Bennett nodded. “Of course. I need to find some dinner for me and Ava anyway. We haven’t eaten since leaving Ireland.”
Ava tugged her father’s hand. “Look, it’s Mr. MacLeod. Can we say hello, Dad? Please? He’s so much better than my current teacher.”
Bennett frowned. “Ava, you have a nice teacher back in Donegal.”
Ava asked again, “Please?”
With a sigh, Bennett nodded. “Okay, if he’s not too busy. But only for a few minutes.”
Bennett headed toward Tristan, and Bram went up to Sid. As soon as he was close enough, he demanded, “Well?”
Sid raised an eyebrow. “That tone won’t work on me, Bram. Why you keep trying to pull your dominance crap on me, I’ll never understand.”
Murray squirmed in Bram’s arms. Automatically, he bounced his son. “Let’s not do this dance again. How’s Evie?”
Sid put her hands into the pockets of her white lab coat. “As long as there aren’t any other complications, she should be discharged in a few days. While she can start seeing visitors, I want her to try feeding Eleanor first.”
“Right, then take Murray whilst I get her.”
Bram handed over Murray and headed to where Kai and Jane were standing. However, Melanie was currently holding Eleanor while Jane held a humming Annabel.
He put out his hands. “Sorry to disrupt the baby time, but I need to take Eleanor back to Evie.”
Mel gently handed over the baby. “Is she doing better? Can we see her soon?”
“Believe me, once Evie starts seeing visitors, you’ll be the first to know.”
Mel nodded. “Just holler if you need us to watch Murray again.”
Bram smiled and headed back to Sid. The dragonwoman laughed as she tickled the little boy’s neck and it hit Bram that he rarely saw Sid so relaxed. He hadn’t been checking in with his head doctor as often lately because of Evie, but he’d need to make sure Sid was doing okay as soon as possible. As much as it pained him to admit it, Sid always ran the risk of a breakdown because of her silent dragon.
Pushing aside the serious thoughts for the moment, he smiled at Sid. “The lad likes you.”
Sid never looked up. “He’s such a good little boy. I wish they were all like him.”
Bram snorted. “You haven’t seen one of his rare tempers.”
Sid adjusted Murray on her hip. “That’s your job, as the dad. But enough about your son, let’s take care of Evie.”
They wound through the corridors and into Evie’s room. Her eyes were closed, but they opened a second later. Evie smiled as she reached out her arms. “Come here, Murray. Mama needs a cuddle.”
Sid handed over the toddler and Murray lay against Evie’s chest as she stroked his hair. The sight went straight to his heart; Evie would never treat Murray differently just because he was adopted.
Bram kissed the top of Evie’s forehead and sat beside her on the bed. “Our family is finally all together.”
Evie snuggled into his side. “I’m so happy right now that I might start crying again. Just warning you.”
As Bram sat with his new family, his heart nearly burst with happiness. And, bloody hell, his eyes were misty. “Cry all you want, love. Having you alive along with my two children is making my eyes wet.”
“Bram.”
He merely sat in silence holding his daughter in one arm and his mate and son in the other.
Chapter Six
Two weeks later
Evie adjusted the silky, blue swaddling cloth around Eleanor for the fifteenth time. The bloody thing never seemed to wrap around her daughter as neatly as when Holly or one of the other nurses did it.
Biting her bottom lip, Evie got creative and tied the extra fabric into a bow. “There we go. Mama made you pretty.” Eleanor waved her arms and Evie sighed. “Okay, you look like a poorly wrapped Christmas present, but it’ll have to do. We’ll be late to the celebration if I unwrap you and try again.”
Lifting her daughter into her arms, Evie added another blanket around her baby. The walk to the great hall wasn’t long, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
As soon as she descended the stairs, Bram came to greet her. He wore the traditional dragon-shifter outfit of a solid maroon-colored material held in place around his waist like a kilt and tossed over one shoulder. She spent an extra second studying her handsome mate and Bram chuckled. “I wish I could please my lusty female, but you haven’t healed yet. You’ll just have to undress me with your mind.”
She met his eyes and frowned. “Just because I was admiring your muscled arms doesn’t mean I was thinking about sex. I recently pushed a baby out of my vagina. It’s going to be a short while before I feel in the mood, Bram.”
Bram walked up to her and cupped her cheek. After giving her a gentle kiss, he murmured, “No worries, love. You’re worth the wait.”
Evie blinked back tears and rubbed them away with one arm. “I can’t wait until these bloody hormones are out of my body. You think I would be back in charge of myself by now.”
“I think it’s adorable.” Before Evie could reply, Bram lightly brushed Eleanor’s cheek. “As are you, wee princess.”
She watched Bram coo over their daughter and she let out a contented sigh. “Do we really have to go out tonight? I’m more than happy to stay in with you and our two babies.”
Bram met her gaze again. “Not only do we need to officially present our daughter to the clan, it’s Stonefire’s first combined Christmas and Winter Solstice celebration. Melanie expects you to be there.”
“I had fully intended to be giving birth right about now. Just my luck Eleanor was born two weeks early.”
Bram moved to place an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Come, love. Presenting a new baby is a big tradition for Stonefire. You don’t have to stay the whole night, but thirty minutes will mean the world to everyone waiting.”
They started walking. “I know. It’s just that I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since we brought Eleanor home. I usually like chatting with the clan members, but I’m crabby and will probably bite their heads off instead.”
Bram paused by the door to pluck Evie’s dark grey cloak off the wall and settled it around her shoulders. “Every parent in attendance will understand.” Bram grinned. “Besides, I know how you love surprises and I have one for you after the ceremony.”
She looked at him askance. “It depends on the surprise.”
“You’ll like this one, I promise.”
Since Bram’s track record with good surprises was about fifty-fifty, Evie wondered what in the world he could’ve done this time. She wasn’t big on presents, as he well knew. There were only a handful of things she truly wanted, and they were mostly people missing from her life.
Then it hit her—there was one person she’d been trying to locate for nearly a year. “Did you find Alice? Is she here?”
Bram nodded toward the door. “Come and find out for yourself.”
Evie hoped it was true. Alice Darby was the only friend she’d had for most of her life. Alice had also been the only one who had understood Evie’s fascination with the dragon-shifters. Yet she’d been unable to get a hold of her friend for far too long. Every day that passed in silence caused Evie’s stomach to twist in fear.
Eleanor snuggled against Evie and it helped to relax her. Looking at her daughter, she whispered, “Okay, I get your hint. You want Daddy to hurry up and tell us about the surprise so you can go back to sleep.”
Bram snorted. “Nice try, Evie.” He pressed against Evie’s lower back. “Come, love. It’s show time.”
With a sigh, Evie tucked Eleanor’s blanket tighter around her tiny body and exited their cottage toward the great hall.
~~~
How Bram had managed to keep his secret from Evie, he didn’t know. His bloody dragon was irritating the hell out of him.
His beast spoke up. She will be pleased. We should tell her. Then she’d look forward to the celebration.
/> For the tenth time, I like watching Evie’s face when I surprise her. And this one is a good one. It’s the best Solstice present I could give her.
His dragon huffed. I still say she deserves more presents.
She isn’t a dragon-shifter. Evie doesn’t have to worry about pleasing her spoiled other half.
Thankfully, his beast faded into the back of his mind. The tales about dragons loving treasures hit a little too close to home sometimes.
Bram glanced down at his daughter and hugged Evie closer against him. If only Murray were in his arms, the moment would be perfect. “I hope wee Murray hasn’t tired out my brother. Ava is a handful by herself, but adding Murray to the mix creates chaos.”
Evie smiled. “Murray needs time to get to know his uncle and cousin. Besides, if Bennett can handle Ava, then he’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Eleanor growing up like her female cousin. Two hyperactive children will be the death of me.”
Kissing Evie’s hair, he murmured, “We’ll manage, love. We’ll manage.”
They arrived at the towering brick building that served as Stonefire’s great hall. Lights shone from the windows and music drifted out into the air from the doorway. Five seconds later, Melanie rushed out of the hall right toward them. As soon as she was close enough, Mel asked, “What took you so long? The ceremony is due to start in a few minutes. Jane worked hard to invite a few friends from the press as well as set-up equipment to record the event. You know she’s due to start her podcast series after the New Year and wants to include tonight in one of the first episodes.”
Evie’s voice was dry as she replied, “We’re not all super mums like you, Melanie Hall-MacLeod. You might’ve been able to start working weeks after birthing the twins, but I’m still trying to keep my blood pressure under control. In fact, you shouldn’t do anything to try and raise it.”
Even in the half-darkness, Evie made out the twinkle in Bram’s eyes. “Aye, Evie’s right. Maybe we’ll take our time to the hall.”
Evie looked up at Bram and raised an eyebrow. “As if you should talk. You’re the one going on about surprises.”
Mel jumped in. “Come on, Evie. You don’t want to keep little Eleanor out in the cold, do you?”
“Damn you, Melanie.”
Melanie grinned. “Thanks to you, I’m pretty good at all the shortcuts for hitting a mother’s guilt by now. If you didn’t want me to use them on you, then you shouldn’t have used them on me.”
Evie grunted. “If it were anyone else, Mel, I would tell them to stuff it.”
Mel winked. “But you love me too much.”
As Evie shook her head, Bram’s dragon growled and he knew he’d better do something or his bloody beast would give him a headache. “Fine, we’ll go. Just give us a minute.”
Melanie looked from Bram to Evie and back again. “One minute. Then I’ll send Tristan and Kai to get you.”
“Kai won’t do anything to order me around,” Bram stated.
Melanie tilted her head. “If it’s to please Jane, then yes, he sure as hell will.”
Bram sighed. While he was happy his head Protector had found a second chance at love, Bram kept finding out new things about his head of security. If Bram wasn’t careful, Jane would be the one giving orders.
But he’d have a chat with the human female later. “Go tell them we’re coming, lass.”
With a nod, Mel turned and went back inside the great hall. Bram brushed Evie’s cheek. “Give me a kiss, love. Then we can go inside and finish the bloody ceremony.”
Evie smiled. “You’ve changed your tune.”
Not wanting to admit it, Bram gently kissed Evie. But the second his lips touched her soft mouth, his dragon demanded more.
Biting her bottom lip, Evie opened and he stroke his tongue against hers. Tasting her was a bad idea as he wanted her with every atom of his being; yet according to Dr. Sid, he couldn’t have her for at least another six weeks.
After one last stroke, Bram broke the kiss and whispered, “Now you’ll have my taste in your mouth.”
“And this is important why?”
“Because all of those males will be staring at you. Between your beautiful body and the baby in your arms, more than one is going to wish they could claim you.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I thought the possessiveness was supposed to ease after the birth of our daughter.”
He lightly slapped her arse. “With you, Evie Marshall, it’s never going to fade.”
Before his mate could say another word, Bram guided them into the hall. He’d taken a little bit of time for himself, but as leader, he also needed to think of the clan. There was no better way to celebrate the end of the year than with a new birth and a welcoming ceremony.
~~~
As Evie gently bounced Eleanor in her arms, she scanned the crowd for Alice’s face. But after a thorough search, she didn’t spot her friend. While Evie knew it’d been a long shot, she really had hoped Bram’s surprise had been finding her friend. Especially since Evie already had everything else she wanted at Stonefire—a family, friends, and a purpose.
While temporarily on leave from her duties to take care of her daughter, Evie had been working with the Department of Dragon Affairs more and more lately. The agency was still rebuilding after the bombing earlier in the year, but that didn’t mean Evie wasn’t going to tap her contacts to try and get Stonefire the best deals she could.
She also needed to keep an ear out for who was going to be the next Director of the DDA. One man in particular had the greatest chance, but Evie would walk through Hell barefoot before she allowed Jonathan Christie to take control. That man hated dragon-shifters and would be nothing but trouble.
Before her mind could wander further about how she could stop Christie, Bram’s voice boomed through the hall. “Thank you all for coming. I know tonight is all about the dual celebration of Christmas and the Winter Solstice. However, I’m adding on to the agenda to celebrate the birth of my daughter, Eleanor Rose.”
The crowd cheered. Evie smiled as Bram put an arm around her waist. He continued, “Before Evie takes wee Eleanor down to the main floor so each of you have the chance to touch the baby’s swaddling in welcome, let’s have Stonefire’s silversmith and chief artist, Dylan Turner, come to the stage so that he can present Eleanor Rose with her future tattoo design.”
The crowd parted as Dylan made his way toward Evie and Bram.
Evie had yet to witness a baby’s welcoming ceremony. However, she did know that the silversmith designed a unique tattoo design for each new child. Dylan had records going back hundreds of years and had created something original yet related to Evie and Bram for their daughter.
Dylan ascended the dais carrying a large placard covered with a cloth as well as a smaller package wrapped nearly in a baby’s blanket. The brown-haired man in his early forties presented the smaller one to Bram. As Bram took it, Dylan stated, “May your child grow and flourish so that she may receive the gift of my tattoo design on her sixteenth birthday.”
Bram gave the customary reply. “She will proudly display your work to the world.”
Dylan nodded, which signaled for Bram to untie the ribbon and remove the purple and blue blanket covering. Inside was a framed copy of Eleanor’s tattoo. While the curls in the design reminded Evie of Bram’s tattoo, there were also sharp, jagged points woven throughout. There was probably meaning in the design, but Evie would ask Bram about it later.
For now, Bram looked to Dylan again. “Thanks, friend. We will treasure this. Please share your gift with the clan.”
Dylan removed the cloth from the nearly five-foot placard, turned it around and held it up. The clan clapped and cheered. Evie could clearly hear, “Welcome, Eleanor!” from several of the louder clan members.
She half-expected Eleanor to start crying, but her daughter merely squirmed.
Bram finally raised a hand and the hall quieted again. “Now that we’ve welcomed my daughter, Evie and I will greet you all
on the floor so you can say hello.”
Bram nodded one last time at Dylan before placing his hand on Evie’s lower back. As they descended the stairs, he whispered, “Survive this, Evie Marie, and I can finally give you your present.”
Evie opened her mouth to reply, but the clan members were already lining up to welcome little Eleanor. Saving her questions for later, Evie smiled and played the role of a clan leader’s mate. The sooner she finished this task, the sooner she could find out what in the bloody hell Bram was lording over her.
Chapter Seven
An hour later, Bram finally managed to get Evie out of the great hall and into one of the side offices in the same building. Their hungry daughter was crying. Even though some of the clan had yet to give their official greetings, no one wanted to deny the baby her dinner.
The second Bram shut the door, Evie took out her left breast and rearranged Eleanor until the child latched onto her nipple. The sight of his child at Evie’s breast warmed both man and beast.
His dragon spoke up. Our young is healthy and growing fast. Eleanor will catch the eye of every dragon-shifter when she’s of age.
Let’s not think about our wee daughter’s teenage years just yet. I want to enjoy the present.
It will come faster than you think. We should prepare and have plans in place to chase off those unworthy of Eleanor.
Bram chuckled. I’m sure we can think of some interesting ways to scare off the males.
Evie’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “What did your dragon say to make you chuckle?”
Bram waved a hand. “Oh, just how he wants to scare away males when Eleanor is older.”
Evie grinned. “I can get on board with that, especially if it’s a growly dragonman.”
Loved by the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 6) Page 5
