Chapter 38 #2
He growled and rubbed his cheek against mine, jostling me and the bed hard enough that the food fell to the floor.
“Dammit, Konni! I was hungry.”
I pushed at his face.
His skin slipped under my hand, sloughing off his cheek.
Eyes wide, I stared at the skin in my palm as he continued to rub his cheek against me.
“Konni, you need to stop and explain this fast because I’m not emotionally stable enough to handle more trauma.”
He lifted his head, following my gaze to my hand.
“It’s my molt,” he said, taking the sheet of skin that had come off.
When he held it up, it looked like what peeled off a human after a bad sunburn. Not as terrifying as I’d first thought. And his cheek, where it’d come from, wasn’t pink or raw. It looked completely normal.
“The rubbing helped it break free.” He leaned in, nuzzling my neck with his cheek. “You feel so good. Let me just…”
The rubbing intensified, and I understood we wouldn’t be leaving his room until Konni finished his molt.
“Let’s take this to the bathtub,” I said. “Then you owe me a new dinner.”
He had me up in his arms a second later.
Helping Konni with his molt was interesting. It didn’t peel off like human skin; it required rubbing to loosen first.
A lot of rubbing.
My hands got tired, so I just let him take over rubbing against me. The floor was splashed with bathwater by the time my toes pruned.
We’d made progress, but not nearly enough.
“Can we please take a small food break?” I begged.
He nodded, carried me to the bed, and sent his mom a request for another plate. The apology he added, for growling earlier, was sweet, and I could tell it bothered him that he’d reacted as he had.
“She understands,” I said, lightly raking my fingers down his back.
He tossed the phone, tackled me to the mattress, and started rubbing against me again. I laughed, loving it since I knew he was being playful.
When the food arrived, we ate on the floor so there wouldn't be an accidental food-spill on the bed. It was a smart decision because he ended up pulling me onto his lap before I finished, and I had to eat with him cuddling me.
His phone pinged with a new message.
“Your jealous mate needs to check,” I said.
His gaze filled with humor, and he rumbled loudly as he let me go. It was the first time since he found me that he looked and sounded like himself.
Glad we were getting back to normal, I read the message from his mom.
Momster: Lianna stopped by again to check on you. I sent her away and told her you would call her when you had time. Also, followers see your rampage as Sophia’s fairytale rescue. We need to talk about these invites. I think it’s past time we address Sophia’s place in your world.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“Your mom. Nice contact name. She wrote a novel,” I said.
“Does that mean I get a reward from my jealous mate?”
“No. Lianna stopped by to check on you. Would you like her to help with your molt? I’m pretty sure I could get her to—”
He tossed me onto the bed, gripped my hips, and began rubbing his face against my thighs, a reminder that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk rationally.
I huffed a sigh. “Show me where you still itch.”
Bit by bit, I freed him from his crazed possessive need until only one place was left. He tried telling me he could get the rest himself, that he’d gone his whole life without help there, but I saw the yearning in his eyes.
“Since you’ve been the most perfect boyfriend, I won’t just help, I’ll let you choose how. Hands or…you choose.”
His eyes glinted with gold, and scales shimmered in and out of focus on his skin, brighter than I’d ever seen them.
A second later, he tossed me over his shoulder and strode toward the bathroom.
It was late when we finally went downstairs. My legs were sore—all of me was, actually—but I felt so satisfied that I didn’t mind. Konni held my hand, letting me use my own two feet to get to the kitchen, where everyone was gathered.
“Are you hungry?” Kaya said, popping out of her chair. “I made cannolis.”
“I’ll take two,” I said, “and a round of overdue hugs.”
Mom hugged me first. Then Kaya and Becky. Balak and Palmen didn’t try to hug me, but said they were relieved I was home safe again.
We sat around the table, and they talked while I ate dessert.
Not only had they quietly swayed public opinion to view what happened as a real-life fairytale damsel rescue, but they’d also met with investors associated with Hestian’s various businesses to encourage them to pull funding, citing his ethics based on recent events.
Hestian Global’s stock was dropping daily.
“Good,” I said. “Any leads on who kidnapped me?”
“None yet,” Balak said. “We acquired the financial records for the accounts associated with the shell company behind Abbye’s employment issues and linked them not only to the job losses, but to the car accident, and the house fire.
Not the kidnapping though. There hasn’t been any activity since the arson. ”
“Pass the information on to the police,” Konni said.
“It wasn’t lawfully acquired,” Kaya said.
“Doesn’t matter anymore,” Balak said. “Someone is targeting a dragon’s mate.
We follow our laws now. Sharing what we know is simply a courtesy to keep what peace we can.
If they’re smart, they’ll act on what we share to mitigate the fallout.
If not, we’ll find whoever is responsible and use whatever means we choose to protect our own. ”
“I still think Lianna’s behind my kidnapping,” I said.
“And before anyone says dragons don’t mess with dragon mates, she called Konni exactly at ten and left some dumb message about mending their friendship.
Why ten? Why apologize at exactly the time I was being kidnapped?
Establishing an alibi? Setting the stage for emotional support once I disappeared for good? ”
Konni frowned, his expression still filled with doubt.
“One word in her defense and I will bite you, Konni.”
Becky smirked, and Palmen shook his head. I think it was to tell her to cut it out more than to scold me because she immediately sobered.
“Lianna never hid her hope that she and Konni would be together someday,” Kaya said.
“But she’s never done anything to indicate she’d actually harm someone to ensure it.
She doesn’t just know dragon law; she lives it.
Despite the inherent precarious nature of female dragons, she’s always been sweet. ”
“I think one of us met a doppelg?nger because that’s not the Lianna I know.”
“Sometimes sweet is only there to hide the mean,” Mom said.
Kaya’s worried gaze locked with Balak’s.
“We’ll look into it,” he said. “I promise.”
“Are we any closer to figuring out who was behind the shell company’s payouts?” Becky asked.
“Not yet,” Balak said.
Kaya sighed. “I thought sending the invitations would help keep Sophia safer, but now I’m not so sure.”
“No, the welcome party is exactly what we need,” I said. “Think about it. We’re inviting everyone, including Lianna. Whoever’s been behind everything will not sit back and watch Mom and me attain what they’ve been trying to take from us. They’ll act.”
“Your welcome party is supposed to be something special,” Kaya said, showing her disappointment.
“Catching the person who burned down our house and tried to kill Mom will close the chapter I need closed to start a new one with Konni.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Konni asked. “If no one steps forward?”
“Wearing a pretty dress and publicly claiming you as my man in front of Lianna is still a win.”
He glanced at his dad and grandfather.
“We’ll ensure it’s as secure as here,” his dad said.
No one else disagreed. Relieved we were closer to finding answers, I finished my dessert and followed Konni upstairs for the night.
Wrapped in Konni’s arms and breathing in his scent, I slept like a baby and woke up to his teasing kisses along my shoulder.
We showered together then joined everyone downstairs again. The table wasn’t set for breakfast as I’d hoped. It was a planning war zone.
Stacks of invitations waited to be hand-addressed by Kaya and Becky.
Color options for the decorations waited next to the cake samples.
Mom was sorting through flower arrangement options.
Small plates of sampled appetizers had sticky notes on them from everyone.
And a sketch book of dress designs lay open amidst everything.
“Look through that and pick two options,” Kaya said, catching sight of me. “One’s for mingling before, and one’s for the announcement on stage. We need to finish addressing these before the white glove service arrives.”
“There’s a stage?” I asked, already turning the pages.
“Of course there is.”
“What’s the white glove service for?” I asked.
“Hand delivery,” Becky said. “When you’re done with that, try the appetizers too.”
Unable to choose a dress, I pulled Konni into the decision, which he liked, based on the gold in his eyes. When we finished that, we sampled the food, and I went to make us both coffees while Konni listened to his dad’s security plan.
Leaning against the counter, I watched Becky, Kaya, and Mom debate flowers while Konni, Balak, and his grandpa pulled up a map of the area around the venue.
It was a weirdly good moment. Weird because I was basking in being surrounded by love and family while they were talking about potential escape routes and allergies.
Content in a way I’d never experienced before, I carried Konni’s coffee to him. He set it to the side and pulled me into his arms, my back to his chest, so we could both see the map.
Decisions were still being made when he stole me away again for a midmorning nap.
We didn’t nap.
A tray of sandwiches magically appeared outside our door at lunchtime.
That was all the incentive Konni needed to keep me to himself for a little longer. I didn’t mind but knew we couldn’t keep hiding from the world. We had things we needed to do, and we’d both healed enough physically and mentally to keep moving forward.
That night, we left the estate to visit my bodyguard, who had thankfully woken up.
We kept the visit brief since she was still recovering, and we didn’t want word to spread that we were there.
The last thing any of us wanted was a media circus.
She apologized for not stopping my abduction, but I waved away her attempt.
“The people who should be sorry will be sorry. Heal quickly so you can be there when it happens.”
She agreed, and we left as quietly as we’d arrived.