by Honor James
“He wants to catch your scent, love,” he said quietly to her as he took her hands in his and wrapped his arms around her. “Just relax and let him take a small sniff,” he murmured, lifting her hand up so that Talon could take a smell.
Lina looked at the massive Dragon and gulped. “All right,” she whispered, and even though she was shaking, she let him close to her. “She told me that no man would ever remain beside a woman, that men would always put themselves before anyone else. For the longest time I believed her,” she admitted. “Until I met Aiden, that is.” She looked up at Aiden with a smile. “He changed my mind on everything.”
Leaning in, Talon inhaled the scent of her skin. Processing through the scents, he eliminated Aiden’s, the scents of the house, and everyday items down to her scent. Well, her scent and something else, but he wasn’t going there yet. “You are definitely my child,” he said, and threw a look at Aiden. “And you are with child, too,” he commented, stepping back. Oh yeah, Aiden had known, he just hadn’t told his bond-mate yet. That much he knew from the smallest of twitches in his facial muscles.
“I’m what?” she asked as she all but melted into a puddle, only being saved from the floor by Aiden’s quick hands. “Oh God,” she breathed and looked up at Aiden. I told you he didn’t want me, she whispered with a tear trailing from her eye. The man had sniffed and stepped back from her as if she had been made of absolute garbage and even now looked as if he couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Dodge.
Turning her to him, Aiden explained her reaction to Talon even as he leaned in to explain to her. He just got introduced to you, sweetheart, and found out he’s a father and also a grandfather, he murmured quietly. He’s also respecting the bond-mate distance until you or I give him leave to do otherwise. He’s really wishing you’d give him a hug but understands that you probably don’t want anything to do with him since you believe he abandoned you, my love.
Lina wasn’t so sure about that, but she nodded. He will destroy me when he refuses me. Are you sure that you are ready for that? she asked quietly. I thought I was tossed aside once by him. If he truly does it again I will never be able to remain here, honey, ever. Are you very sure that this is something he would want? At her mate’s nod, she took a deep and steadying breath and moved from Aiden’s side, and walked up to the massive man. “I would really like a hug from my father, if you wouldn’t mind?”
With a stunned expression, Talon looked to her and nodded, opening his arms as he stepped forward. Wrapping her up gently, he tucked her in close to him and held her. He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. “Thank you,” he whispered to her softly as he gently gave her a squeeze.
Lina couldn’t have not cried if she had tried. She began to sob. She couldn’t help it. All the years with her mother, all the years of trying to be good enough for the woman and never measuring up. This, right here, was the first hug from a parent she had received, and it broke her heart that it was from a man that she had believed abandoned them, a man she spent her entire life hating.
Jolting at her tears, Talon hugged her closer to him and rubbed her back. “Shh,” he murmured, throwing Aiden a look. The man just shrugged and grinned before heading off…somewhere. “Come on, baby, don’t cry,” he whispered to her. He didn’t do well with tears from a female, ever. They…Well, they completely made him feel inadequate and that he was at fault. Rocking her gently in his arms, he didn’t have a clue what to do, so he let her cry and cursed at Aiden for leaving him alone with her.
Meandering through the house, Aiden collected a box of tissues, a damp cloth, and some water before he went back to where, yup, she was still bawling. Tipping his head to the sofa, he set everything down on the coffee table and waited for Talon to get her settled down with him.
Holding her close, Talon stroked her hair. “Talina, sweet, you have to stop crying, baby.” She was starting to make those hiccupping sounds, which never boded well.
“All my life she blamed me,” she whispered. “All my life I never got so much as an ‘I love you’ because she was certain that you had abandoned her because of me.” Another sniffling hiccup. “All my life I tried to give her everything that any child could possibly give to a parent, but I couldn’t,” she whispered. “And it’s freaking killing me. All my life I thought that I was worthless, useless, all because she had made me feel thusly.” Which was the truth. All her life she had felt less than nothing because she just was never enough for her mother.
Aiden sat in a chair and waited. He could say all the right words to get her out of her funk, but Talon needed to fix part of this. She was his daughter, and some things only a father could fix.
Talon leaned back and cupped her damp cheeks. “I didn’t know, Talina. I swear I didn’t,” he whispered, softly brushing his thumbs to her skin. “If I had known I would never have stayed out of your life. This I swear as King of the Dragons. You are wanted, very much so, sweetheart. You are a blessing, a gift, a true and priceless treasure. You are amazing, baby, absolutely amazing,” he said drawing her back into his arms to squeeze her close.
Lina hugged him back just as tightly. Tears fell from her eyes and she couldn’t stop them but she did nod. Looking up at him, she whispered, “Are you sure that you would want me? How could you have known about me?” She swallowed hard, sniffed, and looked up at him. “So if you never had unprotected sex with my mother, how did she become pregnant with me?” Or was she really not Talon’s child? Perhaps all these years she had hated a man who didn’t deserve her hatred.
Brushing his fingers to her cheeks, Talon shook his head at her. “Best guess is it was likely a faulty condom,” he said honestly, wrapping his arms back around her. “Not the first time it’s happened. You are my baby girl, Talina.” Talon pressed his cheek to her hair. “Your scent has traces of my genetic lineage. Which means you are a Princess, by the way.” Talon chuckled when Aiden muttered curses.
“What?” she demanded with a frown. “No.” She could handle being a daughter to a father that actually wanted her, but a, P—no, she couldn’t be that. “Faulty condom.” She couldn’t help but think that perhaps her mother had done something to ensure that the condom was very, very faulty.
“It’s not so bad,” he murmured quietly. “You actually don’t have to do anything. It’s really just a title. But you will end up with a Royal Guard or two hanging around.” Talon shot a look to Aiden. “Not including the one that mated and impregnated you before introducing us.”
“That’s not his fault as much as mine,” she told him softly. “I wasn’t ready to meet you. I was honestly terrified to meet you because I had truly believed that you wouldn’t want me.” She sighed. “I’m very, very happy that I was wrong,” Talina admitted and looked up adoringly at her father. “And isn’t Aiden enough of a guard for me?”
“I’m sorry, Talina,” Talon murmured again. His little girl had actually thought she wasn’t wanted. That was so many kinds of wrong he didn’t know where to begin. “Unfortunately no, he’s not,” Talon told her. “At least not if he’s working, which he still does need to do. He’s part of the Teams, which means he’ll be going out with the rest of us and leaving you vulnerable. Some of the Guard are part of the Teams, but there are many who are not. Those that are not will fill in while he is gone,” he told her. “And don’t argue with me on that. You are my baby girl and I’m going to damn well protect you.”
No one protected her, ever. Not until she had met Aiden. She felt another round of tears and sniffed. “I think that maybe the hormones of pregnancy are kicking my rump now.” Well, not really. She was sure that she would have been bawling no matter what because of the simple fact that she was finally loved, she was finally accepted by a parent, the one she never knew, never dreamed she would meet.
Pressing a kiss to her hair, Talon gave her a squeeze. “One night soon you are going to come over to my place without your bond-mate and have dinner with me,” he said softly. “I want to show you a few things
and give you some sense of my history, too. It will be our time and we will try and do it every month if we can, all right?” he murmured.
“I would like that a great deal,” she admitted softly. “For now, do you think that maybe we can just be here together for a bit? Have dinner together maybe and then spend some time simply getting to know each other? I would like to do at least one day a month, possibly more, and also maybe the three of us can have some time together as well?”
“I think we can do that,” Talon said with a smile. “But I need to make a call first and let the office know where I’m at and rearrange a couple of things. So if you’ll give me a few minutes…” he murmured, squeezing her close. Standing, he headed for the hall and Aiden’s office to make his calls.
His eyes on her, Aiden lifted a brow. “So the big bad Dragon isn’t all that bad, is he, darling?” he asked with a small, knowing grin.
Talina moved to him and wrapped her arm around him. Looking up, she smiled and said, “Hug me, Aiden. Hug me and just let me hold onto the man that I love. And I do. I love you, Aiden, with all my heart.” Closing her eyes, she smiled. “And no, he’s not as bad as I thought he would be. I really and truly thought that he would be worse than he was.”
“You should learn to listen to your mate, my love,” he murmured, wrapping her up in his arms, and grinned. “Especially since we’ve already covered the fact that he is all knowing and never wrong,” he teased her. That had gotten him a nicely heated argument the other night, and damn him, it had ended splendidly with her all naked, lush, and his to play with. Hell yeah!
“Ha”—she smiled—“most times right, sometimes wrong, although… If you would like to do a little arguing, I’m totally down for it so that we can make up again.” Oh, making up was one of her favorite things in the whole world!
“Or we could just dispense with the arguing and you admit I’m always right and you can make it up to me,” he grinned, lifting her up in his arms. Once she’d wrapped her legs around him, he headed for the stairs. Talon could totally wait. “You shouldn’t doubt your bond-mate, darling, especially when he is always right,” he teased, nipping at her jawline lightly.
“Almost always right,” Lina said with a grin and brushed a kiss along his jaw and then nibbled his ear. “Like 99.995 percent of the time you are right,” she amended and pulled back. “I love you, Aiden. I’m so very happy that you are mine.”
“I love you, too, angel,” he murmured, kissing her gently.
Clearing his throat, Talon stood watching them. “And just where do you think you are going with my daughter?” he asked, slightly amused but trying to hold a stern expression.
“Well, first I was thinking I’d mmphle ahg leeffn.” He grinned around the hand covering his mouth and stifling his words.
“Yeah, well you can just wait to do any of that until I’m gone.” Talon chuckled and shook his head.
Lina grinned and shook her head. Blushing, she pressed her face against her mate’s chest and grumbled. “Right, totally forgot.” She had gotten so wrapped up in her man that she forgot everything else around her. “All right, put me down, you big lug, before my father decides that he wants to fricassee your ass.” She looked up and winked. “Besides, haven’t you been the one telling me that patience is a virtue that I need to work on, darling?”
“Yes, darling, you.” He grinned as he set her back on her feet with care. “I’m very patient in comparison, darling but I’m also a man who knows what he wants,” he murmured, stroking her back lightly.
“Me, too,” she muttered and moved to sit back down with her father. “Aiden will bring us our food, so that he can get himself under control and all that. And so that he doesn’t embarrass himself and get himself fried by you because you get upset with him and all that fun stuff.”
Taking her hand in his, Talon chuckled softly as Aiden vanished from sight. “It wouldn’t do any good. He’s a Dragon, sweet. We like fire. Cold, on the other hand, pisses us off to no end,” he told her honestly.
“Right, I will keep that in mind. Have I mentioned I would love to honeymoon in Alaska?” she called with a grin, winking at her father. Her father. That fast her face went serious and she looked to him. “You never would have let me go, would you? Had you known, you truly wouldn’t have let me go.”
“Had I known about you as a babe, I would have fought tooth and nail for you, sweetheart,” he told her honestly. Touching her hair reverently, he smiled. “I’ve always wanted a little girl,” he murmured softly. “Course the Fates may have given me a blessing. I got to skip diapers, the terrible twos,” he teased and pulled her in close. “Not that I wouldn’t have sold my soul to have those years if I could, Lina.”
Lina laughed and shook her head. “You might have gotten to skip my diapers, but you won’t get out so easy when it comes to your grandchild. I’m going to make sure that you get to experience every single moment of grandfatherhood that there is.” She looked up at him and added, “And hopefully you will meet your mate and give me siblings one day?”
“I’d like that,” he murmured softly. “As for the mate…I wouldn’t be holding my breath anytime, my dear. I’ve gone a long, long time without one. I don’t see it happening tomorrow,” he commented. But he did like the idea of the grandbaby. That would be fun and amazing, and he honestly couldn’t wait.
“Well maybe the perfect woman just hasn’t walked into your path yet, Daddy.” Lina tried out the word, and liked it. She smiled as she snuggled against her father and nodded. “I can see it now. When you meet her, your mate that is, she’s going to toss you for an absolute loop and you won’t know up from down,” she teased.
“Oh that’s just mean, darling,” he said, shaking his head as his arms went around her. Leaning back, he squeezed her close and rested his cheek to her soft hair. “You should be nice and think only good thoughts for your father. I’m pretty sure that’s a law.”
“Yeah, I know, and the good thought for you.” Lina looked up at him and smiled. “She’s going to be absolutely unique and she’s going to love you more than a fish loves water. She’s going to be perfect for you because you absolutely deserve perfection, Daddy. You deserve someone to love you more than anything else, even their own lives.”
Talon stared down at her for a long time. “Thank you, baby,” he finally croaked out softly. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he squeezed her closer. “I think that’s about the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Well get used to it, because now that I know that you aren’t as horrid as mother had told me all my life, I plan on spending time with you, Daddy. I plan on making up for the lost years.” Years she had spent in hell with an unloving mother who had kept her only because she had thought one day Talon might walk back into her life. Lina knew that now. She knew that was the one and only reason that her mother had kept her. Not out of love, but out of hope that Talon would return.
“I hope so, baby, because I definitely want to spend time with you and learn everything there is to know about you, Talina,” he whispered softly. Talon lifted her into his lap and grinned at her. “You’re a little bigger than I’d have imagined for having cuddle time with dad, but hell, who cares,” he teased her. “So, tell me about yourself as a child. Were you precocious, a little trouble maker, curious, quiet? Everything, darling.”
Lina laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I really don’t think that you want to know that,” she told him honestly. “I had to grow up far before I should have because mother wouldn’t and didn’t want to deal with me,” she stated bluntly. “I never really got to have a childhood because I was always the one who had to ensure that the bills were paid, groceries were in the fridge, and laundry done. It sucked, but I learned how to deal so that’s all well and good. I’m a woman who’s self-sufficient and able to take care of myself.”
He definitely didn’t like hearing that in the least, but…he could do something about it now. “You do know it’s never too late to ha
ve a childhood. Oh, it won’t be exactly like it would have been when you were little, but we can still do some of the things you always wanted but couldn’t ever do.”
“I’m here with you and I have a man that loves me more than the sun and the moon. I don’t need a childhood. I will get to experience all that happiness and joy with the little guy that I’m pregnant with. And I honestly look forward to experiencing that with this little one. I look forward to every single part of the life that is to come.”
He kept his mouth shut as Aiden reappeared to let them know dinner was ready. Talon was more than sure he’d had the talk with her about the likelihood of it being twins. If not, well that was one conversation he’d love to be a fly on the wall for, with a video camera of course.
Chapter Nine
“Just because I’m pregnant does not make me a freaking invalid,” Lina growled at her father a few days later for the fifth time in less than three minutes. “I really and truly can get my own food, carry my own freaking tray, you know.” They were in food services and her father was acting as if she were spun glass, and it was really, really starting to get on her nerves. At first she put up with it because she knew how much it meant to him to have her there and have her in his life finally, but now it was just driving her bat-shit crazy. “I love you, Daddy, but I’m ready to beat you,” she muttered. “I think you need a damn vacation before more than just me is ready for that.”
Staring at her with shock on his face, Talon sighed and gave her the tray. “I’m sorry,” he said honestly. “I just know that Aiden said you were to have as little stress as possible and not to put a strain on your back,” he muttered. Waving her forward, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I know I’ve been trying your patience, baby girl. I don’t mean to, but this is a first for me. I’ve never been a dad before.”
