Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Lachlan went to Kieran’s little apartment and knocked on the door, wanting to show him his surprise. He wasn’t sure he’d managed to hide it from him really, but at the same time he hoped that it would come as enough of a sweet shock that Kieran would be really tickled when he saw his craft room.
Kieran answered the door, his face breaking into a beaming smile when he saw Lachlan. “Well, hello. I was hoping it was you, although sometimes Alban drops by.”
“It is indeed me. Is Micah having a nap?”
“He is. He just went down in fact. I have the baby monitor out here if you want to come sit with me and have a cup of tea.”
“I would love that in a moment, but why don’t you bring the baby monitor with you for a second? I want to show you something.” He stayed right outside the door of the apartment and waited.
Kieran’s eyebrows flew up. “Oh very well I’ll be right there.”
He moved back inside the apartment and grabbed the baby monitor before coming to take the hand that Lachlan held out to him.
“Where are we going?”
“Not far. Just down the hall in fact.”
“Okay.” Kieran frowned a little, just a tiny bit. His brows came together over his nose, clearly confused. He knew Lachlan’s suite was not just down the hall so he had to be wondering what was going on. It gave Lachlan hope that he’d kept things more of a secret than he’d expected.
He had enlisted everyone around in the subterfuge. If Kieran had asked anyone like Lars or Alban, he would have been told that Lachlan was renovating a guest room so they could have more children come and stay in the night and let Jake and Samuel’s household helper come there too.
Of course he had discussed a craft room with Kieran initially, but he really hadn’t pushed it after that.
He took Kieran to the craft room door and then nodded. “Have a look.”
“You want me to look at your guest bedroom?”
“Just open the door, Kieran. Humor me.”
Kieran opened the door and peered inside and then gasped, his face lighting up with wonder. “Lachlan! Is that— is this— is that my yarn?”
“It is. This is your new craft room. This is what Jake and Logan and all of us have been working on for so long.” He waved a hand, indicating that Kieran should enter the room before him.
Kieran wandered in, his eyes wide, turning around in a circle. “It’s so big,”
Lachlan nodded. “Part of it is that it’s blue.
Jake said it’s supposed to make everything look bigger.
” He offered Kieran a smile. “And there’ll be furniture.
I just wanted you to be the one who picked it out.
I didn’t know if you wanted sofas or tables or both.
I just wasn’t sure, so I left that for you to decide, and then I’ll make sure that it gets delivered. ”
Kieran was so quiet that it made Lachlan nervous.
“There’s all sorts of nooks and crannies and shelves and drawers, things for you to create with. There’s a big nursery that’s close so you can hear Micah if he cries. I hope that it works for you.”
He was babbling, he knew, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Kieran looked as if he was crying, or about to, anyway, and Lachlan panicked when Kieran cried. It made his chest ache, and he had this wild urge to hurt whoever had caused the tears.
Even himself.
“It’s beautiful.” A single crystalline tear ran down Kieran’s face.
“I’m glad you like it. I thought it would be a special place just for you.”
Kieran wandered around, exploring. “There’s even room for a floor loom. I don’t need much else, like maybe a table with a couple of chairs for you and me. I mean, if you want to just sit in here and read or chat while I’m knitting.”
That was more than he had dared hope for. He wished for it, of course, but he hadn’t thought it would happen.
“I would love that, Kieran. Any time I get to spend time with you, it seems special, but I would love to watch you knit and work on your loom.”
He would get Kieran to show him what kind of loom he wanted, whether he wanted a new one or a vintage one, what size, and what it needed to look like. And then he would find it.
That was one of the wondrous things about living in New Mexico. Fiber art was everywhere and people had friends who knew people.
Or dragons had friends who knew people. Something. It all worked out.
If Kieran wanted a loom, he’d get a loom. Maybe he’d make one himself. He could probably hire Jake to do that for him, and that would be almost like having made it himself.
Kieran came to hug him, and he fought not to stiffen in shock. He didn’t want Kieran to think it wasn’t welcome. It was. Utterly and completely.
“Thank you, Lachlan. I really appreciate this. It’s amazing. Oh, I love it.”
He managed to hug Kieran back. “I’m so glad.” His heart was tickled. “We need to find a loom, and you think two chairs and a big table?”
Kieran peered around the room, chewing his bottom lip. “I think a little table and a big table with the chairs. You know, something long that I can block things out on, measure that sort of thing.”
He nodded like he understood, but he didn’t. It didn’t matter.
What mattered was Kieran was tickled with his space. Kieran would show him what he wanted, and Lachlan would do it. Period.
Anything to keep that smile on his— on Kieran’s face.
The deep parts of him, the hungry parts, insisted that Kieran was his — his omega, his lover, his own.
He just had to hope Kieran figured it out.
He could be patient. In fact, Lachlan was known for it. But having Kieran right there where he could touch and not being able to?
Was the hardest thing he’d done in his long life.
And that was actually incredibly wild to him, because he’d had a full life, and a fucking challenging one.
“Where’d you go?” Kieran cupped his jaw. “You looked sad.”
Lachlan shrugged and winked. He didn’t need to live in the past. Not now. “Should I throw my sad feelings up in the air?”
Kieran’s smile made his heart hiccup. “Yes.”
Lachlan laughed, his wings flying wide as he did it.
“I love your wings.”
Lachlan stopped. He forgot, whenever he could, that they were there. He shrugged and met Kieran’s eyes. “I used to be a beautiful man. I looked a lot like my brother.”
Kieran shrugged. “Your brother looks like any other dragon to me. You look like my hero.”
His heartbeat kicked up, and he reached out without thinking, shocked when Kieran took his hand. “Thank you, love. That means a great deal to me.”
“Come and have some tea with me? We can choose chairs together.”
Oh, he quite loved that word, together.
“Of course. I love tea with you.” He was usually a coffee drinker, but Kieran had taught him to enjoy tea in all of its variations.
“I’m so glad. It’s such a…civilized ritual. I find it relaxing.”
“I enjoy it mainly because you do, but I find the chamomile we have at night does help me sleep.” And he needed the assistance. Whether his nightmares plagued him or the need for Kieran did it.
“I’m glad. It’s good for me too. I need something comforting before bed.”
They walked back to Kieran’s apartment, and Lachlan had a moment of total wistful desire to see Kieran in his kitchen, making it theirs. One step at a time. The craft room was one door closer to the stairs…
Kieran motioned to the chair that Lachlan thought of as his. “Please, sit.”
“Do you need me to help with anything?”
“No. No, I have this.” Kieran handed him the baby monitor before moving around to put the kettle on and get out mugs. “Would you like some cookies? I have the ginger ones.”
“I would, yes.” He adored cookies. Most dragons did, he had found. Food could be simply fuel, but cookies were alchemy. A combination of such simple ingredients that became magical when baked.
“Excellent. Maybe I could bake some for you. You have a nice kitchen.”
“I would like for you to consider it yours as well. You live here now, Kieran. You and Micah. For as long as you wish.” Forever, if you want.
Kieran blushed dark and nodded for him. “Thank you for your help. You’ve always worked so hard to make sure that I’m happy, cared for, to make sure Micah’s safe.”
“It’s been my honor, of course.” He’d known from the second he’d seen Kieran, that this was his family. All he could do was hope that Kieran agreed with him some day.
Kieran handed him the plate of cookies and sat. “Well, then I will come down and make us cookies, fresh ones.” He pinked, nose wrinkling. “Not that these aren’t perfect.”
“These are great for dipping in tea,” he agreed.
He felt like he was entering a new phase of this relationship, like he was wooing Kieran, and that was good, necessary.
“What are your favorite kind of cookies?” Kieran’s question surprised him, made him smile.
“Chocolate chip. I love chocolate chip with pecans. They are my absolute favorite. I like them out of the oven. I like them after they’ve firmed up. I just like cookies, but chocolate chip with pecans? I love those. What about you?”
“I’m a snickerdoodle person. Cinnamon, sugar, a little spicy, a little sweet.”
Was Kieran flirting back? Was that possible? Was that even a thing?
It looked like it, though. He was smiling, his eyes sparkling, his cheeks pink.
So he was either flirting or he had a fever…
Lachlan was going hopeful.
“Spicy can be good. So can sweet.” That was so utterly trite and silly. But it had been years since he’d even tried to engage someone.
And Kieran was far more important to him than any of those dragons had been. This whole thing was important to him. Necessary.
Kieran was his mate. Lachlan knew it in his magical soul.
Do you know it? Kieran watched him, eyes searching his.
I do
My former — he really hurt me more than just physically.
Lachlan knew, and it burned him to the core, that someone had dared hurt his Kieran. “That’s not mating. It’s having an affair, a romance that was messed up, and if you and I never touch, never kiss once, you’ll still be my mate.”
Kieran’s lips twisted in a grin. “I think a lifetime where I don’t get to kiss you sounds awful.”
Oh. Oh! That was more than promising. “It does.”
Kieran shook his head. “I don’t deserve you, you—”
Lachlan snorted. “Please. I’m deformed. Broken. I can never leave the wing. I’m not a prize, but I do—I would give up my life for you, and baby Micah.”
Kieran’s eyes widened. “You are not broken! You’re amazing. Magnificent. You’re not perfect, I know, as far as the world understands. But you are for me.”
His chest felt so tight, but that was only because his world was expanding hugely every moment. He reached across the space between them to take Kieran’s hand. “That’s all that matters to me.”
Kieran twined his fingers with Lachlan’s. “And cookies.”
Lachlan chuckled. “We all have to have our priorities,”
Kieran nodded and leaned back, dipped his cookie in his tea. “Do you think two big stuffed chairs or a little sofa would be more comfortable?”
“It depends. Little sofas are for snuggling; two chairs are for visiting.” Lachlan shrugged. “I’m a big fan of snuggling personally, but it’s your room. You need to think about how you want to use it.”
“How about one of those lounges that has a back on it?”
“It could be both.” He pulled out his phone. “Let’s find one.”
“Sounds like fun.” Kieran leaned in, offering him a warm smile. “We’ll pick something perfect. I know it.”