Page 31 of Seducing the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons #2)

Not even his bloody beast could take the pain, and doubled over. As soon as he did, Bram felt his prison give way a little.

Clever lass. Anger was weakening his dragon’s control.

Brave, too, as she swung again and smacked him in the balls. Fuck, it hurt. Pain radiated through his entire body, to the point tears formed in his eyes, but Bram felt his prison give way even more. He had a chance, and he was going to take it.

With every iota of strength he possessed, he pushed against the invisible wall trapping him deep inside his mind. The pain coursing through his body made it difficult to concentrate, but Bram had fared worse during his clan leader trials.

Each second a little more gave way. Roaring inside his mind, he gave one final push before the wall dissolved.

His human-half rushed to the front of his mind.

The pain was worse, but the drive to protect his female gave him the strength to toss his bloody beast into an invisible prison. Stay. I will take care of her.

Ignoring his dragon’s roaring and shouting, Bram said through clenched teeth, “Lass, if you ever want me to use my cock again, that’s enough.”

“Bram?”

“Aye, it’s me. Please don’t smack me in the cock again.”

He heard the plunger fall to the ground before Evie enveloped him in her arms. Since he was still bent over, she was mostly draped over his back. The warmth of her soft curves against his hard body helped him to forget some of his pain.

Evie’s voice was muffled against his back as she said, “I’m sorry I had to whack you in the bollocks, but it was the only vulnerable spot on your body I could attack and have any impact.”

His cock and balls still pulsed with pain and hurt like hell, but he forced himself upright and drew Evie close against his side. “Why should you apologize? My beast was being a bloody bastard and deserved it. Next time, he’ll think twice about trying to take you when you say no.”

Evie snuggled into his side. “You think so? I didn’t mind the sex so much, but we needed you back.”

By ‘we’, she meant the clan. Bram’s heart warmed at the reference. “I’m here now, lass. However, I need to be careful. Until my bloody dragon calms down, I can’t risk shifting, especially if you’re nearby.”

His female hesitated a second and he didn’t like it. “Bram?”

Giving her a squeeze, he replied, “Ask me anything, love.”

She looked up at him, curiosity brimming in her dark blue eyes.

“Your dragon was acting as if he were in the throes of a mate-claim frenzy, yet that’s impossible.

You’d tell me, right, if there was any way a person could instantly become compatible with a dragon-shifter’s DNA and make it possible to conceive a child? ”

“I would tell you if I knew, but I don’t. Once we take care of the dragon hunters and Murray is back safe and sound, we can try asking that friend of yours, the one who ‘knows more about dragon-shifters than just anyone alive’ as you put it.”

She nodded. “Good idea. To be honest, we should find a way to ensure her safety. If word ever got out about her knowledge, she would become a target.”

“I wish I could allow an unmated human to live on my lands from time to time, but right now, the law forbids it. Maybe Melanie’s book can help change all that.

” Bram turned so he could haul Evie against the front of his body.

He needed her warmth to battle his inner dragon’s current roaring and pushing against his invisible prison.

“For now, I need to check in with Kai and Finn and then both of us need some rest. Since I can’t risk shifting anytime soon, I’ll have to drive back to Stonefire in the morning.

I don’t want to leave you here, but you’re easy pickings back on Stonefire’s lands.

A guard or two should come here once Finn’s people arrive to help relieve the strain on my Protectors. ”

Evie poked his chest. “You had better keep me in the loop. I have the data on the laptop to sift through and I might just have to save your arse again.”

He smiled. “I look forward to it. But next time, love, could you leave my cock and balls out of it?”

His female laughed. “I think I’m going to keep a cricket bat next to our bed in the future. If you thought the plunger handle was bad, just you wait. The cricket bat will have you crying like a baby.”

“Then here’s to hoping you never need to use it.” Bram gave Evie a brief kiss and then patted her arse. “Right, you go shower while I talk to Kai and Finn.”

Evie nodded. “Okay.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick, rough kiss as she squeezed his arse cheeks. “It’s good to have you back, dragonman. Your dragon knows how to give hot sex, but without your humor, it’s not quite the same.”

His inner beast growled at her words. Bram ignored him and gently slapped her arse. “Just wait until I have both sides of me working together. Then you’ll never want to leave my bed.”

“I could make a flippant remark right now, but seeing as a shitload of danger is coming, I’m going to be honest. I’m not going anywhere, dragonman, because you’re mine.”

Her words caused joy to course through his body and even soothed his dragon’s anger a fraction. “Good, because you’re mine, Evie Marshall, and I’m keeping you.” After one more kiss, he said, “Now go shower before my cock recovers and I think about taking you slowly and gently.”

Evie frowned. “No more sex until Murray is back. That’s an extra incentive for you to finish the job quickly and come back to me alive.”

While his dragon was grumbling about the ‘no sex’ statement, Bram didn’t mind as much. “As long as you’re waiting in my bed when I return, I can live with that.”

Evie grinned. “Now I have something fun to plan.”

“The glint in your eyes doesn’t bode well for me.” He stepped back and motioned toward the bathroom. “As much as I want to hold you in my arms and talk with you for the next week, Murray and the clan need my attention. Shower, love. I’ll fill you in afterward.”

Nodding, Evie left. Once she shut the door, he addressed his inner beast. Until you calm the fuck down, you’re staying in that prison. I need to rescue wee Murray and save the clan. When you’re ready to help me, I’ll let you out.

His beast snarled. Protect our mate first, then save the clan.

I will protect her. But unless you want the Scottish leader to take over, you’d bloody well better get a grip, and soon.

Just as he’d expected, since Evie wasn’t in the room, his dragon stopped fighting and growled. We are the leader of Clan Stonefire. We will save them.

Good. Prove it to me. While I sleep with Evie, you find a way to calm down. Since we survived the clan leader trials, this should be easy.

His dragon huffed. I want her many more times, until she carries our child.

He blinked. Now would be the time to tell me your damn secret. Is Evie our true mate?

Yes. I must claim her completely, until she carries our young and our scent. You should understand.

A mixture of joy and ‘holy shit’ hit him. Forget the claiming bit. Why didn’t you tell me earlier she was our true mate?

Because, you would have seen her as a duty. A child would help the clan, so you would make sure she conceived without knowing her. You needed to want her for her, to make her happy.

He’d never heard of a dragon being able to rein in the mate-claim frenzy before. You are stronger than I thought.

Of course. You always underestimate me. I am brilliant.

One corner of his mouth ticked up at his dragon’s matter of fact tone.

Well, brilliant one, not telling me the truth put our mate in danger.

Don’t do it again. Silence was his reply so Bram pushed on.

I’m still keeping you in there. You’ve calmed down a bit with me, but Evie’s scent will scramble your brain again.

Work on your restraint. We will handle the frenzy once the clan is safe.

His beast grunted. I don’t like it, but I will try. I don’t want the Scottish leader and his dragon to save our clan. We should do it.

Agreed. Now, I must talk with Kai.

As Bram moved to where he had a phone line connection, he tried but failed to push aside what his dragon had just told them.

Evie was their true mate.

He’d wanted her even before he’d known that tidbit of information, but just the thought of her one day carrying his child filled his heart with warmth. Evie would make a fantastic mother.

Except, he hoped she wasn’t pregnant yet. Before the next time they had sex, he’d have to talk with her. She should have a choice in when she had a child. She wasn’t a sacrifice who’d gone in knowing it would happen.

Yet to have that talk, he needed to take care of the hunter threat.

As he dialed Kai’s mobile phone number, Bram stashed away his feelings about Evie.

His female was clever, and if he wasn’t careful, she’d catch on that he was hiding something.

He didn’t like keeping secrets from her, but in this case, she might become distracted with the news.

He needed her help to sort through the information she downloaded.

Retrieving Murray wasn’t going to be easy; Evie might well find the answer needed to win against the dragon hunters.

So, as much as Bram wanted to shout from the rooftops that Evie was his true mate, he bottled up his joy and stuffed it deep inside himself.

The emotion would be a distraction and he needed to focus on living long enough to see what surprises she had in store for him when he returned.

Only when he returned would he be able to claim Evie as his true mate.