Page 11 of Tempting Her Dragons (Embracing The Bond #10)

Chapter Eleven

Kingston

M y cock is still hard. It took all my control to leave the bedroom and let my mate shower alone. Mav is feeling the same. He’s busy in the kitchen, making our mate breakfast, although it’s creeping toward noon. I’m escaping the house with my phone. I haven’t checked in with Shade. He’ll be the perfect cure for my desire.

I walk around the cabin toward the trees across her backyard. She has the perfect land for a shifter. Plenty of space to shift without anyone seeing. Will she be willing to leave with us? Live at our place, or should we live here? I worry about leaving our mom. So many decisions to be made.

I put the phone to my ear and wait for Shade to answer.

“Was I right?” he answers.

“How did you know?” I ask, leaning against a tree.

“I had a suspicion.”

“How?” I slide my hand in my pocket.

“She’s a dragon. You both are dragons. There aren’t many in the world. It would be a shame if the universe paired you with a human,” he says dryly.

“Shifters mate humans all the time. Some of the ladies here were human before they mated,” I point out.

“I took a chance.”

“How do you know about Saphira?” Things are adding up. I realize Shade has his hands in all kinds of pots, but there is something he’s not telling me.

“Is she perfect?” he asks instead of answering.

“Of course,” I growl. “She’s everything.”

“Is she the mate to both of you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I had hoped.”

“Are you a fairy godfather on the side?” I ask.

“I like that. I should print business cards.”

“Asshole. How do you avoid answering questions so easily?”

“Practice.”

“Lots of it,” I mutter. “How’s Mom?”“About her—”

“What’s wrong?” I straighten.

“Nothing,” he assures me. “Nothing with her.”

“Tell me,” I demand.

“Your mom is on her way,” he says. “She knows where you are.”

“Of course she is,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I knew she couldn’t wait.”

“She complained that her sons had no game. Whatever the fuck that means. She wanted to meet her new daughter and left early. I would expect her by the evening.”

“Shit. How are we supposed to ‘have game’ when our mom is in the middle?” I complain.

“Get creative,” he says.

“Sure.” I look toward the house. It’s too small to have Mom with us in it. There won’t be any more mornings like this one.

“Send her to Sally,” Shade says.

“How do you know Sally?” I ask, alert. “How do you know about this place?”

“I know a lot of things,” he says. “Just trust me.”

“I’ve known you for a long fucking time. I do trust you, even if you hide way too much,” I grumble.

“So, keep doing it,” he says.

“Sally will love her.” I’ll probably have to bail them out of jail.

“I agree.” I hear the clack of his keyboard. “There is something else.”

“What?”

“I think someone wants to kill you.”

“Excuse me?” I run my hand over my hair. “How about you lead with that next time?”

“I’m keeping an eye on it.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better. What is going on?”

“The last job. The man had a brother.” The last job we did was fucked up. “He’s been asking questions. He’s a twin, so if you see him, don’t freak out.”

“He found out his twin brother is dead.” Shit.

“Yes. Apparently, he found the most recent victim, used nasty ways to interrogate, and learned your name.”

“Did he kill her?” I hold my hand over my chest. There is always a risk, and I am not worried about my life. The victim was rescued only to be taken again and used by a man who looks exactly like her abuser.

“He did not,” Shade whispers. “He beat her severely and terrorized her. He needs to be taken care of. It might work to our advantage. He knows who you are; it won’t be hard to find him and kill him. He’s human.”

“I would agree, but we have a mate now.”

“Saphira can take care of herself.”

“I know she can, but I’m still her mate.” I turn and walk deeper into the trees. “I want to protect her, regardless.”

“You have to tell her. Does she know what you do?”

“No.” I grind my teeth.

“Do you know what she does?”

“I do. How do you know?” Fucker’s been keeping a lot from me.

“She’s really fucking good,” he says.

“Does she know you?” I narrow my eyes.

“It’s not my business to spill secrets,” he says.

“You’re an asshole.”

“Yes, you knew that.”

“Do we know the guy’s name?” Sometimes, it’s easier to give up; Shade talks in circles.

“I don’t know his real name yet. The police are clueless. I’m scanning cameras to see his location. I know he’s on the move, and it won’t take long to track you. The abused woman saw your face, your brother’s, and your mom’s. She knew your name since she heard you speaking with your mom. It’s a shame she was transported back to that horrible time in her life.”

“Shame,” I whisper. “She was going to get help. She was excited.” I shake my head. “How did you not know about the brother? How did he find me so easily?”

“He leaves very little footprint. It seems he’s been covering up for his brother. Now that I know what to look for, I can see some of his tracks. There was nothing about him in the mark’s background. I thought I was seeing a ghost when I saw his face on the video,” he snorts.

“I bet.” I look around. “It would be easier to hunt him at home. I don’t know the area well.”

“Ask your new friends,” he suggests.

“Why don’t you ask them? Seems like you know them pretty well,” I snap.

“I will keep searching and send any information I find. At least I don’t have to send you a picture.”

“That’s the only good point.” I turn back toward the house.

“I’ll try to piece together his movements. You didn’t hide as you traveled, so if he’s determined, he will track you. If he has enough knowledge to stay off the grid, he will be in the area soon.”

“Great.” I walk across the yard. “I have to tell Saphira.”

“You could keep it from her. At least until I know more.”

“This is why you aren’t in a relationship,” I say. “I would like to stay on her good side.”

“I suppose.”

“Does Mom know?” I ask, stepping onto the porch.

“Of course. I can’t keep anything from her; she knew the minute she saw me. The woman is vicious when it comes to protecting her boys.”

I smirk. “Yes, she is.” I open the door. “Keep in touch. I want more information by the end of the day. This needs to be contained.”

“It’s what I do.” He ends the call before I can.

“Contain what?” Mav asks just as Saphira comes out of her bedroom.

“We need to tell her,” I say. I knew she would understand when we watched her kill, but we didn’t want to overwhelm her that night. I wanted her to come to terms with our sudden bond. Ever since, we’ve gotten interrupted every time I’m about to bring it up.

“What’s going on?” Saph asks. She is dressed in tight jeans with rips down her thighs, and I want to take them off of her instead of telling her. She’s wearing Mav’s shirt from last night over a white tank.

“I called our friend to check in,” I start, grabbing her hand and leading her to the kitchen. “Why don’t we eat while I tell you,” I suggest as she sits on the stool.

“I can eat and listen,” she says.

“There was a reason we weren’t shocked by what you do.” I lean against the island, and Mav hands her a plate. I don’t need to ask Mav for permission to reveal our jobs. We discussed it the first night, and we both know she needs to know everything about our lives. “We do similar work.”

“Alright,” she says slowly. “Explain.”

She’s perfect for us. “We live on the same land with our mom. We sell food that we grow so we can look normal and harmless. Do you know how many people are kidnapped every year?”

“Probably too many,” she says.

“We understand their desperation and pain more than most. Years ago, we met a man in the business of finding people, digging into their lives. The things that people want hidden, he can easily track and get the truth. We formed a friendship. He knew what we had been through because he knew our mom. She had worked with him before, and he was the one who helped her find us.” I can never stay frustrated with Shade; he saved us, too. “When we were older, our mom revealed more about her life. She helped people escape situations that were harmful or abusive. We joined the family business.”

“She trained us,” Mav says. “She taught us how to fight and use our dragon gifts.”

“She may be small in shifter form, but she knows how to fight dirty and use any weakness to her benefit.” I pick up the breakfast burrito Mav prepared. “She is our idol.”

“She didn’t force us, but she was honest about what she did,” Mav says. “Our contact sends us information. If someone is being held against their will, in a kidnapping situation or by a husband, we go in and take them out.”

“Depending on how bad the situation is, we either kill the kidnapper or send them to the police,” I explain and take a bite.

“That’s commendable,” Saphira says. “What is the problem?” she asks again.

“Our contact told me someone is trying to find us.” I sip my coffee. “A young woman was kidnapped in a parking lot by a man who had done the same thing several times. We got the job, but not soon enough. She had been captive for three months. She was in rough shape. We went in, got her out, and killed him. We gave her the resources to get help and money to start over somewhere new. She was grateful. Our mom was with us and comes with us for most jobs. The girl heard my name and saw our faces. I was told that the kidnapper had a brother. We didn’t know that when we did the job. Usually, we do extensive research on the family of any mark. We need to be careful if they have people close to them. We would have taken more precautions.

“The brother found her. He tortured her for information on who killed his brother. She told him what she knew. Our contact found out and called to warn us.” I hate that we are responsible.

“Did he kill her?” Saph asks, her food forgotten.

“No, but she’s in rough shape.”

“How does he know it’s the brother?” she asks.

“The man we killed looks just like him. He’s a twin,” I say.

“Fuck,” Mav spits. “How did we not know about him?”

“He’s into something,” I mutter. “He’s been hiding. Covering his tracks and his brother’s. Shade doesn’t think he’s killed before but when we killed his brother, he must have snapped and used the woman to get the information. He’s out for revenge. We have him on video. He’s tracking us, or rather, me. He has my name. We didn’t hide our path here. Finding us won’t be hard if he’s as good as we think.”

“That poor girl,” Saph whispers. “What is the plan?”

“I don’t know the area. We are at a disadvantage here, but he can’t hide his face. Our guy will try to track his movements. He can’t be left free. We have to kill him.” Saphira isn’t scared. I don’t smell it in her scent or body language. She’s sad for the girl, and I think there is something else there, but I can’t pinpoint it.

“Are you going to leave?” she asks, crossing her arms.

“No,” I rush to say. “We won’t ever leave your side.”

“Our place is with you,” Mav says. “We wait until we have the details.”

“There’s more,” I say, and they tense up. “Mom is coming. She should be here by the end of the day.”

“I knew she would.” Mav lifts a shoulder. “You know we couldn’t stop her, especially knowing about Saphira and the trouble heading our way.”

“I’m going to meet your mom,” Saphira says, and I detect a bit of panic.

“She will love you,” I say, trying to reassure her.

“I hope so.”

“She can’t stay here,” Mav says.

“My thoughts exactly,” I say grimly.

“Why not?” Saph asks.

“Firefly,” I grin. “Did you like what we did this morning?”

“Yes,” she says, flushing.

“There would be no more of that,” I say, and her eyes widen. “If Sally is willing, Mom could stay with her.”

“Sally would love it,” she says.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Mav asks.

“Alright.” She pulls out her phone. “Wait. We can ask my brothers for help with this guy.”

“They’ll be pissed we are putting you in danger,” Mav says.

“A new mating would be suspicious if there wasn’t trouble. You have to accept that this group has no secrets,” she says.

“Great,” I mutter. She hops out of her seat and gets close to my side.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” she whispers. “Helping people like you do. Never be ashamed of killing men who deserve it.” She kisses my cheek and then moves to Mav, kissing him as well. “I’m going to call Sally.” We watch her progress to her room.

“We can’t lose her,” Mav says quietly.

“We won’t,” I say firmly.

“Finding this fucker is a top priority. He can’t know about her. He’ll use it. She’s at risk.” He drops his elbows to the counter, his hands in front of his mouth as he leans.

“She’ll be protected. We will do so if we have to ask all of her family to help. We can’t let our pride get in the way. She is what is important. Shit, Mom will die for her. You know that’s why she’s coming. She’ll say she will protect her while we hunt the fucker,” I say.

“Yeah,” he says. “Are we going to let her?”

“When have we been able to stop her from doing anything?” I say dryly.

“Seems like we have a fondness for stubborn women.” He motions over his shoulder.

“Seems like,” I chuckle. “Life won’t be boring.” I fiddle with the rope I wear on my wrist.

“Never that.” He runs his hands through his hair. “I can still taste her on my tongue. I fucking need her.”

“I know, brother,” I say. “There’s no one I would rather share her with.”

“Same,” he whispers. “The universe knew what they were doing.” He turns to face me. “I don’t like talking about that time.”

“I know. But you know why I had to,” I say, cupping his shoulder. “She hides so much from the family who loves her.”

“Think she’ll be able to open up to us?” he asks, and I squeeze my fingers and let go. I listen to her laughter as she talks to Sally.

“Yes, she already has. We have to be patient.”

“That’s not our strongest trait,” he says.

“We have to fake it,” I state. “She’ll trust us fully before she finds out we are.”

“Control my need,” he says wryly. “Easy.”

“I almost came in my pants when she called me Sir,” I admit.

“Fuck, I was close the second I put my mouth on her,” he says.

“We can fight it. We have to give her what she needs.”

“Maybe having Mom here will help,” he says. “Having her down the hall would certainly stop the temptation. We could tell her to stay here and not with Sally.”

“I don’t think anything will stop the temptation, just us from acting on it,” I say. “It would stop her from allowing us to sleep beside her if Mom was here.”

“We can’t win,” he grumbles.

“Brother, we already won,” I smile.