Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

T wo days later, Hayley stood in Denise and Paul Woodhouse's kitchen and frowned at the mess she'd made.

Dr. Sid had kicked her out of Nathan's room, saying she needed to do a final examination before sending him home. And since pacing in the waiting area had then resulted in the doctor ordering her here to wait for Nathan, she'd channeled her energy into baking.

The biscuits were baking in the oven, but now she had to tackle the mess. Hayley had never been the type of baker to clean up as she went, even if rationally, it made more sense.

She was nearly finished washing up when Denise Woodhouse came in. Nathan's stepmum smiled at her. "I tried to stay away and let you have the kitchen, but those biscuits smell so bloody good."

As the dragonwoman's pupils flashed, Hayley asked, "I never thought about it before, but are there dragon treats you can eat in your dragon form?"

Denise laughed. "You always have the most interesting questions. And no, not really. Sometimes we hunt in our dragon forms, but that's it. Dragons don't have a sweet tooth." She stopped next to Hayley. "Do you want me to help with the dishes?"

"No, I'm nearly done. And I need something to keep me busy until Nathan comes home."

"It should be soon." She picked up a towel. "I can at least dry and help put away."

Denise's expression brooked no argument, and they worked together for about a minute in silence before Denise blurted, "I know you're Nathan's true mate. He was half asleep when he blurted it out."

Hayley frowned. "He was supposed to wait to share that."

"I know, dear. And it was an accident. But it makes me incredibly happy he found you. After…"

"After the other human."

"Yes. He talked to you about her, then?" She nodded and Denise continued, "I'm glad. As much as I love my stepson, he sometimes keeps things to himself. Not only that, seeing his face light up when he talks about you makes me so happy."

Uh-oh. Denise was laying it on thick.

Not that Hayley wasn't leaning more and more toward mating Nathan and having a mate-claim frenzy, but she didn't want her dragonman to think she agreed because of his mother's meddling.

Handing over the latest clean dish, she replied, "I like your son. Very much. But he and I need to talk things through first. So please, please don't pressure him."

Her pupils flashed a few times. "Any female who tries to protect my son is a worthy one indeed."

"Um, okay."

Denise laughed. "Don't mind me. It's going to be some time yet before Ryan thinks of getting a mate. I've been trying for so long with Nathan, and he ended up finding you himself. Shows me I should just let my children figure out their own futures, huh? But it's hard to do with children, sometimes. You want them to succeed so badly but also know they have to make their own choices."

Hayley dried her hands and touched Denise's arm. "He's lucky to have you, Denise. I hope you know that."

The dragonwoman's eyes looked a little teary, and she cleared her throat. "I try." After clearing her throat again, she put away the last dish and said, "Right, that's done. Now, let's make some tea and try some of those biscuits of yours. Quality control, you know."

She winked, and Hayley laughed. "I used to say that with my own parents whenever they baked something."

She helped Denise ready the tea things and soon they sat down, chatted, and drank their tea.

Her previous fears, of things being awkward, had pretty much disappeared. Every time she was with Nathan, it felt like home. And even here, where she was technically a guest, Hayley felt more and more like she was with a second family.

She still needed to spend time alone with Nathan, outside of the surgery, to make her final decision. But she could imagine this being her life.

An hour later, the front door opened and within seconds, Nathan walked into the kitchen. Seeing him upright and smiling, Hayley rushed right for him. He embraced her and murmured, "Hello, love. Happy to see me?"

She snuggled into his chest. "Of course I am." After lifting her head to meet his gaze, she asked, "Are you truly healed now?"

He held up one of his hands, palm toward her. There was a faint scar, but the skin was completely healed. "Yes. The scars will fade a little more, but never completely."

She kissed his palm. "I'm sorry."

Nathan moved his hand to her face and cupped her cheek. "Don't be, love." He whispered for her ears only. "Getting to know you was worth any pain."

"Oh, Nathan."

She nearly kissed him but halted a few inches from his mouth. Their breaths mingled as they stared at one another. How easy it would be to kiss him and finally learn what he tasted like.

But that would result in a mate-claim frenzy. And given that Denise took that moment to speak up, it was a good thing Hayley had stopped herself.

"Welcome home, Nathan. I was going to sit and chat with you two, but I just remembered I have some prep work I need to do for the next children's event. I'll be back in a few hours. No one will bother you until then."

Before Hayley could even say goodbye, Denise was out the front door.

Nathan stroked her cheek. "If you're not going to kiss me right now, then I want some of those biscuits on the counter. They smell nearly as good as you."

She rolled her eyes. "Biscuits always smell better. That's a fact."

His gaze turned heated. "No, that's your opinion. Your scent is one I'll always crave, Hayley Beckett. Below ground or above it, yours is the best in the world." He moved to her ear and tugged at her earlobe. "And you taste bloody amazing, too."

Remembering Nathan's head between her thighs, she pressed her legs together. "Stop it, or I might end up kissing you. And I'm not having a frenzy on your parents' kitchen table."

"Why not? It's fairly sturdy. All furniture made for dragon-shifters is."

She lightly hit his chest. "Nathan! That's not the point."

Laughing, he hauled her close. "I don't want it to happen at my parents' house, either. So let's have a snack, and we can discuss what to do from here, without any interruptions this time."

Hayley had tried a few times to bring up the true mate thing at the surgery. But someone always seemed to enter at the wrong time.

She quickly retrieved a mug for Nathan, poured the tea, and put a plate of biscuits on the table. She then deliberately sat across from him, so as to prevent wandering hands and distractions.

Distractions she'd dreamed about, but her rational side was in control. For now.

Nathan bit into the chocolate chip biscuit and moaned. "That's the best biscuit I've tasted in my life."

She sat up a little taller and readjusted her glasses. "I hope so. It was my nan's secret recipe, one that I had to memorize since we're not supposed to write it down."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Not even for you will I share the secret ingredient."

Only to her children, if she had them.

For so long, it'd been a foreign concept. Hayley had never thought she could be a mum on her own and balance her career. But with a supportive partner and her own practice on Stonefire?

Yes, she could see herself being a mum in that case.

Which had been the last real barrier to her saying yes to the mate-claim frenzy.

Nathan reached across the table and touched her hand. "What are you thinking about, Hayley?"

She met his gaze, the flashing pupils a familiar, comforting sight to her now. "Our future, the frenzy, and life on Stonefire."

"And what do you want, love? Tell me."

No pressure, no convincing. He just wanted to hear her thoughts.

It was one of the many things she loved about Nathan.

Wait, love? No. It had to be too soon.

But as she remembered everything from their time underground, from him comforting her to taking her ideas in stride to sharing his painful rejection in the past, all she wanted was to make a future with the dragonman. One where they were equals and best friends. Oh, with plenty of off-the-charts sex, too.

She wasn't quite ready to share her feelings, but she'd made her decision about being his mate. "I want to go through the mate-claim frenzy and be your mate."

His eyes lit up, and Hayley knew she'd made the right decision. "Are you sure? I want that, too, but I can wait as long as possible."

She shook her head and took his hand in hers. "I don't want to wait. My only real fear had been that our time in the bunker was magical and would fade when we returned to the surface. But my feelings haven't changed. I always want to see you, and just being with you makes me feel safe and happy and wanted."

He squeezed her hand. "Being apart from you, whilst I was in the surgery, was one of the hardest things I've done in a long, long time. I never thought myself a chatty or social person, but I can't ever seem to get enough of you, Hayley."

As they smiled at each other, Hayley's heart rate ticked up. Then her gaze slipped to his mouth. "What happens next?"

He growled. "If you don't want to start the frenzy on the kitchen table, stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"As if you want to lick me up."

She met his eyes again. "I haven't had a chance to lick you at all." She frowned. "Can I do that during the frenzy? From what I know, the dragon is more instinctual and wants penis-in-vagina sex only until the woman is pregnant."

"Sadly, it'll be mostly that. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"We play a little before we kiss."

Images of Hayley torturing Nathan's cock with her mouth, as he moaned and fell apart, flashed into her head. "I like that."

"Me, too. But not until we have everything in place because the frenzy will probably happen right after. My dragon is only so patient."

"Then what do we have to do?"

"First, come sit on my lap." She raised her eyebrows, and he added, "I want to hold you in my arms again before we talk with Bram."

After standing, she sauntered over, taking her time and reveling in Nathan's growl of impatience.

Oh, yes. She was going to have fun with him later.

As soon as she was close enough, he tugged her down and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you absolutely sure of this, love? I don't want you to have any regrets later."

No doubt he was thinking of the woman who'd broken his heart.

She took his face between her hands and laid her forehead against his. "I'm sure, Nathan. If anything, I want to see what your dragon's like when he's in control. I already adore him in your dragon form, after all."

"At this rate, you're going to swell his ego to astronomical proportions."

"Good. Then he'll be on my side in the future."

He groaned. "You're already planning to team up against me, aren't you?"

"Of course."

He tickled her side, and she shrieked. Eventually he stopped and let her breath. "Minx."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he smiled. "I think the first time you did that was when I knew I couldn't resist you."

"Because I stuck out my tongue?"

"It shows you're fun and playful, and I sorely need that in my life. I can be rather serious at times, but you bring out the other side of me."

"I'm not usually this way with others, except maybe for my sister. There's just something about you, Nathan Woodhouse."

He nipped her earlobe. "Maybe there is some kind of true mate dragon magic after all."

As they laughed, Hayley settled more against her dragonman. She was the kind of person that once she made a decision, it was full steam ahead.

And she couldn't wait to finally tease Nathan with her mouth and then experience a mate-claim frenzy with her true mate.