“I didn’t ask that. Are you a mind reader?”
“No, but I can see it on your face.”
I screwed up said face. “You can not.”
“I don’t have all the answers.” He chuckled. “I was going to say your name, but thought you might swoon.”
I elbowed him and rolled my eyes.
“But I care for you very much, manny.”
I giggled, and he kissed me. This was less urgent than last night, though he was as warm as he had been. His hands roamed over my body while his tongue explored my mouth. And when he smiled against my lips and whispered, “Ledger,” I think I swooned, not that I was 100% sure what swooning was.
TEN
THERON
My dragon had stopped asking me about mating—or demanding was more like it—because Ledger and I had been sharing a bed for two weeks.
Not that he slept with me all night, because he was worried one of the kids would wake and wander into my room. Fraser did that sometimes, whereas Skye would usually call out. Rory rarely woke up.
Even when Ledger had returned upstairs, I slept better than I had since Vince died. But I was having some success in getting him to stay longer. I hated that he left after we’d had sex, as though one of us regretted what we’d done. I wanted to cuddle him and wake up beside him, even though he stole the covers and he had cold feet which he pressed against me.
But despite our subterfuge, my children were aware our manny had been in my room.
“Ledger's toothbrush is in your bathroom.” Rory took a bite of his toast.
Though Ledger wasn’t with me come morning, he left a spare toothbrush in my bathroom and brushed his teeth before getting into bed at night.
“He doesn’t use the same toothpaste as you, Daddy,” Skye added.
“It's blue.” That was Fraser’s contribution.
My kids sounded like detectives, and I imagined them in my bathroom with a magnifying glass, comparing DNA samples.
I took a long sip of coffee and shared a glance with Ledger. There were pink spots on his cheeks, but he tilted his head and mouthed, “Okay.” I interpreted that I should acknowledge what they said rather than make an excuse.
“Is that okay?” I asked and looked at all three individually. They didn’t know what we’d been doing, thank gods, just that he’d visited me.
“Yes.” Skye resumed eating.
Rory shrugged and said it was fine, while Fraser asked if we could all sleep together in my bed tonight. I suggested we could do that on Friday night and play board games.
Ledger had successfully woven himself into our lives, and my kids had accepted him. But not just accepted, they adored him, and I’d often find one of them snuggled in with him on a Sunday morning, or the four would be up at the crack of dawn making banana bread, or they’d be digging in the garden for buried treasure.
I’ve never buried a hoard of anything in the garden.
It’s a kid thing. Don’t worry about it.
I should have been happy and content, but I wasn’t being honest with the man I adored. Not only did he not know about shifters, but also, he wasn’t aware he’d been living with and having sex with a dragon shifter. Or that his three charges were also dragons.
How did you tell a human that the man he was hopefully falling for had a beast inside him with wings and fire? How did I say that without “I have to leave” being the next sentence out of his mouth?
I'd rehearsed it in my office as I paced. “Ledger, I need to tell you something about my family,” or “Ledger, there are things about us that are different from what you're used to,” or “Ledger, I'm a dragon.” Every version sounded either terrifying or ridiculous.
I was so scared of losing him I kept putting it off. And there were my children to consider. Asking them to hide who they were was wrong. I thought back to Skye’s nightmare.
But today was Saturday afternoon, and I’d finished work for the weekend. I’d think about when to spring it on Ledger tomorrow, and I strolled into the house.
