The Dragon's Dilemma (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 1) (3 page)

His dragon chimed in.
I want to do the work.

Why?

I’ll explain later, when Arabella isn’t watching us.

Fraser and his dragon had always been open with one another. Between Holly’s and his dragon’s behavior, Fraser wondered what the hell was going on.

Keeping a smile pasted on his face so as to not stir Arabella’s curiosity, Fraser nodded. “Aye, I’ll do it. But you can’t complain about what I do with it.”

Arabella waved a hand. “Fine. Go make yourself useful.”

He sighed. “I miss the days when we were conspiring on how to get back at Finn.”

Arabella cracked a smile. “Oh, we’ll have plenty of time for that in the future. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my food down. Finn’s hellspawn likes to make my life uncomfortable. So far, being pregnant is one of my least favorite things in the world.”

“Said with such love, cousin.”

Arabella swatted his arm. “Go outside before I decide to kick your arse.”

Fraser winked. “Anything for my cousin.” He looked back to Holly and nodded. “I’ll see you tonight at dinner, Holly. Just know that I’m the more mature one in the family, so be prepared. It will be an interesting night for sure.”

Arabella rolled her eyes, but before she could castigate him, Fraser fled out the back door. As he surveyed the wildness, he decided to do the work but in his own special way, complete with inappropriate hedge sculptures and the ugliest garden gnomes he could find.

Fraser began pulling out some weeds when his dragon spoke up.
Maybe we should spy on the human some more.

I don’t think so. Cleaning up the garden is going to take us a few days. I don’t need any more extra work. We’ll never have the chance to sneak away and have fun if the chores pile up.

But I want to know why she stopped flirting.

I hardly call that flirting, dragon.

She shouldn’t be cold with us.

Fraser stopped pulling a weed and stilled.
And why is that?

She should always smile with us. She will be ours soon.

Fraser’s heart skipped a beat.
No, she’s Fergus’s sacrifice, not ours. I thought neither you nor I wanted to settle down.

That was before Holly and her honey-colored eyes.

Bloody hell, it couldn’t be true.
Tell me you’re joking. She can never be ours.

His beast growled.
She will be. Get used to the idea. I will allow her some time to settle in. But after that, I’m going after her.

Fraser tossed aside the weed in his hand and fell back on his bum. Looking up at the window for the spare bedroom Holly would most likely use, a sense of panic came over him. As much as he enjoyed teasing the lass, his dragon had just stolen Fraser’s future from him.

Apparently, if his dragon was correct, Holly was his true mate.

He resisted telling his dragon to stuff it. As long as Fraser didn’t kiss Holly, he could keep away from her. Fergus could have his sacrifice and all could be well with the clan.

Fraser might not have studied the new protocols and guidelines like his brother, but there was one thing that hadn’t changed—if Holly violated the terms of the sacrifice contract, she would go to prison.

And who the hell knew what Finn would do to him.

Standing up, Fraser made a decision. No matter what his dragon threw at him, he would resist the human female. The only way to do that was to keep his distance. He’d just have to think of a good excuse to get out of dinner with his family.

His beast roared inside his head, but Fraser stuffed him into a mental maze. For once, Fraser would deny his dragon.

After all, the last time Fraser had stolen a lass from Fergus, his brother had stopped talking to him for five weeks. If he did it again, Fraser had no idea what would happen. Not to mention there would be hell to pay with Finn. Screwing up Holly’s term on Lochguard might endanger the possibility of future sacrifices.
 

And Lochguard desperately needed the new blood. Unlike Stonefire, they hadn’t won over any special privileges to mate any human female they wished.

Right, then.
As Fraser went back to work pulling weeds, he thought of every reason why he didn’t want a mate.
 

He’d lose his freedom, for one. And the thought of being a father in less than a year scared the living shit out of him. He might work as an architect and help out with construction, but he was the farthest thing from a responsible adult. He wasn’t about to change for a bloody female, no matter how sweet her eyes.

Yes, all of those reasons would help him stay away from the lass. On top of that, his special closeness with his twin was far more important than having a true mate.

Or, at least, that was what Fraser tried to convince himself as he went back to pulling weeds.

~~~

The instant Fraser stepped outside, Arabella looked at Holly. “I know I give him a hard time, but all of the MacKenzies are wonderful. It’s a good first step that you ignored his flirting, though. He’s nearly as bad as my mate.”

Holly couldn’t remember the last time she’d had the urge to flirt with a man. For a brief second, she’d thought she was lucky and Fraser had been her assigned dragonman. Not just because he was handsome with auburn hair and dark blue eyes, but talking to him was easier than it was with most men.

It was just her luck that it was the twin of her assigned dragonman.
 

Forget about him, Holly. You can’t have him.

Focusing on Arabella, Holly shrugged. “I wouldn’t really call it flirting. He was being ridiculous, so I decided to follow suit.”

Arabella’s brown eyes studied hers and Holly resisted the urge to fidget. Ever since she’d stepped foot on Lochguard, everyone seemed to be watching her.

Arabella motioned toward the door on the far side of the kitchen. “Come, I’ll settle you into your room. Finn texted me earlier and should be home within the hour, provided the two old coots don’t throw tantrums this time and start destroying other people’s property.”

As she followed Arabella, Holly jumped on the distraction. “Finn mentioned something about Archie and Cal dropping cattle. What was he talking about?”

Arabella shrugged. “It’s no big secret. The two dragonmen are in their seventies and have been accusing one another of stealing for over forty years. They have neighboring farms, so they’re always yelling at each other. Sometimes, they shift into dragons, snatch their rival’s cattle, and drop it into their yard.”

“Why don’t they just move farther apart from one another?”

The corner of Arabella’s mouth ticked up. “Finn’s been proposing it every day for more than a year. But the two stubborn males each claim their families have had their land for centuries and suggest the other should be the one to move.”
 

As they ascended the stairs, Arabella paused a second to close her eyes and cover her mouth. Holly laid her suitcase down and went to the same step as the dragonwoman. “You look pale. Maybe you should sit down and I’ll find something to help with the nausea.”

Arabella took a few deep breaths and then removed her hand. “Nothing has worked so far. I’ve tried everything. The best I can do is push on until the baby is born.”

Holly turned Arabella around and guided her down the stairs to the living room. The dragonwoman’s pregnancy was just the distraction she needed. “You haven’t let me have a go. Give me a chance.”

Arabella sat down on the couch and rested her feet on an ottoman. “Why? You seem nice, but I don’t know you.”

Holly stood up tall. “I’m a trained and experienced midwife. I may not have worked with dragon-shifters, but I often handled some of the worst cases of morning sickness and difficult pregnancies during my time. I can help.” Arabella remained silent, so Holly added, “I have no reason to poison you or harm you. If I don’t serve out my time as a sacrifice, I’ll be imprisoned and I won’t be able to help my dad. He’s ill, but recovering. I’m the only family he has. I can’t risk leaving him alone.”

Arabella’s pupils flashed to slits and back. “I hear the truth in your words.” She placed a hand over her still flat belly. “If you can help me tame the little beastie, then you’ll have my gratitude and I’ll owe you. And believe me, having the good graces of the clan leader’s mate could come in handy.”

Holly had glimpsed the wild garden out back, but she still asked, “Do you have anything useful growing out there? I noticed a small greenhouse in the back.”

“You’re observant.” Arabella adjusted her position on the sofa. “There might be. But I couldn’t tell a tea leaf from a strawberry leaf.” Arabella paused, then added, “But just a warning—Fraser is out there and he flirts with almost anything female. If he bothers you, just send him in to me.”

That certainly explained Fraser’s behavior earlier. She wouldn’t think twice about it again.

Holly motioned with her hands. “You stay there. I’ll see what I can find in the kitchen first. If there’s nothing there, then I’ll check the greenhouse.”

“You’re ace, Holly Anderson. Once you’re settled in, the surgery could use your help, provided the doctors approve of you. If you feel up to it, of course.”

Arabella was referring to Holly’s possible pregnancy.

Pushing aside that thought, she focused on the positive. “I’ve been reading up on the effects of dragon-shifter hormones on human women as well as some of the latest research. I’d love more than anything to work with the doctors and nurses here.”

Arabella smiled. “Here a few hours and you’ve already got a grand plan. You remind me a bit of some of the humans back home.”

“On Stonefire.”

“Yes. But enough about me. I can’t believe I’m being this chatty. It must be the midwife in you. Go see what you can cook up for me because the second I stand up again, I’m going to have to rush to the toilet. And considering I have a million things to do today, I’d rather not.”

With a nod, Holly went into the kitchen and started looking through the cupboards.
 

For the first time since learning she’d been approved as a sacrifice, Holly wasn’t dreading her time on Lochguard. Between crazy old men dropping cattle, to flirty redheads, to working in a dragon-shifter surgery, everything pointed to a decent stay.

Well, except for the fact she hadn’t met Fergus yet.

Holly looked out of the kitchen window. Fraser had his hands on his lean hips as he survived the jungle that passed for a garden. Just looking at his broad shoulders and slightly wavy hair made her wonder what it’d be like to have him hold her close.
 

Blinking, Holly reminded herself she was assigned to Fergus, not Fraser.
 

Besides, they were twins. If she found one attractive, surely she’d find the other one attractive as well.

Yet their personalities could be vastly different for all she knew.

Rather than think about just how different Fergus could be from his brother, Holly went back to searching the cupboards. If she were lucky, she would find something in the kitchen to help Arabella. Otherwise, Holly would have to go outside and ignore Fraser, no matter how nice he might be.

Because if she talked with him again, she might start to like him. And a woman in her position didn’t have that option.

Chapter Three

Fraser had just finished clearing a six-inch square patch of weeds when the glass sliding door opened. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Holly march from the door to the wee greenhouse in the far corner. She didn’t so much as look in his direction.

His dragon growled and forced his way out of the mental maze.
Why is she ignoring us? Follow her.

No. I have work to do.

Fraser turned back around and moved to a new patch of weeds, but his beast roared so loudly that Fraser clapped his dirt-and-grass-covered hands over his ears.
What the hell are you doing, dragon? Stop throwing a fit.

You won’t win. I want to talk to Holly. Otherwise, I will do this all day long until you do.

His beast went back to roaring and snarling. It was the closest thing to what he’d call a dragon temper tantrum.

With a grunt, Fraser turned toward the greenhouse. The door was open, but because of his dragon’s ruckus, he couldn’t hear what Holly was doing. Fraser yelled inside his head,
Shut it, dragon. I’m going.

His beast went silent before replying,
Good. Now, hurry.

Muttering under his breath, Fraser took his time walking to the greenhouse. He might be doing what his dragon asked, but Fraser would do it on his own terms.

Before his beast could go into another tantrum, Fraser peeked his head inside the greenhouse. Holly was bent over a collection of peppermint.
 

The greenhouse covering was dirty, which made the light streaming inside dim, but dragon-shifters had keen eyesight. He could see every tendril of dark hair that had escaped her bun. One curved against her cheek while another cascaded down the soft skin of her neck.

Holly’s hair went all the way down her back.

Studying her plain dark red jumper and black trousers, combined with her bun, he wondered what Holly looked like when she was carefree. He didn’t like her reserved appearance. He bet underneath there was a wild, adventurous spirit dying to get out.

His dragon chimed in.
We will find out soon enough.

His beast’s words was like a slap in the face.
No, we won’t. Fergus is the one who will bring her out of her shell.

Fergus is too reserved around strange females. It will take him too long. We should do it.

Before he could reply, Holly’s voice echoed inside the greenhouse. “Are you just going to stare at me or do you have something to say?”

Fraser cleared his throat and took a step inside the greenhouse. “I was just wondering if you needed any help, lass. That’s all.”

Holly met his gaze and raised an eyebrow. “I’m quite good with medicinal herbs and plants. You can go now.”

His dragon growled.
She shouldn’t be brusque with us.