Scott.
She shook her head at how blind she’d been to ignore how much of a bastard he was. Thinking back on their interactions, he’d treated her like the help or his personal property to boss around whenever he wanted to. So desperate to get and keep business, any business, Bronwyn had endured him and his other jerky friends for a few dollars. Self-deprecation hit hard as she fought to maintain a sense of worth. She’d worked too hard and long to fall back down into the spiral of despair where no one wanted her. Bronwyn wasn’t the thrown away child, hiding in the shadows anymore.
Unable to stop herself, her mind conjured up memories of not belonging to anyone. Found as a newborn in the back of an abandoned home in a run-down part of town, she’d been put into a state-run facility. She’d heard the whispers that if she’d been cuter, white, anything more than what she was, her chances of placement would be greater. Foster care was a joke. Most of the folks were either overwhelmed with too many kids or just in it for the money. More comfortable in the invisible background, going about her way, Bronwyn had perfected the art of running away. After she’d been deemed a flight risk for running away from every home placement given to her, Bronwyn lived until she’d aged out at the facility.
Simple things others took for granted, she obsessed over. The life skills training she’d received growing up was a joke. Still lacking the confidence, the last thing she wanted Mac to know was that she couldn’t cook well enough to trust her food to be edible. How was she going to be a good mate when she couldn’t cook?
Beneath her business was the fact that she did a lot of those errands as part of her way of learning and compensating for how she grew up. If Ollie only knew that her ability to order the best food was because she wanted to find the food that tastes most like what she thought love would be if eaten. This and other little things helped her know the best places to go and use to get things done. She’d lived in the shadows for years trying to learn from observation how to be a normal person in society.
Willing herself back to the present, her phone refused to cease with the messages of whiny-ass grown men complaining, begging, and fussing at her for not continuing to manage their lives as usual. Mac’s presence had been a strength she didn’t realize until now. Only a day into knowing him and she knew they were inseparable from here on. It made sense why he’d gone to deal with Scott when she considered how strong their bond was this fast. Plus, he’d always been her Dragon for as long as she could remember. He’d always been there to take her up high over the cares of this world into one only they could inhabit.
Taking a chance that he might be able to feel her, she said out loud, “Mac, please come back to me now. Don’t do anything crazy or stupid. I need you back here with me.”
Her prayer that he could hear her was interrupted by his voice, distant but discernible in her heart, “Already on my way back. Scott and I came to an understanding.”
“You can hear me?”
“Yes, we’re joined, remember. We’ll always be connected from now on.” Her smile was huge, easing the angst that had clouded her ability to stay calm. The more he spoke, the clearer it became. “Are you still in bed like I asked you to be?”
Here he was out fixing another one of her screw ups and all the man could think about was her well-being. Tears anew welled up, prepared to fall. “Yes, I’m right where you left me.”
“Good, I’ll be back by your side in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Thank God you’re safe. You scared me when you left like you did.”
“I’m fine. I’m your Dragon. Stop talking to me now and rest. I don’t want you getting a bad headache. It takes time to build up to mental linking like this. See you back at home soon, my love.”
She felt the connection wane as he must have done some type of mental disconnect. Not wanting to chance her foot starting to hurt or making her injury worse, Bronwyn didn’t get up to pace like she wanted to. Funny, she only now realized that when she was touching Mac or in very close proximity to him, her foot didn’t hurt at all. When he wasn’t close, she felt the dull pain come back and begin to grow.
Life with Mac was better than without him. Her impact on him, on the other hand, wasn’t as rosy. Since their meeting, he’d had to almost single-handedly clean her condo, move her things, and deal with a crazed ex-client. Bronwyn had to do better. No, she had to be better. This couldn’t be a lop-sided mating where he was always cleaning up after her. Deciding to take the bull by the horn to fix her issues, Bronwyn opened her email account, set up a Broadcast message, and drafted a message to all current and past clients saying until further notice, her business was on hold. Re-reading the message she noticed a few phrases here and there that could be ambiguous. Referencing Mac’s text message back to Scott, she patterned her message like that, taking out a lot of the explaining and fluff.
God had sent her a mate who excelled in her areas of weakness. When everything settled down, she’d take Mac up on his offer to teach her how to properly run a business. Remembering the money he’d given her knowing he’d refuse to take it back, she’d put it to use to pay the few lingering bills she had. That was the cushion needed for her to be able to survive without having to work for a while. Everything was falling into a nice, tidy, order.
The light sensor in the corner of the room flashed from green to red, alerting her that Mac or his guy, Danny must be in the house now.
“Mac, is that you?” she yelled from the bed, hoping the thick walls this place was reinforced with wouldn’t snuff out her voice traveling.
Nothing came back. Maybe he was still downstairs? She wouldn’t try to yell again. Mac would be back up here soon enough. Throwing a sheet over her chest to ward off the little chill she’d gotten being naked, she propped a few more pillows behind her and kept working on her phone to put her business activities on hold.
Another few minutes and a passing thought of what Mac must be doing downstairs crossed her mind, but not enough to get up and see. Her thought was that he might be down there fixing them something to eat. Her Dragon was an amazing mate. At the thought of food, her stomach growled again, putting on a performance to rival the one from earlier.
She wanted to laugh. In all her years of life, never had she been so involved in anything or anyone enough to forget to eat for going on two days. Mac was one of a kind, and it stood to reason that her entire world would be turned upside down when she mated with her Dragon.
Still engrossed in reading the messages and now taking delight in shooting the guys down without the slightest remorse, she didn’t realize she was no longer alone in the bedroom.
“Hello, my dear, will Mac be back soon?”
Heart in throat, beating at an insane beat, Bronwyn sat up stiff as a board in bed. The sheet falling away to reveal the top half of her body. Like Mac, the voice was smooth and deeper than average. Just inside the doorway, stood a tall woman full of elegance, grace, and danger. In comparison, Bronwyn immediately felt like a stocky stump, unable to flee in time if the woman decided to do her harm. Scrambling to cover up, her mind raced to respond.
“Mac? Um, he’s, he’s…”
“Never mind, my dear. I’ll reach out to him if he takes too long. Looks like I got here maybe a little too soon?” The woman had come into the room and was smiling. Her smile reminded Bronwyn of Mac’s.”
“I’d don’t understand, how did you get in here? I thought—”
“Oh, that. I have a key.” Continuing to eye Bronwyn in clear appraisal, the woman came closer still. “My, aren’t you a little thing. Cute as you can be.”
She stood close enough for Bronwyn to see Mac’s same gray-blue eyes sparkling with interest. Then it made sense, she must be his sister. Her body still amped up on adrenaline to flee, the back of the headboard resisted against her pressing into it. The woman had yet to introduce herself but was clearly familiar with the layout of the house. Unfazed by Bronwyn’s state of undress, she came over to sit in the recliner Mac had brought closer
to the bed last night.
“So, pretty little woman, tell me more about you,” the woman said, sitting down and leaning in. Curiosity danced in the clear brilliance of those eyes that looked so much like Mac’s.
Unable to concentrate on anything but making sure her life wasn’t in danger, Bronwyn’s reply came out with equal curiosity. “Who are you, Mac’s sister?”
Laughter, bold and joyful burst out of the woman.
“Oh, heavens no! Bless you, my child. Where are my manners? I was so excited when Mac mated that I rushed right over. No, I’m his mother, Elora Kelnar. Pleased to meet you.” The woman stuck out a hand to shake Bronwyn's tightly balled one. “You can call me Ellie or, if you’d like, Mom, like the rest of the kids do. I’m so happy to meet you.” The woman looked her over again, making Bronwyn even more aware of her nudeness under the sheet. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. I’ve been praying to the Goddess for you for some years now. My Mac, he’s always been my strong-willed, serious child as you might already know.” Bronwyn nodded, too stunned with how chatty the woman was to interrupt so she could put on some clothes. “Well, when my baby, his sister, found her mate a few years back, I was beside myself with worry. Mac is coming into his prime to start a family of his own and I couldn’t bear it if he hadn’t found his bond mate sooner than later. You’re smaller than I’d expected, but you’ve got the gift, so everything will be just fine.”
“Gift? What are you referring to?” Bronwyn was too engrossed in that to pay attention to her surroundings. This would be the first thing she worked on as soon as she got some clothes on.
“Mom! What the hell? Why are you in here bothering my mate?” Mac stood at the door, holding bags of Italian food from one of the restaurants in the area. The aroma reached out and commanded another long, loud growl from Bronwyn’s empty stomach. Both Mac and his mother turned to look at her. Like before, laughter followed.
“Son, I see I got here right on time. You’ve had the young lady hold up in here without food? No wonder she looks so tiny and withdrawn.”
“No, Mom, the withdrawn look is because of you. You’d have the same look if some stranger came busting into your bedroom while you were in bed nude, and sat down to talk like you were old friends. Just because you probably know more about her than she does, doesn’t mean you can act like your old friends. Do you even see how weird this is for my mate?”
“I was only trying to meet your mate. Can’t a mother be excited when her first born joins with his mate?”
Mac showed no mercy. “Ellie, I know you. Did you even introduce yourself before you came waltzing in here? And, must you sit so close to the bed like that? It looks like you’re trying to climb in on her.”
Ignoring Mac and turning her attention back to Bronwyn, his mother said, “I blame myself for his lack of home training. I let him have too much freedom as the oldest.” Still looking at Bronwyn but clearly directing her next words to her son, she added, “I may have been excited and didn’t introduce myself right up front, but we were having a lovely conversation before you burst in here like I was going to scare her.”
“You did, look at her. She’s trembling, and her back is pressed so far into the headboard, the bed is shaking from the force. Mom, come on now let up. I know you flew here too. Didn’t see the car. Are you trying to embarrass me in front of my mate?”
“No, of course not. What kind of mother do you think I am? So, what, if I got so excited I flew. Trust me, when you two have Dragonlings, I’m going to remind you of this very conversation. That reminds me,” She turned her attention back to Bronwyn, “I do hope your joining was blessed of the Goddess. I could stand to have some grandbaby Dragons.” Rising up and coming closer, Ellie started sniffing the air around Bronwyn.
What was this lady doing?
“Mom, quit smelling Bronwyn to see if she’s pregnant. Go back downstairs. Give us time to eat and freshen up." Bronwyn could see the woman's head shaking no ever so tipping her hand that she refused to leave, as Mac continued. "We’ll be down there to visit with you in say an hour.”
“An hour? No, Mac, you will not try to sneak a quickie in while I wait for you to release the pretty little thing from your thirst. Yes, I sense it all over you.”
“Ellie, you’re trying my patience. Don’t make me get Dad to come get you.”
“You wouldn’t dare, you little ingrate. I should have never started nursing you. Your cockiness grows with each passing year. For the umpteenth time, call me Mom or Mother.” Again, she turned back to Bronwyn, this time picking up Bronwyn’s hand into her own and caressing it. “Dear, please pardon my son, he doesn’t have the good manners to give us a proper introduction. You already know my name,” Ellie looked back over to Mac and frowned, then back to her, Ellie said, “What is your name?”
“Bronwyn Scott.”
“Oh, what a beautiful name. It fits you wonderfully. If only your mother could be here to see how lovely you’ve become.”
“Mom! That’s it, out.” Mac rushed over, crossing the large area of the room to grab his mother by the arm and yank.
“Mac, where are your shoes? I swear you act more like your barbarian father with each passing day.”
“Mom, out,” he said, pushing her with a gentle but firm shove toward the door. “Go find something to do out in the garden. We’ll be down to meet with you in an hour.” Closing and locking the door behind his protesting mother, Mac turned back to face Bronwyn and said, “I’m so very sorry. I should have known she’d be one of the first to know when we mated.”
Still enduring the aftershocks of Tsunami Ellie, Bronwyn found she could only blink has her mind tried to regain normal capacity attempting to process what had just happened.
“I know, my love. My mother is a true force of nature. She’s a high-ranking member of the Dragon governing council. I thought she’d still be at her office in Washington, D.C. since they’re in session. Else, I would have warned you of her possible appearance.” He paused to look at her. “Bronwyn, are you able to speak? Say something.”
Words didn’t immediately come when she made the first attempt. A few more tries and she managed to get out, “Powerful.”
“Yeah, she’s a top-ranking official in our Dragon and shifter government.”
“No, Mac, I mean powerful as a Dragon. When she came into the room, I could feel her power. Instinct had me feeling like prey for the first time in my life. I was afraid of your mother.”
“Oh, I see.” He scratched his head in thought. “To me, she’s my overbearing mother, but I guess to someone who’s never met a Dragon of royal lineage it might be different.”
“What does that even mean? I’ve been in here alone with a powerful Dragon who happens to be your mother and all I could think of was that she might kill and eat me.”
“Nonsense, my mother is darn near a vegetarian.”
“Mac, it doesn’t matter. She scares me.”
“She’s harmless. You see how easy it was for me to get her out of here.”
“You’re her son. She birthed you.”
“Ellie likes you too much to do anything to you.”
“And, stop calling her by her name. Call her Mom like she asked you too.” Bronwyn was growing more agitated by the second.
“Baby,” he said, calling her that for the first time. “Why are you so upset? Did she do something to you before I got here?”
“No, nothing but come in, take a seat and start talking like we were long lost, friends.”
“That would be her way—if she likes you.” He looked at Bronwyn, narrowing his eyes. “Bronwyn,”
“Hmm?”
“Think back. When you first saw my mother did you see her or her Dragon form?”
Bronwyn took a moment to think, mentally retracing her thoughts. Her body involuntarily flinched. Too fast to comprehend with her eyes, but Bronwyn had seen his mother as a Dragon first.
Nodding, she confirmed it. “Yes, it was so quick that it didn’t register wi
th my conscious, but I was scared the entire time, no matter what she said.”
“Interesting, my mother isn’t going to do anything to you, I can assure you of that.”
“How can you be so sure? She could be putting on that she likes me for your benefit.”
“No, I heard her before I made it to the door, she likes you. I can tell she’s fascinated by you as well. Plus, she never touches people she doesn’t like. Let’s get you fed, bathed and then we can go down and see what the woman knows.”
“Why do you treat your mother like that?”
“Like what?”
“With disrespect. I don’t like it. Please, honor her. If you didn’t have her around, you’d understand how much you seem to be taking her love for you for granted. I can’t tell you how much I’d give to know my mother for one more day.” Then Ellie’s words came back to her. “Hey, you heard what your mother said. I think she may know something about my mother or my past.” Hope blooming, she dared to go there. “Mac, do you think it would be okay to ask her what she might know about my past?”
He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace before answering. “Dear one, do you really want to bond with your mother-in-law over discovering your past? What if she discovers something sensitive? That would be something you’d never be able to undo.”
“I don’t care. If she can help me find out who my mother is and if I have siblings, I’d be so grateful.”
“Would you stop being afraid of her as well?”
Bronwyn had to slow down on that one. “We’ll have to see. As long as she doesn’t keep throwing off those predatory vibes, I might be inclined to come around.”
He laughed. “That’s all I can ask.”
18
Bronwyn
“You’re willing to help me find out about my past? Yes, thank you!” Bronwyn was too excited to slow down.
“Of course, my dear. It’s not every day I gain a magical daughter of your lineage.”
Dragon's Curvy Concierge Page 13