Page 46 of Claimed By the Dragon
Trahern’s voice, rough with sleep, garnered her attention. “You tensed up. Why?”
Since they’d decided to keep the boys in her old room—which was next to his, so they could easily hear them in the night—and didn’t have to worry about waking them, she replied honestly, “Because I’m happy. And in my experience, that means it’ll vanish soon.” She paused, and as if sensing she needed a minute, Trahern waited. Eventually she replied, “The last time I thought I was happy, I was betrayed.”
He rubbed his hand up and down her back, and she relaxed a fraction.
After about a minute, Trahern’s voice rumbled under her cheek. “What happened, Grace? Tell me.”
She hesitated, playing with the hair on his chest. Could she tell him? She didn’t want to taint their newly-developed closeness. And sharing about how desperately she’d wanted to be loved, to the point she’d overlooked all the red flags from her ex, would make her look the fool.
Then she remembered Trahern had shared the most embarrassing moment of his adult life, when he’d attempted to have sex for the first time. He’d trusted her, and now it was her turn to do the same.
Even if she couldn’t quite look into his eyes yet, she replied, “I told you about my mum and my stepdad, and how that ended.Afterward, I was hesitant to trust anyone and kept to myself more than was good for me. A little over a year ago, there was a new woman at my job, a fellow employee, and she was nice. We talked and even laughed sometimes. She encouraged me to go out and have some fun. Just some drinks and maybe some dancing with a few random guys. The more I went out, the more relaxed I became, and I started to enjoy it. I went out and danced as often as possible, and one guy charmed me. I didn’t know he was a dragon-shifter at first since Cardiff—where I was living at the time—had strict rules about dragon-shifters socializing at night.”
The first time she’d seen his pupils flash, when they’d been alone walking to get a takeaway after a night of dancing, she’d nearly jumped.
However, as he’d continued to charm and tease and compliment her, his being a dragonman hadn’t mattered. Like most humans, she’d heard the rumors and tales of how awful they could be. But he’d been…different. Or so Grace had thought.
Trahern squeezed her waist, bringing her back to the present, and she continued, “He confided in me about living just outside Cardiff, away from any dragon clan, since he was training to be a doctor. He commuted into the city and found it easier to pretend to be human.”
After grunting, Trahern replied, “Cardiff University is one of the few that allow dragon-shifters to study there. But I somehow doubt he was.”
“No. I didn’t learn that until much later, though. Instead, I was so desperate to be loved, relishing in his attention and care and desire, that I didn’t push when he brushed off my questions about his studies, or his family, or where he was from since his accent wasn’t Welsh. Before I ever learned the truth, I found out I was pregnant.”
It’d been a shock when the stick had told her that. Grace had tried to be careful, both with condoms and birth control pills.
Only later had she learned how the dragonman had switched out her pills with placebos and had used deliberately tampered condoms.
His goal had been to impregnate her as soon as possible.
Needing Trahern to understand the rest, she continued. “As soon as I told him, a satisfied glint entered his eyes. Not surprise or panic, but as if he’d planned it all along. I confronted him, and he gloated, saying he had switched out my birth control pills and poked holes in the condoms. When I asked why he’d done that, his entire demeanor changed. Gone was the charmer, and his eyes turned cold and calculating as he said he did it for money.
“Confused, I tried to run away, but that’s when he took out a syringe and filled me with something to knock me unconscious. When I woke up, my brain was still hazy, but I overheard him asking when he’d get the rest of the money for the baby. After some more words I could barely make out, he was gone, and I was locked up inside that prison. They told me little beyond that if I didn’t behave, they’d restrain me to ensure I didn’t harm myself or the baby I carried.”
Her voice cracked toward the end, and Grace closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. Even now, being free and in the arms of a dragonman she actually admired, the fear of something happening to her and her children threatened to break her.
Trahern’s strained voice filled her ears. “They’re looking for him now, Grace. I won’t stop asking Bram and Kai until they catch him. You deserve to feel safe and free of fear.”
Opening her eyes, Grace moved her head so she could meet Trahern’s gaze. His pupils flashed rapidly, and combined with his clenched jaw, he was the closest to angry she’d ever seen.
She placed a hand on his cheek and caressed his skin with her thumb. “I feel safe with you, Trahern.”
“I’m not a Protector or soldier, though.”
“No. But I trust you, which is something I never thought I could do with any man again.”
His expression softened a fraction. “I vow to try my best to honor your trust.”
Smiling, she moved until their faces were level. “As long as you continue to be your honest, quirky, clever self, that’s enough.” His face flushed a little, probably from embarrassment, and Grace murmured, “Kiss me, Trahern.”
And he did, worshipping her all over again before the twins stirred and he had to go to work.
Chapter Fourteen
Afew days later, Trahern struggled to analyze the data on his computer screen. Memories of the morning, when Grace had taken his cock into her mouth, kept surfacing.
With each passing day, he grew more and more comfortable with being naked and touched and touching in return. So much so that he wondered if he was ready to finally claim his mate completely.
His dragon sighed.Please say you are. I can’t have her until after you, since I promised. And I want her.