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Kai nearly smiled, but had to focus on Nikki's words instead as she said, "Let's greet the arriving clan leaders and doctors. Then you can take the rest of the day to be with Jane." He frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Nikki beat him to it. "I won't take no for an answer, either. You told me that if you were ever distracted about something and needed to spend time with your family, then I could tell you to sod off. Well, this is one of those times, Kai." She smiled. "Take care of your mate." She added in a mock-whisper, "And me being temporarily in charge means I can give Rafe something to do, so he'll stop texting me over and over again to see if I'm okay."
She placed a hand on her extremely swollen belly; Nikki was pregnant with her second child. Something which made his brother-in-law even more bloody irritating since Rafe could be more protective than a dragon-shifter at times.
Kai grunted. "Fine. But if you go into labor this week, I'll never hear the end of it from Rafe. So don't do it."
Nikki chuckled. "As if I can control that. But I'll give my child a talking to. If he or she is like their father, it will take multiple times to make it stick."
Like most dragon-shifters, Nikki and Rafe were waiting to discover the gender of their baby when he or she was born. With two dragon-shifter parents, the odds would favor a boy. However, human male and female dragon-shifter parents tended to have more females. So, only time would tell.
Although Kai hoped it was another girl. Then Rafe would be outnumbered even more. And given the child's parents, she would be stubborn and a handful.
His dragon snorted.I hope so. It'll be fun to watch.
Someone knocked, and the door opened, revealing two Stonefire Protectors—Zain Kinsella and Quinn Summers. Zain motioned toward the hallway. "The leaders and doctors flying in are nearly here and will land within minutes."
Kai stood, and Nikki followed suit. He nodded. "Right, then let's get everyone settled."
As they walked out of the Protector building and toward the main landing area, Kai tried his best to forget about Jane's flash of sadness. He needed to get the visitors to their accommodations—each person or couple would stay with a family on Stonefire, as a sort of bonding experience—and then he could go to Jane.
Because as soon as her presentation was finished, he would talk to her. No matter what was going on, he would find a way to make his Janey smile again. He loved her, had told fate to fuck off to have her, and part of his job was making her happy.
ChapterFive
Jane paced inside the small room just off Stonefire's great hall. All the clan leaders had arrived—plus the doctors—and had been given time to settle in. Which meant that in less than ten minutes, Jane would enter the adjacent room, face all five UK dragon clan leaders plus the one from Glenlough in Ireland, and pitch her idea.
She knew the details inside and out, plus what most of them would ask. And yet, there was no guarantee. Her clan leader, Bram, loved the idea. But unless all the leaders agreed to take in the orphans, her plan might not work. Because no matter how much Bram and Stonefire wanted to take care of the children, there wasn't enough room in the clan to shelter all the orphaned half-dragon-shifter children from the UK and Ireland, which numbered more than a hundred.
One hundred children abandoned over the years, in ages ranging from months-old to sixteen. Just the thought of a child spending sixteen years without a family made her heart squeeze. Her older brother Rafe might annoy the shit out of her sometimes—okay, most of the time—but they loved each other and would do anything for one another. Every child deserved to be loved.
Thinking of that only made her anxiety worse; failure wasn't an option. Jane's stomach churned, and she rushed to the attached toilet. She barely made it to the bowl before she was sick.
Just as she flushed the toilet, Kai rushed in and kneeled beside her. "Are you okay, love?"
She took a second to breathe in and out, ensuring her stomach was calm. "I'll be fine."
Kai brushed the hair from her face and then stiffened. She glanced at him, and his pupils flashed rapidly. She asked, "What's wrong?"
He cleared his throat. "Nothing. We'll talk after your meeting."
He stood and helped Jane to her feet. After she rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands, she leaned against the counter and sighed. "I've never vomited before a meeting in the past." She shook her head. "No matter. I'm still going to kick ass and take names."
Kai smiled at her. "Of course you are, Janey. If you can convince me to let you investigate slightly dangerous things, you can persuade anyone to do just about anything."
She smiled back at her mate. "Almost. You still won't let me go to Ireland to see how the new dragon clan leaders are doing."
Kai raised his brows. "You might be human and can travel more easily between countries, but you're mated to me and on the DDA's watchlist. If you enter Ireland and approach the dragon clans without permission, you'll end up in a lot of fucking trouble, Janey."
"Maybe. But just think of it, Kai—to be the first to see how the new Irish leaders are doing without artifice or lies. It would be brilliant, and help out Bram, Finn, and so many others."
"No, Janey. My answer is still no."
She sighed. "It was worth a shot."
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. Jane was tall for a woman, and she loved how Kai was even taller and made her almost feel small. She wrapped her arms around his chest and merely took comfort from his familiar heat and scent. Both seemed to calm her stomach.
Kai's voice rumbled under her ears against his chest. "Better?"
"Yes." She lifted her head and met Kai's eyes. A mixture of warmth and happiness filled his gaze, which made her heart warm. "Despite your occasional sternness, I love you."
