Rhyndor paced the length of the kitchen. He hated the idea of Lilly talking to Gwen and deciding she wanted a similar life to the young latent female. One of no attachments and only occasional dealings with her dragon brethren, but more than his need to possess her and be with her, he wanted her to be happy. No point having someone in your life if they didn’t want to be there.
She’d suffer, of course. Their connection proved strong, and after last night…she’d burn for them. But perhaps her need to find her own path in life would overcome their strong bond. His stomach grumbled, and he knew it was from nerves, not hunger. He’d be broken if she walked away. She’d rekindled the dragon in him, the protector and the fighter, and he realized he’d missed those sides of himself. The sensation of finding his warrior stirring within reminded him of waking from a long, foggy dream. He didn’t want to go back to those strange, fuzzy days of the past, where everything seemed the same. One day blurring into the next, and the only good thing being seeing Callum’s face. The only thing keeping him going most of the time, truth be told.
He sighed and decided to see if the others were awake. He walked into the bedroom where Lilly and Callum still lay curled up with one another. He’d been unable to sleep once dawn’s light crept in and so had gotten up in order not to wake them. Now, he wanted nothing more than to get this over with. He dreaded it and so wanted it done quickly, like ripping a bandage off.
He didn’t fool himself into believing that if Lilly spoke with Gwen and decided to try dragon life, she’d automatically stay with him and Callum. But at least he’d believe they had a chance.
She stirred, and two bleary blue-green eyes were blinking up at him. If he lived for another millennium, he wouldn’t grow bored of those eyes.
“Morning, sleepyhead. You feel up to a trip back to the UK?”
She nodded and yawned. “I need to go see Mum and Dad first and tell them I’m going back. I presume they know what I am?”
He shrugged. “We’re not sure. They surely understand you’re different and will have been picked to care for you by someone with some power somewhere. Although, who your birth mother trusted with this task, we still haven’t found out. They may not know you are Dragonea.”
“I want you to come meet them.”
Her words shocked him. “Wow. Okay.”
She smiled, sleepy and beautiful. “I’ll say you’re linked to my birth family somehow. My people, one way or another, and I’m going with you to meet some more. It says enough but not too much.”
He agreed. If they were cognizant of everything, they’d be aware he and Callum were dragons. If not, they’d simply assume Lilly had been found by some of her extended family.
Four hours later, and they were pulling up a driveway surrounded by gardens manicured to hell. Everything had a place, and he imagined someone went out weekly and cut the edges of the grass with scissors. It made him itch to go mess it up. Plant some wild flowers or some shit. Callum parked the car smooth and easy, and Lilly hopped out.
Callum turned to him and raised one eyebrow. “Meeting the parents. May be a sign.”
“Probably not. Most likely, she wants them to be aware she’s met some of her own people. They have to know something. We simply don’t understand how much.”
“I think it’s a sign. She wants us, deep down.” Callum grinned.
Rhyndor wished he shared his bonded male’s optimism.
Lilly placed her key in the lock, and the door swung open. A woman came out of a door to their right. She wore sensible, bland clothes. Her face radiated good breeding and beauty but of a totally different kind to Lilly’s wild good looks. She reminded him of a more severe-looking Grace Kelly.
“Lilly. Where have you been? Zach’s been calling, and your father is going out of his mind.”
Lilly flinched. “I’m sorry, Mother. Truly, I didn’t mean to scare or worry you both. These men are Callum and Rhyndor. Guys, this is my mother, Patricia.”
Her mother looked past her finally, and the moment her gaze landed on them, her eyes widened in alarm. He heard her heart rate increasing. Way more than it should from the appearance of two men in her home, however rough and ready those guys were. She knew.
“Oh my gosh.” Patricia clapped a hand over her mouth. “They found you.”
“You know about me? About what I am?”
Her mother paled. “Yes.”
“But…why not tell me? Why keep me believing I am human? You had to have been aware there would come a time when I’d find out.”
Her mother patted at the base of her neck and fiddled with the gold cross there. “We were told to protect you until we were contacted again and told otherwise. At which point, you’d be made aware, along with your other siblings. We were instructed to make you fit in with the human world because you were in great danger if any of your kind found you.”
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears, and despite her cool demeanor, Rhyndor understood this woman loved her adopted daughter, in her own way.
“Ma’am, we’re the good guys. I promise you. I am Rhyndor, and this is my…friend, Callum.”
He shook her hand, and Callum did the same. Then he continued to speak. “Lilly has siblings. As you seem to be aware. Two of them have been found by others of our kind and now live within our society. One, her adoptive mother died; the other says her mother never told her of what she was and doesn’t seem to be fully aware of the whole story. It’s all a bit vague, and she doesn’t want to discuss it with her and perhaps give away more than the mother knows. Frankly, we’re surprised you’ve been told so much.” He only knew Claire’s and Mia’s full stories from talking to Claire for a long time before they set out to come get Lilly. And the more he learned, the stranger the whole thing became.
“Come into the sitting room.” Patricia gestured for them to follow her down the corridor and into a room on the left. Tastefully decorated in creams and pale golds, it possessed thick cream carpeting your feet sank into, and everything in the place screamed luxury and class.
“When we got the call about adopting Lilly, we were told she was of the dragon people.”
Rhyndor felt as if she’d slapped him. “Wait, you already knew of us?”
She nodded. “Yes, my grandmother was a witch.”
Nothing this well-bred, wealthy woman said could have surprised him more. It seemed Lilly agreed as she swore under her breath.
“She knew of the Dragonea, used to tell me stories about them and other shifters and beings. I loved them, but my mother hated it. Eventually, she stopped allowing me to go to Grandma’s house. But when Grandma was on her death bed, she sent for me. She told me it was all real, and I belonged to an ancient and magical bloodline.” She looked at her hands for a moment and frowned. “I’ve always wondered because I seem to have no magical ability myself. But my grandmother was the most formidable and sane person I knew. I believed her. She told me a great many stories about shifters, fae folk, witches, all sorts of supernatural beings. But she made me understand they were no mere myths, and she cautioned me to always be aware of the other dimension to our world. She said that if I chose to live a fully human life, it would be fine, but I should keep my guard up and understand things are not always as they seem. She also gave me an ancient book, full of magic.
“I tried repeatedly, but I seemed to have no ability myself whatsoever. I settled into a happy life here with my husband. But we found we couldn’t have children, and then one day, we got a call and it changed our lives. We were told about Lilly, and we agreed to take her in.”
“I can’t believe you’re a witch!” Lilly stared at her mother as if seeing her for the first time.
“I’m not, dear. I don’t seem to have any magical powers, but I am from a very old line of magic folk. Your father didn’t believe any of it at first, until the man sitting in our home telling us about you, changed your father’s beloved TV into a rabbit and back again with a mere flick of his wrist.” She giggled then. “He believed after that display. We brought you home, and we loved you very much. But I always knew the time would come when you’d be taken away from me. I tried to protect myself from it as much as possible.”
“How?” Lilly leaned forward in her seat, her face eager.
“By keeping a certain distance between us. I loved you, I cared for you, but I tried to stop myself from falling head over heels for you because I feared, one day, you’d be gone.” She snapped her fingers in the air to emphasize her point.
“I used to think you didn’t truly love me.” Lilly whispered the words, and her eyes shone.
“Oh, darling. I love you. I tried to keep a part of my heart safe from you, which I know is wrong of me, but I spent my days in terror of this moment coming. I worried you might simply disappear.”
“I’d never do such a thing to you and Dad.” Lilly crossed the room and sat by her mother’s side, pulling her into a hug. “I only ever wanted your love and to give it back.”
“You had it, my darling.” Patricia swiped at her eyes. “We spent hours doing things together. Dancing, painting, teaching you French.”
“I know, but whenever I hugged you or tried to climb up onto your lap, I always felt as if you held me at arm’s length.”
Her mother sniffled. “I suppose some of it comes down to me protecting myself, as I explained. But some of it is simply how I am. Your grandma raised me in the same way. We were always to show class. To be in control of our emotions and calm at all times. I never got hugs or cuddles from my mother, so I suppose I found it hard to give to you in return. I love you, though. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Lilly frowned, and then she pulled away from her mother. “Why let me spend time with Zach? Encourage it, if you knew I wasn’t human.”
Her mother’s mouth trembled, and she spoke in a hoarse whisper. “I thought if you fell in love with him, you might want to stay.”
“Oh, Mom.” Lilly wrapped her arms around Patricia, and they sat for a while in silence.
Rhyndor hated to disturb the moment, but he needed to ask something. “Patricia, you seem to understand a damn sight more than any of the other parents did. Do you know where Lilly’s other siblings might be?”
She shook her head. “We were told the girls were separated to keep them safe.”
“Girls?” Callum’s head shot up. “They’re all female?”
Patricia nodded. “I was told six girls, all sent to families in far-flung locations. And under the watchful eye of their protector, who would be there if ever a true emergency happened. It’s all I was told. I’m sorry.”
“Fuck me,” Callum muttered under his breath, before apologizing immediately for swearing.
“I want to go back to Britain, Mother. To meet my sisters again and find out more about my people. But it doesn’t mean I’m leaving you. Even if I decide to stay over there, I’ll be back to see you and to visit. I’ll never simply walk away.”
“Well, when you adopt a child who isn’t human, you’re not sure what they will want to do once they find out.” Patricia gave them a bright smile. “Shall I make us all some tea?”
*****
Callum wanted to stretch his legs. Lilly had taken two days after the conversation with her mother, and two more long talks with her father, to decide she wanted to come visit the Welsh clan. They hadn’t made love again, which was probably a good thing with how intense things felt. But he feared she purposely held herself back from them.
Gods, his thighs cramped. Even in business class, his long legs were up against the seat in front of him. They’d booked tickets quickly so hadn’t been able to get into first. How people coped in economy, he had no idea. The glass in front of him on the small table wobbled, and the liquid sloshed against the sides as the plane dropped a couple of feet.
“Holy shit.” Rhyndor grabbed on to the armrest. He hated flying in planes.
“I can take your mind off it?” Callum whispered low and sinful.
Rhyndor shot him a withering look, but Lilly giggled from the seat beside Rhyn and nodded. “We both can.” His heart soared at her words. She obviously hadn’t closed herself off to them completely.
“You’ll do nothing. Either of you. We’re on a plane. It’s not fucking safe. If we need to get off urgently, I don’t want my pants around my ankles.”
Not arguing further, Callum simply reached under the thick cashmere blanket on Rhyn’s lap and popped his fly. “No need to take your pants down.”
Lilly’s eyes met his, and they were full of fire. Oh yeah. Their little princess got off on this. She snaked her hand in too, and her fingers brushed his.
Rhyndor might have protested, but when Callum found him and took his cock out, he lay in his palm as hard as a rock. Lilly’s smaller, cooler fingers took hold of Rhyn’s cock at the head, and Callum gripped the thick shaft. They began to move their hands, and Rhyndor dropped his head back with a quiet moan. It took them a moment or two to reach a rhythm, but once they did, they worked him hard and fast. Lilly gave away how turned on she’d become by squirming in her seat.
Rhyndor took only a few minutes before he groaned into the hand he covered his mouth with and came, his shaft pulsing in Callum’s fingers, warm wet spilling over his knuckles from Lilly’s hand above.
“You’re both evil.” Rhyndor shot them both annoyed glances, but he’d lost the air of terror and seemed much more relaxed. “You need paying back for that.”
Smiling, he snaked one hand under Callum’s blanket and the other under Lilly’s. Her gasp told Callum Rhyn went straight for the kill, no messing about.
He did the same to Callum and squeezed his aching dick hard through his cargo pants. Then he began to move the flat of his palm over the cotton. Jesus! Callum’s eyes rolled back in his head. If someone had told him being rubbed off through his damn pants like a teenager would be one of the hottest moments of his life, he’d have laughed at them. But it was. What with Lilly sighing and making little coughing sounds to try to cover up her gasps, and Rhyndor’s brutal but perfect movement against his cock, never mind the risk of getting caught! It all added up to one sexy experience.
He sensed the moment Lilly lost it, some sort of connection between them already forming and making him aware of her pleasure, despite her almost silent release. The knowledge pushed him over the edge, and he turned his face into the crook of his arm to keep silent as he pulsed into his pants.
The moment it ended, reality hit. “How am I going to get off the plane now, with a damp patch on my crotch?”
Lilly giggled. “You’ll have to hold your carry-on strategically.”
Marvelous. Somehow, though, he couldn’t be angry.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will soon be approaching London Heathrow. Please return your seats to the upright position, and once staff have been round to collect drinks and glasses, fold the tables back up. It’s a cool forty-five degrees Fahrenheit out there today. We hope you enjoyed your flight.”
A wave of melancholy washed over Callum as the announcement ended. Now they’d meet Gwen, and Lilly would get the chance to see whether she wished to live out in the human world as a latent, adrift from dragon society. He also experienced an unwelcome shiver of anxiety. Once they reached the clan, Rhyndor wanted to meet with Rhiannon, the clan’s medicine woman and an ancient and powerful healer, to organize trying to stop the poison in Steffan’s body. Callum dreaded it doing something to his bonded male. In fact, it scared him so much, he couldn’t deal with it, so he shook the thought from his head and downed the remaining brandy in his tumbler. And if it all went south, it would be his fault because the whole thing had been his bright idea.
The plane touched down with a gentle bounce, and he grabbed Rhyndor’s hand and held on until it came to a complete stop. The male blew out a long breath and stretched in his seat.
“You really do hate flying, don’t you?” He stroked the back of Rhyn’s hand.
“Fucking unnatural is what it is. Locked in a tin can, miles above the earth. Trapped in it if something goes wrong. I hate it.”
“Next time, we’ll take a boat.”
Rhyndor raised one of his sharp brows and snorted. “Very funny. I can cope with it.”
They faced another journey now, all the way to the Welsh clan’s village in North Wales. They’d opted to drive straight there instead of spending time in London.
Once they’d disembarked and gone through duty-free, Callum buying Lilly a huge bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle, they headed to the car rental desk and got the ticket for their Lexus. Only the best for Callum.
“I’ll drive.” Rhyndor took the keys from him and swung them around his index finger as they strolled from the desk.
“Erm, no. I will.”
“No, I want to drive.”
“Tough shit. I do, and I organized this.”
“Boys, good Lord. Let me drive.” Lilly grabbed the keys from Rhyndor’s finger and jogged ahead, a spring in her step.
“She seems to be taking all of this remarkably well,” Rhyndor said, sotto voice.
“I think it’s the sex,” he replied.
“For the love of the gods.”
“I’m serious. It bonds our kind, you know as much. She’s growing closer to us by the moment. Connecting with us. She’ll find it hard to walk away, and truthfully, I don’t think she will. But only time will tell.”
“It will rip our hearts out if she does. We’ll be fucked.”
Callum stopped walking and placed his hand on Rhyndor’s arm. “We’ll still have one another, unless you do something stupid when you meet with Rhiannon. Something dangerous.”
“Not planning on it, but I am going to help Steffan. Even if it does involve some risk to myself. I’ll not do so lightly and will be as careful as possible, but I won’t leave him with the damage I did to him.”
Callum’s heart spasmed painfully, and for a moment, he fought against the urge to bend over and take in a couple of deep breaths. “I can’t lose you, Rhyn. I can’t. Her, I can let go because it will be what she wants. It’ll kill me, but I love her enough to do it…for her. But you? You’re risking everything for some sort of sense of honor.”
“No.” Rhyndor shook his head. “It’s not for honor. It’s to stop this damn guilt eating me up inside so I can live fully at last.”
“Come on, slow coaches.” Lilly shot them an amused look and put an extra wiggle into her hips as she walked ahead.
Since the sex on the plane, she’d been more relaxed and flirtatious with them, but he didn’t fool himself that a bit of fun between them solved all their issues.
Damn, he had everything he wanted within arm’s reach, but so much threatened it all.