Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

N athan probably would've held Hayley in his arms for an hour if not for her stomach rumbling again. The sound had snapped him into action, and he'd left to get dressed while she did the same.

As he finally switched on the stove in the kitchen and waited for the water to boil—so he could warm up the ration pouches—his dragon spoke up. Do we really have to try so hard to leave the bunker complex? I want to spend more time with Hayley. Alone.

I know what you're thinking, but I won't subject Hayley to staying in her own personal hell longer than absolutely necessary.

When she's with us, she's fine.

Unless she's asleep. Besides, I won't have a frenzy down here, leaving her with no chance to escape. So if you want that to happen sooner rather than later, you'll help me find a way back to the surface as soon as possible.

I suppose. But we should definitely make her come again tonight. Her taste is addictive.

Before he could reply, Hayley walked into the kitchen and went straight for the already warm tea kettle. He'd readied the mugs earlier with tea bags, so after she poured the hot water into them, she leaned against the counter. "So, what's the gourmet offerings for tonight?"

Mentally, he let out a sigh of relief. A small part of him had worried things would become awkward. "A kind of stew."

"I don't suppose you have bread to go with it?"

"There are supplies to make bread. Are you offering, Miss Star Baker?"

She smiled. "I wish I could go on that show and try to win. But regardless, baking bread is fairly easy."

"Hmm, maybe you could have a baking competition on Stonefire. That could be fun."

Her face lit up. "That would be brilliant. Especially if we can do a human and dragon event together."

"Maybe start with the clan first, to work out the kinks. Although you're going to need help—it'll be a massive undertaking."

She tilted her head. "Are you offering to be a judge?"

"Probably not. Anyone who doesn't have burnt or raw food would get full marks from me."

Laughing, she shook her head. "That's not exactly how a baking competition works, Nathan."

"Hence why I could never be a judge. But if you organize it, I'll ensure the extras don't go to waste. Dragon-shifters have to eat a lot, after all, to keep up our strength."

"I'm not even going to discuss how unfair it is that you all look like models and can eat a ton without blinking an eye."

She turned and riffled through the cupboard.

Frowning at her words, Nathan went up behind her, placed his hands on her hips, and pulled her back against his front. "You're perfect, Hayley. If you couldn't tell earlier how much I want you, then I'm definitely going to have to try harder next time."

She turned in his arms until she placed her hands on his chest and met his gaze. Earlier, he'd been so impatient that he hadn't bothered to remove her glasses, and he wondered what she'd look like without them.

After cupping her cheek, he murmured, "You're bloody gorgeous, Hayley Beckett. And it's hard to concentrate around you. Even in the beginning, when I was trying to protect myself and before my dragon suspected you were our true mate, I couldn't stop looking at you."

She searched his gaze and finally smiled. "I was the same way, truth be told. I still think there's some kind of dragon magic at play."

"If we had magic, we would've used it long ago, love. To make things easier for ourselves."

"I suppose so. Someone could've enticed a former king or queen of England and influenced the nation, back when the monarchs ruled the land. But who would've been a good target?"

"Maybe not Henry VIII. Too risky."

"I agree. He probably would've chopped the person's head off. However, I'm sure a dragon-shifter could've won over Elizabeth I, though. Or maybe Queen Victoria, before she met her husband. She reportedly liked sex a lot, after all. And dragon-shifters are good at it."

"Are we, now? You've changed your tune."

She snorted. "A little. But I still might need some convincing later, just to be sure."

"Minx." He tickled her side, and she squealed.

Watching her face, her laughter, and her asking for him to stop made him smile. It'd been a long time since he'd had so much fun with another person.

His dragon spoke up. She's good for you. For us. Don't fuck it up or let her go.

I'm not planning to, dragon.

When Hayley was out of breath, he stopped and heard the water boiling. After kissing her nose, he went to put the pouches in to warm up.

By the time he finished, Hayley held out a mug for him. Once they both sipped their tea, she spoke. "Were you more relaxed when you were younger?"

"Yes and no. I'm the type of male who has a few close friends and doesn't like hanging out in large crowds. My cousin and I were like brothers, and got into all kinds of trouble as children."

"Such as?"

"You want me to confess to a crime? Won't you just prosecute me later?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I'm sure too much time has passed anyway, if it's minor."

"Ah, but if it's not, there's no limitation period for major crimes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you've committed one?"

Nathan sipped his tea and debated telling Hayley.

His dragon sighed. She's not going to turn us in for something we did as a teenager.

I'm not worried about that. It's just so bloody embarrassing and pointless that I ever did it in the first place.

We shouldn't hold anything back with her.

After another second, he placed his mug down and replied, "Yes, I've committed a major crime. But to be fair, I was seventeen and out to prove myself. And it didn't harm anyone, nor did I steal."

"Okay, now you simply have to tell me what you did."

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. "It was still early days for the internet. However, from the first time I went online, I was able to explore and discover things few other people could find. It's how I discovered a way into the security and power systems of Centre Court during Wimbledon."

She put her mug down and pointed at him. "Wait, I vaguely remember that one chaotic tournament. My parents watched Wimbledon every year, and even if I didn't really care about tennis, the TV was on and we all saw the blackout. You did that?"

"Er, yes. That was me. I was trying to flash the lights but could only manage to turn them off. Not for long, but just long enough to prove I could do it."

"And no one found out about it?"

"No. I was careful, covered my tracks, and to this day, they still haven't discovered I was responsible."

"Nathan! What if one day MI5 shows up and arrests you?"

He shook his head. "I monitored things closely for a few years. But once the terrorists struck the London Underground and a London bus in July 2005, my silly crime was pretty much forgotten."

Watching Hayley's face, he waited to see how she'd react. While being young didn't completely absolve him, he'd since used his skills for good instead of bad, even helping the British Army while in Afghanistan. That's where he'd served the mandatory year before becoming a Protector.

She asked, "You haven't done anything else illegal since then?"

"Not anything major. I did sneak off the clan's lands a few times when I was younger. My cousin dared me, and being young and stupid, I had to accept. Rules about dragon-shifters venturing off dragon clans were stricter back then, so it would've been against the law." He searched her gaze. "Are you telling me you've never broken the law? Not even by accident?"

She adjusted her glasses. "Er, I was caught speeding on the motorway once. But to be fair, my sister was in labor and I wanted to meet my nephew. But it's not quite on the same level as hacking into someone's power grid and messing with it."

"Hmm. Maybe not, but I like knowing that even a solicitor can break the law once in a while."

She stuck out her tongue. "I'm only human."

Nathan couldn't help but take her hand, kiss the back of it, and then murmured, "My human."

Her breath caught. Before he could determine if it was for a good or bad reason—dragon-shifters were possessive and not everyone liked it—the timer for the pouches went off.

He was just about to turn away when she murmured, "I'm starting to think maybe I am."

"Pardon?"

She smiled. "I know you heard me, with those super ears of yours. True, we still need to spend more time together above ground, with your family too, and see how things go. But no other dragonman will be catching my eye whilst we do that."

His beast hummed. Yes, yes. She'll agree to the mate-claim frenzy soon.

Not until we're back with the clan.

The timer kept beeping, and he reluctantly released her hand, turned, and set about getting dinner ready. And as they ate, they discussed what they'd do the next day and plans for how to leave the bunker.

By the time he went to bed with Hayley in his arms—just to sleep—Nathan was impatient to return to the surface and convince Hayley she had a future with him on Stonefire.