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“You become distant. Tell your blasted dragon it’s my turn. She can have you later.”
To Nikki’s surprise, her beast faded to the back of her mind and settled down.
Clearly, her dragon was rooting for Team Rafe.
Leaning back, Nikki tilted her head. “Did you make me lasagna with heaps of garlic bread?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Maybe.”
“Well, if you did, then I’m all yours for as long as it takes to eat it.”
“And after?”
“That depends on your cooking.”
Rafe’s chuckle echoed inside the cottage, and a fraction of doubt lifted from her mind. Maybe, just maybe, she and Rafe could work. The real test would be when they started working on the Bourne case again.
But that was for a different day. Pushing aside her concerns, Nikki focused on the moment. Because for once, she was just a regular dragonwoman enjoying some downtime with a male. The baby, the mission, and even what the clan thought of her could wait.
And with all of that off her shoulders, at least temporarily, Nikki felt lighter than she had in a long time.
Rafe turned her around so she was at his side, and then looped an arm around her waist. He gestured with his head. “Then come, my lady. A feast awaits.”
Torn between rolling her eyes and laughing, Nikki merely leaned against Rafe’s shoulder and headed into the kitchen.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, as Nikki woke up and stretched her arms, she should have bumped into Rafe’s warm body. Opening her eyes, she saw his side of the bed was empty.
After earning brownie points for his lasagna and garlic bread, Nikki had agreed to let Rafe sleep in the same bed. But only for sleeping. To her surprise, Rafe had been content to merely pass out next to her.
He might not have admitted it, but the frenzy had taken its toll on her human.
She blinked. Since when had she thought of Rafe as her human?
Her dragon’s sleep voice filled her head. But he is ours.
A conversation, dinner, and sharing a bed hardly constitute a claim.
Considering he trusted us enough to fall asleep first, I would say he wouldn’t mind being claimed.
With a sigh, Nikki ignored her dragon and slowly sat up, not willing to acknowledge the soreness in her muscles. If she hurt this much after a frenzy, and Nikki was in top physical shape, she wondered how the human females ever survived it.
Standing up, she stretched again and listened for any sounds. She was disappointed not to hear Rafe singing. Maybe she’d work up the nerve to ask him to do it again.
Frowning, she wondered when the hell she had started hesitating so damn much. She really needed to fix that.
She made it down the stairs and found Rafe sitting at the kitchen table. Piles of papers sat on the table, with a laptop in front of Rafe. He looked up and smiled at her. “So, the lazybones finally decided to wake up, huh?”
“I’m sleeping for two people now. So, unless I’m sleeping more than sixteen hours a day, you can’t say anything.”
He snorted. “Right, because that’s how pregnancy works. Besides, what was it you told me to do? Not treat you any differently?”
“I suddenly feel the urge to throw something at you. Or, maybe punching you would be better. How’s your nose doing? Is it ready for a second go?”
Chuckling, he gestured toward the chair next to him. “Let’s save that for a later time. You probably want to hear this instead.”
“What is it?” she asked as she slid into the chair.
