Page 19 of The Ruby Dragon’s Unconventional Mate (Oro Escondido #3)

Chapter

Seventeen

B ryant could tell something was off the moment he walked into Lars’s house. Which he was thinking of as home, but couldn’t quite call it that yet. Not until he had someone to be with Lachlan.

But the house was…super quiet. Like, very very.

He closed the door, seeing the dishes from ‘omega night’ all done and in the dish drainer. There was a half-finished bottle of wine on the counter, and a note—“Cheesecake in the fridge.”

He blinked at that, then went looking for his Lars. Where the heck was he hiding? Was he in the bath again? Because that would be a lovely surprise.

He found Lars in the bedroom, curled up around his pillow, a frown on his face.

“Baby. Are you okay?”

Lars lifted his head. “I left you cheesecake.”

“I saw that.” He sat on the bed and put a hand on Lars’s back. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I just don’t feel so lovely.” Lars gave him a wan smile but wouldn’t quite meet his eyes.

“What is it?” He stroked Lars’s neck, then his hair, loving on him. “Do you need some soup or something?”

“No. I ate half the cheesecake,” Lars wailed. “I’m not hungry.”

Lars tried to scramble away from him, but Bryant grabbed him. “Love. What is it? Did something happen? Was—Did I do something?”

“No. No, I mean, you didn’t do anything.” Lars hiccupped. “I’m just freaking out.”

“Tell me what it is.” He looked into Lars’s silvery eyes and held on, wondering what had put his lover into this state.

“I think I’m pregnant.” Lars teared up a little.

“What?” Bryant sat back, staring. “Really?”

“Yes.” Lars sniffed. “Samuel and Dakota and Slippy think so too.”

Bryant sat with that for a moment, but then he started grinning and he couldn’t stop. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

He laughed, joy bubbling up in his chest. “Lars!” He grabbed Lars up and kissed him. Hard. He hugged Lars to him, the urge to laugh with his happiness overwhelming him.

“Bryan? Is this—Are you okay with this?”

“Okay with it? Lars! You’re pregnant! Gods, that makes me happy.”

“It does?” Lars sounded so shocked.

“Yes!” He kissed Lars again for good measure. “I told you. I love you. I want this.”

“So do I. I’m just scared, Bryant.” Lars clung to him. “I’m supposed to be a guardian. How can I do that if I’m pregnant? What will everyone say?”

“Who cares what they say! We can be guardians together.” He got up and pulled Lars to his feet, dancing him around the bedroom. “You have no idea how thrilled I am.”

“I didn’t mean to?—”

“Love.” He stopped dancing. “We talked about it. We talked about how we weren’t going to use protection. I’m over the moon!”

Lars smiled a little, searching his gaze. “I want to be over the moon.”

“I’m sorry you’re not, love. But I do understand.” Bryant did. He really did. Lars was so worried, just as he had been when Lachlan was injured and he hadn’t had a clue what to do and he’d thought he was going to lose Lars for good.

But now he would help Lars through his doubts just like Lars had helped him.

“Come on, baby. Come back to bed. We’ll snuggle for a while and get warm and talk about it.”

“Okay. I would like that.” Lars let him lead the way over to the bed, where they laid down together. He took Lars in his arms and pressed close.

“I love you, sweet.” He put their foreheads together so they were nose to nose. “I love you so much. I swear, it will all be all right.”

“Promise?” Lars burrowed into his chest.

“With everything in me.” He nuzzled a little, sharing breath, letting magic swirl around them.

“I can’t believe that you’re having our baby.

” He grinned at Lars, letting him see all the happiness bubbling in his soul.

He didn’t want his mate to believe for a second that he was worried, because he wasn’t.

This was his purpose for being here, and he got it now.

He and Lars could share this guardianship and raise their family.

And be close to Lachlan.

And Logan.

It was a win, win, win, win, win situation.

“I can’t either. I—I never even… I mean I did—” Lars took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’m not silly. I know how babies are made. I just thought that—I guess I thought that I wasn’t in heat.”

Bryant shrugged. “Obviously we were meant to be fathers together, now. It’s going to be amazing.”

“I hope so. I really do. I don’t… I don’t want to be one of those grumpy pregnant people. Dakota was kind of a grumpy pregnant person.”

“Dakota had two sets of twins.” Bryant paused for effect. “And Logan.”

“Oh! Burn.” Lars started laughing, shoulders shaking with it. “Logan does let himself get a little amped up, and they’ve had four babies in two and a half years. That’s?—”

“It’s intense, is what it is.” Bryant grinned at him. “I can see talking about having four children, but maybe we should do it in a steady wave. You know, one now, then three or four years from now, another one, and just kind of do it that way.”

“We’ll see. I guess it will depend on what the magic wants and what we want and—” Lars stopped suddenly and gave him a look.

“So… I need to know. Are we going to live together? I mean, we don’t have to.

I know that you don’t love this place, and that you have Lachlan, so if we have to have two separate places, that can work.

But this is my place, my guardian home, and I’m not going to leave it and go live in Lachlan’s castle.

” Lars shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong.

I love Lachlan’s castle, but this is my home.

So if you want to not live together, I would understand. ”

“Baby, I want to live together. I gave you hell about this place because I thought I would never be able to be here with you.” Bryant paused, gathering his thoughts.

“But I think we can do this. I really do. And I can live here. It may take some time to transition to full time. And by that, I mean a few weeks, not anything huge. And I’ll always be on call if Lach needs me… ”

“Bryant, mate, we’re guardians. We’re all always on call.

” Lars granted him, those pretty eyes dancing.

“Do you think for a second that if Lachlan called out, we wouldn’t come?

Or Jake? I mean, I understand—Logan is the one who calls me first—but you were there, and Lachlan was there, and Jake was there, and Bea was covering for all of us who weren’t there because we weren’t available.

” Lars took a deep breath. “We’re a family inside a family, or maybe a family outside of family.

I don’t know, but we’re a family, that’s for sure. ”

He blinked. “Well, I’m glad you told me that after you and I decided to mate, otherwise it would have felt incestuous.” He winked, making sure that Lars understood that he was teasing. He had the feeling that maybe Lars wasn’t in the most…receptive and relaxed state on earth right now.

“You’re a nerd.” Lars blew out a hard breath, holding his gaze. “So, I think there’s going to be a baby.”

“I think that’s amazing. Are you excited?”

Lars squeezed him tight. “Not yet. I’m just a little queasy and scared and nervous. But now that you know, and you aren’t angry, it’s easier. And I think I’m going to be fine. Do you think we’ll have a boy or a girl?”

Like he cared. He wanted happy and healthy. “I don’t know. We’re pretty even up right now, aren’t we?”

“Um, I think the boys are one ahead. Bea and Mickey have a little boy. Logan and Dakota have two of each. Jake and Samuel have one of each.”

“Well, then I guess it doesn’t matter. It’ll be perfect no matter what.” Bryant would worry about that later. Now he was going to rejoice in his mate’s pregnancy.

“Oh, I hope so. I need this to be okay. I hope the baby looks like you.”

Bryant frowned and shook his head. “Why? You’re beautiful, Lars. I can’t think of anything more amazing than for us to have a silver baby dragon to love and care for.”

Lars’s cheeks turned bright pink. “You think so?”

“Yes.” Bryant didn’t even have to ask about which part, because it didn’t matter.

“You’re the single most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen.

When I saw you the very first time, I knew you were mine.

I chased you around like a cartoon skunk for months, and then I was evil to you.

And still you were good to me.” He stole a soft kiss.

“You’ll never know how much you mean to me. I love you, dragon.”

“I love you too, mate. More than I can say.” Lars rested hard against him.

He stroked Lars’s back, his whole body alight with love. And joy. And all the good things.

He couldn’t wait to tell Lachlan, but Lars needed all his focus right now. So he would give it.

But Lachlan? Was going to be over the moon, just like he was.

Their family was growing by the day.