Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
PAX
The porch boards creaked under my weight as I handed Dray another piece of lumber. We'd been at this for two hours, replacing the rotten section he'd identified weeks ago.
I thought back to the day I’d followed him around the house and he’d made a list of what had to be repaired. I didn’t know dragons existed, and Dray was just the hot contractor I was lusting after. He was also the guy that kept accidentally soaking me with coffee and water.
I’d asked him if wetting me was deliberate in order to see my tattoo, and he said he didn’t think so. But he wondered if his dragon didn’t put something in motion. His beast denied it, not that it mattered now.
“That’s the last one.” Dray fit the board into place. “Can you grab the drill?”
I twisted my body toward the toolbox and was hit with a wave of dizziness. I gripped the railing and waited until it passed.
“Are you okay?” Dray’s hand was on the small of my back.
“Yeah. I just whirled around too fast.” I smiled to convince him I was fine.
My mate gave me a look. “Why don’t you take a break and get some water?”
“I’m okay, love.” I handed him the drill.
My mind wandered as Dray worked, and I thought back to two weeks ago when I’d witnessed the family shifting at the clearing. Though they did that regularly, it was special because it felt like a welcoming ceremony.
“Pops texted me this morning. Your folks want to know if we’re going to Sunday dinner.”
He told me getting the whole family together on Sunday night was a tradition, but it was up to me if I needed a break from them.
“No, I’d like to go.” It was odd because while I was close to my own family, I’d never liked being smothered with constant meetups and attention. And yet my mate’s family was always getting together to shift, for parties and barbecues and regular meals.
I bent over to pick up a screwdriver Dray wanted, and my head spun again. I was being as clumsy as my mate was the first few times we’d met. Putting a hand to my head, I reached out to him to steady me.
“You need to take a break.” He led me inside and sat me on the couch. “And you have no color in your cheeks.”
Dray sat beside me, and I accepted the water he gave me.
I hadn’t wanted to admit that I’d been experiencing nausea for a few days, and while my mate was asleep in the middle of the night, I’d lain awake beside him.
And I’d lost my appetite, but I’d pushed the food around on my plate so Dray didn’t notice.
Wanting to get away from the subject of my health, I told him I had to think about getting a job. Though Aunt June had left me a small nest egg, I wanted to keep most of that for emergencies.
The unpacking was done and Dray had moved in, and other than the few remaining repairs, my days were easy, with reading and spending time with my mate. It was perfect for a newly mated couple, but going forward, I needed to be busy.
“But I don’t want to return to a mindless job in a cubicle, pushing paper, attending pointless meetings, and listening to people complain about their lives.
“I have an idea. It’s not exciting, and you’d be working alone. ”
“Interesting. Tell me more.”
“It’s for a guy who can’t organize his way out of a paper bag.
His invoices are piling up, and the filing system is whatever’s on top of the pile.
The guy needs someone to organize the office so he can focus on his work.
” He added that it could be temporary or full-time, and I could work from home some of the time.
“Okay, give me his deets and I’ll arrange an interview.”
He winked. “You’re hired.”
“What? Is this for you? So you’d be my boss?”
“Maybe.” He leaned over and kissed me. “But I warn you, I am very demanding.”
I giggled despite not feeling well. “Oh yeah?”
My mate nuzzled the base of my throat, and his warm breath washed over me, making goosebumps spike on my skin. “Mmmm.” His hand slipped over my thigh, and my breathing sped up. He kissed my mating mark, and I flung my legs over his lap.
But as Dray kissed over my shoulder, the nausea increased, and I gripped his arm and groaned.
My mate put a hand to my head. “Pax, you’re not well. I’m putting you in bed.”
I argued that I was fine and we should continue fixing the porch, but my mate insisted I needed to rest, and he carried me upstairs. I headed to the bathroom but swayed and would have fallen if Dray hadn’t caught me.
Later when I was in bed and refusing the soup he’d made, Dray put his nose to my mating mark and sniffed. The day was cool, and I’d showered this morning, so I didn’t think I was stinky.
“Are you telling me I need to shower?”
“Nope. But your scent is different.”
I wasn’t aware I smelled different, and I hadn’t actually been sick, so my breath should still be minty fresh.
“Is that bad?”
“No, but it’s sweeter.” He tapped his head as he often did to let me know he was talking to his dragon. I was getting used to my man having a private conversation with the beast inside him.
“Babe, my dragon and I agree that something has changed.”
I clutched my chest, thinking their secret spidey senses had picked up a serious illness. Whatever it was, I needed to know, and I thanked Aunt June for leaving me some money.
“Give me the bad news.”
Dray cleared his throat before brushing my long hair off my shoulder.
“It’s not bad, at least I don’t think so.” He studied my face, and his brow crinkled. “I hope you’re pleased when I tell you.”
I gulped. We’d gone from me maybe dying of a deadly disease to thinking I might just survive.
“Tell me, please.”
“I think you’re pregnant.”
I heard the words, but I didn’t understand them. I knew what they meant individually but couldn’t piece them together in my head to form a coherent sentence. A tear that appeared from somewhere trickled over my cheek.
“Say that again.”
“We made a baby.”
We’d mated a couple of weeks ago and had known one another for less than two months. What sort of basis was that to bring a child into the world and start a family? But another thought pushed that doubt out of my head, and I embraced that I might be carrying my mate’s child.
“A baby.” The single tear was followed by a second and then a flood of them. I sobbed and rested my head on Dray’s shoulder. “I’m not freaking out. I’m not, just a little overwhelmed.”
I needed a test to confirm the pregnancy, because if I wasn’t, I’d be devastated.
“We have to get to the pharmacy.” Despite my nausea, I flung off the bedclothes and got up.
Dray was happy to take me and buy them but said his dragon had confirmed it.
I put a hand to my belly and sank onto the bed again. “Will the baby be a shifter?” Yikes, would smoke drift out of my mouth when the baby was frustrated, and did I have to push a dragon out of me? That would be spiky. Ouch!
“It’s possible, but a midwife or Aunt Raine will know pretty soon if you’re carrying a baby or eggs.”
I had to have misheard him. He said eggs, but he was jerking me around. I pulled the covers to my chin because I needed to hide if I was going to lay eggs. How was that possible?
I gulped. “Eggs? Are you serious?”
“Dragon shifters lay eggs, babe, and you’re mated to me, so eggs it is. I’m sorry. Is that a dealbreaker?”
The worry lines on his forehead returned, and I was wracked with guilt. This kind, gentle man who’d been waiting for me for eight years was worried I’d reject our child because they might arrive in egg form.
I stroked his cheek. “No. Eggs or no eggs, I’ll love them as I love you, but I’m going to worry I’ll break the shell.”
Dray told me dragon eggs were tough. That was good to know.
He climbed into bed with me, and we talked about becoming parents and making my childhood room the nursery.
“Wait a minute.” I turned to face him. “Did you say eggs, plural?”
Dray bit his bottom lip. “Because you’re human, it might be different. But most dragon pregnancies result in multiple births.”
My life was mirroring a fantasy novel, but I wouldn’t change anything.
“Just as well the house is plenty big enough for dragons, both big and small.”