The Dragon's Dilemma (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 1)

by Jessie Donovan

  Despite Fergus having the same build and face as his twin brother, the look in Fergus’s eyes was kind and missing the twinkle or heat of his brother’s. Fergus also didn’t have a late-day stubble like Fraser. And most importantly, Holly had no desire to stare at Fergus’s lips.

  Catching herself before she remembered about the incident in the greenhouse yet again, Holly held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Fergus.”

  Fergus took her hand and shook. His touch was warm, but lacked any sort of fizzle. It was almost as if she were shaking the hand of a patient or coworker.

  In contrast, just the heat of Fraser’s breath on her face had sent warmth rushing between her legs.

  Stop it, Holly. Fergus and not Fraser is your future. Think of how happy Dad will be when he gets to see you again back in Aberdeen.

  Fergus released her hand and smiled. “I know everything must seem strange to you, but I’ll make sure your stay here is pleasant. There’s nothing to fear from Lochguard.”

  A small part of Holly wanted much more than pleasant; she wanted hot, uncontrollable passion.

  Instead of voicing her thoughts, she nodded. “I sense that already.”

  Finn moved back to the door. “I’ll give you two a few minutes. But after that, we really should leave.” He looked to Holly. “Aunt Lorna hates tardiness.”

  She smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Finn grinned and shut the door, leaving her alone with Fergus.

  Fergus smiled wider at her. “I hope Finn and Arabella are treating you well.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell Ara, but her pregnancy has made her extra grumpy. I’m not sure how Finn puts up with it.”

  The corner of Holly’s mouth ticked up. “If you kept throwing up your food, I’m sure you’d be extra grumpy, too.”

  “True, true. I’m grateful every day that I’m not a female.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Some might take that the wrong way.”

  Fergus put up his hands. “I apologize. I’m used to speaking my mind. I’ll try to be careful.”

  “No, don’t. I like straightforwardness.”

  “Good, then you should get along famously with my family.”

  As silence fell between them, Holly resisted comparing Fergus to Fraser. She wouldn’t think of how much easier it was to talk with the other twin. Or, how the other twin would never be so cautious around her. Fraser might even push her up against the wall and try to win a kiss if she so much as batted an eyelash in his direction.

  Stop it. Holly needed to work on Fergus and forget all about Fraser MacKenzie. The sooner she sealed the deal, the sooner Holly could fulfill her sacrifice contract and count down the days until she could return home.

  Deciding she needed to speed things up, she walked over to stand in front of Fergus and placed a hand on his chest. “Maybe we should go. I need to make a good impression with your mother.”

  Fergus placed his hand over hers and squeezed. “Don’t worry. Compared to my brother and sister, you’re going to be like a breath of fresh air.”

  “How so?”

  He grinned and his eyes crinkled at the corners. Fergus was a handsome man, but not quite as handsome as Fraser.

  Before she could mentally scold herself again, Fergus answered, “Let’s just say that ‘quiet’ is never used to describe my family.” He squeezed her hand again. “I warn you, though. To win them over, don’t back down. Even if my mum says something out of turn or is flat out wrong, call her out on it. That’s the fastest way to earn her respect.”

  Holly’s mum had been similar.

  But her mother had died years ago. Holly missed her voice and offer to make a cup of tea first thing in the morning every day.

  However, she didn’t feel comfortable talking with Fergus MacKenzie about her mum.

  And more importantly, the MacKenzies didn’t need to learn of her past and end up giving her looks of sympathy all night. “Right, shall we go?”

  Fergus moved their hands between them until he could thread his fingers through hers. “Come. The sooner you meet my family, the sooner I can sneak you away and we can talk. I won’t pry your secrets out just yet, but I’m always here to talk when you’re ready.”

  Holly’s respect for Fergus raised a notch. The dragonman was observant, she’d give him that.

  Not knowing what else to say, Holly merely nodded. Silence fell and Fergus tugged her hand. “Let’s go.”

  The silence continued. Before Holly could think of what to ask Fergus that wasn’t something daft such as, “What’s your favorite color?” they joined Finn and Arabella in the front hall.

  Finn’s eyes darted to their clasped hands and he smiled. “I see you two are off to a fine start.”

  Fergus squeezed her hand. “Don’t scare her off, Finn. She has a week and not even your bawdiest joke will convince me to rush her.”

  Holly kept her expression neutral. Fergus would be in for a surprise later when she planned to all but jump him.

  Well, maybe not jump him. But certainly she was determined to kiss him before the night was over.

  Holly raised an eyebrow. “I spent some time volunteering in the East End of London. There’s little you can say that will surprise me.”

  Finn grinned as he pulled Arabella closer. “Aye? Well, I look forward to hearing some of those jokes later. We could always use some new ones around here.”

  Arabella rolled her eyes. “Finn, you can ask for dirty jokes later. Unless you want to face Aunt Lorna’s wrath, we need to leave right now.”

  Finn motioned with his head. “Then let’s be off.”

  Thankfully, Finn did most of the chatting en route to the MacKenzie house, explaining about one legend or another. Holly half-listened, but her mind was preoccupied with the dragonman holding her hand.

  Fergus was nice, but Holly had wished for more than that. After the spark with Fraser, she’d hoped his twin would cause the same reaction.

  Unfortunately, he hadn’t.

  Holly would just have to make the best of it. She didn’t think she’d be abused whilst on Lochguard, for one. If she did have a child, survived the birth, and came back to visit, she had a feeling Finn would allow her to do so, even if she didn’t stay with Fergus.

  The hard part would be surviving dinner with Fraser’s eyes on her face. If she had affected Fraser half as much as he’d affected her, then they would be stealing glances all evening.

  And if that were the case, Holly had a feeling Finn or Arabella might notice.

  Chapter Five

  Once Fraser and Faye reached the kitchen, Fraser released his sister’s arm and swiped an apple tart from the nearest plate. Just as he was about to take a bite, his mother didn’t so much as turn around as she said, “Put it down or you won’t eat anything else tonight.”

  He looked to Faye mouthed, “How does she do that?”

  Lorna turned and raised her brows. “I’ve been your mother for nearly three decades, Fraser Moore. There isn’t much you can do that would surprise me.”

  Faye smiled. It was good to see since his sister hadn’t smiled much of late. “If you’re hungry, just ask.” Faye looked to their mother. “Mum, may I have a tart?”

  Lorna waved a hand. “Go ahead, child. You’re the grumpiest of the lot when you’re hungry.”

  Faye stuck out a tongue at her brother as she plucked a tart from the plate. Putting his own down, he muttered, “Brownnoser.”

  His mother merely shook her head and went back to carving the roast. “Start taking the food out to the table.”

  Faye dramatically brushed the crumbs from her hands and he growled. “Stop rubbing it in.”

  His sister shrugged. “I had to clean my hands.”

  Grabbing the basket of rolls, he walked to the dining room. After the past few weeks, with Faye being grumpy and a recluse, he’d forgotten how annoying she could be at times.

  Fraser was just about to return to the kitchen for another side dish when he heard the door open. Finn’
s voice boomed down the hall. “We’re here, Aunt Lorna.”

  If Finn had arrived, so had Fergus and Holly.

  His beast spoke up. Good. I can watch them and figure out how to make my move.

  It’s not going to happen, dragon.

  You underestimate me.

  Finn walked into the dining room with Arabella at his side. “Hey, cousins.” Finn looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. “Thanks for offering to clean up the garden. I’ve been meaning to do it for some time.”

  Fraser rolled his eyes. “You would scrub a toilet before you would ever weed, let alone plant something.”

  Finn grinned. “You’re right, but I’m looking forward to watching you do the backbreaking work.”

  Fraser opened his mouth to reply, but Fergus walked in with Holly.

  And they were holding hands.

  Before he could stop it, a resounding, “No bloody way,” rang inside his head.

  The scary thing was he didn’t know if it was from man, beast, or both.

  If Holly and Fergus holding hands wasn’t bad enough, the human female had on a dark blue top that dipped down to a V to display the tops of her creamy, pale breasts.

  Breasts that should only be his.

  Fuck. His dragon laughed and he ignored his beast. Instead, Fraser forced his voice to work. “Hey, brother. Holly.”

  Fergus frowned. “You two have met?”

  Fraser shrugged. “I was at Finn and Ara’s place today. We met then.”

  Fergus narrowed his eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything to frighten her or give the wrong impression of me.”

  Fraser motioned toward Holly. “Ask her yourself. She’s standing right there, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  With a sigh, Fergus looked down at Holly. “Forgive my brother. He’s pretty much a full-time pain in my arse.”

  When Holly smiled up at Fergus, Fraser clenched the fingers of one hand.

  His dragon chimed in. We can have her. Just talk to Fergus.

  Shut it, dragon. Holly might be Fergus’s only chance for happiness.

  And what about ours?

  Constructing a rough maze, he shoved his beast inside. The maze wouldn’t last long since Fraser was a novice, but it would at least allow them to start eating supper.

  Fraser glanced at Finn and Arabella, both of whom were studying him.

  Faye entered the room carrying a giant bowl of salad. That was his cue to leave. “I need to help Mum with the roast. You lot can settle down around the table and chat for a bit before supper.”

  Before anyone could reply, Fraser rushed into the kitchen. When the scent of beef and potatoes hit his nose, it helped to calm his anger a fraction. Now that he’d seen his brother and Holly together, he was prepared. If he drew on every ounce of stubbornness he possessed, he just might be able to survive the meal.

  Careful to keep his voice neutral, he asked, “Do you need help carving the meat, Mum? Fergus and the human have arrived. If you want to talk with Fergus and his sacrifice, I can do that for you.”

  Lorna turned around slowly, complete with a knife and pronged meat fork still clutched in her fingers. After assessing his eyes, she demanded, “What did you do?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to give you a rest.”

  Lorna remained quiet for a few seconds. Then she motioned with the utensils in her hands. “Come. I’m not about to turn down one of your rare offers of help.”

  “Oh, come on, Mum. I help with the dishes all the time.”

  She handed him the knife and pronged fork. “Only because you know I won’t cook anything if you don’t do them.”

  Fraser motioned with his head. “We can argue later. Go meet the possible mother of your first grandchild.”

  Lorna washed her hands and dried them on a towel. “To be honest, given your way with the lasses, I was convinced you’d be the first one to give me a grandchild.”

  There was no way in hell he was talking about sex and babies with his mother. “I don’t have any children. I’m careful. But isn’t it your duty as head of the family to vet Holly?”

  “Finn vetted her first. I trust the lad.”

  He was running out of options to convince his mother to leave. As she watched him in silence, a new one hit him. “Then go to satisfy your curiosity. Otherwise, Meg Boyd will be spreading facts about Holly before you even have a proper conversation with the human.”

  “Meg hasn’t met her.” Fraser raised an eyebrow and his mother sighed. “You’re right. As much as I love that dragonwoman, she was probably a detective inspector in her previous life. I won’t have her knowing more than me about Holly. Especially since her unmated son, Alistair, will probably never take a sacrifice and I won’t be able to get her back later.”

  He nearly released a breath in relief. “Exactly. Go and find out as much as you can. Then you can lord it over Meg tomorrow.”

  Lorna walked up to him and took his chin in her hands. Fraser had long ago practiced keeping his true thoughts hidden from his mother. It only worked about half the time, but maybe he’d be lucky.

  Lorna searched his eyes before lightly slapping his cheek. “For all my harping, you’re a good lad, Fraser. I love you.”

  “Mum, please.”

  Shaking her head, Lorna moved toward the exit. “Sometimes, I wish I’d had all girls.”

  He was about to tease his mum about female hormones, but she was gone.

  Alone at last, Fraser worked on reinforcing his mental maze as he carved the roast. If Finn and his mother were already suspicious that something was wrong, he needed to up his game.

  There was no bloody way he’d let them know how he wanted to whisk Holly to a private cottage and fuck her until she carried his child.

  Oh, but not before he’d punched Fergus in the face first for daring to touch the human or glance at her breasts.

  ~~~

  Holly’s hand was sweaty from prolonged hand-holding, but she thought it might be rude to tug it out of Fergus’s grip and wipe her hands on her trousers.

  The meeting with Fraser had gone well enough. Neither of them had acted familiar beyond names and Holly had tried her best to focus her attention on Fergus.

  Just as a young woman with brown hair and eyes entered with a large bowl in her hands, Fraser left and Holly let out a breath. Trying to entice Fergus would be much easier with Fraser out of the room.

  After setting the bowl of salad in the middle of the table with flair, the young, brown-haired dragonwoman looked straight at Holly. “You must be Holly. I’m Faye, Fergus’s favorite sister.”

  “You’re my only sister,” Fergus replied.

  Faye stuck out her tongue at Fergus and then smiled at Holly. “I warn you that most nights when we all dine together, food ends up on the walls.”

  Holly blinked. “Pardon?”

  Arabella’s voice was amused as she said, “The MacKenzies and Stewarts may look to be in their twenties and thirties, but they have a mental age of about thirteen whenever they’re in the same room together.”

  Finn, Faye, and Fergus said at the same time, “Hey.”

  Arabella shrugged. “See what I mean?”

  Holly grinned. “I’m starting to.”

  Fergus released her hand and touched her lower back. “Let’s sit down before Arabella starts telling more tales to scare you.” He increased the pressure against her back. “Besides, it’s been a busy day. You must be exhausted.”

  She was about to say she was a nurse and she was used to standing on her feet for hours on end, but the second she saw the kindness in Fergus’s eyes again, she backed down. “Thank you.”

  Just as she settled in the wooden chair, a middle-aged woman with graying blonde hair came from the kitchen. She was tall, and slightly overweight. The older dragonwoman’s brown eyes reminded Holly of both Faye’s eyes as well as Finn’s.

  The older dragonwoman met her gaze and smiled. “There she is at last. I’m Lorna MacKenzie, Faye, Fraser, and Fergus’s mother.
I hope my kin haven’t frightened you yet. They always seem to find trouble when they’re out of my sight.”

  From the laugh lines around Lorna’s mouth to the crinkles around her eyes, Holly guessed the older MacKenzie might complain about her brood, but spent a good deal laughing with them. “No, they’ve been pretty well-behaved so far, Mrs. MacKenzie.”

  Lorna waved a hand. “Call me Aunt Lorna for now.”

  Holly understood what was left unsaid—Holly might one day call her mum.

  But if she stayed and did that, Holly would be cut off from her father.

  No, the best thing was to fulfill her contract and go home. In order to do that, she needed to not think of a future on Lochguard.

  Wait, since when did she want to stay on Lochguard? Maybe Holly was more exhausted than she’d thought.

  Faye’s voice cut into Holly’s thoughts. “Are you sure it’s wise to leave Fraser alone with the roast? He’ll probably eat all of the best bits or save them for himself.”

  Lorna placed a hand on her hip. “Faye Cleopatra, there is enough roast in there to feed a small army. Have a little patience.”

  Fergus leaned to Holly’s ear and whispered, “Faye is really grumpy when she’s hungry.”

  At that moment, Fraser walked in carrying a large tray. His blue eyes met hers. At the intensity in his gaze, a flash of heat rushed through her body.

  When his pupils flashed to slits and back, her heart skipped a beat.

  Fraser was the first to break eye contact. He laid the platter on the table. Since the room had fallen silent, the clatter of the porcelain against the wood echoed in the room.

  Lorna was the first one to speak. “See, Faye? There’s plenty of meat for you to eat, even if Fraser ate some already.”

  Faye looked away from Holly and toward Fraser. “You didn’t spit on it, did you?”

  Laying his hand on his chest, Fraser put on a mock expression of horror. “And face Mum’s wrath? Are you mental?”

  Fergus leaned away from her. She dared to glance at him from the corner of her eye. Fergus was studying Fraser’s face.