Nathaniel (Dragon Hearts 1)

by Carole Mortimer

  Three weeks.

  It was always three fucking weeks.

  There was only one chair in the cave, and Chloe dropped into it, her legs feeling too weak to support her, her previous thoughts all for nothing, right down to that unlikely booty call.

  Rufus’s mate had died three weeks after he did.

  The mother of the Russian dragons died three weeks after her mate.

  The Russian brother, whose mate had refused him, had died three weeks after she did.

  If Chloe refused to complete her mating to Nathaniel, then he was going to die in three weeks.

  And she would follow him three weeks after that.

  Chapter 14

  “How are things, Nate?” For once, Grigor’s voice was gentle. “Have you and Chloe completed the mating yet?”

  Things had been…strained between Nathaniel and Chloe since their return from Iceland two weeks ago. They shared Nathaniel’s bed every night. Still made fierce love every night, except when Chloe had her period a week ago, but even then, they had needed the closeness of simply holding each other and being together.

  Nathaniel hadn’t knotted her again. Nor had he been surprised when Chloe’s body continued to function as it always had. Without the mating bite, they were existing in a half mating, neither completely committed to each other nor two separate beings. In one more week, either he or Chloe would die without the mating bite.

  Every night, it became more tortuous for Nathaniel not to bite her and complete the mating. But he had given Chloe his word, and he wouldn’t break it. It had to be Chloe’s decision, not his.

  She had become withdrawn since their return from Iceland. Spent every day in the room at the top of one of the turrets that Nathaniel had told her was hers to use as her own office, and she seemed to be working like a fiend. At what, he had no idea, because Chloe wasn’t sharing that information with him.

  She wasn’t sharing anything with him outside the bedroom.

  Chloe couldn’t deny him anything during their lovemaking, as he couldn’t deny her. Their need of each other was too intense. But the intensity of the sex, the exhaustion and then the sense of dissatisfaction afterward, didn’t allow for conversation.

  It didn’t surprise Nathaniel that Grigor had picked up on the fact there was still no claiming mark on Chloe’s nape. Nathaniel made sure his scent was all over her, claiming her as his to any other dragon male, but without that bite…

  Nathaniel knew his eldest brother now liked and approved of Chloe as his mate, that Grigor respected her after she had stood up to him at their initial meeting. In an elder brother sort of way, of course; Nathaniel wouldn’t have tolerated anything else.

  Even so, Nathaniel’s relationship with Chloe was private to the two of them. “We still have one more week,” he assured his brother abruptly.

  Grigor looked set to argue, but something in Nathaniel’s expression must have warned him against doing so. “Dylan says both your blood tests are holding at the same level as when you returned from Iceland.”

  “Yes.” Dylan had told him the same thing every time he checked the blood they had agreed to let him have every three days. Nathaniel didn’t expect their blood to change until after—if, they completed the mating.

  Whatever Grigor saw in his expression, he decided not to pursue that subject either. “I’ve done as we all agreed and contacted Vladimir. He and his brothers will be arriving here later tonight, so hopefully we will know more then.”

  There had been a family meeting once they were all back in Wales, the other brothers as surprised as Nathaniel that Grigor had been in touch with a Russian clan of dragons for the past eighteen months. His brothers weren’t as unforgiving as Nathaniel, possibly because none of them had recently found their mate.

  The outcome of the meeting of the Pendragon dragons had been the decision for the two clans to meet up and share whatever information they had regarding mates. Now that Nathaniel had found Chloe, it was hoped there would be more women out there with that trace of dragon DNA in their blood, which would also allow them to become dragon mates.

  The two clans were different, of course. Nathaniel and his brothers were goddess born, the Russian clan dragon born, but it was hoped there were enough similarities that a conversation between all of them would be constructive. Unfortunately, dragons were also territorial, so they could only hope the meeting wouldn’t deteriorate into a stance of aggression.

  “Good,” he acknowledged Grigor’s comment.

  His brother said nothing else for several seconds, and then he sighed. “You’re still angry with me.”

  Nathaniel shook his head. “It would have been nice to know about the Russians, but none of us could have known I would meet my mate in the way I did.” He also doubted knowing of the Russian dragon clan would have made the slightest difference to that. One minute, he and Chloe had been at loggerheads; the next, they couldn’t keep their hands—or mouths, or anything else—off each other.

  Grigor rested his hip against the side of Nathaniel’s desk. “Will Chloe want to be there?”

  “I—”

  “I won’t be here this evening.” Chloe answered that question herself as she entered the room. “So you boys can have your little meeting all on your own,” she added derisively.

  “We’re hardly boys,” Grigor muttered disgustedly.

  “Do you leave you socks on the floor in the bedroom rather than putting them in the wash basket? Drink a pint of milk straight from the carton? Watch every team sport on television? Play poker for money one night a week?” Chloe quoted things she had noted all of the Pendragon men doing. “Then you’re still boys,” she added with satisfaction when neither Nathaniel nor Grigor could deny doing those things.

  She was also delaying Nathaniel’s response to her announcement she wouldn’t be here this evening. Because she knew there would be one. She’d barely stepped foot outside the castle since their return from Iceland.

  She’d met all the Pendragon men now, the healer Dylan, infuriating Deryk, gruff Bryn, nerdy Aeron, remote Rhys, scary Garrett, and dominating Grigor. All of them, without exception, were arrogance personified. With good reason; they were, as Nathaniel had stated, the biggest predator around and so top of the food chain. Other animals couldn’t help but be totally aware of that.

  Including Chloe.

  These men were overwhelming individually; together, they were formidable.

  Meeting up with another clan of equally intimidating dragons wasn’t on Chloe’s wish list for her immediate future.

  Besides, she had something else she wanted to do today. “Would you mind giving us the room?” she asked Grigor politely, not looking at Nathaniel but still able to sense his piercing gaze was fixed on her.

  Chloe had noticed over the past two weeks that more and more, she was able to sense Nathaniel’s moods. His confusion when she spent ten hours a day in her office. His hurt that she didn’t share more of herself with him. His rising desire as they ate dinner with his brothers; that last was a given after spending so many hours apart. His intensity of emotion as they made love for hours in his bed every night.

  Nathaniel’s mood right now had become volatile following her announcement she wouldn’t be here this evening.

  A mood Grigor seemed aware of too as he straightened. “I have some work to do, anyway.”

  “Of course you do,” Chloe taunted; she and Grigor had come to a tacit understanding of each other the past couple of weeks, one based on mutual respect. She accepted he was an arrogant bastard, and he accepted she wasn’t taking any of it. Ta-da, mutual respect.

  As expected, Nathaniel waited only long enough for his brother to leave the room before rising to his feet and towering over her. “Where are you going to be this evening?”

  “London,” Chloe answered without hesitation. Nathaniel could be as intimidating as he liked, she wasn’t going to back down. He wouldn’t appreciate it if she did. “I’m leaving later this morning, if you’ll drive me to
the train station?”

  His jaw was tight. “You’ve made your decision?”

  “I’m only going for a few days,” she assured him gently. “I’ll be back before the three weeks is up.”

  “And if you sicken while you are away?”

  “Then I’ll call you.” So far, she hadn’t felt any of the weakening the Russian dragon’s mate had suffered.

  “Why do you have to leave at all? Does it have something to do with the fact we’re living here with all my brothers and there’s little privacy? Because if so, we can have plans drawn up to build a house of our own on the other side of the mountain.”

  “It isn’t anything to do with that.” Chloe appreciated that the Pendragon men lived together for their own safety. She wasn’t about to jeopardize Nathaniel’s life. In any way. “Your brothers may all be a pain in the ass in their different ways, but no doubt they think that about me too. Besides, I’ve grown quite fond of them. Even Deryk has his moments,” she added ruefully.

  He nodded. “Then why are you going to London?”

  She sighed. “I have things I need to do. Give notice on my apartment, collect some more clothes”—pack up her life—“and I can also drive my car back so that I have my own transport.”

  “I’m happy to drive you wherever you want to go.”

  “I’d rather have my own car.”

  “I’ll come to London with you—”

  “No,” Chloe cut in sharply. “I need to do this on my own, Nathaniel,” she added softly. “I think we’ll both be okay, just for a few days.”

  A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw. “It probably won’t be as intense as the first time, but it will still be painful for us to be apart for any length of time.”

  “I know.” Chloe was searching for a way this would work for both of them. Not for selfish reasons, but because she knew herself well enough to know that she needed to be her own person within whatever relationship she and Nathaniel had together. Without that she would make Nathaniel’s life as miserable as her own would be, something she didn’t want to do. He deserved better. She was going to London for both their sakes; she just wasn’t ready to tell him all her plans yet.

  If being apart resulted in a few days of physical discomfort for both of them, then so be it. She was working toward the long-term—the very long term—not the short-term.

  Nathaniel still looked unhappy. “How long do you intend to be away?”

  “As I said, just a few days. I’ll give you a call when I’m coming back.”

  “I would feel happier driving you to London and then you can drive yourself back when you’re ready.”

  And then Chloe would have to go through the extra stress of making him leave again. Because she knew that once Nathaniel was in London with her, he wouldn’t want to leave. “There’s no point, and I’ll be fine going on the train. Besides, you have that meeting tonight with the Russians.”

  Nathaniel breathed in deeply. “I’ll miss you.”

  Chloe would miss him too. More than she could ever have imagined. Their fated mates thing might have been sudden and unexpected, but she had grown to like Nathaniel over the past few weeks. To more than like him.

  Nathaniel might be a scary big-ass dragon, but he was also kind and considerate, had a great sense of humor, and always put her happiness above his own. He was also the most ruggedly handsome man she had ever met. In fact, Chloe would have liked him and had been attracted to him, even before this fated mates thing. Their mating also meant he would never leave her.

  That provided a stability and certainty Chloe realized she badly needed after losing both her parents at a young age. She had no other family, and the Pendragon brothers, Nathaniel especially, now represented that to her.

  Nathaniel was the perfect man, in fact.

  Her perfect man.

  After spending the past two weeks with him, Chloe had absolutely no doubt about that.

  But she was also the same independent and self-supporting Chloe Evans she had always been. Those things were a part of her nature, and while Nathaniel might have assured her he was wealthy enough that she never had to work again, that wasn’t enough for her. She might be fated to be a dragon’s mate but she needed to earn her own money and have her own career, which was something she had been working toward these past weeks.

  It was a little early to share the results of those labors with Nathaniel, but if everything worked out in London the way she hoped it might, she would happily tell him what her plans were for the future. Her future with him.

  “I’ll miss you too,” she acknowledged ruefully. This man was now the center of her world, so how could she not miss him? “But I’ll be back before you know it.”

  Nathaniel very much doubted that when he could already feel the pain of being apart from her. She had also taken a little too long to tell him she would miss him too. He was also plagued with numerous questions about her unexpected visit to London.

  Would Chloe see Keith Watson while she was there?

  What would be the outcome of such a meeting if she did?

  Why couldn’t she telephone her landlord and give notice on her apartment rather than going all the way to London to do it?

  Why did she need “a few days” in London at all when she might fall sick any day?

  Would she really miss him, or was she just paying lip service to his own comment he would miss her?

  Too many questions and not enough answers. No answers at all, in fact.

  But neither could Nathaniel insist she stay here with him. That would be wrong of him, on more levels than he cared to think about. Chloe was an independent woman, and even though he had no doubt he was her mate as she was his, that didn’t give him the right to put limits on that part of her nature.

  “Okay.” He nodded abruptly. “But you’ll call me and let me know you’ve arrived safely?”

  She smiled her relief at his acquiescence as she stepped easily into his arms. “Of course. And you can call me after your meeting has finished, and tell me how things with Vlad and co went.” Her eyes glowed with that mischief Nathaniel had grown to love as she made the Russian’s name sound as if it came from a cheesy vampire movie.

  He chuckled softly at her humor at the Russian’s expense. “If you hear the roars all the way to London, then it didn’t go well.”

  Although he was really hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Cooperation between the two dragon clans would be a much better result.

  Chloe had been away from London for only a little under three weeks, and yet it felt strange to be back in the city she had lived in all her life. She had grown used to the quiet of Wales. There was no constant sound of traffic there, no crowds of people to push her way through. Admittedly, there were none of her favorite coffee shops nearby either, but that was a small price to pay for the peace and beauty of Pendragon Castle.

  The moment she stepped into her apartment, she realized how cold and empty it felt.

  Because Nathaniel wasn’t here.

  She felt equally cold and empty without him.

  Parting from Nathaniel at the train station had been more emotional than that physical pain it had been the first time. Chloe missed him, and not only because of the sex. She missed talking with him. Teasing him. Being held in the safety of his arms as she slept. Simply knowing he was there. That he would always be there.

  Her apartment no longer felt like home to her, confirming Nathaniel was her home now. Not that Chloe had doubted it for a moment, but it gave her a warm feeling inside to know she was making the right decision.

  Her answerphone was flashing with a dozen messages, none of which Chloe felt like dealing with. They were a part of her previous life, and she was more interested in her future.

  To that end, she called Nathaniel quickly to tell him she had arrived safely. He seemed to want to talk, but Chloe kept the call short. She needed to shower and change her clothes before leaving her apartment to keep the appointment she’d made for later this af
ternoon.

  It was after seven when she returned to the apartment. She’d turned down a dinner invitation from Tegan, one of her friends from university, and instead bought some Chinese food from the takeout a block down from her apartment. It was far too early for Nathaniel to call her, but she didn’t want to be out in a restaurant when she took his call.

  The answerphone was still flashing with all those messages, and rather than keep looking at it, she brought the machine over and listened to the messages while she ate the food straight from the cartons.

  There were several calls from the newspapers she freelanced for, which she deleted.

  A couple of calls from Keith, suggesting the two of them meet up for dinner, if she was over her snit. Which she also deleted.

  The rest of the calls were from cold callers trying to sell her something. Also deleted.

  This was her life before Nathaniel. Work. An ex-boyfriend she hadn’t given a thought to and hadn’t missed in the slightest the last two weeks. Cold calls from people she didn’t know and didn’t want to know. Eating take-out food alone, in a sterile apartment that had very little in it that said home.

  What was she really giving up, and what was she gaining by staying in Wales with Nathaniel?

  There was nothing in London of any importance for her any more.

  And everything in Wales for her to return to.

  Her mate Nathaniel, and all that entailed.

  His seven annoying but somehow endearing brothers.

  They were her family now.

  Her future.

  She wasn’t going to bother staying away for a few days. There was no need when she had completed what she came here to do earlier today. When Nathaniel called her later tonight, she was going to tell him she was returning to Wales first thing tomorrow. That she was returning to him.

  The other things she needed to tell him, she wanted to do in person.

  Except Nathaniel didn’t call her.

  Chapter 15

  Rather than spend the whole evening staring at four blank walls, Chloe switched on the television and watched a series of banal programs that did little to hold her attention.