Chapter 11
Meera
“So wait, you’re telling me you’re going to have to lay an egg?” I gawked at Carly. “That egg is much bigger than a newborn’s skull.”
“Apparently, dragon eggs can come in many sizes. Sometimes even as big as a pumpkin. This one is pretty small. According to the records, eggs laid by human mates in the past were much smaller. But there aren’t many instances of it happening, especially in recent history.”
“I’m glad you won’t have to birth a cantaloupe when the time comes.”
She laughed. “Me too.”
We were sitting in a room dedicated to Q-Tip, Carly’s pet bunny.
Toys littered the floor, and a handmade sign on the door read: Q-Tip’s Kingdom (Trespassers Will Be Nibbled).
There was a fenced-in section which contained Q Tip’s cage, the door left open, a mushroom-shaped hidey house, and more hay than I could shake an applewood stick at.
Unlike the library or the rest of the massive home, this place looked cozy and lived in, although the room was huge.
The menfolk were still talking in the library with Omelet.
Ugh! Graham had called it Omelet so many times, and now I was mentally calling it that.
And yes, I felt comfortable now letting the egg out of my sight. It was in good hands.
Earlier, Carly had entered the library, saw how tense the room was, and immediately diffused the situation.
She was such a sweetheart that I didn’t believe she’d let her dragon mate murder an innocent unhatched baby. I might have horrible taste in men, but I liked to think I wasn’t a bad judge of character when sex and physical attraction—and my stupid ovaries— weren’t involved.
She’d explained that they were trying to find out who had lost an egg.
But so far, they had no leads. Though it was possibly because they couldn’t come right out and ask about it, and any dragon who’d lost an egg was unlikely to admit it.
They’d probably try to retrieve the egg through some other means.
Feeling better about the situation, I’d handed over the egg. After a thorough examination, Desmon confirmed that it was indeed a dragon egg. I’d told my part of the story and even played the audio recording of the botched transaction at Karim’s office.
Then Carly had invited me to hang out with her while she fed and tended to her bunny while Graham and Desmon arranged the retrieval of the Redrock SUV.
Carly was not who I’d expected to be a dragon’s wife, and I didn’t mean physically.
I’d seen photos of her online and hated how people acted so shocked that she wasn’t a stick-thin leggy blonde.
She was curvy. Voluptuous. And most of the photos I’d seen of her had been taken at balls and galas, and I’d always thought she’d filled those dresses magnificently and looked like a million bucks.
She had hair down to her upper back now, though I was pretty sure she’d sported a pixie cut in several of the images I’d seen. She had the type of face that looked good in a variety of hairstyles.
It was the relaxed, casual demeanor that surprised me. She was effortless and warm, like she could be your best friend overnight. Like you could confide in her. She immediately made me feel welcome, as if I hadn’t just literally stepped into a dragon’s den.
It was almost jarring next to Desmon, whose very existence seemed to hum with barely contained power. I couldn’t see auras, but I sure felt his. It was impossible to ignore. Even in a velvet housecoat, he looked like he could dominate the boardroom and make a dozen suit-wearing businessmen cry.
It was a completely different kind of power compared to Graham. Graham was strong. Desmon was powerful.
Ugh! I was thinking about that stupid, cocky gargoyle again.
Here I was, having just met an actual dragon—a real, honest-to-goodness, fire-breathing dragon in human form—and all I could focus on was the confusing, infuriating lug.
How dare he kiss me senseless one moment, then turn around and call it a mistake the next?
Pretending like I was just some job, an inconvenience he couldn’t wait to shake off?
But then there was the way he’d reacted to Flame.
The two ifrits had looked like fiery, red and orange versions of the genie from Aladdin , but much hotter, and I didn’t mean temperature-wise.
I’d stared, because who wouldn’t? Flame had made his interest known, and Graham had reacted like a jealous boyfriend. And the worst part? I liked it.
See, I had horrible taste in men.
And then he had the gall to tell me the kiss was a mistake! Mistake my ass!
I could still hear his words like he’d just said them. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“You look like you swallowed a lemon, sideways. What are you thinking about?”
I considered lying and telling Carly that I was just worried about what was going to happen next, but I’d never really had anyone to have girl talk with, and as I already mentioned, Maa didn’t count.
I really had to remember to call her later.
Since the last twenty-four hours had been a string of new experiences anyway, I thought, why the hell not?
“Do you know Graham well?” I asked.
“I don’t know him too well. Redrock usually sends Gunnar when it comes to Desmon’s missions, but since Gunnar got hitched, Graham’s been coming by more often.” She quirked an eyebrow. “Do I sense love in the air?”
“Maybe lust? But he’s kind of an ass.”
“Really? I didn’t peg him as one. What did he do?”
I told her about the kiss, omitting the raunchier details, his clearly jealous reaction to Flame flirting with me, and then his claim that the kiss had been a mistake.
“Huh. Well, all the Redrock brothers are mated except for him. Even Eamon, the demon who lives with them in their giant two-story penthouse, found his match.” She tilted her head, studying me.
“Graham’s the only one still single. Maybe he’s trying to cling to bachelorhood, and you’re giving him a run for his money. ”
“From one kiss?” I scoffed, though my heart did a little hoppity hop along with Q Tip, who had decided that raspberries were for painting with, rather than eating, and was leaving perfect little paw prints everywhere.
Carly shrugged. “You could be his mate. Anything can happen. I’m mated to a dragon.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I picked up a rattan ball and rolled it in front of the little Holland Lop with the compact, cotton bud-shaped tail, the reason behind his namesake.
Q-Tip picked it up and tossed it angrily out of his way, like he couldn’t believe I’d dared to inconvenience him with it. Then he marched over to the single marble tile on the carpet and flopped down onto it, his raspberry-tinted feet on display.
“I wish I were as lucky as you, Q -Tip,” I said. “I bet you don’t have to worry a day in your life.”
The bunny’s ears twitched at the sound of his name.
“I don’t even know when it’s safe to go home, if ever,” I continued.
“Things will work out,” Carly said.
We continued watching Q-Tip’s antics until Desmon and Graham knocked on the door.
“Desmon’s sending someone to see what Karim knows,” Graham said. “Until we know he is no longer a threat, we will set you up at Redrock.”
“Oh, I thought Meera was staying here,” Carly said casually. She winked, a motion meant only for me, since she was sitting on a cushion with her back to the door. “I was going to ask Flame or Blaze to give her a tour of the estate.”
Oh! Sneaky!
The growl that rumbled out of Graham made my skin prickle. He tried to swallow it down, but the damage was done. His jaw clenched so tight I half-expected to hear his teeth crack.
There was a puff of smoke, and Flame… I think… appeared inside the room, leaning against the wall next to Q-Tip’s cage. “You summoned? It will be my absolute pleasure to give you the grand tour.” His voice was full of mischief.
Yep, that had to be Flame.
Graham’s glare could’ve melted steel. “We’re leaving for Redrock. You are not required, demon.”
Flame’s eyes narrowed, tiny fireballs dancing in their depths. “Ifrits are not demons.” The little embers shot toward Graham, who swatted them away like they were nothing more than pesky flies.
“Hey! Watch it!” Carly cried. “Hay is highly flammable.”
“Don’t worry, this fire only burns grumpy jackasses.”
Desmon looked a little annoyed, like he couldn’t be arsed to deal with the troubles of mortals.
Graham’s hands flexed at his sides, like he was trying not to punch the ifrit. “Come on, Meera. We’ll portal into Redrock through the library.”
Portal?
Carly stretched, her back popping audibly. “Maybe I’ll swing by later,” she said. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen everyone. I heard Tansy is really showing now.” She turned to Flame. “Maybe next time.”
The ifrit bowed exaggeratedly, winked at me, because he had to annoy Graham just once more, and then puffed out of existence. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to that.
We made our way back to the library, and Desmon picked up a small, innocuous pull-tab can from his desk.
I watched curiously as he popped the top, then pointed the opened can at one of the bookshelves.
Smoke swirled out of it, forming a flat, upright circle.
I gasped when a large living room decked out in dark woods, metal, granite, and leather with a crazy high ceiling appeared in the middle of the swirling circle.
A gorgeous blonde woman sat on a dark brown leather couch with a bird on her head. She turned and squinted at us, and her mouth moved, but no sound came through. She didn’t look one bit surprised.
“Have fun at the penthouse.” Carly gave me a hug, and I hugged her back.
Penthouse?
Graham stood by the portal, motioning for me to step through first. I frowned at the grumpy look on his face.
I wanted to ask why he’d insisted I go with him when he didn’t even want me there, but then I realized it was less grumpiness and more exhaustion.
He did fly me all the way over here. I decided to give the guy a break.
I thanked Desmon, took a deep breath, and stepped through the portal.