Page 11 of Claimed By the Dragon
His beast fell silent and went back to sleep. So he continued rocking, hoping Grace would leave so he could put Eli back into his bed and find someone to repair the washing machine.
However, Grace remained in the room. After she placed Eddie back into his bassinet, she asked, “What do you do for fun, Trahern?”
Frowning, he glanced up for a second. “What?”
She shrugged. “You know, when you’re not working or sleeping, what do you do?”
“I read.”
“Somehow I don’t think it’s a cozy mystery with an amateur detective and their trusty cat or dog, is it?”
“Of course not. Recently, I’ve read some books on theoretical physics to distance myself from work.”
Grace smiled for a second, just one, and then turned away from him.
And for some strange reason, he wanted her to turn back around and smile again.
Grace spoke, garnering his attention. “In a few weeks, once I’ve healed a little more, maybe we can take the boys to the nearby lake for a picnic.”
Her words about healing sent a rush of panic through him. After placing Eli into his bed, Trahern asked, “Are you well? Do I need to fetch my doctor bag?”
She glanced at him. “I’m not about to run any marathons, but I’m fine. Well, except…”
“Except what? You must tell me plainly, Grace. I’m not good at deciphering vague statements.”
Looking down at Eddie, she traced his cheek. “Feeding twins has made me sore.” She paused before adding, “My nipples are sore. Do you have anything for that?”
Nipples on a female who’d recently given birth were there to provide sustenance for the baby. And yet, Trahern briefly wondered what Grace looked like without her shirt.
Then he pushed aside images of her breasts and cleared his throat. Being around a female so much was addling his brain and probably triggering some dragon instinct to have intercourse and procreate.
Since trying to act on any of those impulses would only embarrass him and make Grace extremely uncomfortable—he’d promised to leave her alone—Trahern moved to the door. “There’s something at the clinic. I’ll fetch it for you. I’ll also get someone to repair the washing machine as soon as possible.”
Grace opened her mouth to say something, but Trahern rushed down the hall and out the door.
Although the farther away he got, the more he felt as if he should turn around and go back to Grace.
The unfamiliar feeling scared him, and he debated what to do. Because the only solution he could come up with was to avoid talking with Grace beyond what was necessary. Normally, that was easy for him. And yet, he’d shared more with her today than he had with anyone else. Not even his only friend, Emily, knew as much.
His dragon spoke up.Don’t hide from Grace.
But Trahern was used to ignoring his dragon, and so he didn’t respond. Instead, he focused on finding everything Grace needed to feel more comfortable as a new mother. Then he had one of the young nurses run it over before he sat down and made a new schedule for himself. He needed structured time to help Grace—structured but limited time.
And his task took the entire night, helping him forget about his brief flicker of desire for the first time in his life.
Chapter Five
Over the next month, Trahern avoided Grace. Oh, he visited periodically to ensure she had meals, to ask after any medical concerns, and he’d even hired a young, widowed mother to help Grace with everything related to taking care of dragon-shifter babies.
He’d hesitated about the latter. However, Nikki Hartley-Gray—the second-in-command of Stonefire’s security team called the Protectors—had sworn by Helena Westcliff’s ability with children. Nikki herself had two daughters, and Helena had helped her for the first few months after she’d given birth the second time. Jane Hartley, Nikki’s sister-in-law who was mated to Stonefire’s head Protector, had also given Helena a glowing recommendation. The human female had been restricted to bedrest for her highly unlikely pregnancy and had relied on the female as well.
In the end, Grace had seemed to like Helena, which had freed Trahern to work on his latest serums, ones to counteract some of the poisons used by the dragon hunters.
He was in the middle of concocting his latest counter-agent when Dr. Sid knocked and entered without waiting for him toreply. Trahern concentrated on finishing his latest step before looking up at the other doctor.
Over the years, Sid Jackson had earned Trahern’s respect. Not only for her intelligence, but also for her common-sense approach to sharing medical knowledge between dragon-shifters. She also kept a cool head under pressure, and had never tried to make Trahern do something he didn’t want to, unless it was related to a medical emergency.
However, her usual cool, neutral expression was gone. In its place were rapidly flashing dragon eyes, crossed arms, and a deep scowl.