“Daddy, if you’re done here for now, can we talk for a few?”
“Sure.”
Ever the observant father, Sam didn’t waste a moment once they distanced themselves from the reunion and left earshot. “What’s on your mind? I knew something was wrong from the moment you two arrived.”
Chloe gauged the distance again between them and the rest of the party. She sighed. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted without further suspense.
“I...” Sam stared at her, completely at a loss. “That was fast,” he commented lamely. As far as her dad knew, she’d only broken up recently with Freddy.
“Well...” Ever since childhood, Chloe had never been able to successfully lie to her father. “It’s not Saul’s baby, but he wants to help me,” she admitted.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her father sighed and hugged her close. “Is it that asshole gym trainer’s?”
“Yeah,” she replied in a shaky breath. “He doesn’t know, and I don’t think I’m going to tell him.”
Her father was quiet for a moment, wearing an indecisive expression on his face. “Now, Chloe, don’t you think he deserves to know?”
“No, Daddy, not really. Freddy wouldn’t be any better than Mom was to me. I don’t want him involved in my life at all.”
“Yeah... yeah. No child deserves that.” Sam leaned back. “You know that I’ll support whatever you decide. Now, what is this about moving to California? Saul says that you’re going to take over as executive assistant at his company. Sweetheart, I’m impressed.”
Chloe sighed. “We discussed that I might take over as executive assistant. I don’t want to steal someone’s job.”
“According to Saul, he’s creating the position just for you. Honestly, Chloe? Go for it.” As she leaned back to scrutinize her father through narrowed eyes, Sam laughed at her. “I know, I like one of your boyfriends for once, and I’m excited to see this movie studio he’s invited Annette and me to visit. Now tell me about Saul.”
“You just talked to him for an hour, Daddy.”
“I want to hear more about him from you.”
It didn’t take long to summarize her meeting, whirlwind romance with Saul, their separation, reunion, and recent vacation in Texas. By the time she reached the end, her dad had begun to nod his head in approval.
“You found yourself a good man there, Chloe. Damned shame he didn’t beat Freddy’s ass. I would have.”
“With your cane?” she teased him.
“I’d give him a well-deserved whoopin’.” Her father wisely steered the conversation to a sweeter topic: the child itself. “So when’s my grandbaby due? When do I get to hold him? Or her?”
Chloe toed the ground nervously. “I haven’t gone to the doctor yet. Sort of just found out in Texas, and only told Saul... yesterday. But he’s okay with it. I kind of thought I’d take it one step at a time, you know?”
“Punkin...”
“I know, I know,” Chloe sighed. A first pregnancy should have been giddily reported to her mother. Her mom should have chastised her for failing to seek care and whisked her off the next day on a journey to purchase maternity clothes, stretchy pants, and little dresses with bow-tied ribbons beneath her tits.
But Chloe’s mother had been a self-absorbed drug addict who thrived on sucking the life out of others. Nearly a decade had eclipsed between their last meeting in person, and then two years ago, Chloe found out her mother overdosed on coke.
“Tell me, Daddy, what do you really think about Saul?”
“I think he’s great. He’s the first person I’ve met from Iceland, but his parents raised a fine young man. Have you met them?”
Chloe shook her head. “His father died when he was a child, and his mother... travels a lot. The adventuring sort. She wouldn’t have cell phone reception wherever she is.”
According to Saul, his mother had hibernated since the loss of her mate, and there was a high possibility that she wouldn’t awaken during Chloe’s lifetime at all.
“Sounds like a woman I’d like to meet.”
Chloe swatted him. “You have Annette.”
“And I love her. I really do, Punkin. I know it hasn’t been long but—”
“Daddy. Considering how fast I’m moving with Saul, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” She hugged her father tightly again and breathed in the cool scent of his cologne. For as long as she could remember, he had always been her protector. “I like her. I see she shares your love of the outdoors too.”
“We’ll have to take you and Saul out to the cabin sometime.”
“That’d be fun.”
Her father’s unconditional acceptance eased the tight knot in Chloe’s chest. Everything is going to work out. Everything.
“Speaking of, here comes your man now.” Her father squeezed her fingers then passed her hand over to Saul. “You take care of my li’l girl.”
“Nothing would please me more,” Saul replied. “Save for one thing.”
“Wh—”
“Chloe Ellis.” Saul lowered to one knee and produced a small black box from his jeans, mimicking the fantasy proposals in every romantic comedy she’d ever dared to show him. “Be my wife.”
Oh my god! Chloe’s limbs became uncooperative and refused to move.
“In the short time since you entered my life, I have come to realize how empty my existence had been without you. You have brought me joy and shown me a new world of immeasurable wonder. Do me one last honor, Chloe. Marry me.”
After her mouth opened and shut a few times, she turned toward her father.
“Well don’t look at me,” Sam said, smiling. “I gave him my blessing to ask, but the answer has gotta be on you, sweetheart.”
“Yes!” She screamed the word louder than intended, and received a few chuckles from the observing crowd. Golden light danced over the ember-hued jewel at the center, and a tiny circle of black pearls gleamed around the fire opal. “It’s beautiful, it’s so beautiful.”
Before Saul could rise to his feet to embrace, or possibly kiss her, as seemed to be his intent, Chloe threw herself into his arms. A smaller man would have toppled back onto the cement ground, but he remained upright and caught her in his powerful embrace.
“I love you,” she whispered against his ear.
“Then we shall not waste a minute. I am told Las Vegas is the Mecca of weddings.”
“Now?” Chloe’s voice squeaked.
“Tomorrow,” Saul said.
It was something out of a dream, all of it. From the first moment she and Saul met to this instant in time, Chloe expected to wake from the fantasy. But the new weight on her finger was real, and the warm arms around her held her close to her soon-to-be husband.
I’m marrying a dragon and I have never been happier.
Chapter 8
Saul never turned his cell phone off, but he did often lay it within Chloe’s reach to satisfy her Candy Crush addiction. The first time that she’d lost all of her lives and sent an eager plea to Marcy for assistance, Saul had groaned, reclaimed his device, and bought her several more.
The game wasn’t nearly so frustrating when an eternal being willingly purchased more power-ups.
He’s so damned generous, she thought while laying the iPhone onto the bedside table. My family loves him. Dad really thinks he’s a great guy. Hell, he is a great guy.
Of course, Saul wasn’t actually a guy. He was a dragon, an immortal who would long outlive her, her child, and everyone he graced with his noble presence at the reunion. Would he feel the same way about her as she grayed, curved at the spine, and eventually succumbed to the cruelty of old age? Would he still love her as much on the day she died as he did now?
Chloe swept those thoughts aside and laid her head against the pillow to sleep. Thanks to her family wearing him out with exhausting activities, Saul snored beside her and remained dead to the world. By nature, dragons were light sleepers, but they adapted to the presence of a trusted person in their domicile. M
ahasti and Leiv’s movement never awakened him if they entered his vault during hibernation periods.
A thief on the other hand...
She peeked over her shoulder at her sleeping fiancé. Despite his lack of spontaneous dutch-ovens and other gross bedroom habits associated with men, he slept beside her like any other spouse-to-be. Chloe considered that a blessing.
“Mm... this is going to be great when winter comes,” she mumbled as she edged close enough to rest her cheek against his shoulder.
A subtle chirp interrupted Chloe’s sleep and grew progressively louder in volume until it threatened to hurt her ears. Her moan of protest led Saul to disentangle from her embrace and reach over her to pluck the phone from the table.
“Hello?”
Who’s calling him at...? Chloe peeked at the digital clock on the table. The glowing display told her it was nearly five in the morning. If it was an urgent matter, Mahasti would have appeared in a plume of jasmine-scented smoke. After the troubles that plagued his residence during their last vacation, Saul had made it abundantly clear that they were contact him at any time, no matter how obscene the hour, if another plague of vampires attacked his home.
“Maximilian. Greetings,” Saul rumbled quietly beside her.
Definitely not Mahasti.
The bed shifted then footsteps indicated his path to the window where heavy, gauzy curtains concealed their view of the Las Vegas Strip. Saul parted them and gazed out into the electric, pre-dawn night.
“I am pleased to know Brigid passed my message to you with haste. It is true. I have mated, thus I shall no longer pursue your daughter.” Saul paused. A throaty chuckle warmed Chloe’s blood and eased the dread filling her gut. “It was not intentional, I assure you, but perhaps you should find a better use of your time by asking why she refuted my claim to her for so long? The time has come to move on.”
Chloe smoothed her pale blonde strands away from her face and watched him. Worry gnawed the pit of her belly. As if sensing her apprehension, Saul turned to flash her a nonchalant grin.
“Does Brigid feel slighted? Surely you did not expect me to court your daughter for another century. Be reasonable. No, I shall not consider it. The matter is closed, Maximilian. I thank you for returning my call, but your promises of intervention are too little and too late. I bid you to have a good day.” Saul lowered the phone from his ear and ended the call.
“What’s happening?” Chloe asked immediately.
“Nothing to concern you.”
Coming from another man, she might have taken offense to the dismissive phrase, but from Saul, the words were spoken with genuine innocence. She smiled and raised herself onto an elbow. “Maybe I want to be concerned.”
Bathed in the Las Vegas lights, Saul’s nude body resembled a piece of art. Better than the finest Renaissance sculpture. Hotter than Michelangelo’s David. With open arms, Chloe beckoned her dragon to return to the bed, where the sweet bliss of their love making melted away their worries.
Tomorrow, she would be his wife.
***
While Chloe doubted in the likelihood of a wedding venue on short notice that didn’t involve a fat man dressed like Elvis, Saul surprised her with his investigative preparation. Or, at least, Mahasti’s preparations.
As a child, Chloe had never dreamed of a fairytale wedding with hundreds of guests, expansive tables of catered food, and a $500 an hour photographer. She’d only wanted the man of her dreams — a good man who loved her unconditionally and cherished her as she deserved. Malcolm and Freddy hadn’t been worthy of her.
In her sundress, she stood before the judge and held Saul’s hand while her father, Annette, Mahasti, and Leiv witnessed their union. Afterward, she kissed him chastely, then they gathered for a family dinner at an upscale restaurant. Saul insisted on covering the bill.
“Leiv and your father’s beloved appear to have become friends.” Saul glanced at her.
“She’s sweet.” Chloe smiled and leaned her cheek against Saul’s shoulder. My husband. Mine.
“I admit to some surprise,” Saul murmured, his words for Chloe’s ears alone. “She is remarkably calm, all things considered.”
“Should she be otherwise?”
“Many smaller creatures become nervous when in the presence of larger predators.”
Chloe nearly spewed out her virgin daiquiri. She coughed into a napkin and waved off a concerned glance from her father.
“What do you mean?” Chloe whispered. Turning her attention toward Annette revealed that the woman watched them from the corners of her eyes.
In fact, Annette had watched Saul since meeting him.
Saul had the good grace to appear guilty. He cleared his throat and feigned fascination with his bourbon. “Forgive me, I should not have spoken out of turn.”
“Would you excuse us for a moment?” Chloe practically dragged Saul out of his seat. Annette and Leiv, embroiled in a deep conversation about the many uses of honey in baked goods, barely noticed their departure. Her father chuckled at Saul’s helpless expression.
Once they rounded the corner and stopped near the public restrooms, Chloe released him and placed both hands on her hips. “Spill it.”
Saul gave a long suffering sigh before he glanced around their immediate area to confirm a lack of snooping mortals. “Annette is a shifter, my love,” he finally admitted. “I knew the moment we arrived at the park that one was nearby.”
“Are all shifters not as cavalier about dragons as Leiv?”
Her husband chuckled. “Hardly. Though many submit to our service, those unfamiliar with dragons keep a safe distance. Rightfully so. She has watched me very closely, but appears to be more at ease with Leiv,” Saul said.
“So... can you tell what she is?” Smaller than a bear. A wolf maybe? No... Chloe’s thoughts turned over a hundred possibilities, from an exotic tiger to a long legged deer.
She peeked around the corner and ogled Annette. The gorgeous woman had long legs and an exquisite figure suited to running, but Annette’s odd, tri-colored hair and gentle eyes drew memories to the front of Chloe’s mind. With startling clarity, the truth struck Chloe in the next instant. She’s a dog. She’s a dog shifter. I know it.
“Ah, judging from your expression, you no longer need my answer.”
Chloe swatted him. “Why didn’t you tell me at the reunion?”
“I did not know it mattered.”
It didn’t. If anything, the divulgement of Annette’s identity inspired a sense of relief for Chloe. Her father deserved a loving companion who would stick by him through thick and thin.
They returned to the tail end of her father’s thoughts about a recent vacation to Dubai before his hip replacement. “Dubai was a beautiful place. Annette and I plan to visit again in the fall,” Sam said.
“Come with us next time, Chloe.”
“Ahh... I don’t know.” Chloe rubbed the back of her neck. While she had taken her father aside to share news of the baby, she hadn’t told the rest of her relatives. “I’m pregnant, and I’ll probably be too big for a plane by then,” she fessed up.
Annette’s mouth fell open. Her mismatched eyes flicked between Saul and Chloe, working out the obvious truth: the baby clearly had been fathered by another man. “Congratulations. To both of you,” she said, words spoken in a cautious tone. “I’m so happy for you, Chloe. A new husband and a new baby. Oh goodness. There’s a small shop near my bakery with the best little clothes.”
“When we find out what we’re having I’ll plan another trip over here to shop with you,” Chloe said. “It’ll be fun.”
“Excellent. And now that you’re on the west coast, we’re only a drive away,” Sam reminded her. “Any time that you need me.”
Chloe didn’t miss the pointed look directed at Saul, but her kind dragon lover feigned ignorance and twisted to chat with Mahasti. She patted his thigh beneath the table. “And the same goes for you two, Daddy. Come out and visit us sometime. You’ll love hunti
ng on Saul’s property.”
Annette studied Saul again, using only the corner of her eyes. “I’m going to run to the ladies room,” she excused herself from the table.
Recognizing an opportunity to get the canine shifter alone, Chloe quickly rose to her feet. “Hey, wait for me, Annette. All this water is going right through me.”
“Sure.”
As they left the celebration party behind, Chloe overheard Leiv playfully taunting Mahasti, asking if she planned to disappear to the women’s room too. Contrary to the myth about women all leaving in flocks, she remained behind with the men.
There’s no gentle way to do this, Chloe realized while washing her hands. Annette emerged from a stall to do the same, prompting her to let the words rush out in an awkward tumble before the chance was lost. “Look, Annette, I just wanted to say that I’m really happy my dad has you.” Chloe studied Annette’s reflection in the mirror and smiled when their eyes met in the glass. “And... I know what you are.”
Annette’s mismatched eyes widened in surprise and a hint of color crept into her cheeks. “You do?”
“Yeah...” Chloe almost felt bad for springing it on her like this. The faucet automatically turned on when her hands reached beneath it, jetting out tepid water.
Annette sighed. “I figured it would come out, all things considered.”
“It doesn’t matter. Not to me,” Chloe assured her. “But... do you think you’ll ever tell Dad?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Chloe laughed, nervous beneath Annette’s knowing look, and snagged some paper towels. “Somehow I think dragon is gonna be harder to swallow. I mean, how do I even start that conversation?”
“Well maybe I can ease him into the idea for you. So as for your question, yes, I do intend to let him know. But...” Annette glanced to the door and parted her lips to speak, only to shut her mouth and clam up. The silence between them thickened the air until an undercurrent of anxiety swarmed in Chloe’s gut. Being around Saul and Leiv had granted her an exceptional awareness at reading shifters’ emotions.
“What is it? We just broke the ice about the hard stuff, right?”
Mated by the Dragon (Loved by the Dragon, #2) Page 8