Chapter 28 Exhale
Exhale
Leo
I didn’t want to be ungrateful, but I wished they’d all leave already.
Sitting sideways in Davidson’s lap on the sofa close to the kitchen area, I tried to tune them out, but a pack of agitated dragon shifters was hard to ignore.
They were all in various stages of undress, staining a good dozen of Davidson’s towels, walking around, and talking over each other.
Lawrence appeared in front of me with another mug of tea. “I added honey,” he said quietly. “Is that okay?”
“Yes, thank you so much.”
He patted my arm and turned away, joining his husband, Ernest, by the kitchen island. Ernest and his brothers were all shoveling down bowls of spaghetti—spaghetti of all things—and gesturing with their forks as if they were readying for another fight.
“He could have killed Davidson in a thousand different ways,” Finlay Bracknell was saying. “Why challenge him to fight in dragon form?”
“Ego,” said Ernest, shrugging. He scooped up another forkful and slurped it up. Lawrence leaned to his side and stole a little pasta from Ernest’s bowl. Ernest grinned at him.
“He counted on Davidson attacking without thought,” Devon explained in his dry, analytical tone, “because an alpha defending his mate is supposed to go into a mindless rage. If Davidson had done that, Altera, being the superior flier, would have taken him down midair and left no proof of the crime the human authorities could use. No gun, no fingerprints. Just a naked fall from height in the middle of nowhere.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing the image out of my mind. Grabbing Davidson’s hand where it rested on my hip, I clutched his fingers.
He was alive. He’d been clever and saved us both.
“Except Davidson here isn’t some twenty-year-old hothead,” Finlay mumbled with his mouth full. “Good grief, what a day, huh?”
Gabe, the youngest of the Bracknell dragons, typed something on his phone before putting it into his pocket. “Dad says to come for dinner.”
Gabe wore a pair of Davidson’s old jeans and nothing else, while Finlay simply had a towel wrapped around his waist. Edward, one more Bracknell brother—how many of them were there anyway?
—had opted for my bathrobe. They’d left their clothes at their parents’ house some twenty miles away where they’d shifted.
Apparently, we’d interrupted a family gathering.
“Hey, Hamish is here,” Ernest said, pointing to the driveway, then turning to his two brothers. “Finlay, Gabe, you need a ride, I guess?”
Of course, Hamish, one of Davidson’s employees and a dragon omega, stayed for coffee, and the group recapped the story once more.
Davidson was silent, nuzzling my temple from time to time. Like me, he seemed to be waiting for everyone to leave.
If I understood the discussions correctly, the decision was not to search for Fabio’s body—no chance he’d survived the fall—because of the current weather in the mountains and the danger of being spotted or in any way connected to what had transpired.
I couldn’t find any compassion in me, any regret about what had happened to Fabio. A part of me even wanted the dragons to search for him, if only to make sure he was dead. Should I be sorry? I only had to remember he’d fully intended to kill Davidson, and any remorse I might have felt evaporated.
The group left after a couple of hours, and I tried to thank them all properly, but in the end, the interactions melted into a blur of smiles and sad glances.
The house was finally quiet, and I clung to Davidson’s neck like a monkey. I needed to pee but couldn’t bear the thought of letting go of him.
He ran his hand along my side, up and down in a soothing rhythm, and kissed my forehead.
“Is he really dead?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” The words flew out before I could check them. But it was true. While I was still too shaken to feel any relief, I knew I would once it sank in. “He’d have killed you. Then he’d have found out I was pregnant and killed me too.”
Davidson tightened his arms around me.
“I don’t know how to apologize, Davidson. It’s all my fault. I brought that man into our lives, and…”
“Hush. If you hadn’t been running from him, I wouldn’t have met you. I only wish I could have protected you better.”
“You saved me. Twice.”
“And you’re saving me every day.”
I scoffed, but then Davidson’s hand covered my belly, and I paused.
“Look at me, Leo.”
The order felt like a caress. I met his warm gaze, and he rubbed my stomach gently.
“You’re saving me every day,” he repeated.
I could have drowned in his eyes.
He kissed me, and I wished I could have just lost myself in the moment, but then he put pressure on my belly, and I tensed.
Immediately, he broke the kiss. “Are you hurt?” His expression turned anguished. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. I…” I winced. “I really need to pee.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and rested his forehead against mine. “Fucking hell, Leo. You’ll have to forgive me if I act overprotective. I’m just… Fuck.”
He groaned and pushed me off his lap. I wobbled on unsteady feet, and he shot up to support me.
Neither of us questioned it when he followed me to the bathroom.
He turned away, splashing his face above the sink while I took care of business.
It didn’t feel weird, just domestic, like something couples do after ten years together—brushing their teeth or shaving while the other one pees.
When I was washing my hands, Davidson was plastered to my back again, nuzzling my neck.
“What time is it?” I asked. It had been dark for a while, but I’d completely lost track of time.
“Almost midnight. We should go to bed.”
Would I be able to sleep? I was exhausted but at the same time, I still felt stunned by the events of the day.
Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw my bare feet on the wet stone, fingers slipping closer to the edge.
I’d never been afraid of heights, but after today, I wouldn’t mind if I stayed with both feet on even ground for the rest of my life.
“I’m just going to brush my teeth,” I said. It was strange to do something so mundane, but also reassuring in a way.
“Let’s go upstairs then.”
He carried me, and I didn’t mind at all. Then he hovered close even when I rinsed and spat, his hand on my lower back. He tucked me into bed and turned away.
“Hey,” I protested.
“I need to use the bathroom too, darling.”
“You could have done that while I was brushing my teeth.”
“You’re right. Want to come with me?” His tone held a playful hint.
He was obviously joking, but I considered it anyway. Under the blanket, my feet were getting warmer, and the thought of getting up again didn’t appeal. I was still tense as hell, but I knew I was safe.
“Just hurry.”
I waited anxiously and blew out a breath of relief when he reemerged from the ensuite.
He was naked. Under the covers, he untied my robe and pulled it off me.
“Need to feel your skin,” he murmured.
He wrapped himself around me, dragging my leg over his hip, and kissed along my cheek and temple. I closed my eyes.
Surrounded by his scent, I fell asleep almost immediately.
A sound woke me up. A snore? No, not snoring, but the rainstorm had come all the way to Ardaine. The trees groaned in the wind outside, and heavy rain battered the window. I snuggled to Davidson’s chest and remembered.
I was free.
We were both alive, and I was free. No more looking over my shoulder. I didn’t have to fear for my mate’s or our baby’s safety. It was all over.
Smoothing my hand over Davidson’s lower back, I took deep gulps of his scent. His heart thumped loudly under my ear, and the dull sound calmed me like nothing else ever could.
“Leo? Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry for waking you up. I’m fine.”
“You didn’t wake me up. The weather is crazy.”
Humming, he shifted me in his arms and hoisted me higher up so our faces were level. Then he cupped my ass cheeks, kneading them gently, and kissed me.
We didn’t say anything. It happened because we both needed it.
To reconnect, reassure ourselves that we were truly alive and together.
He rolled us so I was on my back, and I lifted my legs to offer him my body.
Reaching between us, he guided his cock into me and inched inside in a few lazy thrusts.
We made love slowly, kissing and humming in pleasure, and as soon as he sank inside me to the root, I came.
The pleasure was comforting, a reminder and a promise at the same time.
My mate held me in the center of his palm, he owned me, and nothing and nobody could take me away from him ever again.
My cum smeared between our stomachs, and he kept fucking me with sure, deep strokes.
Bracing himself on his arms by my head, he watched me in the dark, his eyes glowing.
His expression got just a little desperate, and I loved the hint of vulnerability just before he lost control.
Snapping his hips faster, he came inside me and stilled, keeping me impaled to the hilt.
He milked my erection and toyed with the piercing until I orgasmed a second time, my hole contracting around his girth.
He groaned, his face going slack with relief.
When he retreated, I whined pitifully, but he hushed me. He rearranged us so he was spooning me in his lap and pushed back inside me. Not all the way, but deep enough so I felt gloriously full.
“I want to sleep like this,” he said.
“Me too.”
“Good.”
And so when I woke up the next time, it was morning, and my alpha was moving inside me, his cock thickening.
I didn’t know if he’d truly stayed in me for the night—probably not—but I wanted to believe it.
He covered my cock and balls with his hand, squeezing tight so it hurt just a little, and I moaned.
“You’re mine,” he rasped. “My little nympho.”
“Yes. All yours. Your eager fuckhole.”
“I took over your body, my omega. Your womb is still full of me.”