The Dragon's Dilemma (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 1) (12 page)

Glancing back up, she asked dryly, “So you can use me as a shield and Finn won’t punch you again?”

“Hey, now, what happened to me being noble before? I liked that better.”

She smiled. “Being noble comes and goes. You’ll have to work hard to keep it up.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh. “And here I thought you would be on my side. Does being the possible father of your child mean nothing?”

Before she could answer, there was a knock and the door opened before Holly could do more than turn her head.

Finn stood in the doorway. He studied them for a second before entering and shutting the door behind him. Finn looked to Fraser. “I see you haven’t wasted any time in luring Holly into your bed.”

Holly turned a little toward Finn and replied before Fraser, “I’m here of my own free will. I’m not easily ‘lured’ as you put it.”

Apology flashed in Finn’s eyes. “Sorry, lass. Let’s just say that I’ve had a hell of a day and it’s not even half over yet.”

Chapter Eight

At the sight of Finn entering his room, Fraser’s dragon rumbled in the back of his mind. While his beast still sounded sleepy, it wouldn’t be much longer before his dragon woke up and tried to wrestle away control.

Fraser hugged Holly tighter against his body and then jumped in. “Did you talk to the DDA, Finn?”

Finn’s gaze turned neutral. “Aye, I have.”

Fraser frowned. “And? From your tone, I’m not convinced it’s good news.”

Whether Holly realized it or not, she leaned more against Fraser.
Good.
The lass wanted him to be her assigned dragonman.

Whatever it took, Fraser would find a way to ensure it happened.

Finn crossed his arms over his chest. “They transferred the contract.” Fraser’s heart skipped a beat at the same time as his dragon gave a sleepy roar. However, Finn added quickly, “But it came with a cost.”

Holly asked, “What?”

Finn’s brows furrowed. “I have to allow a bloody human scientist to live on my lands for six months to do research.”

Fraser should feel sorry, but as he caressed Holly’s side, all he could think about was that Holly would be his soon enough. “It could be worse.”

Finn growled. “The older dragon-shifters are going to have strokes when I tell them a human is coming to study us. You will owe me big time. Once the frenzy is over, we’ll discuss terms.”

Fraser’s dragon stretched one leg and then another. The action reminded him of all that was about to happen. “Fine, but we can do that later. Right now, we need to discuss the short-term future. My dragon’s waking up.”

Finn answered, “We could drug him again.”

Holly spoke up. “No, I don’t want that.”

Finn searched Holly’s eyes and Fraser took a more possessive hold on his female. Knowing Finn was happily mated didn’t matter. Until Fraser and his beast claimed Holly, every male was a threat.

Finn finally answered, “Your adjustment period will vanish if we don’t, Holly. Are you ready to face Fraser and his dragon? I’m not sure you’re truly prepared for what’s about to happen.”

Holly sat up and raised her chin. “I discussed it with Fraser. I’m ready.”

Finn nodded. “Aye, I can see the stubborn determination in your eyes. However, I want a word alone with Fraser first.” Finn motioned toward the door. “Faye is waiting in the hall to take you to the cottage you and Fraser will have to yourselves. Faye can answer any lingering questions you might have on the way.”

Fraser’s dragon snarled. He said in a sleepy voice,
Holly is ours. Don’t let her out of our sight. Another male might try to take her.

It will be for just a short while. Faye will keep her safe.

His beast grunted.
She’d better or I will challenge her.

Finn’s voice prevented Fraser’s from answering. “Damn, Fraser’s eyes are flashing. Holly, go quickly. Fraser will follow before too much longer.”

Holly turned her face toward Fraser. Her honey-colored eyes were concerned. “Will you be okay?”

His dragon roared.
We won’t be okay until she’s naked and we’re inside her.

Not yet.

Hurry. We must brand her to keep her safe from Fergus and the others.

Fergus won’t betray Finn or the clan. And the others won’t cross Faye.

His dragon was about to say something else, but Fraser gritted his teeth and ignored his beast to force a nod. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be easier with you out of the room, honey. Wait for me. I’ll come to claim you soon.”

Heat flared in Holly’s eyes and Fraser’s dragon snarled.
She is ready. Take her.

Only because his dragon was still groggy from the medication could Fraser keep his beast at bay. “Go, Holly.”

With a nod, his human moved from the bed and went to the door. After one last look, she exited the room and shut the door behind her.

Fraser clutched the bedsheets with his fingers as his dragon continued to roar and snarl. It wouldn’t be long before his beast would be strong enough to take control, so Fraser growled out, “What do you want?”

Finn closed the distance between them and stared down at Fraser. His clan leader’s amber eyes were hard. “Fergus is missing. You know him better than anyone else in the world. Where would he go?”

Guilt squeezed Fraser’s heart. He really had wanted to speak with his twin before going into the frenzy. But it looked like it wasn’t going to happen until afterward. “Fergus has several places he likes to go to escape the family and to think. Mum and Faye know of a few.”

“And the ones they don’t know about?”

Fraser’s dragon flicked his tail, but Fraser managed to keep his beast contained for the moment. “He likes to perch on one of the hills or mountains around Loch Shin. Since the humans in and around Lairg village believe a dragon-sighting is good luck, he can observe them and not be reported to the DDA.”

Finn frowned. “Since when has Fergus been observing humans?”

“His whole life.” Fraser’s dragon roared and then roared some more. Fraser clutched the sheets even tighter in his hand and managed to say, “We can talk about his obsession with human-dragon mythology later. I don’t know how much longer I can control my beast.”

“Aye, I can see that. Stand up. Grant and I will escort you to Holly.”

Fraser rolled to his side and placed his feet on the floor. The second he stood, Finn grabbed his bicep and moved his face closer until it was a few inches from Fraser’s. “The second the frenzy is over, you call me. We have much to discuss.”

“You’re starting to sound a lot like my mum.”

Finn growled. “Now is not the time for flippant comments.” He tugged Fraser’s bicep and they started walking. “Come. The sooner you’re with Holly, the sooner I can focus on the half-dozen other problems newly landed on my plate.”

“I would say I’m sorry, but would you apologize for Arabella?”

His cousin grunted. “I don’t care about an apology. I just want you to bloody well confide in me from now on.”

~~~

Holly sat on the bed for a few seconds before standing again. Pacing to the window and back to the bed, she tried to focus on anything else but that Fraser was coming to claim her.
 

Her stomach both fluttered and flipped. The anticipation was killing her.

Since Holly was alone in the cottage, all she could think about was Fraser ripping off her clothes and covering her soft body with his hard one. Fraser the man would be playful and somewhat patient. Fraser the dragon half, however, she had no idea what to expect.

She would be a fool to deny it scared her a little.

Her nerves had been made worse by Faye muttering something about not wanting to be there when Fraser arrived. The fact a strong dragon-shifter was afraid of her own brother didn’t speak well of what would happen.

Buck up, Holly.
Maybe Faye didn’t want to see her brother half naked and kissing Holly. Given the option, most siblings didn’t like to see their brothers or sisters fondling someone else.

Holly moved back to the window. It was mid-morning and the light drizzle sprinkled against the glass. Born and raised in Scotland, Holly hadn’t even bothered to ask for an umbrella on the short walk to the cottage. As a result, her hair was damp and frizzy.
 

Maybe under normal circumstances, she’d care more about her appearance. But as her stomach flipped again and her heart pounded, Holly wanted to be ready the second Fraser arrived. She didn’t have time for a shower or to find some new clothes.

A part of her was sorry for causing Lochguard so much trouble, but another part of her wouldn’t apologize. After laying on Fraser’s chest and being surrounded by his heat, she wanted Fraser and only Fraser. It was selfish and she knew it. But for at least a short period in her life, Holly wanted to experience passion. Once she left Lochguard, she might never experience it again; human men often held prejudices against women who had sacrificed themselves to the dragons.

Not to mention Holly would want to visit her child at times. It would take a very understanding human man to accept she’d not only sacrificed herself, but also to accept the fact she would have a half-dragon-shifter child.
 

No, the only passion she would ever have would be her brief time with Fraser.

Rubbing her arms, three shapes appeared in the distance and Holly stopped thinking about what would happen to her after she left. It was time to face the path she’d chosen.

She leaned closer toward the window. But because of the drizzle, all she could make out was two men holding a third man between them. One of them could be Fraser.

She hugged her upper body and held her breath. Two seconds later, the man in the middle looked up at the window. Even from a distance, the intensity of Fraser’s gaze made her heart skip a beat.

Holly shivered at imagining that gaze on her body when she was naked. She’d had her fair share of boyfriends, but none had looked at her with half the hunger of Fraser MacKenzie.

She only hoped it was entirely because of his dragon.

Blinking, Holly pushed that thought aside. It wasn’t as if she could keep Fraser, not even if she survived the birth. She would have to give up everything she knew—her career, her father, her friends—if she stayed. Could she really manage that and still remain who she was?

Maybe there was some way everything could work out in the end. But as the figures disappeared through the door below, all she could think about was the immediate future and seeing Fraser again.

Holly turned away from the window. Each second that passed made her heart beat faster. As the sound of steps on the stairs and then in the hall grew nearer, she clenched and unclenched her fingers. The wait was going to kill her.

Someone knocked and Finn’s voice drifted through the door. “Are you ready, Holly? I’m not sure I can pull Fraser back once he sees you.”

This was it.
For a split second, Holly’s confidence faltered. Could she really handle a dragonman in the throes of a frenzy? Not only that, but would Fraser’s human-half disappear completely for the next week or more?

Finn’s voice boomed again. “Holly? Are you all right, lass?”

Taking a deep breath, Holly nodded to herself. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. It was time to fulfill her contract. “I’m ready. Let him in.”

The doorknob turned and then Fraser was standing opposite her, restrained between Finn and a man she’d seen only once before, when Faye had escorted her out of the surgery. Grant-something-or-other.

Fraser growled as his pupils flashed to slits and back. “Mine. Let me have her. She’s my mate.”

Holly nodded at Finn and the two men released Fraser, pushed him into the room, and shut the door.

For a split second, neither she nor Fraser moved. But then the spell broke and Fraser stood right in front of her. Looping his arm around her waist, he drew Holly flush against his body. “Are you ready, honey?”

Her heart pounded harder. Holly placed a hand on Fraser’s chest and lifted her face. “Yes, now hurry up and kiss me.”

With a growl, Fraser’s mouth descended on hers.

~~~

Fraser’s dragon roared as their lips touched.
Let me take her until she carries our young.

Holding out a few seconds longer, Fraser focused on exploring Holly’s sweet mouth. His human hesitated at first, but then leaned against him and met him stroke for stroke. With a growl, he moved his hands to her backside and rocked her against his hard cock.

Holly gasped and broke the kiss. Fraser leaned forward and took her lips again.

His dragon snarled.
I need to fuck her. Stop stalling. Give her to me.

You’re going to share.

No. You will stop before she carries our child. Only I can last long enough to brand her with our scent. Only then will the other males stay away.

I need to ensure she’s ready. You don’t want to hurt her, do you?

His beast snarled.
Never.

Then give me five minutes.

No more. At the end of five minutes, I won’t ask. I will take.

Aware he didn’t have much time, Fraser broke their kiss. Holly’s breath was hot and fast against his lips as he murmured, “I only have a few minutes with you, Holly, before my dragon takes over. I know I have yet to earn your trust, but will you allow me to undress you? I want to make sure you’re ready so my dragon won’t hurt you.”

Holly’s fingers danced against the back of his neck. “If either one of you starts hurting me, I will find a way to stop you.”

“Holly—”

She placed a finger over his lips. “I can scold you about your lack of confidence in me later.”
 

She ran her finger up and down his lip. Each stroke shot straight to his cock. Fraser nipped her finger and whispered, “Then it’s time to get you naked.”

Fraser scooped Holly up and tossed her onto the bed. As she blinked in confusion, Fraser ripped her shirt down the middle before extending a talon and slicing open her bra. With a flick of his hands, her breasts were visible. At the sight of her plump, creamy skin, he licked his lips.

He traced her dark pink nipple as he said, “So hard and pretty.” He then cupped her full breast. “And slightly larger than my hand. I need to taste them.”