Faye moved away from his bedside, and he wanted to reach out and take her hand. She would give him strength for whatever the doctor would say about his condition.
But since doing so would require moving, he resisted. Grant couldn’t risk injuring himself further. If he did, he could never be the strong male that Faye needed.
Dr. MacFie threw back his blanket and squeezed his toe. “Can you feel this?”
“Aye.”
She continued poking and squeezing to check for feeling. Grant felt everything.
Once she reached his middle, she slid her hand under his back and gently massaged him. While there was a dull pain, it wasn’t anything Grant couldn’t handle.
The doctor continued checking and asking questions. However, when she tried to move his head, Grant sucked in a breath.
Dr. MacFie stopped and placed her hands inside the pockets of her lab coat. “When you were thrown by the bomb, you must’ve hit your back and probably landed at a weird angle with your neck. You having feeling is a good sign, but you need to take it easy for at least a week or two. I don’t want any strenuous activity until I say so.” She looked between him and Faye. “Understood?”
Grant wanted to tell the doctor he wasn’t a randy teenager and could control himself, but he knew she was just doing her job. “Aye.”
Faye murmured her assent and the doctor continued, “Right, with the examination out of the way, you can have a few visitors and try to eat something. I’ll have a nurse put a neck brace on you and help you sit up. Logan can help feed you, too, or you can enlist someone else’s assistance.”
Faye jumped in. “I’ll do it.”
“Good. I’ll go fetch a nurse while Finn and Cooper interrogate you.”
The doctor left and Faye said, “A neck brace, aye? Will you let me decorate it? I promise not to draw hearts or flowers on it.”
“No drawing on the neck brace, or decorating of any kind.”
“Not even a smiling dragon?” He grunted and she gave a fake pout. “Aw, you’re no fun.” He sighed and she winked. “I was just kidding. Now you know there’s something worse I can do than help you to eat.”
“Why would I put up a fuss about you helping me eat? If I’m lucky, you’ll have to lean forward quite a bit and I’ll have a nice view.” Faye blinked and he chuckled. “Don’t look so shocked, Faye. If you can’t take my teasing, then you can’t do any to me.”
Faye rolled her eyes. “I’m wondering if the blast did something to your brain.” She moved next to his bed again, but didn’t touch his cheek. He was about to dare moving an arm to take her hand when she said, “What happened by the way?”
The door opened and Finn’s voice filled the room. “Aye, I want to know that, too. What the bloody hell happened?”
~~~
Faye loved her cousin and would usually do anything to protect his life.
However, in the present, she wanted nothing more than to kick Finn’s arse out of the room and possibly bar him from entering for a week.
Her dragon spoke up. This way will save time. Once Grant gives his report, we can tell Finn to leave.
I suppose. But I’m afraid grumpy Grant will return. It’s taken him a long time to open up to us. I want more of it.
We can be selfish sometimes, but not now. Whoever placed the bomb could do much worse in the near future.
Grant answered Finn’s question. “A bomb went off.”
Faye bit her lip to keep from laughing at Finn’s frown. Finn replied, “Aye, I’m not an idiot. Did the blast addle your brain?”
Faye jumped in. “He just woke up. Give him a break, cousin.”
Grant said, “It’s okay, Faye. I just wanted to show Finn that he needs to work on his interrogation skills. I may be injured, but I’m still head Protector and have a duty to improve his faults.”
Finn growled. “My faults aren’t important right now. I have you and the other Protectors for interrogation. I can bring Brodie in here, but that requires taking him off his current task. He’s been quite productive with extracting information from our three Dragon Knight prisoners. Are you sure you want me to waste the time to order him to the surgery?”
“The three prisoners are Dragon Knights?” Grant asked.
Faye nodded. “Brodie found that out fairly quickly. However, they’re proving difficult to question when it comes to who gave them the supplies and other resources needed to complete their attack. After all, some of the components we found in the forest were quite expensive.”
Grant spoke again. “And the DDA hasn’t retrieved the prisoners yet?”
Finn responded, “The DDA has been helping to search the area for other explosives. But stop changing the subject. Tell us exactly what happened in the lead up to the bomb going off. Even the smallest detail could be pertinent.”
Faye could tell from the determination in Grant’s eyes that he wanted to ask more questions and give his report later. But he finally relaxed on his bed. “There’s not much to tell. I’m sure the others told you how we found the sack in the loch, aye?” Finn nodded and Grant continued, “Well, I was merely waiting a few hundred yards from Lochguard’s back entrance when it exploded. After that, I don’t remember anything until I woke up here. Did you find out anything about why it went off at that moment? I doubt it was a timer since detonating that part of the loch wouldn’t have cause any damage but would’ve alerted us to the new threat.”
Finn nodded. “Aye, you’re right it wasn’t on a timer. The best we can tell, it had a remote trigger. Someone had to be in the area to know when to set it off. We’re also trying to determine the communications’ range for the device.”
Faye put forth her idea. “Or, it might not be a person at all. The architects could have drones watching us and transmitted the command that way.”
“Bloody drones,” Finn muttered. “The sooner the human parliament creates a law monitoring those devices and implementing stricter restrictions, the better.”
“The DDA director says she’s fighting for it,” Faye answered. “In the meantime, we’re thinking of ways to better paralyze the buggers when they draw near the clan. Alistair managed to work with a few other clan members to rig a temporary signal jammer in the outlying areas.”
“Wait, since when is Alistair working on projects again?” Grant demanded.
Finn motioned toward Faye. “I’ll let her explain it. I have the information I need for now. If I don’t get back to Ara, she’ll have my head. The amount of nappies we have to change is astounding.”
At the love in Finn’s voice when he talked about his mate and children, Faye wished to have the same one day. She wondered if Grant would be just as loving and concerned when it came time for them to have a child.
Her dragon spoke up. That’s twice now you’ve mentioned having a bairn so casually. Could you really modify and change your life around the new responsibility?
It will be a challenge, but I’ve never been one to turn down something difficult. Besides, I thought you’d be on board. It means we get to have sex and you can better assess Grant’s dragon.
Perhaps. We’ll talk more about this later.
Faye waved at Finn. “Go take care of your mate. I can look after Grant.”
As soon as Finn left, Faye put all her attention on Grant. “I should fetch Logan so we can put on your bloody neck brace and get some food in your belly. You’ll never recover on an empty stomach.”
The instant Faye said it, she realized how much she sounded like her mother for a second.
Not wanting to think about that, she took a step away from Grant’s bed. But he reached out a hand and caught hers. Looking at his face, she could tell the action took more effort than he would want her to believe.
“Stay,” Grant ordered.
She tilted her head. “So you’d rather have me sit by your bed and starve than be without me for a minute or two at most?”
“Faye.”
Taking a seat next to Grant’s bed, she said
, “Okay, I’ll stay. Although if you think I’m going to fawn over you for weeks, you’ll be sorely disappointed.”
“As long as you’re there, that’s all that matters.”
Her beast spoke up. He keeps winning points.
Faye didn’t answer her dragon. Instead, she reached out her forefinger and traced Grant’s lips. They were firm yet soft. She couldn’t wait to see what kissing Grant would feel like. Him merely kissing her neck had heated her entire body.
Grant nipped her finger and his pupils flashed. Maybe with a neck brace, they could figure out some kind of arrangement so that she could still kiss him without hurting him. Aye, if he had to merely lay there, it might work.
Her beast spoke up. His dragon will be as eager to take control as me. Don’t kiss him until he’s ready.
You’re the last one I’d think would try to stop me.
I want to see what his dragon is capable of. I need him whole.
Grant’s voice filled the room. “And if I have any say in the matter, it won’t be weeks until I’m out of this bed and back to normal. I want to kiss you properly, Faye MacKenzie, and I can’t do that unless I’m well again.”
She shivered at the heat in his eyes. It was hard to believe she’d once thought of him as an arsehole. Maturity suited her true mate well. “That will have to wait. My dragon won’t hold back, and I don’t intend to break you.”
He grunted. “I can take it.”
Snorting, Faye tapped his chin. “We’re supposed to be honest with one another, aye? It’s okay to admit a temporary weakness. Someone once told me that.”
~~~
Grant remembered all too well saying those words to Faye. It was proving much more difficult to embrace them for himself.
His dragon spoke up. You had better. The sooner you recover, the sooner we get Faye naked and to ourselves.
I hope you want more than Faye’s naked body. I have a feeling her dragon won’t tolerate being an object.
His beast huffed. She isn’t an object. She is simply ours.
The way his dragon said it so matter-of-factly made Grant smile. Faye asked, “What’s your dragon saying now?”
“He’s claimed you as ours.”
Her pupils flashed to slits and back. “Well, he hasn’t earned that right just yet. I can’t wait to see how my dragon handles yours.”
“That’s all the more incentive for me to recover as quickly as possible.” Faye’s cheeks flushed and a surge of male pride coursed through his body. “I think it’s encouragement for you as well.”
She leaned over until her breath was hot against his cheek. “Oh, I have a long list of ways to encourage you to get well. But I can’t do any of them until you have a neck brace on.”
“Care to share a few?”
She smiled slowly. “No.”
“Just no?”
“Aye. And none of your demanding or dominance will work on me, Grant, so don’t even try. My cousin is clan leader and he can’t always control me. You don’t stand a chance.”
As they stared into one another’s eyes, all Grant could think about was pulling Faye on top of him and holding her close. She could help him forget about the pain.
His beast grunted. No. It might cause damage and we’d take longer to recover.
And the rational mindset is back. I’m not sure I like that side of you.
Too bad. My priority is claiming our true mate properly. I won’t let you delay it. If I have to wrestle away control to allow us to heal, I will.
Stop with the threats. You never follow through.
Faye’s voice prevented his beast from replying. “Although there is one thing you can do despite your condition. The doctor should’ve rung your mum by now. Once she comes, you need to introduce me properly.”
“Wait, what? My mum agreed to venture outside her cottage?”
Faye rolled her eyes. “Her eldest son is laid up in a surgery. Of course she’s going to come.”
With anyone else, Grant would’ve changed the subject; however, he never wanted to keep secrets from Faye. “How much do you know about my mother?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Not much, really. Ever since your dad left, she’s become a recluse. Although before then, she still was rather shy. One of her cousins is my mum’s friend, but no amount of invites could get Gillian McFarland to join in.”
“Aye, my mum has always been shy. She preferred staying home to take care of me, my brother, and my father. Us three males were her entire world. I know that might seem strange to you, but she was happy. Then my father left and everything changed.”
Faye took his hand in hers. “Tell me.”
His parents’ history wasn’t one he liked to talk about. Drawing on the warmth and softness of her skin against his, he continued, “My parents weren’t true mates, but growing up, I never thought much about it. After all, about a third of clan matings don’t occur between true mates. My parents cared for each other and suited one another too. When I left to move into my own place and then my brother, Chase, soon followed suit, my mother focused everything on my dad. She had few friends and to be honest, I think my dad loved being the sole focus of her attentions.
“Then my dad decided to leave the clan with the other traitors, and for the first time in her life, my mum was alone.”
“But she had you and your brother,” Faye said softly.
“Aye, but with me becoming head Protector and my brother finishing up his electrician apprenticeship, neither one of us could stay home as much as she needed. Not even my mum’s cousin could make her smile, and she always could do so in the past.
“However, when my mum was just starting to make trips outside of the cottage again, news of my dad’s recent capture raced through the clan. According to my brother, when word reached Mum, she locked herself up again.”
Grant still felt guilty over not being there enough for his mother. If not for the entire clan’s safety being his top priority, he would’ve found more time for her. Or, so he believed.
His beast chimed in. You won’t say it but I will—she didn’t want help. Only when she’s ready can we help her.
Well, maybe with the MacKenzies’ influence, we can help her heal. Lorna isn’t someone to take lightly.
His dragon sniffed. Aunt Lorna can’t control me.
Faye prevented Grant from replying to his beast. “Then I hope your offer to lead the Protectors together still stands. You’ll have more time to spend with your mother if I take on some of the work.”
“Aye, I meant what I said earlier when I asked you to lead with me. Provided I can fly and regain all of my strength, it should work out perfectly. If I can’t, then we’ll have to rethink the arrangement. There needs to be at least one physically fit Protector in charge of everyone.”
Some dragon-shifters would’ve taken his honesty as a barb, but Faye merely nodded in understanding. “I agree. But we’re going to do everything we can to get you back into the skies. Don’t even think of trying to push me away, McFarland.”
“Why the surname, lass? I have no intention of pushing you away. Since you only call me that when you’re scolding me, you should save it for the right circumstances.”
Faye raised her brows. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll have a few worthy opportunities in the future.”
“And you’ll be the innocent one until the end of time?” he drawled.
Faye grinned. “I’m glad you understand that now.”
Grant chuckled. “Remind me to ask your mum for some true stories of your childhood. While we went to school together, I’m sure there are plenty of tales about you misbehaving that I don’t know about.”
She stuck out her tongue and said, “Then I’ll just have to wheedle stories out of your mother, too.”
As they smiled at one another, Grant couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so at ease with another person. Between Faye’s charm and strength, he was already starting to fall for her.
His beast perked up at that. How
? We haven’t even kissed her.
Sometimes you don’t need a kiss to care for someone. Not that I don’t want to do much more than kiss Faye MacKenzie.
Before his dragon could reply, there was a knock at the door. Faye shouted, “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal Lorna MacKenzie with his mum at her side.
Chapter Twenty
For a split second, Faye had wanted to tell whoever was at the door to bugger off. Time alone with Grant was a rare thing, and she wanted to enjoy it before the next emergency or piece of information came in.
Then it opened to show her mum and Grant’s, and her irritation melted away. Gillian’s eyes darted around and she looked about ready to bolt.
While it was hard for Faye to understand the female’s personality since it was so different from her own, she was going to try her hardest. If there was one thing the MacKenzies had started doing well recently, it was healing individuals and families to make them whole. Faye wanted the same for Grant’s mum and brother.
Standing, Faye took a cautious step toward the two older dragonwomen. With a wave, Faye said, “Hello. You must be Mrs. McFarland. I’m Faye.”
Grant’s mum’s voice was low when she replied, “Call me Gillian.”
Lorna patted Gillian’s arm and gently nudged her inside the room. “I found Gillian near the surgery’s entrance. We decided to come check on Grant together.”
Gillian’s gaze moved to Grant on the bed. After taking a deep breath, she crossed the room to her son. Grant spoke before his mother. “I’m okay, Mum. I won against the bomb.”
If it had been Faye’s mother, she would’ve tsked and taken him to task for treating the situation lightly. However, Gillian merely placed a hand on Grant’s forehead and whispered, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Lorna motioned toward the door with her head. She wanted to give the pair privacy.
The Dragon Warrior (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 4) Page 18
