Page 25 of Dragon’s Midlife Secret Baby (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #1)

“Do you want to say bye to everyone before we leave?” Beck asked.

Corbin stood in the middle of the living room at the Alexander clanhouse. He looked around at the assembled adults, grinning, then ran straight over to Kendrick and launched himself into his lap. “Bye!”

Kendrick scooped him up in his arms and held him upside down. “You come back and see us again, Corbin! We’ll do something fun. Okay?”

“Okay!” Corbin squealed between giggles. His shirt kept riding up and exposing his belly, which only made him laugh harder. “Okay!”

“That’s a boy.” Kendrick swiftly turned him right side up and set him on the floor.

“I’d tell you to be a good boy, but you already are.

” He winked and tweaked Corbin’s nose before looking up at Beck.

“Your parents would be so proud to see him, Beck. He gives me a lot of hope about the clan and our future.”

He got a high-five from Ewan and a hug from Lilith, along with a promise for all the chocolate cake he could eat.

As Beck and Corbin went into the front foyer, Griffin came in from the other room. Seeing that he was in the way, he quickly stepped to the side.

“We’re just taking off,” Beck explained. “I’ve got to get him back to Chelsea’s.”

His cousin gave him a brief nod and then hesitated.

“Listen, Beck. I want to thank you for setting everything straight with Kendrick. Back on that island, when you told me you didn’t want to leave, I figured it didn’t matter.

I’d have to anyway because Kendrick wouldn’t let me in.

But then you talked to him. Things are a little tense, but they’re getting better. ”

Beck clapped him gently on the arm. “I did talk to him, but I think you need to give Kendrick more credit. He’s much happier having you here than not.”

Corbin had been standing next to Beck, his head tilted back as he watched the grownups talk. He swiveled his head to Griffin, grinned, and then wrapped his arms around his leg. “Bye!”

Shock rippled across Griffin’s face, and then it crumpled. “Bye, Corbin.”

“How’s that for forgiveness?” Beck asked. “Now I just have to see if I can get a little of it myself. I’ll see you later.”

Chelsea opened the door as he walked up a short time later. “How did he do?”

“Just fine. Kendrick is crazy about him, and I think the feeling is mutual. Lilith made him a cake, and he went nuts over that, too.”

“Cake?” Corbin asked hopefully.

“I think one piece is enough, buddy,” Beck told him as he stepped inside and put his son down.

The covenstead was relatively empty. Some music could be heard through the kitchen door, but the living room was quiet.

He was never going to get a better chance than this.

“Chelsea, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.” She watched him expectantly.

So did Corbin, though. He stood between his parents, looking at them both with interest.

“Let’s take your little ears into the kitchen with Granny,” Chelsea suggested to him.

“What she doing?” he asked as his mother led the way.

“I don’t know for sure, but I bet you can help.” She returned a few moments later, looking worried. “Is everything really okay with Corbin? Did he do any magic or anything?”

“No, no. He was just a regular kid,” Beck assured her. “He’s perfect.”

“He is,” she agreed, aiming her soft look at the kitchen door. “He hasn’t been acting any differently, but he went through something very traumatic. And then finding his dragon and his powers—which I still don’t fully understand—on top of that has to be a lot.”

“Yes, but I think he’s going to be fine. Everyone is interested in his well-being, both you and your coven and me and my clan. If there’s even the slightest notion that anything is off, I know we’ll all do everything we can to make it better.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to apologize,” he said. Beck had felt that this was a now-or-never moment, but he realized that wasn’t true. He would tell her now, and if it wasn’t enough, he would tell her again and again. “I’m sorry for getting angry with you when Corbin was taken. I was scared, and I lashed out.”

“Of course you were,” she acknowledged. “We all were. It was terrifying.”

“That’s generous of you, but the blame still rests with me.

I was scared for Corbin, but I was also scared for myself.

” It’d taken Beck some time to figure out everything he felt inside, and now it felt good to let her know.

She was watching him closely with those big brown eyes, and he could tell she was really listening.

“I had absolutely nothing while I was under Sol’s control, not even the comforting thoughts of my friends and family.

It was the coldest, loneliest time in my life.

Once I had you and Corbin, the thought of any of that being taken away was just too much to bear. ”

She frowned. “It was hard for me to comprehend that Sol had taken Corbin, but I can’t imagine how much harder it must’ve been on you.”

“It was.” He couldn’t deny that for a second.

“Beck.” She reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers.

“I know you started this off as an apology, but I also have some regrets. We genuinely went to Sol because we thought he would help. Never did we imagine it would turn out the way it did. I only wanted to find a solution so we could try to get back to normal.”

He had to smile at that. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as normal between a dragon and a witch.”

“You know that’s not what I mean!” she laughed. Her voice had been getting thick, and the humor seemed to help. “It didn’t feel like we could continue to work on what we had if we were apart, and I wanted to fix that.”

Beck squeezed his hand around hers. “You said you’d fight for me, but I didn’t feel like I deserved it.

I’d done nothing for you and Corbin. I’d missed out on everything, and then I sent your life spinning into utter chaos when I showed back up.

I think a lot was going on in my head, and I couldn’t imagine I was worthy of someone like you.

” This was precisely why he’d been able to forgive Griffin.

It was impossible to think clearly when your head was clouded with emotions and worries like that when all you really wanted to do was belong and be loved.

“Of course you are.” She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re worth so much more than you can imagine.”

“So are you.” He closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent, that intoxicating warmth of vanilla with the brightness of flowers.

Beck felt his body melt into her. Did she feel the same comfort and peace that he did?

Though it pained him to, he pulled back so he could still speak to her.

He kept his hands on her waist, though, not wanting to completely let go.

“Do you know what it’s like to have the whole world in your arms and then realize how quickly it can be taken away? ”

“I do.” She nodded readily. “I already had it happen to me. I was devastated when you disappeared. It was literally like a piece of my heart was gone. Then I was shattered all over again when there was nothing we could do to find you. Our magic had failed us, although at least my coven hadn’t.

They were the only thing that held me together through the rollercoaster of becoming a single mom. ”

“I hate that I wasn’t there for you. I know they would be regardless, but I still should’ve been a part of that.” It was a small span of time in the life of a dragon, but he didn’t think of it that way. “It wasn’t my fault, but I’ll never forgive myself.”

She shook her head and put her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “I hope you do. Once you came back, I knew I’d go to the ends of the Earth to keep our family together.”

When he’d decided to have this conversation, he couldn’t have known how receptive she might or might not be.

Now, he firmed his grip on her hips and pulled her an inch closer.

“I can’t stand being apart from you, Chelsea.

We both made some mistakes, but it was only because we were trying so hard to do the right thing.

Do you think we could give it another try? ”

Her gaze had been on his chest, where her hand rested, but now she slowly lifted her head to look at him. Heat flooded his veins at the softness of her mouth, the delicate ringlets of her hair, and even the way her T-shirt fit over her body.

“I’d like that very much,” she said quietly.

“I love you, Chelsea.” He pulled her against him, their bodies pressed so hard against each other that he could feel every curve.

“I love you, t—” The very end of her words was cut off as he covered her mouth with his.

He pressed the tip of his tongue against her lips, and she parted them readily for him.

He devoured her hungrily, swirling his tongue around hers and then holding it captive in his mouth for a moment before he went exploring again.

She slid her hand across his chest and then slipped her arms beneath his, keeping herself steady against him as they kissed.

Beck pulled back and pressed his forehead against hers. “Think we should make it official?”

She splayed her fingers on his back. “You’ve already got all your memories,” she teased, referencing the way a few scenes had come back to his mind when they’d made love before.

“Then we should make some new ones.” He slowly ran his hands over her hips, down her backside, and then up to her breasts. “Do you know how much your body drives me crazy?”

“I’m still fully clothed!” She laughed, which only proved his point as he watched the way her body moved under the fabric of her shirt.

He led her to the bedroom. “You don’t have to be naked for me to appreciate you, but that works for me, too.”