Chapter Forty

Chloe

After we left the sovereign's office, we went home and slept soundly until the next day. Both of us were exhausted mentally and physically. I woke up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns invading my nostrils like a foreign army, while my mouth salivated and prepared to do battle with the enemy troops.

Parading downstairs, still in the glani I'd worn the day before, I stopped in shock at the table in the kitchen of Silas' apartment.

"What the actual fuck?" I said, staring at the literal mounds of food on it. "Are we having a buffet for the whole isle?"

"Nofht afhh arllgll," Silas said from somewhere behind the mountain.

I stared as he put away mouthful after mouthful.

"How are you even finding room for it all?" I said, fixing myself a reasonable plate. "Good grief."

The food was disappearing faster than should have been possible. I knew dragon metabolisms were fast, but …

"Fought a lot yesterday. Flew a lot and didn't eat last night," Silas said between mouthfuls. "Being a dragon is very calorie intense. I have to refuel. I also got hurt."

"You did?" I yelped as egg flew from my mouth in a very unladylike manner. "Where? When? How?"

"Right," he said. "I guess you don't know."

I listened to the story about the duel he'd fought with Caine for satisfaction. About how the loser had stabbed him in the back and how he'd killed Caine before coming to get me.

"Let me see," I said, hurrying over to his side and pulling his shirt up.

"I'm fine," he said around another mouthful, but he didn't stop me as I inspected the ugly red mark. "See."

"You've got a hell of a lot of bruising," I said. "It must have gone deep."

"It nearly severed my wing tendon," he admitted. "Flying was less than pleasant. Even today, it's a bit stiff. But I'll be fine once this food gets to work. That's the reason it looks so bad. I didn't eat last night when we got back."

"Okay," I said, leaning in to kiss the fresh skin before pulling his shirt down. "If you're sure."

"I am. I've been hurt worse. I know the limits of my healing," he said, stuffing more bacon into his mouth.

"I'm glad?" I said. "I think. I don't like the idea of you being hurt."

He smiled at me. It was big and wide, with egg in the corner of his mouth, but it was so happy it was infectious.

"What?" I asked, a giggle slipping out as he continued to stare at me.

"I love you so much," he said. "Thank you for caring about me."

I was shocked. "You're welcome? It seems like the least someone could do."

He shrugged. "I've never had someone before you."

My eyebrows shot up in shock. "What? That's impossible. You've never had a girl? I mean, how did you get so good at …"

"There have been girls," he said. "But only physical. I've never had anyone I called mine. Someone who cared for me beyond a romp in the sack."

"Well, now you do," I said, brushing a piece of egg off his cheek as he continued to feed like a pig. "And I'm not going anywhere, you know."

"I know," he said. "That is something I know."

I frowned, sensing he was going somewhere with that comment. "What don't you know?"

"You," he said, putting his food down to lock eyes. "Who are you, Chloe? What's your story. Your real story. Not the one you told me about. Since I assume that was fabricated."

My cheeks blushed red. "It was. I mean, my name is Chloe. Chloe Durselle. Though I don't really lay a claim to that last name."

"Why not?" he asked inquisitively, his eyes watching me intensely, soaking in every word I said.

"It's not mine. Not really," I said. "I grew up in foster care. Jumping from house to house. It was beyond dysfunctional. I hated it. I ran away when I was eighteen and never looked back."

He snorted. "So, it must have been quite the homecoming to walk into my family drama."

I laughed, my belly shaking. "It was honestly quite familiar, yes. But then I met you. And Caleb and Shi. I saw how the three of you have banded together. How you keep Abby safe. There is a family here, Silas. A good one, even if your father is a stubborn old prick. He came with you to save me at the end."

"He came to retrieve a prisoner of the sovereign," Silas said. "It's not the same thing."

"But he was there."

"Yes. He was." Silas shrugged. "But I'm not expecting it to change him at all. Though, I guess I'll find out."

"What do you mean?"

"The Dragon Council has granted me permission to formally put my proposal before them to be voted on. For the governorship of the occupied territories."

"Silas, that's wonderful!" I cried, getting up to throw my arms around him. "Congratulations. I know you were really pushing that!"

He grabbed me up and swung me around into his lap. "Yes, I was," he said, planting a big bacony kiss on my lips.

I just laughed at his enthusiasm. My arms went around his neck and locked him in for a fresh kiss, however. I wasn't letting him get away that easily.

The growing bulge poking through his pants was a dead giveaway that perhaps I was the one who wasn't getting away that easily.

"I've waited long enough for this," he growled, literally tearing the glani from my body and taking control.

I let him.