Chapter 20

When Tulia had uttered those three little words, Austin’s whole life, his whole reason for being, had clicked into place. There’d been no doubt that she’d wanted him physically, and he knew that she held some affection for him, but to hear her say that she loved him was beyond anything he could have hoped for.

He sat on the metal bench in the center hall of the mall, sipping his cheap coffee with Luke at his side. Life had never been better. After having dragged them both into countless stores, the women had finally taken pity on them and left them to go into a lingerie shop and then a shoe shop. Although she’d argued with him for an hour before they even left the estate, she’d finally caved and taken the money he’d thrust at her so she could buy whatever clothes she needed and then some.

He’d given her a warning, too. If she didn’t come back with enough purchases, he’d keep dragging her to the store until the closet was full, and there was plenty of room in that closet of theirs to keep them shopping for weeks.

“It’s pretty damned great, isn’t it?” Luke said, breaking into his thoughts.

“What is?”

“Having a mate. What else?”

Austin stretched his legs and grinned at his friend. “That doesn’t begin to describe it.”

“I feel bad for the other guys. I mean, here we are, happier than shit, and they keep going out there, doing the work we used to do while we sit at home and take care of our mates.”

Shrugging, Luke looked around. “Between us, we have enough money and jewels to keep the clan going for centuries without worry. At least the work keeps them busy.”

Austin smelled her long before he saw her, but he’d recognize Jessica’s thick perfume anywhere. He tensed, looking for a place to hide, but it was too late. The woman had seen him and was making a beeline straight for him.

“Incoming at three o’clock,” Luke said with a grin.

“Very helpful,” he said just before another scent drifted to him. This one made his mouth water and every part of him stand at attention.

Jessica came to a stop right before him, jutting her breasts out in front of her with her saccharine sweet smile firmly in place. How had he found her attractive before? “You are one hard man to get a hold of. Where have you been hiding, Austin?”

Before he could say a word, Maddie came around, her walking stick smacking into the other woman’s ankle. “I know my man is here, somewhere,” she said, ignoring the little yelp Jessica let out.

Luke stood and took her into his arms. “I’m right here, baby.”

Tulia looked at Jessica, who returned her glare. She gave the woman a good once-over before turning her attention to him. “Sorry for taking so long. I had to buy something special to wear for you tonight,” she said as she came to him.

Jessica’s cheeks turned redder by the second. Oddly, it wasn’t cute on her like it was on his mate.

“Tulia, this is Jessica. We’d been dating…before.” As uncomfortable as admitting something like this to his mate was, he sure as hell wasn’t going to lie to her about it.

Sure enough, Jessica spluttered. “Before what? That wasn’t so long ago.”

Austin wanted a hole to open right there in the mall and swallow him. “No, it wasn’t. I hadn’t met my mate then, though.”

“But—” Jessica tried to say something, but Tulia raised her hand, stopping her.

“But nothing. He’s mine.”

Luke and Maddie hadn’t moved, but neither uttered a sound.

He half expected Tulia to say something more. She’d been plenty jealous of the hotel receptionist back in Kansas, but she shrugged and turned her back on the woman. A second later, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss that had his toes curling and his dick twitching.

“Time to go home, mate. I have some pretty new things I want to model for you.”

A soft growl rumbled in Austin’s chest. “Can’t wait.”

***

“Bye, Jessica. It was nice meeting you,” Tulia said sweetly.

The other woman huffed, then stomped off. Tulia couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard a muffled “asshole,” as she walked away.

When the woman was out of earshot, Luke’s laughter roared out, along with Maddie’s giggle.

“I was thinking maybe I could take Maddie out for a nice dinner tonight. Maybe some dancing. Do you guys want to join us? If not, we can drop you off and drive back down.” Luke offered when he finally got a hold of himself.

Austin looked at her, giving her the option to accept or refuse. Dinner and dancing sounded like fun—something she hadn’t indulged in for a long time—but maybe not tonight. She wanted to check on her parents again to make sure they were settled into their new place.

“Maybe some other time? If there’s somewhere private we can shift, we can fly back, and you guys won’t have to make the trip up and then back down the mountain.”

Maddie clapped her hands and smiled. “I have a better idea. You guys take the truck, and we’ll fly back later. It’ll be easier for Luke to shift after dark, anyway.”

Knowing that Maddie was human, Tulia would have protested, but the excitement radiating from the woman stopped her. If flying with her mate made her that happy, she wouldn’t be the one to try and deny her. “If you’re sure it’s not going to be too much trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Luke said as he handed Austin the bags he’d been carrying. “Mind bringing these to the house?”

“Sure thing. Have fun.”

After they said their goodbyes, Austin became silent, almost tense.

“What’s going on? You okay?” She should have asked him what he wanted. If dinner and dancing would take away the tension now radiating from him, she would gladly chase Maddie and Luke down and take them up on their offer.

He loaded the rest of the bags into the truck before answering. “I’m sorry about what happened in there.”

Ah, so guilt was eating at him, was it? “The whole Jessica thing?”

He brought his hands to her hips and pulled her closer. “Yeah, that.”

Tulia could have teased him or pretended to be upset, but making him feel bad served no purpose. “I never expected you not to have had a past, Austin. And that’s what she is, your past. I’m your present and your future. She doesn’t matter. It’s not to say that I want to meet exes every time we go out shopping, but it’s bound to happen here and there in such a small community.”

“You’re not angry?”

She shook her head and nuzzled his chin. “Nope. Let’s go home.”

The ride up to the estate took longer than flying, so, for a while, she busied herself setting up the new phone they’d bought for her parents. Her dad had no patience for those kinds of things, and her mom couldn’t be bothered. If she left it to them, it would be weeks before they would be able to use the thing.

The trees along the drive grew thick in some areas, blocking a lot of the sun, but every once in a while, the mountain opened up, giving her a view so pretty it stole her breath. She could just imagine what it would look like in the winter when everything was covered in white, sparkling snow.

The road narrowed when they turned off onto the property. Up ahead, in the break between the trees, she caught a glimpse of the mansion. Off to the side, a short distance away, a couple of dragons flew low enough that their claws could probably touch the treetops. Her heart stuttered at the flash of dark green scales. She forced her worry back. Reyn wasn’t the only dragon with that coloring. If anything, it was a common color. It was probably just one of the Dragon Blood men doing his rounds.

“I think I know everyone in their human forms now, but other than Brycen and Mateo, I couldn’t recognize anyone in their dragon forms to save my life,” she said almost to herself.

“You’ll get to know them.”

“Are there other properties close to the mansion?”

Austin shook his head. “Nothing for miles. It’s what made it perfect for our clan. No one bothers us up here.”

Odd. The way the two dragons had been flying, it had been like they were trying to keep out of sight. Maybe they were just getting ready to land somewhere other than the yard. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the property, but from the angle of the mansion in the distance, she’d swear the dragons were near the little cottage.

“Let’s get these bags inside and go check on your parents. The sooner we get back, the sooner I get that fashion show you promised me,” Austin said, waggling his eyebrows before he killed the engine and hopped out of the truck.

“Would it be okay if we left the bags for now? I want to check on mom and dad,” she asked him as he helped her down. It was probably nothing. They weren’t in their home clan where dragons couldn’t be trusted, but her gut churned. They didn’t have to stay long. She just needed to see that they were okay.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, following her gaze to the sky where she had seen the dragons.

“Would some of the men still be working at the cottage?” That was probably it.

Austin shook his head. “No. We left some small jobs around the house so that your dad would have things to do. I asked everyone to give them some space for a while until they settled in. Why?” Without waiting for her answer, he hit the button on the key fob and locked the truck, then took her hand, heading to the other end of the garage to where a smaller ATV was parked.

“The dragons I saw a few miles back were flying just above the trees toward the cottage.”

He handed her a helmet. “Maybe Brycen and Stella went to check on them?”

No, it wasn’t Brycen. She’d recognize him. And the second dragon was too big to be female. “Not Brycen for sure. I don’t know what Stella looks like, but I thought it was a male.”

Austin punched a button on his cell. “I’m outside, heading to the cottage. Is anyone out flying right now?” he asked whoever answered at the other end.

“Fuck. Meet me down there. Tulia saw some dragons in the sky,” he said before ending the call. “Go into the house, Sweetness. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I’m coming with you,” she protested right away. They were her parents; he couldn’t expect her to sit and hide when they might be in danger.

“It’s probably nothing. It’s not like we keep a log of where everyone is, but just in case, I want you here—safe.”

“No. Now, stop wasting time. It’ll be quicker if we fly.” She handed the helmet back to him.