Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

A piercing scream woke up Nathan. He jolted upright, scanned the room, and didn't see any threats.

But then there was another scream, and he realized it was coming from below him. From Hayley.

He jumped down and found her twisting and turning in her sheets, crying, and begging to be let out. Fuck. She had to be reliving the memory of being locked inside a trunk.

Slowly, he crouched down and said, "Hayley, love, you're safe. Open your eyes, and I'll be here. There's no bastard cousin, no trunk, just me."

Her cries turned into whimpers, but her body calmed a little. So he kept talking. "Hayley, come back to me, love. We're going to do some more exploring soon, remember? Don't you want to ride my dragon as we swim across the lake? Maybe find some sunshine to bask in? The food might be shite, but you have your tea and chocolate. You can have anything if you just open your eyes for me."

She settled a little more, but still gripped the sheets with her fingers. He reached out his hand and stopped just shy of touching her brow, afraid it might make things worse.

His dragon spoke up. Try it. She's still crying, and I don't like it.

As gently as he could, Nathan lightly stroked her forehead. When she didn't flinch or bat him away, he continued caressing her warm, slightly damp skin, over and over, until her whimpers settled down and she stopped crying.

"Shh, you're safe, Hayley. No one will ever try to lock you up again, I vow it. I'll protect you. Always."

She turned her face toward him but didn't open her eyes. Nathan stroked down the side of her face, to her cheek, and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "You're safe, Hayley. Either wake up or go to sleep. Either way, I'll watch over you."

Her hand shot out and landed on his bare chest. Ignoring the jolt of heat at her touch, he placed his other hand over hers. "Yes, I'm here."

She murmured, "Stay with me, Nathan. Please."

"Are you awake, love?"

"Nathan. Please."

His dragon spoke up. Hold her until she falls asleep. It's almost as if she knows we're her true mate and will never let anyone harm her.

Even though he wasn't quite sure he agreed with his dragon's thoughts, Nathan brought Hayley's hand to his lips and kissed her palm. "Do you want me to hold you?"

"Yes."

Slowly he crawled into bed with Hayley, but stayed atop the covers. As soon as he laid down, she snuggled into his chest and sighed.

As she calmed and her breathing evened out, he hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. He hated how she was reliving a nightmare, and he couldn't do anything to keep it away. However, as he continued to comfort her, his resolve to find a way out of this bloody place only grew stronger.

His dragon spoke up. We will. But for now, just hold our female close and watch over her.

She's not ours.

Not yet.

Unlike a few days ago, Nathan didn't argue. No, as he watched Hayley's sleeping face, tenderness rushed through him. She looked so damn vulnerable.

Yes, she was a strong female who'd accomplished much. But if she became a part of his world, became his mate, she would have even more enemies. Ones that he'd have to work hard to take down.

And he would. Nathan was starting to think he'd do anything for Hayley, she'd only have to ask.

Which scared the crap out of him.

Holding her close, he closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. At some point he fell asleep, dreaming of Hayley naked and under him as he claimed her, making new memories to replace the old.

Hayley was warm, far warmer than when she usually started waking up. So much so, she sighed and refused to open her eyes.

Soon she snuggled into the warmth and recognized Nathan's now-familiar scent. What she'd thought was a pillow was also hot and hard.

After blinking her eyes open, she came face-to-face with Nathan's dark brown gaze. Since she was nearsighted, she could see the flecks of gold in his eyes. His pupils also changed shape, and this close, it was fascinating to see it shift from human to dragon.

His expression, though, was unreadable.

Maybe she should be worried about finding a half-naked dragonman in her bed—he lay atop the covers and had trousers on—but she vaguely recalled a nightmare and a soothing voice coaxing her to sleep. Which she'd only done after asking him to stay with her.

Oh, dear. Had she really asked Nathan to spend the night with her?

He grunted. "Good morning."

"Um, morning. Did I have a nightmare?"

His eyes softened. "Yes." He brushed some hair from her face. "You were dreaming about being locked in the trunk."

"Oh." She looked away. It'd been years since she'd done that. Yet again, she was doing something embarrassing in front of Nathan Woodhouse.

"Hey, look at me." At his gentle tone, she obeyed, and he continued, "Why are you embarrassed? And don't say you aren't, because the more time I spend around you, the easier you become to read."

She had nothing to lose by being honest at this point. "Well, I'm in my late thirties and I shouldn't be having nightmares. Especially not of something that happened decades ago."

"We can't control our dreams, as much as we might want to. I'm older than you and I still have nightmares about finding my pet dog cold and unmoving when I was five or six years old."

"Oh, Nathan, I'm so sorry."

He cupped her cheek. "It was before my dragon started talking to me. In fact, it was only a few days later he came out to comfort me. And even with my inner dragon always being there, I still sometimes dream about finding my dog gone, and I'm there grieving by myself."

How had she ever thought Nathan stoic and grumpy and rude before? There were so many layers to this man. And each time he revealed a little more, she became greedier, wanting to know everything about him.

Stop it, Hayley.

But as he stroked her cheek with his thumb, his gaze burning into hers, she forgot all about the reason they needed to keep their distance. She traced his jaw with her forefinger, and Nathan closed his eyes and groaned.

He murmured, "You need to stop doing that, Hayley."

She stilled her finger. "Why?"

"Because if you keep touching me like that, I might kiss you."

Heat flared through her body and settled between her thighs. Her eyes darted to his firm lips, and she licked her own. "Is that so?"

His eyelids fluttered open, his pupils flashing rapidly as he said, "Yes, and you really don't want that to happen."

She traced his jaw again, loving the feel of his morning stubble, and wondered what it'd feel like against her neck, her breasts, her inner thigh.

More heat coursed through her body and her nipples tightened. She wasn't sure how much longer she could resist her attraction to this dragonman.

His stained voice garnered her attention. "Hayley, I need to tell you something. Please. Stop doing that."

She removed her hand from his jaw and looked back up at his eyes. A mixture of regret and desire swirled in the brown depths. "Then tell me, Nathan. Tell me why you shouldn't kiss me."

Maybe she should regret being so bold, but didn't. While she didn't know what the future held, she didn't want to ignore something that might lead to a future she'd never known that she wanted—having a dragonman of her own.

His thumb began stroking her cheek again. "Because if I kiss you, I think it'll trigger a mate-claim frenzy."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

"My dragon thinks you're our true mate, Hayley. And I'm fairly certain you know what that means."

Searching his eyes, she saw nothing but truth. However, the regret shining in his gaze stung, and she rolled away until she could get out of bed and wrap her arms around her middle. "And you don't want me."

He jumped out of bed and stood in front of her. After reaching toward her and then clenching his fingers into fists, he stepped away. "It's not a matter of wanting. We still don't know each other very well, and there's the fact that kissing you will result in a child. I'm not about to force all of that on you without talking to you first."

She'd heard about mate-claim frenzies from Dawn Chadwick-Whitby. Not the explicit details, but enough to know it was intense, lasted a while, and if two people were true mates, there would always be a child.

Hayley's head spun as she tried to take it all in. Nathan stood too far away for her to see more than a blur, though, and she turned to try and find her glasses on the nightstand next to the bed. But her hands shook, and she knocked several things to the floor.

Nathan's voice filled her ears. "Here, Hayley. Let me help you. Move, and I'll get them."

She obeyed, a mixture of embarrassment and confusion rushing through her. Until she could see Nathan's face again, could judge his emotions, she didn't know what to do or say.

A large, warm hand took hers and placed her glasses in them. She quickly put them on, closed her eyes to take a breath, and opened them.

Nathan stood next to her, less than a foot away, his expression concerned. He asked, "Are you okay?"

Was she? Minutes ago, she'd wanted nothing more than to kiss Nathan and see where it led. But now? Now a kiss would change their entire future. Not just theirs, but a future child as well.

"I-I need some tea."

He moved toward the door. "I'll make you some."

"No, no, that's okay. Making it myself will help calm my mind. I just need a little time alone."

After moving back into the room, Nathan nodded, his face stoic. "Of course. I'll be in the command center, if you need me."

"Right."

With that, Hayley rushed out of the room and into the kitchen. One cup of tea wouldn't solve all her problems, but comfort and caffeine might calm her mind enough for her to figure out how to handle this.

As Hayley fled the room, Nathan curled his fingers into fists and clenched his jaw. He'd had to tell her the truth. But just like with Tracey, Hayley had fled as soon as possible.

His dragon spoke up. Stop being ridiculous. We've known Hayley only for a short time, and the revelation has to be a shock. But she felt safe with us as she slept. Had wanted us to kiss her this morning. Give her a chance.

Nathan paced the room, unclenching and clenching his fingers. And how do I know this won't end like before? I'm not even in love with her yet and I still know her rejection will sting more since she's supposedly our best chance at happiness.

Which is exactly why you should give her a chance. Be patient, woo her, kiss her other places besides her lips, and see what happens. Taking the risk will be difficult, but if it means finding the same happiness as Dad and Denise, it'll be worth it.

Since his dad had met Denise when Nathan was a teenager, he remembered most of their relationship. She'd come to stay with her cousin on Stonefire, fleeing the cruel new clan leader for Skyhunter back then. And as soon as she'd walked into his dad's pub, his father had been smitten.

The years of sadness and loneliness for his dad, after his first mate's death, slowly faded away. The night they told Nathan they were probably true mates had been full of mixed emotions. And yet, he'd been happy for his dad to have a second chance.

Nathan had never even had a first one.

His dragon spoke up again. For now, just focus on getting us out of this place. Hayley will find us when she's ready.

You seem confident she'll want to talk with us again.

She will. Humans don't grow up with the concept of true mates and have to think it through. But my instinct says she'll accept us, even if it takes some time.

His beast had been dead set against Tracey. The fact his dragon offered to be patient for Hayley spoke volumes.

He tried imagining a life with Hayley. Not just their eventual little boy or girl, either. But he imagined her championing dragons through the courts, him helping to grow her law database until it was finally complete, and maybe the both of them reaching out to clans in other countries, such as Glenlough in Ireland, to suggest a similar idea.

And after a hard day's work, he'd make his female some tea, chat with her about her day, and then claim her over and over again at night, until they were both exhausted.

Did he want to risk everything to try and have that life?

A resounding yes reverberated through his head.

His dragon spoke up. Good. I didn't want to have to take control and try to woo her myself.

Dragons aren't good at wooing. You're better at instinct and fucking.

His beast sniffed. Also important.

For the first time since Hayley had freaked out, Nathan smiled. Yes, it's also important. But just remember, the first time is mine.

Since she's human, that's probably for the best. But we'll share her. She's mine too.

Of course, dragon. Of course.

His panic somewhat tamed for the moment, Nathan got ready, dressed in the T-shirt and trousers he'd found in the storage room, and headed toward the command center. Work would distract him for however long it took for Hayley to come find him.