A Mate to Embrace
Page 20
Then there were Brolle and Doran Teres, the first two dragons to turn on their fellows, clearly twisted by Victor into thinking that they were actually helping the clans with their actions, not harming them.
“We’ll need to be on guard,” Logan said as the day went on and they found nothing more. “We’ve got the upper hand now, but I don’t see this as being over, not yet. Not by a long shot.”
Braz nodded. He thoroughly agreed. Until they could figure out how messages were being sent from the Otherworld, and by whom, they could only react.
That would have to be enough.
Chapter Forty
Braz
“I can go with you, you know,” he offered for the umpteenth time.
Grace smiled and patted his shoulder. “Braz, I’m going to be o-k. You’ve made sure of that. But I need to be able to do things on my own still you know. Without that freedom, that sense of independence, I would go crazy.”
“I guess,” he said unhappily. “I know you’re right, I just don’t see why this has to be one of them, you know? I could easily help with it.”
“I know you could, my love,” she said, stepping closer, wrapping him up in a hug, her head resting on his broad, muscular chest. “But just because you can, doesn’t mean I need you to help me. That’s not gonna change.”
Braz pouted, but he knew she was right. The truth was he just didn’t want her to leave. Over the past week he’d come to enjoy having her around, spending as much time with her as he possibly could.
“I’ll be here next weekend,” she said. “All weekend I’ll be yours.”
“I know. I just never thought that, you know, long distance.”
Grace gave him a squeeze and then stepped back. “I told you from the start Braz, I have a life in Kennewick Falls. I’m going back there to it until I figure something out.”
“There must be some sort of other option,” he grumped. “One that doesn’t take you away from me.”
“If there is, I have yet to think of it,” Grace said.
He frowned. Was that a twinkle in her eye? Was Grace teasing him?
“Why do I suddenly get the feeling that there’s more going on here than you’ve told me about,” he said suspiciously.
“What do you mean?”
Now he definitely knew. Grace couldn’t keep a straight face to save her life. Braz had seen the smile come and go. It was fast, but it had appeared.
“You told me that you’re going back to Kennewick Falls for your job,” he said suspiciously.
“I am,” Grace said with perfect innocence.
“Except you hate your job,” he pointed out.
“Still a job,” she countered.
Braz stroked his chin. “I don’t buy it. Just what are you going back there for, that you don’t want me to come with you? It’s not like I’m needed here. I could come back and spend the week with you.”
“We just spent the week together,” Grace pointed out. “Remember, I called in to work, took it off, said I was sick. We spent every day together since the whole…thing.”
“Oh, I remember,” he said with a sly grin and a wink.
“Men,” Grace said with an overly exaggerated sigh.
“You’re still trying to hide something from me though,” he said. “And I want to know what it is.”
“Of course you do,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.”
“Aha!” he crowed victoriously. “So there is something going on. Some sort of secret you’re hiding from me.”
“Not hiding. It’s just called a surprise,” she teased, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
“I hate surprises,” he said monotone.
Grace just looked up at him with an uncaring face, blinked once and shook her head. “Too bad.”
Braz’s mouth dropped open. “You’re not going to tell me, are you!”
“I don’t know. I was going to surprise you with it. But now you’ve already figured out that there’s a surprise, and I kind of want to see your reaction to it now, before you’ve had a chance to puzzle it out while I’m not around.” She looked unhappy for a moment. “You’re far too good at doing that for my liking.”
He chuckled, not denying the accusation. “I guess you should tell me now then. What is it?”
“Well,” Grace said, very obviously pretending to give her next words some thought before she continued. “Do you really want to know?”
Braz just looked at her.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“Wait, wait, no, I do!” he protested, wrapping her up in a tight hug. “I do, I do. Tell me!”
“Gosh you’re adorable.” She pecked him a kiss on the cheek. He returned it, with interest.
“Alright, well, I was going to surprise you with this, but I’m only going to be gone a week or two at most.”
Braz frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, silly, that I was going back to Kennewick Falls to quit my job, pack up my stuff, and then come back here. To Five Peaks.” She paused. “To you.”
Braz’s jaw dropped open. “Are you serious? You only said you would think about moving in!”
“And I did think about it,” she joked. “I just wanted to, I don’t know, I wanted to surprise you with how soon I was planning on doing it.”
“Consider me surprised!” he said, flabbergasted. “You’re for real?”
“One-hundred percent,” she said, melting into him as he squeezed her tight in a hug.
“Oh man,” he whispered, rocking back and forth side to side as they stood outside the compound on the road.
The gates had not yet been repaired, and the courtyard was a mangled mass of burnt and melted landscaping. Work was starting, however, and by the time she returned, Braz hoped it would be well under way. There were some improvements planned as well.
“You’re okay with me moving in a bit sooner than we planned?” Grace asked shyly.
“Am I?” he cried. “I can’t wait!”
“Good,” she said, pulling herself in tight to him again. “Neither can I.”
Braz grinned.
Life sure was looking up lately!
Chapter Forty-One
Grace
“You did it,” he said, ruffling her hair.
“Stop it,” Grace hissed, irritated as she worked to put her hair back in place. There was no anger in her tone, but she wanted to look her best.
“You look wonderful,” Braz rumbled from next to her.
“Thank you,” she said, tugging subconsciously on the deep crimson dress she’d donned for the occasion. “Now let’s go and meet everyone, shall we?”
“Sure.”
Braz leapt out of his truck and walked around to her side, opening the door for her before giving her his hand to help her down.
“Thank you,” she said, repeating herself.
There was a little knot of people up ahead. A few reporters by the look of it, one with a video camera operator, as well as a photographer. In front of them stood two men and a woman, both dressed in business attire. Behind them was a large easel covered in a sheet.
Grace had never been in the public eye like this before, but today was a new day. She’d experienced a lot of new things with Braz, and was thankful for all of them. Perhaps this one above all. It was with his help that today they would start her dream, and Grace couldn’t thank him enough.
“Ah, Miss Atkinson,” the male in the center of the three said as she approached. “So good to see you.”
“And you, Mayor Pollock,” she said, taking the man’s hand and shaking it. As discussed she held on to his hand and they both turned to smile at the cameras.
That taken care of, she dropped the mayor’s hand and straightened, fighting hard not to tug at her dress once again.
“As you know,” Mayor Pollock said to the little crowd, “Miss Atkinson here has just bought the land behind us from the city, with grand intentions for it indeed. But I won’t steal
her spotlight. I’ll let her tell you about it herself. Miss Atkinson. Grace?”
Grace turned to face the half dozen members of the press. Behind them a few curious bystanders were wandering over as well, interested in what was going on in the empty parcel of land near the city center.
“Um, hi,” she said, giving them a smile she hoped wasn’t as awkward as it felt.
Behind the reporters Braz, moved to stand right where she could see him. He stood there, invisible to everyone around except for her, despite his size. They were all focused on her, right then, and what she had to say.
She smiled a smile meant only for her mate, and then returned her attention to the people in front of her.
“I am here, as Mayor Pollock said, to tell you about the land behind me. Right now it’s part grass, part concrete, and a whole bunch of nothing. But in the coming months, it will be transformed.
She reached behind her and grabbed the sheet.
“I present to you, The Atkinson House for Troubled and At-Risk Youth. A fully funded, state of the art facility designed to help children who have suffered from trauma, poverty, abuse, or who have strayed onto the opposite side of the law.”
Grace stood tall and proud as the sheet fell away, revealing the plans for the building that would house her dream. This was to be her contribution to the world, and she was not about to shy away from it.
“I’ll answer any questions you may have now.”
As the questions started up, she caught Braz’s eye once more. There wasn’t anything more she needed to say to him. At this point, it only took a look, but he knew.
He was one thing that she no longer had any questions about.
***
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Thank you for reading A Mate to Embrace. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review so that others might enjoy the adventure as well.
Next Book: In A Dragons Mind (Dragons of Mount Teres #1) – Late May 2020
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Other Books by Riley Storm
Thanks for checking out my other books!
Below you can find all my novels, divided up by series. The brackets indicate which of my worlds the series is written in. So dig in!
Dragons of Mount Aterna (Five Peaks)
A Mate to Treasure
A Mate to Believe In
A Mate to Protect
A Mate to Embrace
Storm Dragons (Winterspell Academy)
Stolen by the Dragon
Trapped by the Dragon
Dragon’s Chosen Mate
High House Ursa (Plymouth Falls)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Bearing Secrets
Furever Loyal
Mated to the Enemy
Shifting Alliances
Blood Bearon
High House Canis (Plymouth Falls)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Savage Love
Blood Mate
Moonlight Bride
Shadow’s Howl
Royal Alpha
High House Draconis (Plymouth Falls)
Get the Five Book Bundle (Click Here)
Includes:
Fire Dragons Bride
Mated to the Water Dragon
Ice Dragon’s Caress
Earth Dragon’s Kiss
Claimed by the Dragon King
About the Author
Riley Storm
Riley is one of those early-morning people you love to hate, because she swears she doesn’t need caffeine, even though the coffee-maker is connected to her smartphone. She lives in a three-story townhouse by the good graces of a tabby-cat who rules the house, the couch, the table, well, basically everywhere. When she’s not groveling for forgiveness for neglecting to pet her kitty enough, Riley is strapped in to her writing chair coming up with crazy worlds where she can make her own decisions of when feeding time is and how much coffee can be drank without her friends—of which she has three—holding yet another intervention that they threaten to post on the internet.
Find her on:
Riley Storm’s Amazon Page
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Riley Storm’s Website