Sacrificed to the Dragon (13 page)

Sometimes Liam’s possessiveness surfaced when another adult male was in the room and he’d haul Samira up against his side, but Samira never seemed to mind. Quite the opposite, actually; she’d lean against him and lay her head on his shoulder.

Stop it, Hall. No fairy tale endings, remember?
Melanie resisted a sigh, realizing she was hoping for things she probably would never have. Tristan wasn’t Liam. Hell, if not for Tristan’s dragon, the man would probably have nothing to do with her.

And that stung a little.

Before she could think too hard about why it did, Tristan said, “We’re here.”

She eased her head up and looked at Tristan towering over her. “Did the smell last the entire way here?”

He shrugged, but didn’t comment. She hoped this wasn’t a sign of Tristan-the-asshole returning.

Since she lived with Samira now, she took out her key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Unsure if anyone was home, she opened the door and was instantly attacked by a little boy flying at her as he said, “Auntie Mel!”

The boy hugged her legs as she put her hand on the head of Samira’s three-year-old son, Rhys. Smiling, Melanie said, “Someone should be about due for a nap.”

Rhys looked up at her, a small frown between his black eyebrows. “No, it’s not nap time. It’s lunch time.”

That would explain the smell of curry spices in the air. Thankfully, it didn’t make her stomach turn. “Where’s your mom and dad?”

“Dad’s gone. Mum’s in the kitchen.” Rhys looked around Mel’s legs and said, “Who’s he?”

She turned and waved toward Tristan. “This is Tristan MacLeod. In a few years, he might be your teacher. So if I were you, I’d be nice to him.”

Rhys assessed Tristan with an over-the-top seriousness and Melanie barely resisted laughing. Finally, the boy said, “My mum doesn’t like you.”

She glanced at Tristan and bit her lip to keep from laughing at the momentary surprise on his face. But just as quickly as it had arrived, it was replaced with a cool, collected one. Tristan raised an eyebrow and said, “Care to tell me why?”

The boy squeezed her legs tightly and said, “Because you’re mean to Auntie Mel.”

The little boy’s protectiveness went straight to her heart. It seemed that trait manifested early in dragon-shifter males.

Now was not the time for a conversation about how Tristan should treat her. If everything went well with his sister, she’d be initiating that conversation herself.

To change the subject, she pried Rhys from her legs and maneuvered him toward the kitchen. “Let’s go see your mom about lunch. Whatever she made smells good.”

The boy reluctantly nodded and let her lead him into the kitchen in the back of the two-story cottage.

They entered the warm kitchen filled with smells that made her mouth water, which was a nice change from earlier. Samira smiled when she saw them, but her smile instantly faded as soon as she spotted Tristan behind her.

~~~

Tristan watched Melanie lead the little boy out of the room and while she hadn’t invited him to follow, he did anyway.

The sight of Liam and Samira’s son had put his dragon in the background, which was a good thing considering his beast didn’t like Melanie staying in another male’s house. Even now, he could smell the other male, and neither half of him liked it.

Liam was a nice enough bloke, but even though Liam was mated to Samira, Tristan’s dragon was in a dangerous in-between stage when it came to Melanie. Seeing any adult male put a hand on Melanie could set off his inner beast and his human-half could lose control.

As he entered the kitchen, Samira didn’t see him at first and she greeted Melanie with a smile, but it died when she looked at him. “What’s he doing here?” She glanced to Melanie. “Did he grovel and beg for you to take him back?”

He should hold his tongue, but he’d never been very good at that when it came to conversing with adults. “It’s none of your business, Samira. What is between Melanie and me is our business.”

Samira held up the wooden spoon in her hand and pointed it at him. “Seeing as your bastard ways have made it so she’s staying with me, it’s very much my business. I was on your side originally, Tristan MacLeod, but not anymore.”

Before he could reply, Melanie stepped between them. “Stop it.” She looked to Samira. “I’m just here to change my clothes and brush my teeth. Can I leave you guys alone for a few minutes while I do that and not worry about you two biting off each other’s heads?”

Samira lowered her spoon and stirred the contents of a pot on the stove in front of her. “Don’t you both have classes to teach this afternoon?”

Tristan beat Melanie to the reply. “Not anymore. Melanie’s morning sickness hit, and while she’s changing, I’m going to let Bram know and ask someone to cover for us.”

Samira’s expression softened as she looked at Melanie again. “Are you feeling okay now?”

Melanie nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She shot Tristan a look. “And I have something to do before Tristan changes his mind.”

Samira looked between them, but Melanie didn’t elaborate. Good. The human female was siding with him about keeping their business to themselves.

His dragon had been following the exchange, afraid someone might upset his human female, and now, it urged Tristan to give their female some kind of assurance.
The other male is gone for now. She isn’t in danger. We should soothe her worries. Tell her we won’t cause any trouble.

Rather than fight his inner beast, Tristan said, “I won’t start anything. Go change.”

Melanie looked unconvinced, but she finally nodded and went upstairs. When she was gone, Samira asked, “Where are you taking her?”

Tristan shook his head. “I’m not telling you.” He pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket. “Now excuse me, I need to ring Bram before Melanie comes back downstairs.”

He turned to go into the living room but found the little boy standing in his way. Tristan raised an eyebrow, but the little boy just crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground. This little one was going to be quite the handful when his dragon finally started communicating with him in a few years’ time.

Still, Tristan had spent more than a decade teaching children and he’d found being straightforward with them was usually the best policy. “Is there something you want to say to me, little one?” The boy nodded and Tristan said, “Well, go on then.”

“Be nice to Auntie Mel and don’t make her cry.”

Tristan’s dragon growled at the thought of Melanie crying.

Rather than argue with the child, he gave him a direct stare and said, “I need to get through. If you have anything else to say, then say it.”

The boy’s confidence faltered under the gaze of his. “That’s it.”

Tristan nodded. “Right. Then let me pass.”

The little boy moved aside and Tristan went to the far end of the living room where he’d be safe from Samira’s human hearing. He didn’t want anyone to know about his asking for this afternoon and tomorrow off. If things went well with his sister, they would stay the night at her cottage. If not, then Tristan needed a few private hours with Melanie to lay out the future when it came to their child and divided responsibilities.

He already knew which outcome his dragon was rooting for, but the human-half was unsure. To be honest, both halves of him were starting to hope Melanie would be able to help his sister. To wish for anything else would be selfish and unkind.

Of course, there was also the caveat that if Melanie helped Arabella, the human might let him fuck her on a regular basis, allowing him to better control his dragon.

But that was all to come. Right now, he dialed Bram’s phone number and tried not to think about how complicated things might become if his dragon-half became fully attached. When that happened, he would be forced to start courting Melanie or risk being completely lost to his beast.

On top of that, the little boy’s accusation of him making Melanie cry didn’t sit well, and if nothing else, he would make sure she didn’t cry again because of his actions. He didn’t want to become like Neil. The idea of Melanie becoming a broken recluse like Caitriona Belmont caused his dragon to growl as well as leave a sour taste in his mouth.

No, with a little effort, he could be civil. He couldn’t promise her anything else, but he could at least prevent her from being completely miserable because of his bastard ways.

Chapter Two

With a fresh change of clothes and clean teeth, Melanie felt almost normal again. The piece of warm naan bread she’d swiped from Samira’s kitchen on her way out had simultaneously calmed her stomach and stopped it from rumbling. A good thing, too, since their destination was turning out to be quite a hike from the main Stonefire living area.

While Mel had had some time to explore the “city center” equivalent of Stonefire’s community, they were heading somewhere new, away from the nearby lake and toward one of the hills not quite tall enough to be called a mountain. The contrast of the flat land with the sharp, jagged hills and mountains was breathtaking. She could see why people liked to holiday in the human sections of the Lake District.

She and Tristan had walked mostly in awkward silence, but when a lone cottage came into view, she asked, “Is that where your sister lives?”

“Yes. Arabella likes her peace and quiet.”

Mel had a feeling there was a deeper issue keeping Arabella away from everyone else, but she merely nodded. The last thing she wanted was to start an argument with Tristan. If his sister was anything like Cait, then she wouldn’t like strangers or unannounced visits. An argument could easily upset her or make her close in on herself, which reminded her, “Did you tell her we were coming?”

“No. If it were just me, Ara would stay put. But if she knew you were coming, she’d hike around the surrounding countryside for the rest of the afternoon.”

“Because she doesn’t like visitors or because I’m human?”

“Both.”

Mel knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she couldn’t do it. “I hope you’re starting to realize not all humans are bad, Tristan. Because if not, I should just leave right now.”

He glanced over at her. “So if I said I still hated all humans, you’d leave?”

She didn’t want to answer him, but she needed to stand her ground with the dragonman. “Yes.”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop. “Before I give you my verdict, I want to know why you care so much for my opinion. You said yourself that you fulfilled your end of the contract, as have I. There is no reason for us to pretend for the sake of the child. I’ve heard that you want to stay afterward, but if family is so important to you, would you be able to live the rest of your life here without them? Humans aren’t allowed on Stonefire’s land, Melanie, unless they either come as a sacrifice or are with the UK Department of Dragon Affairs.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I do love my family, but I’m a grown woman, Tristan, and I’m not about to leave my child behind, no matter how much I’m starting to think you’d do a good job of raising him or her.”

His grip eased a fraction. “You barely know me. Why would you say that?”

“I watched you with the children before you noticed me. With no one watching, you were kind, patient, and understanding. Whatever your issue with humans, I believe what I saw back in the clearing is your true self. You may never act that way around me, and that’s fine. But I can easily see you acting that way with our child, and that’s the kind of father I’d want for my baby.”

~~~

Tristan had remained silent on the walk to his sister’s place to avoid saying something he’d regret. He couldn’t promise anything until he knew how things played out with Arabella.

But when Melanie pushed him on the issue of humans, he hadn’t been able to hold back. The last thing he’d expected to hear from her lips was that he’d make a good father.

He wanted to say he bloody well would be a good father; no one would ever harm his child. But talking of their child meant talking about the future. Tristan never made a promise he couldn’t keep, and all too easily, he could see himself starting to make tentative plans with the human. She intrigued both the man and the beast with her ability to stand up to him, face a new culture and a new way of doing things, all without blinking an eye.

But no matter what he was starting to think of Melanie Hall, he would never do anything to harm his sister. The sooner he introduced her to Arabella, the sooner he could start thinking about what he wanted. Or, rather, what he could have.

He released her wrist and nodded toward the cottage. “Can we finish this discussion later? Dragon-shifters have supersensitive hearing, and if we keep going at it, my sister might hear us and flee out the back door.”

Melanie’s expression relaxed a little. “She’s that skittish?”

He nodded. “Yes. I don’t make promises lightly, but after our visit with Arabella, I promise you we’ll sit down and have a proper chat about you, me, and the baby. For now, can we just put it aside and see how my sister is doing?”

Mel’s eyes searched his before she said, “All right, but if you break your promise, Tristan MacLeod, so help me, I will find a way to tie you down and get some answers.”