And more than off limits.
Maybe if there's a celebration, we can chat her up.
Don't start, dragon.
The female's pupils flashed as well, but her face remained stoic as she took a seat next to Killian. Taking that as a cue to follow suit, Aaron signaled his people to also sit down.
Once everyone settled around the conference table, the Irish female was the first to speak. "Are you still allies with Clan Northcastle?"
Aaron half-expected for Killian to castigate the female for speaking out of turn. But all the Irish leader did was nod. "Answer her."
"We're neither allies nor enemies. Stonefire hasn't had any contact with the Northern Irish clan since the 1970s." And because Aaron couldn't help himself, he added quickly, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
The corner of the female's mouth ticked up. "Of course. Don't underestimate us just because we're not the almighty Clan Stonefire."
"And yet you assume we're liars?" Aaron asked as he raised his brows.
The female shrugged. "You can never be too careful with the English, be it human or dragon-shifter."
Killian chimed in. "Enough, Teagan."
His beast spoke up again. Teagan. The name suits her. I bet she's feisty when she relaxes.
We don't have time to flirt. Leave it.
As his dragon pouted in the back of his mind, Aaron looked between Killian and Teagan. There was definitely a resemblance. "I'm Aaron Caruso and this is Quinn, Brenna, and Sebastian." He pointed to Killian. "You're Killian O'Shea." He pointed to Teagan. "And you're Teagan who?"
She smirked. "O'Shea. If you haven't figured that out already, then you need to go back for more training, Aaron Caruso."
He kept expecting Killian to say something, but the male remained silent. Aaron's confusion must have shown on his face because Teagan's voice filled the room again. "If you're waiting for my brother to tell me to shut it, you'll be waiting quite a while."
Aaron frowned. "Females are free to speak their minds. But usually in a meeting of importance, the clan leader does the talking."
Teagan leaned forward. "Ah, but you see, the clan leader is speaking."
"What are you talking about?"
Teagan gestured around. "Welcome to my clan, Aaron Caruso. I hope a female leader won't change your plans."
He pointed his forefinger. "You're Glenlough's clan leader."
Teagan tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder. Aaron's eyes darted to her bared neck, but quickly caught himself as she answered, "The one and only." She assessed him a second before adding, "If you even think of challenging me to a contest, stop. I've bested every male in my clan. I'm sure an English dragon-shifter wouldn't stand a chance."
His beast spoke up. Intriguing. A female leader. I want to know more.
Ignoring his dragon, Aaron growled. "Not that it matters, but I'm half Italian."
Teagan's smile widened. "That should make it even easier to defeat you."
Aaron clenched the fingers of one hand under the table. Maybe someday he would get the chance to challenge Teagan and wipe the smile off her face. For the present, there were more important issues. "Getting back on topic, why did you deceive us? Bram certainly won't like that."
Teagan leaned back in her chair. "It's common practice for Glenlough to have a female leader. However, we've learned the hard way that if it's made public knowledge, our enemies perceive us as vulnerable and attack more often. So, a male is always publicly named as leader. If anyone does attack, it works well because the fake leader named is always one of our best Protectors and is an excellent decoy."
Aaron's estimation of Glenlough went up a few notches.
He shot a look to Bennett, but the Stonefire male shrugged. "I was sworn to secrecy."
Looking back to Teagan, he murmured, "Clever female."
"I'm clever, Aaron Caruso, but also strategic. If you want to leave Glenlough and share our secret with your clan leader, then convince me you're here sincerely and why you give a damn about whether we survive a dragon hunter attack or not."
"How do we know you won't turn on us? After all, you've lied to us once. It's possible you'll do it again."
Killian finally spoke again. "We've seen footage of what the dragon hunters and Dragon Knights have done over in England and Scotland. Regardless of the past, we mourn the loss of your clan members. No one wants the same to happen here."
Aaron studied Killian. His dragon chimed in. I think he's sincere.
I wish his sister would be more levelheaded.
I know you stared at her neck and lips. Maybe she would be more levelheaded if she wasn't thinking of us in a different situation with far fewer clothes.
What the bloody hell are you going on about?
I think we should kiss her.
Oh, no. No, no, no. I don't even want to chance my fate to HER.
His beast sniffed. But she's interesting.
And that's the end of that.
The female in question's voice filled the room. "I'm curious what your dragon is saying to you."
Meeting Teagan's moss green eyes, he absolutely refused to admit they were striking. "He was just telling me that Killian seems sincere."
She raised one thin, dark eyebrow. "And what about me?"
"You don't want to know."
Teagan barked out a laugh. "I know how that goes." Her face turned serious once more. "Now, let's try this again. What's your true purpose in wanting to help us?"
Refusing to think how Teagan's dragon might be thinking of him naked, Aaron answered, "There are two reasons. The first is Stonefire is always looking for new alliances."
"And the second?" Teagan asked.
"We'd do anything to deny the hunter bastards a win. Even if it means driving a bloody car across the island when flying would be more efficient."
Teagan shared a glance with her brother before looking back to Aaron. "Then you and your team will be working with Killian for the next few days."
"And what about you?"
"As much as I know you love my company, I have a few other important matters to attend to." Teagan stood. "I'm sure we'll meet again."
The Irish female turned and walked out of the room. Despite every reason he shouldn't, Aaron couldn't help but stare at her arse as she swayed her hips. He liked her confidence.
His dragon chuckled. Just wait.
Trying to figure out what to say to that, Killian cleared his throat. "That is my sister you're staring at, Caruso. Keep at it, and I'll toss you into one of the holding cells."
He met Killan's gaze. "No need to go to such extremes. Let's get to business. The sooner we prevent the hunters from attacking, the sooner you'll be rid of us."
As Killian shared what he knew of any intruders in the area, Aaron's mind wandered to the female clan leader. The female had secrets; he was sure of it. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to figure them out or run the hell away before his dragon had other ideas.
When his beast sat smugly in silence, Aaron focused on his hatred of the dragon hunters. He would focus all of his energy on the enemy. The sooner he was back on Stonefire, the better.
Chapter Eighteen.
Five days later, Rafe was curled up next to Nikki's warm dragonhide when he heard a rustle outside the tent. Keeping still, he cracked his eyes to see who was there. While no one else had attacked in the days since Nikki was injured, he wasn't taking any chances.
But as the early dawn outlined Dr. Sid's tall form, Rafe relaxed, opened his eyes, and sat up. Nikki rustled beside him.
Sid flipped on the single light bulb hanging from the center of the tent and moved to Nikki's injured wing. "As impatient as you've been, I figured I would check on you before my other patients. Otherwise, Rafe here would pester me with calls and text messages until I did."
He frowned. "I haven't pestered you. You said to report any concerns. So I did."
Shaking her head, Sid carefully removed the bandage on Nikki's wound. "Are you sure you're human and not part dragon-shifter?"
"Why do people keep asking me that?" he muttered. Nikki met his gaze and amusement danced in her eyes. He gave a playful shove. "Until you are completely healed, you can't say anything. That was our agreement."
She gave a toothy grin.
He gently patted Nikki's hide. As much as he loved her dragon form, he missed talking with her. Sure, he'd kept her up-to-date with what little information had come in about Ireland from Aaron, but he wanted more than a listening ear; he wanted Nikki's input, suggestions, analysis, and even her teasing. Hell, he even missed her arguments.
However, being restricted to her dragon form had to be much harder for Nikki. After all, she'd been stuck here while a Stonefire contingent had met with Killian O'Shea. He only hoped Dr. Sid gave Nikki the all clear to shift after the current examination. Aaron was due back later in the afternoon, and Rafe wanted her to be a part of the debriefing session.
Sid peered closer at Nikki's wing. A few seconds passed, and Rafe couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Well?"
The doctor merely raised her brows. "That tone isn't going to make me work any faster, Rafe Hartley."
He growled, but Nikki wrapped her tail around his middle to keep him in place.
Carefully packing her medical bag up, Sid didn't speak again until she was finished. "While I can't clear you for duty yet, I think your wing has healed enough to shift back. I'll give you a half-hour of privacy whilst I check on another patient. Then I'll be back to do an examination of your human form and to ensure everything is fine with your pregnancy." Sid looked to Rafe. "You need to remove her splint before she shifts."
He shared a glance with Nikki and then nodded. "I will."
"Good. Thirty minutes and no more. Keep that in mind because I'll interrupt whatever you may be doing at the time."
As much as Rafe wanted to pull Nikki's naked human form against him and claim her, he wanted to hear her voice first.
Sid left and Nikki released him. Racing to her wing, he said, "I'll have this off in a second. Then once you shift back, tell me what you want to do or need, and I will ensure it happens. Because I'm not done taking care of you until you're cleared for duty."
He undid the ties and fasteners holding the splint to Nikki's wing bones. The second he undid everything that needed to be undone, he stepped back and watched. Glowing a faint purple, Nikki's snout shrank to a nose while her limbs became arms and legs, and her tail and wings shrank into her back.
Within a few seconds, Nikki stood long and lean in her human form with her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders. She whispered, "Rafe," and rushed into his arms.
Holding her close with one arm, he used his free hand to explore her shoulders, her back, her arse. "I love your dragon, but I've missed you."
She snuggled into his shoulder. "I've missed you too. Not being able to talk to you was pure torture." She pulled back. "And yet, you stayed. The whole time, you stayed with me and kept me up-to-date on everything happening with the trip to Ireland and the weapon you confiscated." Tears filled her eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me."
Lightly caressing her cheek, he murmured, "I can think of a way for you to repay me. After all, you still owe me for Kai ruling in my favor a week and a half ago."
Nikki frowned. "You're going to call that in now?"
"Yes. Because I don't want to hear any excuses about you brushing your teeth or needing a shower." He squeezed her even tighter against his chest. "Kiss me, Nikki, and then I'm going to claim you. Because after the last week, I'm never letting you go."
His dragonwoman's face became unreadable and he wondered if he'd made a mistake. Had the last week done the opposite to her? Had it only highlighted the differences between them to the point she thought it could never work?
If she had, he would only have to work harder at convincing her that they belonged together. Because Rafe couldn't imagine being with anyone else.
Then the corner of Nikki's mouth ticked up, and his heart started beating again. "Then you'd better hurry. Sid wasn't joking about walking in exactly thirty minutes after she left. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not give her a free show. Especially since I'd have to chase her away from your naked body."
Cupping her cheek, Rafe murmured, "So jealous and possessive. You act just like a dragon-shifter."
"I am one," she growled.
Grinning wide, Rafe leaned down and kissed her. The instant Nikki's lips touched his, a sense of rightness settled over him. But it was quickly replaced by heat and the need to do much more than touch her lips.
Breaking the kiss, he scooped Nikki up in his arms and gently laid her down on the bedding on the floor. Despite the fact the clock was ticking, he leaned back and lightly traced Nikki's collarbone, down between her breasts, her abdomen, and finally teased the slit between her legs. "For one so dismissive, you're already fucking drenched for me."
"Rafe, stop wasting time-"
Her words morphed into a moan as he plunged a finger inside her. As he continued moving in and out, he watched the flush spread across Nikki's chest and her cheeks. "Damn, you're beautiful."
Opening her dark brown eyes, Nikki met his gaze. "So are you." She reached a hand to his arm and lightly scratched her nails against his skin. "Strip and show me."
Rafe wasn't a fool, so he removed his finger, tugged off his shirt and wiggled out of his trousers. Just as he was about to lean down and cover Nikki's body, she placed a hand on his chest to stop him. He frowned at the action, but Nikki traced the defined muscles of his torso and her voice filled the tent. "If we have a boy, I hope he looks just like you, even if it means we have to chase away the unworthy females when he's older."
Rafe stopped breathing. "Nikki?"
She met his eyes with a smile. "I've had a lot of time to think over the last week. And with each passing day you spent at my side, caring for me and sharing the latest Protector-related news, it became harder and harder for me to justify my fears about raising a child. You're dedicated, loyal, caring, and protective. Regardless of what the future brings, I understand now that you will never abandon our child willingly."
Covering her body with his, he framed her face with his hands as he searched her eyes. "Are you sure about this? You've had a trying week, and I don't want you to feel cornered into this decision."