Sighing, Nikki waved at the door. "Just open the bloody thing already. The sooner we're inside, the sooner I can pick out my room."
Rafe's gaze turned heated. "Pick whichever room you like, but know that your room is mine as well."
"Rafe-"
"I won't give up on this. I'm here for our child, but I'm also here for you, Nikola Gray. I can't protect you if you keep me at a distance."
For a split second, hope had swirled in Nikki's chest. But Rafe's sense of duty smashed it to pieces. "I can protect myself."
Not waiting for him, Nikki shoved Rafe aside and entered the house.
Chapter Eight.
Bloody stubborn woman. No matter what Rafe did, she took it the wrong way.
As he followed her into the cottage, he tried to come up with a new plan of attack.
Mentally, he understood Nikki was a tough woman who could look after herself in dangerous situations. But in his gut, the thought of failing to keep Nikki and their baby safe made him ill.
He'd had the same battle with his sister over the years. But at least in Jane's case, she had truly needed Rafe to help out sometimes. However, with Nikki, it was a whole different story. And not just because he hurt her in the past, although that sat heavy on his conscience. She had saved his unit's arses a few times back when she had served in the army.
Nikola Gray was truly a unique and capable woman.
As said woman looked around the place in silence, Rafe gave it a cursory scan. The inside of the cottage was simple, with a sofa in the living room, a small table in a dining nook, and a kitchen at the back. After noting the possible escape routes via the doors and windows in the cottage, he gestured toward the stairs. "Shall we check out the bedrooms?"
Nikki's gaze shuttered. "I will, but you're going to stay down here." He opened his mouth to interject, but Nikki continued, "I just want a few minutes alone to think and then go to sleep. I know there's a crap-ton of things to talk about, and we'll do that. But let me rest first."
Stunned at her truthful admission, Rafe nodded. "Okay. But if you try to escape through one of the windows, I'll hear it and stop you."
Nikki sighed, and Rafe truly noticed the shadows under her eyes for the first time. Fuck. So much for taking care of the mother of his child.
"Copy that," Nikki murmured. "Wake me when Sid gets here."
As she passed, he reached out an arm to grab her wrist. Nikki tugged, but he didn't let go. "First, tell me what's your favorite meal."
"If I'm making it, then eggs, bacon, and toast."
"And if you're not?"
She scrutinized his eyes a second before asking, "Why? Are you going to cook for me? I thought we were each cooking for ourselves."
"Just answer the bloody question, Nikki."
Raising her chin, she said, "Lasagna with loads of garlic bread."
"Done." Rafe released her wrist. "Now, go to sleep."
"Again with the ordering."
"Yes. Your health is a factor here, so I can be as alpha as I like."
Nikki battled a smile and lost. "Fine. If it means I get lasagna afterwards, then I'll listen." She hesitated a second and then added, "I hope you're still here when I wake up. There's a lot I want to ask."
Rafe could easily tease her, but for once, he resisted. "I'll be here, don't worry. Get some sleep before I carry you to bed."
A flush crept up Nikki's cheeks, and Rafe bit back a smile. For all of her ranting and raving, she was thinking of him in her bed.
Not that they both didn't need a break from that. Rafe's dick was still recovering from a week of abuse. It was the main reason he was allowing Nikki to sleep alone-to avoid temptation.
Nikki opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. Without another word, she disappeared up the stairs.
Letting out a breath, Rafe ran a hand through his hair. He didn't like any awkwardness between them. Hopefully, it was only because of Nikki's exhaustion.
Right, then. The best way to avoid awkward silence or uneasiness was to make the best bloody meal he could and then entice Nikki into some verbal sparring. Rafe wasn't good at spewing romantic crap, but he had a feeling Nikki wasn't the type of woman who required it.
He had a feeling that the best way to get Nikki to open up to him was to be honest and treat her as an equal. Although, winning over her stomach wouldn't hurt.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his mobile phone. After sending his sister a text message to call him, Rafe went to the kitchen to see what he had to work with.
Nikki stared at the ceiling of the largest bedroom and counted the bits of cobweb scattered here and there across the white surface. Whoever had lived here before hadn't cared much about cleaning.
Of course, the cleanliness of the room had nothing to do with why she had lain awake for the past few hours. Every muscle in her body was sore, but her mind wouldn't shut up. It kept wandering to the man downstairs, who was quietly singing along to the human radio station.
Rafe had probably forgotten about her keen dragon-shifter hearing. Still, every dragonman or woman learned to block things out as children. If Nikki had truly wanted to sleep, she would have; she'd trained to sleep when and wherever possible in the army. But as soon as she'd heard Rafe's beautiful voice, she had been content to merely listen to him sing.
Who would've thought the tough, alpha soldier could convey such emotion with his voice?
Her dragon, recently awake from her nap, spoke up. I think someone fancies a certain human again.
Maybe. Not that it can work long term.
If you go in thinking like that, it won't. Besides, the delicious smell of garlic and herbs wafting up the stairs earns him a chance.
She mentally snorted. You're worse than me when it comes to food.
Debatable. Why wait up here? Go downstairs and talk with him.
And say what? Rafe and I don't exactly talk about the weather or what was on telly last night.
Talk to him about Afghanistan. If you don't do it soon, I will go crazy from your thoughts. He is our true mate. Don't be afraid of him.
Easy for you to say, considering what he did before.
Her beast flicked her tail. We were all younger. He had just lost one of his friends. Just like when Charlie was killed, and you lashed out. Rafe did the same.
It had been several months since Nikki had thought about her former Protector friend. They'd both been captured by the dragon hunters almost a year ago when they'd been protecting Bram's mate, Evie Marshall.
Whereas Nikki had been detained and lightly tortured, Charlie had been drained of blood while in dragon form and murdered.
Charlie had been the first female to become a Protector on Stonefire and Nikki had looked up to her. Even after all these months, Nikki missed the older female's presence. To say she'd taken Charlie's death to heart was putting it lightly. The loss combined with Nikki's nightmares had made it hard to be her cheery self for several months. Even Jane Hartley had noticed Nikki's few lapses at keeping up her cheerful facade when she'd been struck by a memory.
And now that she knew the truth of why Rafe had acted the way he did, it started to make a whole hell of a lot more sense about why he'd acted as he had. She was already halfway to forgiving him; although, she'd need the whole truth before she completely could.
Nikki sighed. You are too reasonable for your own good, dragon.
I am wise, that's all. You need to remember that. Her beast stretched out inside their mind. Now, talk to Rafe. You've suffered mostly in silence over the last year, and I would bet Rafe's suffered for nearly four years. You might be able to heal each other.
Yes, because Rafe and I are always discussing our feelings.
Her dragon huffed. You could try.
Nikki wondered if she could. She and Rafe had always been about battles and butting heads. It was hard to believe there was another side to him.
Then she remembered his rendition of a popular pop ballad. Rafe may act like he didn't think about feelings, but any male who could sing so passionately must have them buried somewhere.
As she debated getting out of bed to talk to him, a knock on the front door silenced Rafe's singing. Not wanting him to find her lying awake, Nikki hefted herself out of bed. At the top of the stairs, Dr. Sid's voice drifted up. "I hear Nikki moving about. She's awake."
Before Rafe could answer, Nikki rushed down the stairs. "Yes, I am. Thanks for ratting me out, Sid."
Sid met her gaze and raised her brows. "Were you trying to hide?"
"No. Although I believe you and I need to have a chat," Nikki answered. "You did tell everyone about my original adoption plans, right?"
Sid didn't miss a beat. "No."
"Why would you do that?" Nikki demanded.
Shrugging a shoulder, Sid put down her medical bag. "Because if you do decide to go through with it, I will be the one adopting him or her."
"What?" Rafe and Nikki asked in unison.
Sid raised her brows. "Is it really that surprising?"
Taking a step toward the dragonwoman, Nikki whispered, "But what if you fall into madness?"
Sadness flashed in Sid's eyes but disappeared in the next instant. "Not that it matters. Mr. Hartley here is convinced you two are raising the baby." Sid looked between them. "I expected as much."
"If you say it's because we always argued so passionately, doctor or not, I will kick you out of my house," Nikki growled out.
The corner of Sid's mouth ticked up. "Just because I'm a doctor doesn't mean I'm weak."
Rafe stepped between them. "Forget the past for now. I don't know the first bloody thing about a dragon-shifter's pregnancy, and I somehow think Nikki is the same. Let's all sit down for dinner and chat about it."
Nikki would rather eat a bowl of worms than admit Rafe had a point.
Sid shook her head. "I can't stay that long. Little Eleanor has a low-grade fever and Bram is calling me over every twenty minutes."
Eleanor was Bram and Evie's two-month-old daughter. And Bram was no less protective of his daughter than Nikki's dad was of her.
Nikki pointed to the kitchen. "Go finish making dinner, Rafe. I'll talk with Dr. Sid."
Rafe crossed his arms over his chest. "Nikki, I deserve to hear everything, too."
She raised her brows. "I'm sure you'd love to hear about spotting or cramps."
"Spotting?" Rafe echoed.
Sid answered, "Vaginal bleeding."
Rafe shrugged. "I've had friends bleed out in my arms. Blood doesn't frighten me."
Okay, Nikki's plan had backfired. "Just go finish dinner. I want to talk to Sid in private."
Meeting her gaze, Rafe remained quiet. Sid was the one to speak up. "Go, Rafe. Let me talk to Nikki first and then I can answer your questions later. Even better, I have a pamphlet." Sid pulled a leaflet out of her bag. "I don't have one about what to expect if you're a human male about to have a dragon-shifter child. But it's good enough. Enjoy."
With a sigh, Rafe swiped the brochure. "I sometimes miss being in charge of my own unit. Here, it seems no one listens to me."
Rafe continued to grumble on the way to the kitchen. Nikki pulled Sid to the farthest corner away from the kitchen and whispered, "I can't believe you didn't tell everyone my plans. It's caused me a massive headache since the frenzy ended."
"As I said, if not you, then I would've raised the child. But I had a feeling Hartley would stick around, so the point is moot."
"You're my doctor, not a matchmaker, Sid."
Raising her eyebrows, Sid pointed to the couch. "Sit down so I can draw some blood." Nikki tried to reply, but Sid shook her head. "We're finished with the discussion about the past. Focus on the future, Nikki." She gestured again to the couch. "Now, sit. Between Evie's worry about her daughter and Melanie wanting to know everything under the sun for her twins' one-year check-up, I'm busy and have lots to do. You have five minutes."
Judging by the steely look in Sid's gaze, Nikki knew she wouldn't get anything else out of the doctor that wasn't related to the medical side of things. With a sigh, Nikki trudged to the couch.
Rafe leaned against the kitchen counter and read the pamphlet's title: Symptoms, Dangers, and Phases of a Pregnancy. The title was benign enough, but the cartoon picture of a pregnant woman with a little smiling baby inside her was a bit weird.
Opening up the pamplet, cartoon pictures followed the stages of pregnancy in a woman. When he reached the later weeks, the woman holding her belly flashed into one of Nikki, heavy with their child.
He darted a glance to the living room. It was hard to imagine Nikki any other way but toned and lean. The belly would no doubt throw off her balance and slow her reaction times. Add in the birth and subsequent recovery, and for the first time, he started to understand how much Nikki would give up for their child.
In that instant, Rafe decided to work as hard as possible on the Simon Bourne mission before Nikki became unable to take down the hunter bastard. Given that the dragon hunters had injured and even killed members of her clan, the satisfaction of capturing Bourne might help her move past it all.
Right, then. Rafe would give Nikki that gift if nothing else.
Dr. Sid stood up and looked at him. "I'll run some blood tests, but Nikki appears healthy for the moment. If you think anything is amiss, call me." Sid looked to Nikki. "Especially since Nikki could be having a heart attack and would say she was fine."