Chapter 26 I Hate Flying
I Hate Flying
Leo
It had been a week since the incident at the gala, and we hadn’t seen or heard anything from Fabio. As much as I wanted to believe he’d given up, I knew him all too well. Even if he weren’t interested in me anymore, he’d find a way to make me pay.
Davidson refused to take any risks, so the only time he had to go to the office, I’d gone with him, together with two of his security detail. Otherwise, he’d worked from home.
But on a sunny Friday like today, it was easy to forget about any worries. Only the guard walking the perimeter from time to time disturbed the illusion of peace.
Lawrence lounged on a wicker sofa, drinking a virgin mojito.
He balanced it on his belly between sips.
Davidson was somewhere in the house, looking at a test video of a new drone type Sullivan Aerospace was developing, but he’d promised to join us soon.
Ernest Bracknell, Lawrence’s husband and Davidson’s lead engineer, was on his way from the city.
The plan was a quiet dinner outside, then after our guests had left, Davidson would take me to the sex room.
He’d done some shopping but hadn’t told me what he’d bought.
I looked forward to a night of twisted debauchery.
Putting the glass on his stomach again, Lawrence smiled contentedly.
“How does it feel?” I pointed at his belly. I was fascinated by the perfectly round shape.
Lawrence smirked. “Like I’m about to burst.”
“You’re big for only five months.” I winced as soon as the words were out. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“You’re right.” He waved off my apology.
“I’m like a freaking cruise ship, and it’s about to get worse.
But honestly, I feel great. I’m just intimidated by the vision of two dragon toddlers flying around our living room.
Ernest’s parents are going to help as much as they can, but it’ll be a challenge. ”
“Two? You’re expecting twins?”
“Yes.” He patted his belly, his smile blissful. “What about you? Any signs?” He nodded toward my stomach.
I wasn’t showing yet, definitely not in these clothes, but Lawrence missed nothing. “We haven’t told anyone,” I hedged.
“You don’t have to. It’s written all over you.”
I grimaced. “How?”
“Just this calm. I remember the feeling from the first few weeks of my pregnancy. Everything was as it should be. It was weird and perfectly natural at the same time. Oh, and you didn’t drink at the party just after the heat. I was almost sure then, and Davidson’s mood confirmed it.”
“His mood changed?”
“Unbelievably. I think some of the board members think he has a twin brother who secretly took over his life or something. He’s so laid-back about everything. It’s throwing people at work for a loop.”
I smiled. I knew I made Davidson happy, but it was nice to have it confirmed.
Lawrence squinted at me. “I was surprised at first you chose to get pregnant so soon. But seeing you together, I think I get it.”
“You do?”
He smiled. “Yeah. You’re glowing, Leo. I know they say that about all pregnant people, but you’re shining like a beacon. I’m so happy for you both.”
My hand drifted to my stomach just as Davidson appeared in the patio doorway.
“I’m making coffee. You two want a cup? Or tea?”
Lawrence shook his head. “I’m okay, thank you.”
“Please,” I said, and my alpha smiled. He turned back to the kitchen, and through the glass door I saw him preparing the mugs on the counter. Decaf for me, with a splash of milk.
The wind picked up, and I shuddered for no reason. It was warm even in the shade.
Lawrence said something, but I didn’t hear him over a sudden whoosh of air. A storm? The sky had been only a little cloudy just a minute ago. What the…?
The sensation was both familiar and alien because the claws that wrapped around my torso and hips weren’t Davidson’s.
They were shorter, thicker, and darker. My chair fell, and Lawrence scrambled off the sofa, yelling something I didn’t hear.
He ran toward the house, getting smaller and smaller as I rose above the ground.
Then a bout of nausea made my sight blurry.
“A beautiful day for a flight, isn’t it?” a voice asked. A familiar voice, but louder and stronger.
I’d been wrong. So damned wrong.
I opened my mouth and screamed. I hadn’t known I was capable of making such noise.
“Davidson!” My voice boomed, hurting my throat.
A small figure ran out on the patio, looking up. Then I got swung to the side, and Davidson’s house disappeared, replaced by treetops, before everything turned white. Cold air beating my skin, I hurtled forward through the mist. I was inside a cloud.
“You honestly didn’t know?” Fabio, the dragon, asked.
I didn’t answer. It seemed pointless to talk to him at all.
Somewhere from behind, a terrifying roar cut through the air.
Davidson was coming. He would find me.
“If you come closer, I’ll drop him,” Fabio shouted.
Another angry roar from somewhere to the left.
Fabio’s claws dug into my muscles, my back aching. I shivered in the strong wind.
Then he swung sharply, and my stomach heaved. He was keeping us hidden in the clouds. In the short breaks between clumps of white mist, I spotted tall peaks on the horizon. Was he taking me to the mountains?
Could I slip out of his grip?
Maybe if he flew above water. At this altitude, it was suicide, water or no water. Would he fly closer to the ground at some point? For now, I couldn’t do anything. Most of the time I was blinded by white fluff.
I had to wait.
Davidson was coming.
I held on to the dull claws, trying to ease the ache in my ribs so I could breathe properly. Glancing up, I assessed the beast carrying me. He was rusty brown and smaller than Davidson. Sleeker in shape, but his skin was rougher. Long neck stretched out, narrow muzzle, pointy teeth peeking out.
Fucking Fabio.
How had I missed this?
With a calm that surprised me, I went through all the small details I hadn’t put together until now.
His obsession with strong colognes, the teeth whitening and waxing everywhere. The tinted contacts. It had all seemed like vanity and a middle-age crisis.
But how he’d never let me touch him? Just kinky preferences?
I had plenty of those of my own. I’d always been tied up for every single one of our sexual encounters.
Often blindfolded. He’d never let me suck his dick without a blindfold and even then, only for a short while.
I’d never tasted his cum even though he’d ordered me to suck others when we played.
It hadn’t been just kink.
He’d had to keep those boundaries so I would never notice there was something off about his physiology.
He’d been hiding. Not even Devon had been able to find out Fabio was a shifter. Nobody among the dragons knew.
“I’m not your mate!” I shouted when I connected the last dots of the annoying puzzle.
“I don’t believe in mating, Leonard.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the most beautiful one, tesoro mio.”
“I’ve bonded with Davidson. You can’t do this.”
“Oh, but I can. See?”
He beat his wings faster, turning to dive into another fluffy cloud, and the whoosh of wind silenced me.
The third roar came from farther away, and my heart sank.
“Now quiet,” Fabio ordered. “We’re almost there.”
I should have been panicking, literally pissing myself with terror. But I was eerily calm, only rage bubbling under the surface.
The place he dropped me off was the single most impossible one he could have chosen.
The narrow ledge offered barely enough space for me to sit.
Under me, a hawk circled above treetops.
If I fell off the cliff, I’d be dead. Above me, the solid stone wall rose much higher, the mountain top obscured from this angle.
Even if I were a climber, which I most certainly wasn’t, I’d never be able to get anywhere from here.
In front of me, rocky cliffs lined a valley, and the sun cast rays of bright light onto the forest through the gaps in the clouds. We had to be in one of the national parks north of Ardaine.
Despite the uninterrupted view, I couldn’t see Davidson anywhere.
The rusty-brown dragon hovered in front of me, wings fluttering.
“Wait for me, honey,” he drawled mockingly. “I just need to run an errand, and we can go home.”
He’d planned this. He was prepared to fight Davidson and believed he could win.
This time, the terror cut through my stunned calm.
Suddenly, blood pounded in my ears, and my stomach turned.
“I’m never going to want you again. I’m useless to you, and you’ll never get away with this. You can have anybody else!”
“I can. But what would be the fun in that?”
“Even if you miraculously manage to take me away from here alive, I’ll fight you every fucking day, Fabio.”
“You can. I’ll enjoy putting you in your place again, dearest. I was going to marry you, and you were supposed to give me sons. But you’ve been difficult, and now we have to do it the hard way. So, if he did his job right and fucked you properly, you should be ripe for what I have in mind.”
He doesn’t know I’m pregnant. It was vital he didn’t find out. He’d kill me if he knew.
“I’m not your mate!” My voice broke, useless tears streaming down my face. I’d never felt so fucking helpless.
“I don’t think you’ll care which monster breeds you once you’re in heat.”
With that, he pushed off the cliff, sending a few rocks tumbling down the wall. He rose above me and disappeared out of sight.
The stunning view seemed to mock me. Like a fucking prince in a fairy tale, I was stuck, waiting for a dragon to come and devour me.
Shivering, I lowered myself along the stone wall and onto my ass, my toes precariously close to the edge.
Furious and terrified, I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited.