Fire danced in her eyes. Bastard that he was, the fighting had made his cock hard as stone.
Bram grabbed her upper arm, but before he could continue their argument, a Scottish-accented voice interrupted, “If you’re looking for another clan leader, lass, you have one right here and I’ll tell you anything you like for a kiss.”
Turning around, Bram did his best to hide Evie from Finlay Stewart’s gaze. He barked, “You’re early.”
The leader raised one blond eyebrow. “I know I said to act informal as I can’t stand the protocols, but you’re close to crossing the line, Mr. Double-Barreled last name.”
His inner dragon was snarling. Get Evie away. She is ours.
The human half of him, however, realized the enormity of this situation. He was very close to fucking up everything over a female.
As he worked to control his possessiveness, Evie’s voice sounded from behind. “Hello, Scottish dragonman. I would introduce myself, but as you can see, I have more than two hundred pounds of dragon-shifter muscle in the way.”
Finn chuckled and Bram’s dragon snarled louder. He sent calming thoughts to his beast and said, Behave. I will send her to safety.
From decades of earned trust, his dragon listened. Bram said to Finn, “Give us a minute and we can start over.”
The Scottish leader answered, “Is she your new mate?”
What the other leader didn’t say was that it was bad form to flirt with a newly mated dragonman’s female; more than one fight to the death had erupted in the not so distant past over such a misstep. Their inner dragons were finicky beasts when it came to mates.
Bram wanted to lie, but knew his ties to Clan Lochguard were tentative at best, so he told the truth. “Not yet, but soon.” He turned toward Evie and Nikki. His comments were directed at his young clan member. “Nikki, take her wherever she wants, but bring her back here for lunch. Evie and I need some time to talk.” He moved his gaze to Evie. “You’ll get some time, lass. Just take the other coat is all I ask.”
She searched his eyes a second before nodding. “Asking is all I want.” She paused, her voice soft when she added, “Don’t order me around, Bram. I don’t like it.”
Except when she is naked. She will like it then.
Since Finn was in the same room, Bram didn’t bother wasting time with his dragon. Instead, he said to Evie, “We’ll discuss it at lunch, in private.”
The human stood on her tiptoes to glance over his shoulder, acknowledging their audience, and then back to him before nodding. “I hope it’s going to be a long lunch.”
Rather than comment, Bram headed back down the stairs and stopped in front of Finn. He gestured for Evie to come forward. Ignoring his dragon’s snarling, Bram said, “Evie Marshall, this is Finlay Stewart, the leader of Clan Lochguard.”
The other dragonman put out a hand. As Evie shook the man’s hand, Bram put a hand on her waist and squeezed. She shot him a quizzical glance before she turned her attention back to Finn. “While it’s nice meeting you, I expected Dougal Munro.”
Finn winked. “Prefer the older men, do you?”
Before the Scottish shifter could flirt any more with his female, Bram guided Evie away as he explained, “Dougal retired six months ago. I can tell you all about it later.” He plucked a coat off the peg on the wall. “Try not to get into too much trouble, lass.”
Evie gave a mischievous smile and his heart skipped a beat. “That’s the fun part.”
He nearly groaned, but Nikki came to his rescue and ushered the human out the door before she could taunt him with any more glances or smiles.
He turned toward Finn. The Scottish leader grinned. “We can talk about the alliance later. First, you need to tell me where you found such a fiery female. I could use one myself.”
“Lay one hand on her, and I don’t care if you’re a clan leader, I’ll challenge you to a dragon fight myself.”
All Finn did was grin wider and Bram knew this was going to be one long meeting.
Chapter Three
Evie smiled as she left Bram’s cottage. She’d stirred his jealousy, just as she’d intended. The new, youngish and attractive Scottish clan leader had made it even easier to do, but all that mattered was that she had a lunch date with Bram.
Of course, lunch was hours away, and even though the DDA would toss aside any report she submitted, Evie felt the need to investigate Caitriona Belmont’s death. With the facts under her belt, she could hopefully direct the new DDA inspector sent to replace her to the truth. If Stonefire was to be her new home, she would need to protect them from the bureaucratic loopholes that could weaken the clan.
Finding out the truth might also help her earn Bram’s trust enough for him to accept her as his mate.
Nikola, or as Bram called her, Nikki, stopped and turned around, garnering Evie’s attention. Nikki narrowed her eyes as she said, “I will take you where you wish to go, but not until I say that if you hurt Bram, I will make your life miserable while you’re here.”
The fact so many of his clan seemed to love him eased her apprehensions bit by bit. “I have no intentions of hurting him as long as he doesn’t hurt me.” Nikki nodded and Evie decided to give the dragonwoman a bit more of an explanation. “He’s protecting me from the dragon hunters.”
Nikki waved the arm not in a sling. “I don’t care about the reason. Bram is my leader and I respect his decisions. Just don’t hurt him and we’ll get along fine.”
Since Evie would be spending the next few hours with Nikki, she decided to merely bob her head and push on. “Sounds good. With that out of the way, I need to visit Dr. Cassidy Jackson’s surgery and ask her a few questions.”
“What for?”
She could simply tell the dragonwoman to mind her own business, but she wasn’t a DDA inspector anymore. She needed to try fitting in with the clan members or her future could be extremely lonely here. “There are some questions about Caitriona Belmont’s death. I was originally sent here to find out the truth. While the DDA will soon no longer trust me if I’m Bram’s mate, I want to find out the truth before the replacement inspector arrives. I want to make sure they don’t overlook anything.”
“The DDA thinks we killed her?”
Evie eyed the woman a second before she replied. “You act like a soldier, so answer this and I’ll give you more information. Are you one of Stonefire’s Protectors?”
The other woman raised her chin. “In training, but I’m nearly done.”
Each dragon clan in the UK had a group of special ops-like soldiers called Protectors. They each served with the British armed forces for two years before being trained by their respective clans. The fact this dragonwoman was nearly done spoke volumes about her abilities as well as her loyalty. “Right, then I’ll tell you this in confidence: The high levels of dragon-shifter hormones in her blood might have caused her death in childbirth.”
Nikki frowned. “I’m not a doctor, but I think it’s normal for a human who carries a dragon-shifter child to have those hormones.”
“You’re right, but the levels were exceedingly high, as if someone were giving her extra amounts on the side.”
“That’s not good.”
“No. So the sooner you take me to see Dr. Jackson, the better.”
“The clan calls her Dr. Sid, but never in a million years would she try to kill someone.” Nikki turned and motioned with her head. “Still, she might have an idea of who could. Follow me.”
As they turned down a path on the left, they moved away from the main living community with cottages cheek and jowl and headed toward the wide-open space ringed with rugged hills that was the landing and takeoff area. Or, at least, that was her guess since a large, dark purple dragon jumped up and beat its wings before flying into the distance.
Most dragon-shifter doctors placed their surgeries near the landing area to make it easier to access their most critical patients. While accidents and injuries happened every day, the worst ones were caused by
the dragon hunters, especially if the rumors about their recent weaponry upgrades were true.
Within ten minutes, Nikki stopped in front of a three-story house with a large covered, yet open-aired, space on the side used to treat dragon-shifters who were too weak to shift back into their human forms. The dragonwoman said, “Dr. Sid might be with a patient, but she should be here. She can, hopefully, answer your questions. Although I hope you’re wrong about someone tinkering with Cait’s hormone levels.”
Evie nodded. “Believe me, I hope so too.”
They entered the house-slash-surgery. Inside was obviously a waiting area with some chairs and a desk staffed by a young dragon-shifter male who couldn’t be more than twenty. He smiled at Nikki, but his smile faded when he eyed Evie. “Why did you bring a human here, Nikki? We aren’t due for another female sacrifice for a few months.”
Rather than let Nikki answer for her, Evie butted in, “I’m Evie Marshall and I’m investigating something for Bram. I’m here to talk with Dr. Cassidy Jackson.”
The male dragon-shifter eyed her with suspicion. “If Bram had a human investigating something for him, he would’ve alerted the clan and he hasn’t. Who are you?”
Nikki stepped in front of her. “Leo, she’s with me and I’ll vouch that she’s here to do as she says.”
While the action was small, Nikki’s defense meant the world to her.
Leo stared at Nikki and finally sighed. “The last time I stood up to you, I ended up with a black eye and a broken nose. Take a seat and I’ll let the doctor know you’re here.”
Nikki nodded and Evie couldn’t help but smile. The dragonwoman was a bit like her in that she didn’t take shit from anyone.
The pair of them moved toward the nearest chairs and sat down to wait.
~~~
After nearly two hours of back and forth, Bram waited for Finn’s answer.
And not just any answer, but the answer that would determine the future of his clan.
The tall, blond Scot studied him with his dark brown eyes. The teasing and flirting from earlier in the morning was gone, replaced with a dragonman with an unreadable expression on his face. The version of Finlay Stewart sitting across from him right now was the version who had won the right to be clan leader.
Finn’s voice finally filled the room. “I have one last condition.”
He resisted a growl. “I’ve stated my terms and what I’m willing to compromise on. There’s not much room for negotiation.”
“This falls within your parameters.”
Bram waved a hand. “Well, stop being melodramatic and spit it out already.”
“For my people to truly believe you want to work with us, I think we should foster like in the old days.”
He frowned. “That hasn’t been done for centuries.”
Finn shrugged. “I think each of us hosting a clan member or three from the other clan will A) help to show that we’re more alike than we give credit and B) allow us to each have a spy.” Bram opened his mouth, but Finn beat him to it. “You seem to like the truth, and spy is closer to the truth than a prolonged guest.”
“So much for trust.”
“Hey, trust will come in time. Nothing happens overnight.”
Despite his irritation at all the negotiating, Bram liked the Scottish leader more as time went on. Finn was far more open-minded and forward-looking than sixty-year-old Dougal Munro had been. “Say I agree to the fostering, then what about the details? How long? How many? What role should they play in the clan? I won’t send one of my clan members to sit and twiddle their thumbs for months on end, nor will I allow them to be shunned and mistreated.”
“I can respect that as I feel the same way. You don’t have to send someone today. Let’s say, in a month or two? That gives us each time to prepare our clans and hash out the finer points.” Finn leaned forward. “I can promise you no harm will come to your clan members as long as no harm comes to mine.”
Bram nodded. “I can promise that too, but with one caveat—if any of your fostered clan members try to undermine the well-being of Stonefire, they will be dealt with accordingly.”
Finn leaned back in his chair. “I could threaten back the same thing, but I think you’re clever enough to expect the same out of me.”
“Right, then that’s the last of the negotiations for today.” Bram stood up. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner at the great hall.”
The Scottish leader stood and amusement glinted in his eye. “Are we going to see your spirited, delectable female tonight too?”
“She will be sitting as far away from you as possible.”
Finn laughed. “No worries, Bram, I’m not about to fight you and throw away these past few hours of boring, tedious negotiations. Life’s too short to live through that twice.”
Bram wondered if Finn had two personalities. One minute he was stern and calculating, and the next he was jolly and teasing. Bram was definitely going to keep him far away from Evie. He could see the two of them flirting back and forth, which made his inner dragon growl.
Shushing his beast, he pushed on. “You can meet my technology security expert tonight at dinner and discuss your requirements then.”
“Why don’t I meet with this individual now?”
He wasn’t about to detail Arabella’s past to Finn and tell him how she still had trouble with one-on-one private meetings with strangers, especially with a stranger who could overpower her. The dragonman was barely an ally. “The dragonwoman is busy until tonight.”
“A female, eh? Well, then that makes everything better.”
Bram was about to warn the other leader to leave Arabella alone when there was a knock on the door. Since the cottage was soundproofed, he moved to the door and opened it. Nikki and Evie stood in front of him.
Before he could say anything, Evie blurted out, “Bram, I really need to talk to you.”
“It’s not quite lunch time, lass.”
The female glanced to Nikki and then back to Bram. “It’s important.”
Given her tone and expression, he believed her.
Bram looked over his shoulder. “Finn, is there anything else that absolutely must be discussed before dinner?”
“No, take care of your clan.” Finn moved to stand next to him and put out a hand. Once Bram shook and dropped it, the Scottish leader looked to Evie and Nikki. “And I look forward to talking with you bonny lasses tonight.”
Both females smiled at the other clan leader and Bram growled. Finn laughed at the sound before saying, “Right, I’m going.” He gave each of the females a smile and was gone.
Since Bram had various clan members keeping an eye on Finn—much as Finn said earlier, trust still needed to be earned—he stepped aside to allow Evie and Nikki into his cottage. Once he shut and locked the door, he said, “So what’s the emergency, Evie?”
The human female unzipped his huge coat surrounding her and then bit her bottom lip. It took everything he had to focus on her words and not her mouth when she released her lip and said, “I think Caitriona Belmont was murdered.”
He looked back up into her eyes. “Come again? Caitriona died in childbirth.”
Nikki took a step forward. “Listen to her, Bram. I think she’s on to something.”
Glancing back at Evie, he said, “Okay, then, explain how you reached that conclusion.”
Standing this close to the lass, he could hear her heartbeat thumping hard inside her chest. Yet level-headed human she was, she took a deep breath and carried on. “Well, part of the reason I was sent here by the DDA was to investigate Caitriona’s death since her autopsy was off.”
He nodded. “Melanie mentioned that to me. Go on.”
“This morning, I decided to pay Dr. Sid a visit.” Bram opened his mouth but she beat him to it. “I know the DDA won’t accept any report I write about Stonefire, but I wanted to find out the truth. Not only for me, but for you as well.”
His dragon decided to speak up. She cares for the clan.
Rather than think about that, he asked, “And what did you find out?”
“I brought a copy of Caitriona’s autopsy results with me and showed them to Dr. Sid. I knew high levels of dragon-shifter hormones in a human’s blood was bad, but I’m not a doctor.”
“Get to the point, lass.”
“Dr. Sid explained how the numbers were far too high. In order for any human to have that level of dragon-shifter hormone in her body, she’d have to be given shots or take medication. I guess much like humans have medications for things like thyroid hormone replacements, the dragon-shifters have something similar for the hormone that controls their ability to shift into a dragon.”
She looked to Nikki. “You fill him in on the rest.”
The young dragonwoman didn’t hesitate. “After Sid looked through the lists of dragon-shifters who needed the hormone, one name stuck out—Neil Westhaven.”
Neil had been the dragon-shifter assigned to the sacrifice, Caitriona. He’d made the poor lass’s life hell, primarily through verbal abuse, until Cait had turned into a depressed recluse. Only because Neil had hidden the female so well from others did Bram miss the human’s suffering.
Bram clenched a fist. “But that bastard was banished long before Cait gave birth.”
Evie stepped in. “That’s true, but Nikki and I did some talking, and we think we came up with an explanation.”
Bloody fantastic. The two of them working together would most definitely cause trouble for him in the future. “And that would be?”
“He must have someone here, still on the clan’s lands, working with him. Nikki thinks it could explain the increase of dragon hunter attacks too.”
Seducing the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons #2) Page 7