Oh. Kellan. Her cheeks heated up as she remembered coming into his room early that morning. She covered her face with her hand. She’d shown up in the middle of the night, with no undergarments on, and basically begged him to fuck her.
But he’d been eager, and very receptive to her suggestion. She peeked out from behind the fingers of her hand. If the grin on his face was anything to go by, then he was quite satisfied with the way their tryst had worked out.
He tugged on her hand. “Why are you hiding? I want to see that gorgeous face.”
“Just remembering last night.”
“Very fondly, I hope.”
She put one hand on his chest. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of the way his firm pecs felt under her hand. Or the way his perfect six-pack of abs felt when she skimmed her fingers over them, which she decided to do, because now she could. She walked her fingers down the hard plane of his chest, and down to his stomach.
He grabbed her arm. “Having your hands on me turns me on. Just so you know.”
She gave him what she hoped was a sultry smile. It felt silly, but his stomach muscles jumped under her hand. “Oh, I was betting on that being true,” she said.
He rolled over, tackling her and burying his face in her neck. “I’m so hard. Just being around you.”
“You turn me on-”
She never got to finish her sentence.
Declan’s voice rang out through the house. “Uncle Brennan! Uncle Liam! Uncle Qunn! You’re here.”
“Oh fuck,” Kellan said. “My brothers are here.”
“Where’s your dad?” Brennan’s booming voice said.
Declan seemed happy to answer. “He’s in his room. With Miss Clara!”
Oh, God. She buried her face in her hands as her face flamed red. “I never asked you. But Declan told me he could see in the dark.”
Kellan got up from the bed and started pulling on jeans and a t-shirt. “Yes.”
“Does that mean as a dragon shifter, your other senses are enhanced too?”
“Uh-huh,” Kellan answered.
“Such as your sense of smell? And your hearing?”
“Oh yeah.” He came to stand in front of her. “So whatever you’re thinking, the answer is yes.”
“Your brothers will know what we’ve been up to.”
“Yep. Even if we showered in the strongest soap available.” He crouched in front of her. “Does that weird you out?”
“No. Not the part about your senses. Just the part about them knowing. But I guess it’s no different than if they’d walked in and seen us in bed together. I’d be embarrassed then too, by the way.”
“I’d like to say they won’t make a big deal out of it, but I’d be lying,” he said.
“I think I can tell that about them.”
Kellan sat next to her on the bed. “Do you want me to get rid of them?”
“No. Don’t send them away. They’re your family, and if we’re going to be together, then I need to get to know them.”
“Can I ask you something?”
She nodded.
“The day I met you, when we went to have lunch at the Bluebonnet Café in Cedar Lake, we saw Liam there, and you seemed tense.”
“I hope I wasn’t rude to him.”
“No, you weren’t rude. You just seemed scared. Your heartbeat sped up. I could hear it. Did Liam do something to scare you?”
Oh wow, so he can hear my heartbeat too? That was another thing she’d have to process. But it wouldn’t affect how she felt about him.
She thought back to that day, when she’d met Liam. Ah. Liam had been with the town’s prosecutor at the café. “It wasn’t Liam. It was who he was with. And it wasn’t that man specifically. When he introduced his friend as the prosecutor, I tensed up. My ex was a prosecutor in a small town. That’s how I ended up trapped; because I had nowhere to go. The entire system was on his side.”
He wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry. When you told me your story, and what happened with your ex, I didn’t make that connection.”
“It’s not really fair to judge Liam or his friend based on my ex.”
“No, but it’s a normal reaction. It makes sense to me.” He ran his hand over her hair. “If having all three of my brothers around is too much, we can divide up their visits. Or I can see them outside of the house.”
She spun to face him. “No. Don’t ever do that. They’re your family, and Declan’s family. If there’s ever a time when I’m overwhelmed by so many guys, then I can take a break.” She elbowed him in the ribs. “Your house is plenty big.”
Somewhere else in the cottage, a door slammed and there was a crashing noise, then the sound of shattering glass.
“Ah. We don’t get a lot of security deposits back when we travel. I’d like to blame Declan, but the adults are far worse.” Kellan stood up and went to the bathroom and started brushing his teeth.
Declan screeched then, and they heard the sound of his small feet pounding across the house, with heavier steps and male laughter ringing out behind him.
Kellan wiped his mouth and combed his thick hair. “We better get out there before the roof comes down.”
“How likely is that to happen?”
“Eh. It’s happened before. With this thatched roof, I’d give it about a sixty-percent chance.”
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You go save the cottage. I’m going to take a quick shower.”
Kellan’s brothers sounded like they all had big personalities, and she was a little intimidated, hearing them crash through the house. But it was clear that they loved Kellan, and they adored Declan, and they’d showed up yesterday, as soon as they were needed. And they’d helped clean up the mess with the witches.
She knew it was part of their history too, and they’d all lost everything thirteen years ago just like Kellan had. But it spoke to their loyalty and their dedication that they dropped everything the instant that Kellan needed them, and flew halfway around the world, putting themselves in just as much danger as Kellan had.
She loved Kellan and Declan, so she would learn to love their family too.
Freshly showered and ready to face the world, Clara walked into the cottage’s cozy kitchen to find all four men plus Declan crowded around the small table.
Quinn got up as soon as she entered the room. He didn’t get too close, so she wondered if Kellan had warned them that she was skittish. “Hello again, Clara. I’m glad to see you again under better circumstances than yesterday.”
“Hi, Quinn. I’m glad too.”
He held out his huge hands, indicating that she should lift hers too. So she did, and he took her hand in his carefully. “I speak for the three of us that aren’t Kellan. Thank you. Thank you for saving our little guy, and thank you for saving our big one too.”
Clara found her eyes watering at his heartfelt admission. She could hear the emotion in his voice, and see his love for Kellan and Declan in his eyes.
“You’re welcome. And thank you to you three as well, for riding to our rescue.”
“See?” Brennan said. He whacked Kellan on the back of the head. “She knows we had to come drag your sorry ass out of the fire again.”
Quinn gave her hand a final pat and went back to the table. He nudged Kellan with his elbow. “We’re kind of attached to the big lug.”
“Hey!” Kellan responded in kind, elbowing Quinn in the ribs, and the two grown men had a mini tussle right at the table until one of the chair legs broke, which sent Quinn sailing to the floor where he landed with a thud.
Brennan shot Clara a big grin, before hauling Quinn to his feet. “Come on. We’re due at the beach.”
Declan stood in his chair, bouncing up and down. “Beach, beach, beach!”
“Too bad we’re in such a public spot. I’m ready to shift and take some waves that way,” Brennan said.
“Soon,” Kellan replied. “I’m going to find us a place to do just that.”
C
lara couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as she watched the five of them march down the path to the beach. During the disaster that had been her life for the previous year, she’d almost given up hope that she’d ever find a family, or a place to belong.
She felt like she might finally belong somewhere.
23
Kellan
Down on the beach, Kellan pulled Liam aside, out of earshot of Declan, Liam and Quinn. “Hey. What happened after you three left the Cliffs yesterday?” he asked.
The sun peeked out from behind a cloud for a brief second, and Liam squinted at him. “We took the witches back to Glentoskert.”
Kellan dove into the surf, and motioned for Liam to follow him. As they swam out away from the coast, Kellan asked, “are they still alive?”
A scowl passed over Liam’s face. “Yeah. For now.”
“What do you mean, for now?”
“We made them do a spell, or a curse if you want to call it that, against each other,” Liam said. “We made them vow that if they came after any dragon or human, outside of clear self-defense, then all their powers would be vanquished.”
“You think it will work?”
Liam dove through a wave. “I don’t know. It’s the best we could come up with on the fly.”
Kellan flipped over on his back and floated over the waves. “Sounds better than the plan we had before. Which was absolutely fucking nothing.”
“Yeah. Good point.”
“We stopped by and saw the Fae Tribe too. We asked them to keep an eye on Eithne and Niamh for us,” Liam said.
“Smart. And effective. What did it cost you?”
“Oh, just a few blood promises,” Liam said. “You know how the Fae are. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
He knew exactly how the Fae were. Ruthless. But not murderous, never that. Kellan would have to find out the details on that later. “Do you think I was an idiot for going to Scotland?” Kellan asked.
Liam sent a spray of salty water right at his face. “No. I’m the one that told you to go when you called me. Do you blame me?”
“Hell no. If I’d really thought there was any risk, I wouldn't have gone.”
“Brother, no offense, but I doubt you were thinking clearly,” Liam said. “You were so smitten with Clara, that’s all you could think about.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not if you’re aware of it. I don’t want your judgment clouded. She’s awesome. I think she’s great for you, and for Declan. She proved that a million times over yesterday. But we all need your head on straight now too. We’re all going to have to be more aware than we were.”
“You’re right.” Kellan turned in the opposite directions and swam back toward the shoreline. “I have one more thing to ask you.”
“So that’s why you drug me out here. I knew it had to be about more than what happened to the witches.”
Kellan licked his lips, tasting salt. He was still reeling from having Clara back, in addition to the fight he’d endured with the witches. And he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t still burdened by killing Roisin, even though he’d had no choice.
“I want to marry Clara.”
Liam blinked the water out of his eyes. He stopped swimming and treaded water. “What? Already? You’ve only known her for a month.”
“Yes. What else is there to know? She adores Declan. She accepts that we’re shifters. She fought off a witch yesterday to keep my son safe.”
“And she’s gorgeous,” Liam added.
Kellan’s dragon rared up, threatening to shift. Liam may have been his brother, but Clara was his mate. Kellan pushed his dragon back, but let a low rumble emanate from his chest.
Laughing, Liam held his hands up. “I’m not going to hit on your woman. I was just stating a fact.”
Kellan frowned. “She’s not just my woman. She’s my mate.”
Recognition dawned on Liam’s face. “Wow. Your mate? Your dragon thinks so?”
“He’s the one that pressed the issue. He’s been convinced for a while.”
“Well, damn. Congratulations, brother.” Liam swam forward and pulled Kellan into an embrace.
“Uncle Liam! Dad! Time for lunch.”
“I think we’re being summoned,” Kellan said, pulling away from Liam. “Once again, I owe you.”
“I’m keeping a tab.” Then Liam took off, powerful strokes crashing against the waves. “Race you back,” he yelled.
After everyone was full from the huge picnic lunch that Quinn had prepared, Kellan knew he needed to talk to Declan. If he was serious about asking Clara to marry him, he needed to ask his son first to see how he felt.
He felt like he had a good starting place, because Declan already loved Clara. He’d even asked her if she’d be his mom. But that wasn’t the same as wanting his dad to get married.
Kellan found two metal shovels in the cottage. Declan loved to dig in the sand, but the plastic toys found in the stores couldn't withstand his enthusiasm.
He carried the shovels and a metal pail out to the beach. While his brothers and Clara were getting to know each other, he was going to take the opportunity to chat with his son. He shot a quick glance toward Clara, but she seemed completely at ease talking to his brothers. He was so grateful to her for trying to get to know them.
If she had wanted to avoid them, he would have understood, and supported his mate in her decision. But if she got along with them, and even liked them, then that would make his and Declan’s life a lot smoother.
Kellan reached down and ruffled Declan’s hair, which was sticky with the popsicle he’d just eaten. “Wanna build a sandcastle?”
As expected, Declan leaped into the air. “Yes!”
“Let’s go down here so Clara and your uncles can talk without us spraying them with sand.”
Declan cartwheeled his way down the beach, narrowly missing kicking a few joggers. Once they’d found a secluded spot, they sat down and started digging.
Declan dug so fast and furiously that water started bubbling up in his sandpit. Just as Kellan had suspected, sand was flying in every direction.
“Remember when we talked about you wanting Clara to be your mom?” Declan’s tongue was caught between his teeth. He nodded but didn’t stop digging. “Well, there’s something I need to tell you. I like Miss Clara a lot. And I want to ask her to marry me.”
The shovel stopped moving but Declan didn’t look up. “So would she be my mom then?”
“If she says yes to marrying me, then yes, she’d be your stepmother, which is a great thing. But no matter what you call her, she loves you very much. Do you know that?”
He nodded again.
“So she loves you, and so do I, and I want to know how you feel about us getting married.”
Declan raised his face to look at his father. “I want you to get married.”
“Really?”
He flung the shovel and jumped up. “Yeah! Today!”
Kellan grabbed his wrist. “Not yet. We have to keep this top secret.”
“Secret like us being dragon shifters?”
“Yes. Exactly like that. You did a great job keeping that secret, even from your friends and from Clara. So this is the same.”
“When does it happen?”
“Well, I’ll ask her soon,” Kellan said.
“Today!”
Could Kellan ask her this soon? Was she likely to say yes? He didn’t want to disrespect the boundaries she’d mentioned when she ended things between them, but a lifetime of major events had transpired since then. Maybe it would be meaningful here, back in Ireland where they’d reconnected.
Kellan was ready. He’d learned the hard way that life could be fleeting. He was going to take a chance. He’d give her the option of a very long engagement if she wanted it. “You want to go with me to pick out the ring?”
“Yes!”
Kellan tucked Declan under his arm and waved at Clara who was still trading stories with his brothe
rs. “We’ll be right back!”
Accustomed to Declan’s many adventures, they all just nodded. Kellan drove the SUV to a charming little street in Dublin, and they found a jewelry shop right away. Clara wasn’t a flashy person, and she’d seemed to appreciate the historic parts of Ireland and Scotland, so he looked at the more understated, traditional rings.
He soon came across an Irish Trinity Knot embedded into a platinum silver ring, studded with tiny diamonds. The description said that the Celtic knot was an ancient symbol of eternity, and that it represented interconnectedness.
“This one.” Kellan pointed. “What do you think?”
“It’s shiny! Let’s get it.”
Kellan paid quickly and he and Declan raced back to the beach cottage. As soon as they got back, he whispered, in a voice pitched low enough that only his brothers could hear, “I’m going to propose. I know you guys are going to sneak around and watch, but try to give us a minute, okay?”
Within seconds, he heard muted laughter, and all three of his brothers clattered into the house with varying degrees of noise.
“You want to do this with me?” He held the ring box out to his son, who took it proudly.
“I’m ready!” Declan said.
They found Clara walking along the surf, under an overcast sky. In the breeze, her long dress whipped around her. She was so beautiful. Kellan could watch her walk along the beach all day. She bent to pick something up from the ground, stopping to examine it.
When she saw them, she smiled. “I found some sea glass. In several colors.” She held her hand down so Declan could see the pastel colors – yellow, green, blue.
“We have something to ask you, Miss Clara,” Declan said.
She dropped the glass into her pocket. “Yes?”
Kellan got down on one knee. Next to him, Declan did the same. “Clara Alexander, I know it’s soon. But since meeting you last month, Declan and I have been so happy. We want to ask if you’ll marry us.”
Declan held the ring box out toward her in his little hand.
Clara’s hands came to her mouth. She dropped to her knees, ignoring the box and grabbed Declan, squeezing him tight. “Yes! Yes. I will marry you. I mean, I’ll marry your dad.”
Billionaire Dragon's Nanny (Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 12