Her pupils flashed before she nodded. "I can sense something's wrong. I'll leave it for tonight, but you'd better tell me what's going on tomorrow. I can't look after a guest if I don't know the threats."
Few would believe it, but his mother had been in the Dragon Army Reserves before finding her mate. She had, in fact, been quite the intimidating female at one point.
He bobbed his head. "I'll share what I can, like always. Thanks in advance for your help, Mom."
She touched his cheek. "Anything for my eldest boy."
Ashley shuffled her feet, and Wes reached out to take her hand. "Ashley Swift, this is my mother, Cynthia Dalton. She's agreed to put off questions until the morning. So, come on. I'll show you to your room."
Ashley met his mom's gaze. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dalton."
"Call me Cynthia, please. And just know that we'll be having breakfast together tomorrow morning—all three of us—so don't make any plans."
Wes knew better than to argue with his mother. "Fine, I'll be here at eight. Now, let me get Ashley to bed."
Without another word, he tugged his human upstairs and down the hall to the guest room. The fact it used to be his room when he was younger made both man and beast happy. Their female would be sleeping in the same room.
However, he didn't trust himself to be alone in the room with Ashley. So once he gently pushed her inside, he said, "There's a bathroom the next door down on the right stocked with just about anything you need. You already have my cell phone number, in case you need to call me. I'll keep it on, just in case. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
With that, he shut the door and raced down the stairs. Wes somehow managed to wave to his mother and get away without another word, too.
As he headed back to his cottage, his dragon said, Breakfast will be fun.
Don't get too comfortable, dragon. Remember, there are still enemies out there.
There will always be enemies. However, I'm going to enjoy our breakfast with Ashley and Mom. It'll help us relax.
Relax? How in the hell is that possible when you'll be only thinking of claiming her?
His beast stood a little taller. I can restrain myself. You'll see.
Wes resisted sighing. He hoped so because dealing with both his dragon and his mother at the same time would be exhausting.
Still, it was basically a dream to have Ashely on PineRock, staying in his old family home.
Not that he could linger on that thought. There was too much to do, and he needed to start on his clan leader duties ASAP. He changed the subject with his dragon. For now, we need to send messages to Cris and Troy about what's going on. There's a lot to do before sunrise.
Cris was in charge of clan security, and Troy was PineRock's head doctor. The pair were his closest confidants, and he'd long ago agreed to tell them everything when it came to the clan as a whole.
They were also two of the few clan members who knew that Ashley was Wes's true mate.
Walking faster, he soon reached his office. And as Wes went to work, the familiarity of clan business kept his mind from straying about having breakfast with his true mate.
Well, mostly. Wes had little control over his dreams, which had her in his house, naked, and at his mercy.
Chapter Six
The next morning, after Ashley had showered, changed, and did as much work on her phone as she could, she finally faced the door.
It was nearly 8:00 a.m., and she could hear Wes's mother moving around downstairs.
She was about to have breakfast with two dragon-shifters. The idea was kind of surreal given that ADDA had strict rules about how employees could interact with their charges. True, Wes wasn't exactly her charge, but he was close enough.
Even without ADDA rules and restrictions, there was a huge elephant in the room she still needed to discuss, too—being his true mate.
A night's sleep hadn't helped to settle her brain on that topic at all. If anything, sleep had made it worse since being near Wes for hours, inhaling his scent and feeling his heat, had only given her brain more fodder to use in her dream fantasies.
While there was plenty she didn't know about him, bidding on him and winning him for an evening may have not been the best idea. Because now she wanted more of everything—his touch, his teasing, and the feeling of being safe any time she was around him. All things she'd never felt with any other man.
Her cell phone beeped a reminder about the time, and she pushed aside every thought of a future with Wes. Figuring out what to do about the League was far more important. And to work on that issue, she needed to survive breakfast first.
So she stopped hesitating, opened the door, and headed down the stairs.
Despite not knowing the layout of the house, it was easy to follow the music and clanging to the kitchen. Ashley stopped in the doorway and smiled as she watched Cynthia do a little twirl before breaking an egg into a bowl.
The dragonwoman said without looking up, "Come in, Ashley. Breakfast will be ready soon-ish."
"Thank you," she murmured as she headed toward the tall chairs at the counter overhang.
Stirring the contents of the large bowl, Cynthia looked up. "I've seen you around and know you're an ADDA employee, but I'm not entirely sure how you ended up on PineRock in the middle of the night with my son."
Ashley did her best not to swing her feet as she thought of how to answer the question. In general, she didn't get along with a lot of women because she was too direct and wasn't very good at being delicate.
However, she'd just have to trust her gut, which said Cynthia wouldn't be offended at her being blunt despite the fact they'd just met. "I won him for the evening in a charity auction, but our night got cut short by the League."
Cynthia clicked her tongue. "The AHOLs, huh? I thought they'd mostly faded away around this part of the country."
She resisted blinking. It seemed Wes's mother was more informed than most of her fellow ADDA employees on the topic. "Er, yes, they were barely a flicker around here until a few years ago, when certain groups started funding recruitment drives again."
Cynthia poured some batter into a frying pan, picked up a spatula, and looked Ashley dead in the eye. "Then if Wes brought you here, in the middle of the night no less, it means you're in trouble. I hope you aren't one of those stupid females who think they can do everything without any help, even when it means facing people who probably want to kill you."
She snorted. Nope, Cynthia didn't mind bluntness, that was for sure. "I may be independent, but I'm not one of those ladies in the horror movie, the one who hears a noise and thinks, 'Oh, right, let's go check that out in my nightgown and slippers and ignore any shred of common sense.' I'd be the one calling for backup and staying inside with a baseball bat. I like the option with the greatest chance of success."
Cynthia nodded. "Good. Because my son doesn't need an imbecile for his true mate."
Ashley blinked. "Wait, what? I thought you didn't know about that."
"I'm his mother. Of course I know." Her tone softened and she smiled. "From all the interactions I've heard about you two, you'll be good for him. Sometimes a stubborn person needs another stubborn person to be persuaded of anything."
Oh, no, no, no. If Ashley wasn't careful, Wes's mom might try her hand at matchmaking. "Look, Cynthia…I can't have a future with Wes. Sorry, but my work with ADDA is important, and I'd have to give it up to live here."
The dragonwoman waved a hand in dismissal. "Of course your work is important. I'm not debating that. However, through the grapevine, I've heard of ADDA employees mating dragon-shifters and keeping their positions. It all depends on where you are, how the local ADDA office reacts, and what loophole you use. And before you ask, I don't know what the loopholes are. But if you want to stay on PineRock, there is probably a way to do it."
Ashley's mind buzzed. Just when she thought she knew more about the American Department of Dragon Affairs than most, she was thrown a curveball.
Lo
opholes existed, apparently, and more than the mere niggling she'd had about clan leaders in good standing—which she still hadn't been able to recall. However, if she found one, would she stay with Wes?
As her mind screamed yes, the man in question appeared in the doorway. Ashley blinked at his appearance.
She'd thought him sexy in his clothes from the night before, but even though he wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, his wet, tossed hair and cleanly shaven face made her speechless.
As he snatched up a few grapes from the bowl on the counter and popped them into his mouth, his biceps bulging in all the right places, she instantly felt the need to jump into his arms and kiss him.
She frowned. No, that was ridiculous. She simply didn't jump men and kiss them because they looked sexy.
Wes swallowed before grinning at his mother. "You made your special pancakes, I see."
His grin made her lady parts sigh with wanting.
Damn the man.
Cynthia pointed her spatula at Wes. "I did, but you'll wait your turn. The guest gets fed first."
Wes pushed the bowl of grapes toward her. "Here, Ash. Eat something."
She was about to thank him when his mother snorted. "And no, giving her a few grapes doesn't count as feeding her first."
"Damn," he muttered with a wink.
Unable to help herself, Ashley pelted him with a grape. "I know the way to a man's stomach is food, but you're clearly not starving and in excellent shape."
He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "You noticed what shape I'm in, huh?"
She searched his gaze. "Who are you and what have you done with Wes Dalton?"
Tucking a section of hair behind her ear—his touch making her shiver—he murmured, "You'll see soon enough when we can talk in private."
A mixture of both excitement and caution danced through her body. "And when will that be?"
He straightened up, took the plate full of food from his mother, and placed it in front of her. "After breakfast. Now, eat."
Normally she'd remark on his order, but her stomach rumbled, and she looked down.
What she saw on her plate was almost like a piece of art. Somehow, Cynthia had made a cartoony dragon head, complete with eyes and nostril slits made out of blueberries and raisins. "It's too cute to eat."
"Nonsense," Cynthia stated. "I've been making these since Wes was three years old, back when he refused to eat much of anything. I could make five hundred more in my sleep. So dig in, Ashley. And quickly, before Wes tries to steal your food."
"I wouldn't steal it," Wes grumbled.
Ashley couldn't help it, she laughed. However, she quickly sobered as a realization hit her, and she said out loud, "The dragons I've visited over the years have really been holding back their true selves, haven't they?"
Wes sat next to her. "Don't take it personally. It's hard enough to be told what you can and can't do on a constant basis. I think some are afraid that if you know how much we treasure our clan and family, ADDA will find a way to break it apart to control us further."
She shook her head. "Not all of us are like that."
"But enough of you are."
Ashley couldn't argue with him. For the first seven of her ten years working with ADDA, all her superiors had been hell-bent on reminding the dragon-shifters that they were second-class citizens.
It was only with the promotion of Steven Greenwood to the Southwestern ADDA office, and his belief that trust and understanding was more effective long-term than fear, had Ashley been allowed to do more than bark orders and cite regulations.
To be honest, she had nearly reached a place where she'd wanted to quit ADDA. But Greenwood's attitude had inspired her to try harder, to the point she'd been put in charge of the dragon lotteries in the area.
Wes touched her shoulder. "Hey, you're not that bad. True, sometimes you try to order me around and remind me that you're my superior, but it's mostly done when I'm being a stubborn ass myself."
Some of the time, but not all. However, she didn't want to bring down the mood, so she replied, "I'm just glad you started telling me to back off sometimes. It most definitely made my job more fun."
He lowered his voice dramatically. "Don't tell anyone, but it made it fun for me, too. To the point I made a list of new ways to irritate you on purpose."
She leaned her face on her hand. "Now I'm curious about this list of yours."
Wes ate a few grapes before replying, "Let's deal with the League first, and then we'll see if you earn enough points to see my list."
She raised her brows. "Earn enough points? What am I, some sort of student or reality show contestant now?"
Cynthia jumped in. "Let her eat, Wes. You two can have your verbal sparring session later."
She half-expected for Wes to tell his mother to mind her own business. However, he chuckled and moved to help her finish cooking the remaining pancakes. He said over his shoulder, "I'll do a little supervising and taste testing over here. Otherwise my mother will try to feed you twenty pancakes, like you're a dragon-shifter."
As Wes and his mother traded a few barbs with love, she smiled. Ashley had lost her mother a number of years ago and missed her dearly. Maybe if, and that was a big if, she could stay and be Wes's mate and still do her ADDA work, Cynthia could help fill the emptiness in her heart.
Not that she should be making any sort of long-term plans like that. Focus on the League, Swift. And with that thought, she ate her pancakes and tried to think of solutions to discuss with Wes. Talks of the future—any future—would need to wait a little while longer.
Chapter Seven
Wes usually enjoyed his mother's teasing and penchant for talking. However, as his mother regaled some tale about how her younger brother was sneaking off the clan's land to meet a human—something he'd have to check into later—he couldn't stop stealing glances at Ashley.
Watching the female eat in her borrowed nightshirt and barely tamed morning hair did something to both man and beast.
His dragon spoke up. Because she should look that way in our bed, not in our mom's kitchen. Except when she's there, she'll be naked.
We discussed this at length last night. Give me a little time before trying to convince her to be naked in our bed.
Fine, but don't wait too long, or I may try to take control for a while.
The threat was mostly just talk since his beast would never try to harm or coerce their fated female. However, it wasn't as if Wes wanted to hold back around Ashley for longer than possible, either.
He'd decided last night that he would give in to his desires and fight for her. And once he made up his mind regarding something so important, it wasn't easily swayed.
Even if he had to move mountains or force a change in ADDA policy so she could be happy, Ashley Swift would be his mate.
His mother poked his side and whispered so softly that a human wouldn't be able to hear her. "I'll be having a daughter-in-law soon, won't I?"
It didn't surprise him that his mother would've picked up on his interest. He answered in the same hushed tones, "If it's at all possible, yes. But don't meddle in this, Mom. I can handle it."
"We'll see, Wes. We'll see." She held out a plate stacked with pancakes. "Now, go eat with her so you two can talk."
Since reminding his mother that he could make his own decisions was pointless most of the time—and only wasted energy—he slid into the seat next to Ashley. When his leg brushed hers, electricity raced up his thigh and straight to his cock.
Her fork paused halfway to her mouth and she met his gaze.
His human had felt it too.
His beast hummed. Yes, of course she did. Do it again.
Not wanting to encourage his beast, he cleared his throat and said, "We'll have a little time to talk alone once you've finished eating. However, full-on talks of solutions will have to wait because you have an appointment to train with Ryan and one of the Protectors later this morning."
Ryan Ford was a human who had
mated Gaby Santos, a dragonwoman on PineRock. After being dropped from a great height and barely caught before reaching the ground—which had caused damage to his spine—the recovery had been a long one for the male. However, Ryan was training again and would have some good pointers for Ashley about how the hell a human could defend themselves against a dragon-shifter, which should mostly work against stronger opponents in general.
And since Ryan was mated, in love, and about to become a father, Wes's dragon didn't mind Ashley spending time alone with him.
Ashley replied, "I've always wondered about his and Tori's training sessions. I guess it can't hurt, although I hope it'll be effective against humans as well since I don't think I have any dragon-shifter enemies."
He sat up a little taller and stated, "PineRock is safe for humans now." It’d taken months to clean out those who had tried to hurt the humans, Tori and Ryan, but he'd done it. "But yes, it'll be good against any opponent stronger than you. I'd train you myself, but I have some clan duties I have to deal with first."
She tilted her head. "Ones I can't watch? I've always wondered about what you do all day. Okay, I wonder about all dragon leaders, but maybe a little more about you."
The fact Ashley was interested in his work was yet another sign of how right she was for him. Especially since she knew it wasn't all glory and adulation—it involved a shit-ton of paperwork.
Even though he wanted to share everything with her, he shook his head. "No, you can't shadow me this morning. I trust you, but not everyone does yet, and your presence could make some people hold back when they really shouldn't. Just give it some time, okay?" Even though he should avoid touching her until they were alone, Wes took her free hand and squeezed it gently. "Soon enough they'll see what I see."
For a few beats, they merely stared at one another. Damn, his human was so beautiful with her blue eyes and dark hair.
Throw in the fact she was smart as hell and full of fire, and the urge to carry her off to his house and kiss her surged.
The Dragon's Bidder (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 3) Page 5