Squeezing him tighter, she vowed to make sure Murray, and all of the other dragon-shifter children, would have a much safer future. Whatever Melanie Hall-MacLeod needed to help launch her book and make it successful, she would do it. There was no bloody way she’d allow them to be used as blood slaves.
Evie had no idea how long she stood there with her eyes closed, holding Murray’s warm little body, but the sudden shouting behind her snapped Evie out of her bubble of baby bliss. Opening her eyes, she looked toward the commotion and saw a wing of dragons approaching. One of them even carried a basket.
She wanted to hold Murray and never let go, but Evie forced herself to lay the little boy down. He would be safe enough with all the medical staff and other dragon clan members watching over him inside the tent. With one last brush of his soft, chubby cheek, Evie moved toward the crowd in front of the medical tent.
Scanning the dragons in the sky, she saw one blue beast, but the size and shape was off. It wasn’t her dragonman.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Where was he? If Kai and Finn had both returned, then the dragons in the sky should be the final wave. Bram should be with them. Unless he was hurt and being carried in the basket.
Or, worse, he could be dead.
No. With a deep inhale, she pushed aside her fears and mustered up her DDA inspector persona. She needed to be strong not only for herself, but also for the others. If she showed worry, the rest of the clan would no doubt echo it.
Raising her chin and straightening her shoulders, Evie barked, “Clear the area. If someone’s hurt, we don’t want Dr. Sid wasting time to push you lot out of the way.”
The various clan members glanced at her. For a split second, she hesitated, but then remembered no one in the crowd would hurt her. Unlike with Clan Skyhunter, Evie had special protections. The clan members would never hurt their leader’s mate.
Right, Evie. Be the hardass inspector. You can do it. On the next exhalation, she raised an eyebrow and made a shooing motion with her hands. When the dragon-shifters created a pathway, she let out her breath.
Dr. Sid squeezed her arm as she rushed past. As soon as the black dragon laid the basket on the ground, Bram stood up with a naked woman in his arms.
“Bram,” Evie whispered. Her dragonman met her eyes and the world stilled around her.
Even at a distance, his pale blue eyes were filled with sadness. Glancing toward the woman in his arms, she saw it was Charlie.
Aware of the clan’s eyes on her, Evie made her way quickly but efficiently toward the basket. By the time she reached it, a male dragon-shifter had also approached the basket. Bram’s gaze moved to the dragonman. She heard him say, “I’m sorry, Hudson. It was too late. The hunters were cruel, but your mate died fighting to the end. The entire clan will remember her sacrifice and forever honor her service. She will not be forgotten.”
The dragonman took Charlie’s limp body from Bram and hugged her close. His eyes were wet and voice scratchy when he said, “Thank you for bringing her back to us. Now we can give her a proper goodbye.”
Evie’s throat closed at the sight of the dragonman holding his dead mate. Evie would also look after Charlie’s family. After all, the dragonwoman had been captured protecting her.
Bram nodded and the dragonman walked away with Charlie in his arms.
Then Bram looked at her and she stopped breathing. She was torn between scolding him for taking so long to return and pulling him close to kiss him until they both lost their breaths.
Before she could so much as blink, let alone make a decision, Bram leaned over, picked her up, and placed her in the basket with him. He pulled her flush against his hard body and whispered, “Evie, love. You’re alive.”
And then he kissed her.
Chapter Eight
Bram had given in to his dragon’s need, hauled Evie’s soft body up against his, and not caring who saw, he kissed her.
As he seamed her lips with his tongue, she opened and he devoured her mouth with hard, strong strokes. He’d seen the anger in her eyes and he was determined to make her forgive him. An argument would fire his blood and as much as he wanted to take his mate hard and fast, he didn’t have the time.
No, he’d merely have to placate her with his tongue.
As he continued to explore her mouth and squeeze her soft curves against his body, her arms finally wrapped around his chest and hugged him tightly, never surrendering her mouth to him.
The lass had forgiven him.
His dragon roared. The kiss is not enough. I need to feel her skin. The frenzy is becoming harder to control.
Sensing his dragon’s tension, he roamed Evie’s body with his hands. He cupped her face with one hand and placed his other on her arse. He squeezed her large, squishy arse cheek, wishing he could mold and shape her soft skin without any barriers. But as his dragon roared again to take their mate to safety and claim her, Bram caressed Evie’s face with his thumb. The skin-to-skin contact eased his dragon’s tension a fraction.
His inner beast said, Please. I need her. Deal with the clan so we can fuck her.
Breaking his kiss with Evie was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but it was better than taking her in front of everyone.
Staring into Evie’s dark blue eyes, he could make out relief, happiness, and even affection. Every cell in his body wanted it to be love, but it was too soon.
Caressing her jaw again, he whispered, “I’m sorry, love. I have plans involving us both naked and alone, but right now, I need to check on my clan.”
Evie ran a hand up his chest and gave it a pat. “You mean our clan.”
He smiled. “Yes, our clan.”
“Good. I only have one condition before you go.”
He frowned. “Now isn’t the time for conditions, love. I need to see who’s hurt and then check in with Kai and Finn. The hunters could be planning an attack right now.”
The stubborn glint was in her eye and he resisted a groan. She said, “Just listen a minute, dragonman. It’s important.”
“Make it quick, love.”
She bristled but shook her head. “I don’t have time to argue. My condition involves Murray.”
He blinked. “Murray?”
Evie nodded. “Yes. I just need you to tell Dr. Sid it’s okay for me to take him home and then you can do whatever needs to be done.” She leaned against his body and whispered, “We’ll both be waiting for you when you’re finished. I might even forgive you for taking so long to come back to me and let you fuck me once or twice.”
Bram’s heart skipped a beat. His dragon tried to take over at the mention of fucking, but he pushed the beast aside to focus on the other half of her words. “You want to look after wee Murray?”
Evie smiled. “More than that, I want to adopt him. He can be the start of our new family.”
Ignoring his beast’s attempts to break out of his mental prison, Bram searched Evie’s eyes. “Are you sure?”
Evie frowned. “You should know by now that if I suggest something, I mean it.”
Stroking her waist, he murmured, “Sorry, love, but the last two days have been hell. I can hardly believe it’ll end happily for anyone, let alone me.”
His mate softened. “I’m here, Bram, and I want to make sure nothing happens to Murray ever again. I think together we can give Murray the love he deserves as well as make sure he’s safe.” She frowned again. “Just make sure you stay alive to help me. Being a single mother with a dragon-shifter baby is not something I want to experience. Murray needs his dad.”
Hearing her call him Murray’s dad warmed his heart. “I don’t want the lad to be fatherless, now, do I? That’s only slightly worse than upsetting my mate.”
Evie smiled and he knew he’d won. She gave him a quick kiss. “Good. Now that’s settled, let’s see Dr. Sid so you can finish up with the clan and come home to me.”
He nodded. “Also, I’ll have Melanie and Tristan sent over to you. You’ve been imprisoned for
two days and while you’re strong, you may yet go into shock.”
“I’m not a delicate flower, Bram Moore-Llewellyn. But I can use the help as I need to shower and have not the faintest bloody idea of how to care for a baby.”
He squeezed his mate. “You’ll do fine, love.” He kissed her one more time and pulled away. The loss of her heat stabbed his heart. “Now, I need to find Finn. I hear he’s the one who rescued you.”
“Yes, he did. But he also killed Neil Westhaven.”
Bram blinked. “What?”
Evie brushed his chest with her hand. “You didn’t know?”
“No.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. Neil was threatening to kill me at the time.”
His dragon growled. It is good the traitor is dead.
Yes, but he should have faced trial. Killing one of our own plays into the image all dragon-shifters are monsters.
If the traitor was threatening our mate, then our mate’s life is more important than trying to impress the humans.
His dragon had a point, but he didn’t have time to argue. He’d already spent more time with Evie than he should have. While the hunters’ base near Carlisle was destroyed, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t attack again.
Bram crawled out of the basket, helped Evie out as well, and then faced the members of his clan standing in front of him. “I want everyone to return to their cottages and remain alert. Until I release the order, off-site visits won’t be allowed.”
A male voice shouted, “How long, Bram? I can’t run my business if I can’t deliver goods to the humans.”
Bram looked at his clan mate and said, “Don’t worry, Alex. I won’t keep the restriction in place any longer than necessary. But I think staying alive is more important than delivering your wood carvings, aye?”
The same male replied, “Aye.”
Bram nodded and then did a sweep of the crowd in front of him. “Go. I’ll let you all know when things have returned to normal.”
As the crowd dispersed, Bram took hold of Evie’s hand and tugged her inside the tent. While he’d taken care of Murray a hundred times in the last five months, he was anxious to see the lad. From here on out, Murray wouldn’t be a charge but his and Evie’s son.
Sid and her core nursing staff were finishing up the minor wounds on Bram’s team. Sid noticed him, gave an order to one of her staff, and stood in front of him. After giving him a once-over, she said, “You’ll have a bruise on your jaw, but you’ll live. Do you have any other injuries I should be worried about?
Evie moved slightly in front of him and gave an assessing glance. “Stubborn dragonman, if you’re hurt, say so.”
He put up his free hand. “I’m fine. Before the two of you insist on checking every inch of me to verify my words, Sid, I want you to let Evie take Murray home. Provided, of course, he’s well.”
Sid moved her gaze to Evie and back. “Yes, he’s healthy if not a little tired and dehydrated. But does your mate know how to take care of a dragon-shifter child?”
Evie’s grip on his hand loosened and he squeezed her fingers in reassurance. “She’ll be fine. I’m sending Mel and Tristan to help until I finish with clan matters.”
Sid turned and Bram followed, tugging Evie along until they stood over wee Murray. The babe was asleep, but his cheeks were full of color and the lad seemed content. His dragon chimed in, his previous tension somewhat diminished. Our son will be well.
That was fast. I expected it to take longer to claim him.
Our mate wants him, so I want him. The baby will make her happy.
Bram watched as Sid lifted Murray and placed him in Evie’s arms. The sight of his mate holding the babe caused a rush of warmth to spread throughout his body. He said to his dragon, The baby will make us all happy.
He brushed Murray’s soft cheek. “Be a good lad, Murray, and mind your mum until I return.” Glancing over at Evie, her eyes were wet. He rubbed her back and said, “You’ll do all right, love. Don’t worry.”
Evie met his eyes. “I’m not worried about that. It’s just that I never thought I’d have the chance to be a mum. Hearing you call me that makes me happy.”
“Evie.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “This is just the beginning for us. We’ll see how you feel when he wakes you up at four a.m. The reality might be a little less rosy.”
She frowned. “Don’t you have clan matters to attend to?”
Bram laughed. “I can take a hint. You want to enjoy the rosiness of being a new mum without a reminder of the realities to come.”
Scanning the tent, he noticed Nikki sitting in a corner. He shouted her name and motioned for her to come. As she made her way toward them, he whispered to Evie, “I really do need to take care of some clan matters. Nikki will take you home. Are you okay with that?”
Evie’s stern voice returned. “Why wouldn’t I? Blaming her for my capture and Charlie’s death is pointless. A number of factors contributed to that happening.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Good. My clever lass understands.” Before Evie could reply, Nikki approached. Her expression was unsure and her posture a little less confident. Bram decided to fix that. He ordered, “Take Evie and Murray to my cottage and help her settle in. Then call Melanie and Tristan to come over. I want you to watch over them all until I return.”
Nikki twisted her hands. “Are you sure you want me to do it?”
“Nikola Gray, unless there is a valid reason for why I shouldn’t send you, then you have your orders.”
Nikki’s voice was faint when she replied, “The last time I was given an assignment, Charlie died.”
Pushing aside the loss of his clan member, Bram focused on healing the one still alive. “You aren’t responsible for Charlie’s death. If anyone is to blame, it is I. Now, do you wish to keep arguing or will you take Evie and Murray so I can ensure the clan’s safety?”
Nikki glanced to Evie, but his mate smiled and bobbed her head in encouragement. Nikki looked back to him. “I’ll take her.”
Bram nodded. “Good lass.” He turned toward Evie, kissed Murray’s forehead and then hers. “I’ll be home soon. Don’t destroy the place in the meantime.”
Amusement danced in Evie’s eyes. “I’ll see what I can cook up.”
As he watched his family walk away, his dragon said, Hurry up. I want our mate as promised.
You are calmer than five minutes ago.
Tasting our mate and claiming our new son helped, but I need her. I am strong, but even I am reaching my limit.
His inner beast’s words rang with truth. Bram couldn’t risk the mate frenzy breaking out while the clan was still in danger. Then let’s find Finn and Kai.
After checking in with Sid, Bram left the tent. It was time to talk to Kai and find out what Finlay Stewart had done.
~~~
Finn knocked on the door of Tristan MacLeod’s cottage. He didn’t have long before Bram found him and while Finn stood by his decision to kill Neil Westhaven, the act might break the new alliance with Stonefire. If that happened, he wanted to see Arabella MacLeod one last time, both for his dragon and himself. For some reason, he didn’t want the lass to think ill of him.
The door opened. Instead of Tristan’s glare, Arabella’s dark brown eyes greeted him. She frowned and said, “What do you want?”
“It’s nice to see you, too, lass. Can I come in?”
“Why? Everyone is gone. It’s just me.”
“Aye, that’s why I’m here.”
She hesitated. He’d gleaned from his last visit that the lass didn’t like being alone with strange men. “We can talk out here, if you like.”
“Since we’ve spoken twice, I’m sure all you need to say can be said whilst standing at the door.”
He gestured at his body, clad only in a casual kilt. “It’s a wee bit cold out here and the warmth from the door is enticing.”
Her eyes darted to his chest and lingered. Finn was leaner than most dragon-shifter males, but on
ly because he was taller. The lass’s eyes didn’t seem to mind and his dragon rumbled. I want to feel her skin.
Not now.
His beast growled, but Finn ignored him and cleared his throat. “If you’re quite done with the view, let me in or toss me a jumper.” Arabella’s cheeks flushed and he grinned. “Unless you want a longer look at my epitome of male perfection.”
The dragonwoman rolled her eyes and stepped back. “If coming inside will help stem your cockiness, then hurry up.”
His dragon crooned. She likes us. This is good.
Rather than dwell on his inner beast’s words, Finn stepped inside the cottage and headed into the living area. Once he plopped down on a chair, he dove right to the point. “Have you considered my invitation to come to Lochguard and set up the secure connection?”
She stayed standing on the far side of the room. While her heart rate appeared normal, he didn’t like the distance.
Arabella answered, “I told you I’d think about it. My answer hasn’t changed.”
“In my experience, maybe means no. Come, Arabella. It would benefit us both.”
She frowned and her voice was careful when she said, “Explain that last bit.”
His dragon cautioned, Don’t scare her.
I won’t coddle her. She doesn’t want it. “You’ve proved your skills to me and I won’t have to double-check your work, which saves me time.”
“And what is the benefit to me?”
“You’ll have the chance to interact with people who will treat you with care because you’re a stranger, not out of pity for your past. While I’ve only heard the rumors, I expect everyone on Stonefire knows the truth.”
Arabella took a step toward him. “I don’t want your charity.”
His dragon piped in. Don’t fuck up.
Finn stood up. “It’s not charity, Arabella MacLeod. I need your skills and you desperately need a break from the clan. Even your brother coddles you.”
Seducing the Dragon: Part Four Page 7