Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Grace pinched the bridge of her nose and then drank more tea from her mug. After so much talking, she was losing her voice.
It’d been nearly three days since she’d arrived at this secret location. And while Trahern was breathing on his own now, not much else had changed.
Scarlett had just left with the boys, taking them to the childminder so they could sleep. Apparently, this super-secret facility had daycare.
If she weren’t so tired and worried, she might’ve laughed.
Rubbing her face, Grace tried to hold back her tears. She needed to be strong for Trahern.
But after a few deep breaths, exhaustion—both mental and emotional—crashed over her. She was beyond worried at this point, especially since the doctors were getting anxious, and a sob escaped her throat.
Their best guess as to why Trahern remained unchanged was that either his human or dragon half was silent, meaning they couldn’t work together. And if they didn’t, and soon, then Trahern might never wake up.
Another sob broke free at the thought of never seeing Trahern use the periodic table of elements to calm her boys, or watch him try to master a perfectly round pancake, or even the way his kisses made her feel like the most beautiful person in the world.
Trahern needed to wake up. He just had to.
And while Grace should be a better person and not be so selfish, she wondered why the boy who’d done this to Trahern had shifted back to his human form and had started his recovery already. All while her mate might die.
Stop it. Don’t blame the innocent child. He didn’t know what he was doing. If anything, it’s the dragon hunters’ fault for using the boy as an experimental test subject.
Grace was tired, so tired. And as her sobs calmed, she tried to regain her composure. Sleep. What she needed was sleep. As she glanced at the cot in the corner of the room, she wondered if a nap would help settle her emotions before she went to visit Eli and Eddie.
Just as she stood and turned from the bed, she heard a groan. After whirling around, she saw Trahern’s fingers wiggle.
“Trahern?” she breathed, almost afraid to hope.
He groaned again, and she was next to him in a flash. His eyelids lifted and stared unfocused for a few seconds before landing on her face.
“Grace,” he croaked.
With a sob, she placed a hand on his cheek. “Trahern, you’re awake! Thank goodness, you’re awake.” She tried to smile but failed. “I want to keep you to myself, but I need to call the doctors.”
“Wait. Tell you. Something.”
His voice was weak, but she willed herself not to cry as she replied, “Then tell me, Trahern. What is it?”
“Love you. I think.”
His brows came together, as if trying to figure out whether he did or not.
Maybe some people would be offended. But for a dragonman who’d grown up without any affection and had trouble reading emotions, Grace knew he struggled to make sense of it all.
Leaning down, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I love you, Trahern. And we’ll figure it out together, I promise. But I need to call the doctors so they can help you and make sure you don’t fall back into a coma.”
“Kiss me. One more time.”
She did, and then laid her forehead against his. Just staring into his eyes, watching as they flashed, made her smile. “Your dragon is with you.”
“Yes. Long story.”
He moaned as if in pain, and Grace forced herself to stand and press the call button. Within seconds, Scarlett rushed into the room. As soon as she saw Trahern on the bed, eyes open, she smiled. “Hello, Dr. Lewis. Glad to see you’re back with us.”
The dragonwoman went to his other side, saw his flashing pupils, and nodded. “Good. Your dragon is back with you as well?”
“Yes.”
“Right, then you should heal a lot faster going forward. But I need to ask some questions and run a few tests while you’re still awake. Unfortunately, that means your family reunion with the twins will have to wait.”
Grace took Trahern’s hand in hers and squeezed. “Tell me I can stay with him.”
“I don’t see why you can’t. It’ll probably save Trahern some time later with explaining everything. But first…”
The doctor asked a series of questions about pain, wiggling of toes and fingers, and a number of other health-related things.
By the end, the dragonwoman nodded. “Between your answers and our previous scans, I don’t think there was any permanent brain damage.
However, we’re going to monitor you closely for quite some time, just in case.
And no, you won’t be able to go back to work for a while, so don’t even ask.
” Trahern grunted reluctantly—or so Grace thought—and the doctor continued.
“Right, so with the most pressing matters out of the way, we need to figure out why your scans showed no dragon or human activity despite the fact both of you are here now.”
And as Grace listened to Trahern explain about hidden mental tunnels and solid mirror lakes, her jaw dropped. There was still so much she needed to learn about dragon-shifters.
Although judging by Scarlett’s questions, some facts had been surprising to her, too.
The longer the doctor interrogated Trahern, the more he faded, until Grace interrupted, “Trahern should rest. I think he’s given enough information for now.”
Scarlett didn’t frown but smiled. “You’re right, of course.
It’s just that our inner dragons rarely discuss the time before we first talk together, and now one of my friends has experienced it and can help us better understand young dragons?
It’s bloody brilliant.” She cleared her throat.
“But yes, he should rest. I’ll have a nurse come in to check your pain medication, and I’ll be back in a few hours.
However, if Trahern crashes or acts out of character, alert me immediately. ”
Grace nodded. “I will, Doctor. I promise.”
“Right, well, I’ll go share what you’ve told me with the others. I’ll be back later.”
Once Scarlett left, Grace squeezed Trahern’s hand in hers again. “You should rest.”
“Not yet.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why not?”
“I want to hold you, Grace. Please.”
“But I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. If anything, it’ll help me heal faster.”
She somehow doubted that, but as he slowly moved to one side—wincing a few times, the stubborn man—she caved. Gingerly, she laid down and rested her head on Trahern’s uninjured shoulder before helping him move his arm to wrap around her. He gently squeezed and sighed, as if in relief.
As she traced shapes on his chest, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. She’d been pleading for him to come back, and he had. She’d told him she loved him, and he thought he might love her, too.
And yet, she wondered if he’d said it in the heat of the moment? Telling her what she wanted to hear to calm her down?
After about a minute, Trahern spoke again. “Your voice guided me out of the tunnels.”
“Hmm? Yes, you mentioned that.”
“I don’t think you realize how vital it was.”
She tilted her head to look up. During the doctor’s examination, she’d given Trahern his glasses back. Once she met his gaze, he continued, “Without you and the twins, I wouldn’t have had a reason to come back. I might’ve stayed exploring the tunnels forever.”
Even though her throat threatened to close up, she forced herself to ask, “Do you regret leaving them? I know how important your research is, and how much you could’ve learned by staying in those tunnels.”
He frowned. “At one time, you would’ve been right. However, whilst I have a few new ideas for research, none of it is more important than you, Grace. No research ever will be.”
Her eyes heated with tears. Maybe he had meant what he’d said earlier.
She wanted to kiss him senseless, but knew she couldn’t. Not yet. So instead, she blurted, “I love you, Trahern. I’m so glad you offered and claimed me as your mate.”
He almost smiled. “I haven’t claimed you fully yet. But I want to, as soon as I’m healthy again.” He squeezed her waist. “You mean so much to me, Grace. You and the boys. I think it’s love, but I’ll have to ask some friends to be sure.”
“I can help, if you want to tell me why you think so?”
It was a risk, considering she would be honest with him and it might not be love after all.
And yet, she wanted Trahern to tell her. To see if it were true and that somehow, some way, she might’ve found the dragonman she trusted enough to spend her life with.
To be a father to her children, both to the twins and any they might have in the future.
To be her best friend and partner in all things.
So she waited, her heart racing, trying not to get her hopes up. She could be patient, although she’d be lying if she didn’t want him to feel the same about her as she felt about him.
It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open, and Trahern needed to rest.
However, as soon as Grace had told him again that she loved him and was glad he’d claimed her, he’d woken up a little. Especially as he tried to determine his feelings.
Unlike most of his ordered world, he didn’t have a guide to love.
His dragon spoke up. Even though I know we love her, just tell her what you treasure about her, how she makes things better, all the little things that helped us escape the tunnels to be with her again.
He hesitated before replying to his beast. But what if she doesn’t think that’s enough?
This is Grace. She will listen and talk with us and be honest. If you truly want to claim her fully once we’re well, you need to talk about this now.
With Grace’s heat at his side and her scent filling his nostrils, he tightened his hold around her. He wanted more, so much more, than to merely lie with her in his arms.
Not that he was well enough to do anything else.
But now that he desired her, wanted to claim her and have sex with her, he was impatient.
His dragon snorted. You’re starting to understand how I’ve felt all these years.
Yes. Honestly, I never really understood it before. I’m sorry.
His beast grunted. No worries. Talk with Grace. The longer you wait, the more she tenses up, as if bracing for bad news.
Trahern had been so lost in conversation with his dragon that he hadn’t noticed. However, when Grace tried to inch away, he tightened his grip on her. “Don’t leave.”
“I should go. You’re tired and need sleep, and I have no right to ask you to lay out your feelings right now.”
“No, Grace. It needs to be now. Look at me.” Once her eyes met his—was that a touch or wariness?
—he blurted, “I always want to be with you. I want to touch you and kiss you and now even want to have sex with you. And it’s strange to me because I’ve never wanted to tell a person everything before.
And yet, I want to be with you. I’ve told you about the humiliating parts of my past, what my father was like, and you even try to learn about what I’m researching, even when you’ve never heard of a certain topic before.
“But you also helped me learn how to get along with my dragon. That isn’t romantic, from what I’ve overheard from others talking about love, but it’s one of the most important things.
My beast and I learned to work together so we could better know you.
So we could help you and make you smile and ensure you were taken care of.
To be more open and less reserved for Eddie and Eli, to be the father they need.
In short, together we might be able to be the male you deserve. ”
“Oh, Trahern.”
“It’s true. I will always be a bit different from other dragon-shifters, and that’s something I can’t change.
But you’ve helped me understand that being different isn’t a bad thing.
And whilst the world may always be a little confusing for me, you make sense to me, Grace.
So much so that I want to keep you with me always. So would you call that love?”
Her eyes looked a little wet, but before he could ask if she was going to cry, she cupped his cheek and whispered, “Yes, Trahern. And after hearing all of that, I can say you’re one of the most romantic people I’ve ever met.”
“Don’t lie to me, Grace.”
“I’m not. I can ask as many people as you like, and almost all of them will agree with me. I love you, Trahern Lewis. And as soon as you’re well, I’m fully on board with deflowering you.”
“Deflowering?”
She kissed him gently and said, “Taking your virginity and claiming you as mine.”
His dragon roared. Yes. We’d better get healthy fast. I want to have her on my own, too.
“Both me and my dragon? Because he wants a turn, too.”
She brushed some hair off his forehead. “Yes. After talking with the other human women, I’m actually curious about your dragon half. But I want you, the human part, first.”
“I already made that agreement with my beast.”
“Good.” She kissed him again, and then snuggled against his side. “I love you, Trahern. But we both need to rest so you can get better.”
Exhaustion crashed over him, and he yawned. “Stay with me, Grace.”
“Always, Trahern. Always.”
And as he fell asleep with his female in his arms, Trahern felt more content and at peace than he ever had in his life.