked her mate’s sadness even less. She would wrangle the truth from him, but in a rare moment, he needed her support and she would give it.
Knowing touch would help, Arabella walked up to Finn and wrapped her arms around him. “Tell me, Finn. I can’t help you if you don’t explain what’s happening.”
Finn hugged her close. “Faye was hurt during the Dragon Knights’ attack and landed on her wing. It broke, but it’s not healing properly. She might not fly again.”
While her heart squeezed, Arabella pushed it away. She needed to be strong not only for Finn, but for Faye as well.
Lifting her head, she narrowed her eyes. “Don’t pity her, Finlay Stewart. Believe me, that’s the last thing she wants in her situation.”
Finn cupped her cheek. “Aye, you’re right.” The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Although I can’t believe I just admitted it.”
“I would slap you, but I’m hungry and you need to feed me so I can visit Faye, too.”
His eyes turned concerned. “I’m not sure if that’s the best idea. Maybe you should sit down. After all, you’re still recovering from the frenzy and look exhausted.”
“Are you listening? I’m fine.”
Finn growled. “The circles under your eyes tell me the truth. If you won’t take care of yourself, then I’ll have to force you to do it.”
Father of her child or not, Arabella was tempted to punch him. Bloody dragon-shifter males and their overprotectiveness. He was going to drive her crazy. She needed to set him straight early.
Her dragon rumbled and her voice was sleepy when she said, Grab his cock and threaten to bend it in half. He’ll stop after that.
Ignoring her beast, Arabella moved one of her hands to take Finn’s chin. “Force me? Are you daft? Let’s get this straight right now, Finlay. Coddle me and there will be consequences. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. Until then, I won’t be contained or isolated as I was for nearly a decade. If that means kicking you in the balls every day to remind you of that, I’ll do it.”
He frowned. “I’m not coddling. I want to protect you.”
“Same difference,” she retorted. She looked down at his penis and back again. “Do I need to give you a demonstration?”
He stared at her a second before replying, “No kicking is needed for now, at least. We can iron out the details later, once everything is settled. For the time being, I’ll allow you to visit Faye.”
Arabella narrowed her eyes. “Allow me? I’ll give you ten seconds to rephrase that before I use my knee.”
Finn’s voice was gravelly when he replied, “Don’t push me, lass. I can only rein in my dragon’s protective nature so far.”
“Then work on it. If you learned how to construct a maze for your beast, you can figure a way to rein him in when it comes to overprotectiveness.”
He stared and she stared back. Finally, Finn sighed. “Fine, I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. Just promise me you won’t go outside of Lochguard’s land without telling me. If you can do that, I’ll trust you to be sensible.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to keep arguing until she had complete freedom, but for a dragon male to give even a little was a huge step. She may not like it, but Arabella knew Finn couldn’t completely ignore his dragon’s nature.
Of course, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight with him again to obtain more control. For the moment, Faye and the clan were more important.
She nodded. “We can fine tune the agreement later, but for now, I promise to let you know when I plan to leave Lochguard.”
Relief flashed in Finn’s eyes before he cupped her cheek. “Thank you.”
He leaned down to kiss her, but then Arabella remembered about their audience. She patted his chest and looked over to the table. Both Lorna and Grant were unabashedly watching them.
Finn’s growl rumbled under her hand on his chest and she resisted rolling her eyes. Maybe this was payback for all the times she’d teased her sister-in-law Melanie about how Tristan had acted during her pregnancy.
Finn’s steely voice filled the room. “The show’s over.” Finn looked to his aunt. “Auntie, can you fetch us something while I’m in the shower?” Lorna raised her brows and Finn sighed. “Please?”
Lorna stood. “Aye, I can. Although it might be more beneficial if I stayed to help keep your foot out of your mouth. But you’re a grown male and you’ll learn.” She motioned toward Grant. “Besides, Grant is better at clan logistics than I and can give a more complete report.”
Arabella acknowledged Grant for the first time. “Um, hi.” Grant bobbed his head and Arabella dared to ask, “Did broadcasting the security feed go well?”
Finn growled. “Arabella, not now.”
She looked to him. “Hush. This concerns your clan so you should be curious, too.”
Finn’s tone was dry. “You’re going to tell me how to do my job now?”
“When have I stopped?” She looked back to Grant. “Well?”
Grant answered, “For the most part, yes. I have a recording you can watch when you’re ready. Just know that the Dragon Knights are contained, at least, for the moment.” Grant glanced to Finn and Finn nodded. Grant looked back to her and nodded. “You can listen in while I debrief Finn later.”
Arabella smiled. “Good.”
Her stomach growled and Finn took her hand. Tugging her toward the bathroom, Finn shouted to Grant, “We’ll be out in ten minutes. Have everything ready by then, including a status report on Faye.”
Finn didn’t even wait for a response before he pulled her inside the bathroom, locked the door and frowned. “I don’t care if you order Grant around, but don’t do it in front of the clan, Arabella. Understood? Things are still raw and unpredictable.”
“The longer you have me hide in the corner, the less likely the clan will accept me as your partner.”
Finn blinked. “Partner?”
“Bloody hell, Finn, do you know me at all? Yes, partner. Did you not see my brilliant strategy to help you last week? You were taking care of Duncan, and I found a way to bring the media into it.”
“Aye, I vaguely heard about it. Though I have yet to see the footage myself.”
“And what about the DDA? They came to help as
well,” Arabella added.
For one of the only times since arriving on Lochguard, Arabella couldn’t read Finn’s expression.
Her dragon jumped in. Does he truly not realize we are brilliant? Maybe we should withhold sex until he does.
As if you could last that long.
Her dragon grunted. I could if I tried.
Finn’s stern voice interrupted her conversation. “Make sure you fully understand what you’re asking for, Ara. You can’t be a full-time IT security person, a mother, and half of a dragon-shifter clan leader.” He placed a hand over her lower abdomen. “The mother part you can’t give up. Can you really give up computers to help with the clan?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “Although I’m sure I can do a little dabbling for fun in my free time once I’ve screened the current IT team.”
Finn smiled. “I think you just like being in charge.”
Arabella placed her hand over Finn’s. “No, not in charge, a co-leader. I have a feeling it’ll come in handy for our little mini-me once she’s born.”
“A lass, eh? The odds are against you.”
“I’m pretty good at beating the odds.”
As they stared at one another, Arabella’s heart warmed. There was so much she wanted to say and ask, but there were too many responsibilities to take care of. If she truly wanted to be Finn’s partner, she had to learn how to sacrifice her own desires sometimes. The present was one of those times.
Besides, Faye needed them. Arabella thought of the lively young dragonwoman as her friend. Arabella understood better than anyone what might lay ahead for Faye MacKenzie. Arabella had her own recovery suggestions, ones that lacked smothering, and she planned to implement them as soon as possible.
Her stomach twisted in hunger again, reminding her that the clock was ticking.
Arabella patted Finn’s hand and walked toward the shower. Turning the water on, she stepped back and looked at her mate. “The lovey dovey stuff will have to wait, Finn. I want to make our child proud, and that means showering, eating, and sorting out Faye and the clan as best as we can. That’s what a clan leader would do, right?”
Healed by the Dragon: Boxed Set (Parts #1-4) Page 21
