Page 23

HARLEY

I had just tucked Dylan in for the night when the front door opened.

I moved down the stairs, where I saw Stephan shrugging off his leather jacket and pulling off his boots. He looked exhausted, moving slowly like he was weighted down. But when he looked up toward the stairs, he smiled.

“Hi,” I said.

“Did I wake you up?”

I was dressed for bed in shorts and a T-shirt, but I had a glass of wine waiting for me in the kitchen. I shook my head and walked down. “Everything go okay at work?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Looks like you didn’t need to hit the panic button, either.”

“Panic button?”

Stephan grimaced. “Shit. I was trying not to call it that.”

I laughed and made my way into the kitchen to grab my glass of wine. “Good. I’m glad that’s over. Whatever it was.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Stephan said. “Do you have a minute?”

I frowned. “Sure.”

“Let’s talk upstairs.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“In my office,” he clarified with a half-smile.

“Lead the way.”

Stephan led me up the stairs to the door next to his bedroom.

The space inside was well-organized, with a big desk by the window, bookshelves lining the wall, a plush rug, and a couch.

It was homey for an office. It suited him.

I could see him looking out over the trees in the front yard as he pored over the accounting books for all the businesses he couldn’t tell me a damn thing about.

“What is it?” I sat down on one side of the couch and curled my feet up under me. Stephan sat down next to me with a heavy sigh.

“I was meeting with my brother. Sean. I don’t know if you remember?—”

“I remember.” Stephan had told me about Sean, once. His estranged twin brother. Ten years ago, I’d seen how much it pained him. How even bringing up his brother’s name sent a pang of hurt across Stephan’s face.

“It hasn’t gotten any better,” Stephan said.

“If anything, it’s gotten worse. He’s a maniac.

His lackeys interrupted some deliveries the clan was expecting.

We sorted that out, but Sean won’t let go of this fantasy he has.

We’re twins, but he’s the elder—he believes he should be the alpha of our clan.

He always has. And he’s only getting more and more entrenched in that belief. ”

I took a small sip of wine as I turned that over in my mind. “That’s why you showed me the security system.”

“I don’t trust him or his lackeys. Sean… he can be unpredictable.”

“What does he want? Does he want to hurt us? Hurt Dylan?”

“No,” Stephan said sharply. Then he took a breath, calming himself. “No. He’s only concerned with me. I’m handling it, but…” He sighed. “It’s an ongoing process.”

“What does that mean? Handling it?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer, but I had to ask. Stephan had never been so open about clan business with me. I had so many questions, and he might clam up again at any moment.

Stephan gazed out the window into the dark night beyond it. I waited as he gathered his thoughts. “When we met, I didn’t want you to have any part of this world,” he said.

“Mm. You made that pretty clear.”

He shot me a knowing smile. “Yeah, I remember. I wanted to keep you safe, then. I knew my world was dangerous, and I wanted you far away from it.”

I nodded.

“But it’s different now. We have a kid, Harley. That doesn’t just affect us. It affects everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dylan’s a clan member, my blood. He’s my heir.”

I set the wine glass down on the side table. Was Stephan talking about royalty now? “Heir? What do you mean?”

“I mean that when I’m gone, the clan is his by birthright. He’d be the alpha.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Stephan, he’s nine. And he’s new to all of this. You can’t just make him your heir. I mean—we’re going back to Atlanta after all of this! This isn’t his life.”

“I know that. But that doesn’t change the clan rules.”

I raked one hand through my hair. “Steph…”

“Hear me out.”

His hazel eyes were warm. He looked somewhere between determined and apologetic.

I leaned back against the couch armrest and nodded. “Okay. What does this all mean?”

“I want to introduce him to the clan,” Stephan said.

“When I was his age, my dad started preparing me and Sean to eventually be the alphas. I’m not going to do that to Dylan.

I want him to enjoy being a kid, and I want him to have a normal life with you—whatever that means.

But I also want him to know his roots, and I want him to know he has a place here in Lakeview. ”

“Are you going to tell him he’s the heir?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Do you want to?”

I pressed my lips together. “I’ll have to think about it. What does all of this have to do with Sean?”

“It has to do with Sean, and all of the clan’s businesses,” Stephan said. “I’m trying to get our clan untangled from all our illegal dealings.”

That shocked me. The clan’s dealings were lucrative, and when we’d met, Stephan had made it clear that was the way his life was and would always be. “For us?”

“I started the transition before you returned to Lakeview,” he said.

“As soon as I got out of prison, I decided to legitimize all of our businesses. It’s tough, and it’s slow-going, but it’s working.

We’ve invested in a lot of businesses around Lakeview.

The clan and our allies need us to succeed.

A lot of people are counting on us. On me .

I can’t risk getting locked up again. And now that you and Dylan are here…

It shows I’m making the right decisions.

I won’t leave Dylan a legacy built on blood and lies. I want you to know that.”

My throat tightened suddenly, and I looked down at the floor. It was too hard to meet Stephan’s eyes when he was watching me so intently and speaking in that voice that sounded so much like a rumble of thunder.

“Thank you,” I said. “But it sounds like Sean won’t make things easy.”

“He hasn’t been.”

“I need you to know that Dylan’s safety comes first. Before everything else.

If there’s any danger, I’m taking him back to Atlanta.

” I couldn’t let myself be relieved that Stephan was leaving the criminal life behind.

I didn’t want to have hope for something that wasn’t a sure thing—I didn’t want to set myself up for more heartbreaking disappointment.

Especially not when the transition was so difficult that he had to have a safe room and panic buttons throughout his house.

“I understand.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You do?”

“I don’t expect anything less,” Stephan said with a small smile. “Like I said, I never wanted you to be a part of my world. It’s why I wouldn’t claim you.”

The word claim sent a bolt of heat down my spine. I remembered that day by the lake, when he’d kissed my neck and told me it was where a mark would go. The same place I’d seen a bite on Blakely, when she’d ruined everything with her lies.

The gold flecks in Stephan’s eyes gleamed as his gaze lingered on my neck. I wondered if he was remembering the same thing.

“I know you’re here for Dylan,” he continued, “but you’re still my fated mate, Harley. The years haven’t changed that.”

Fated mate . He’d told me that all those years ago, but I hadn’t realized what it meant. Now, I still wondered. What was it like on his end? Was it the source of the magnetic pull between us?

I picked up my glass and took another sip of the wine instead of responding.

Stephan slid closer to me on the couch. He gently took the glass from my hand, robbing me of my defense mechanism.

Fuck.

“Do you still feel it?” he asked in that low voice that made my insides knot together.

I did. I felt it at that moment—the heat down my spine, the tension crackling between us.

“We’re—we’re different people now,” I stammered. “I was young then. Na?ve. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“I noticed.” He took a sip of the wine, and my heart thumped at the sight of his lips on the glass right where mine had been. He set it aside. His hand fell to my knee, and his fingertips danced on the bare skin of my thigh. “Somehow, you’ve only gotten more beautiful.”

“Stephan…” I couldn’t think. I could hardly breathe with him this close.

“I’m not in a hurry,” he growled. “I want to get to know this version of you, too. I want us to take our time.”

Slowly. He always did things slowly. My eyes fluttered closed as his hand flattened onto my thigh. The touch was so, so warm, and my whole body seemed to spark to life in a way it hadn’t in years.

He leaned closer. My lips parted. I could feel him surrounding me, heat and desire radiating off his body. All I’d have to do was lean forward, and then I’d finally taste those lips again…

“Dad!”

I jerked backward.

“Dad!” In the hallway, Dylan’s bedroom door slammed open.

Stephan leapt to his feet, nearly knocking the wine glass over. The gold melted from his eyes like a storm clearing. He smiled at me, half-teasing, and let his eyes roam briefly over my body before he hurried to the door and flung it open. “What is it, kiddo?”

I slumped back against the couch. My heart was racing like I’d run a marathon.

“Tail!” Dylan shouted. “I have a tail.”

I leapt to my feet and ran down the hall with Stephan.

Dylan was in the center of his bedroom, eyes wide with shock as he walked in circles like a confused dog.

His tail jutted out from, of course, his tailbone, pushing the waistband of his pajamas down.

His video game was still on the television, controller abandoned.

“I was about to win! And then it was just there.”

“Bet you were a little worked up,” Stephan said.

“I guess,” Dylan said. His tail waved like it had a mind of its own. “I’m glad it didn’t come out of my butt.”

“I told you,” Stephan said, laughing. “Your tail looks great.”

“Really?” It was nearly the same length as Dylan was tall, covered in sage-green scales with hints of orange throughout. It was the same color as Stephan’s dragon. I shook my head in disbelief. His dragon was going to be a mini-Stephan, too.

Stephan nodded. “How does it feel?”

“Weird.” Dylan frowned. “Like… off-balance. And it kind of hurts.”

“That’s all normal. That’s good.”

“Do I have this forever now? How am I gonna sleep?” Dylan asked.

“No, it’s not forever. It’s like your fangs and your claws, remember? You can pull your tail back in, too.”

Dylan grimaced. He grabbed his tail in both hands and hugged it close to his body like a stuffed animal. “But it’s so big!”

“Yup. So it’s gonna be a little different than retracting your claws, okay?”

Dylan steeled himself. He was such a brave kid. Stubborn, too. Like his father. He nodded.

“Harley, can you come help?” Stephan asked. “Hold Dylan’s hand?”

I nodded, then stepped forward and knelt next to Stephan. I took Dylan’s hand in mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“All right,” Stephan said. “Remember how we talked about retracting your fangs? Focus your attention on your tail, now. Right at the base, on your back.”

Dylan closed his eyes tightly, and he gripped my hand so hard I had to bite back a cry.

Stephan spoke in a soft, soothing voice as he walked Dylan through the process of retracting his tail.

It went slowly, but not as slowly as I expected.

Dylan listened carefully to Stephan, breathed steadily, and gripped my hand as he slowly withdrew his tail.

After a few moments, his tail disappeared.

He released my hand and slumped forward onto Stephan.

Stephan rubbed his back soothingly. “Good work, Dyl.”

“Uh-huh,” Dylan mumbled.

“You all right?” I asked.

“Think so,” Dylan said, his voice muffled against Stephan’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re just fine,” Stephan said. He scooped Dylan into his arms, then stood up like he weighed nothing at all. He deposited Dylan into his bed and pulled the comforter up over him.

Dylan was half-asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. “M’glad I have such a cool dad.”

Stephan chuckled and ran his hand gently over Dylan’s forehead. “I’m glad I have such a cool son.”

I leaned against the doorframe as Stephan turned off the TV and put the controller away, then picked up the clothes scattered on the floor and tossed them in the hamper. When he was done, he straightened the comforter over Dylan. He looked down at him with a small smile on his face.

These were the kinds of things I did for Dylan. The kinds of things I’d never thought I’d see Stephan do. And yet here he was, doing just that. The love he had for Dylan radiated off him. He turned and smiled at me. “We should let him sleep.”

I nodded. Stephan stepped out of the room, and I pulled the door closed behind us.

When I turned around, Stephan was right there. He took a step forward, and my back bumped against the door.

Stephan brushed the hair off my forehead, then tucked it behind my ear. His fingers trailed over my jaw, to my chin, then tilted my head up. Our eyes met. The heat was back, running down my spine and settling low in my gut.

“I don’t want you to think I forgot what we were talking about,” he said in a voice so low it seemed to rumble into my bones.

His touch drifted to my neck, then he curled his hand around my nape as he pinned me with his gaze.

I didn’t want to move. His touch was so firm, so possessive, and God, I wanted to lean into it.

My lips parted. My body was begging for more of his touch, on my waist, my hips. I wanted him to touch me where I wanted it most, where I was hot and wet and wanting between my legs. I shivered.

Gold flashed in his hazel eyes. Then he took a step back and smiled. Smirky and hot. “Good night, Harley.”

I blinked. My brain felt like it was submerged in honey. “Good… Good night.”

Stephan slipped into his bedroom and closed the door. I tipped my head back against the door and stared at the ceiling, desire blazing through my body.

What the hell was this man doing to me?