Surrendering to the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 7) (8 page)

“It already sounds like you’re placing limits.”

He put a palm up. “Look, I’m being honest here. I can’t do anything else. If I asked you never to shift into a dragon and fly again, could you do it? No. It’s an ingrained part of who you are. I’m the same way with protectiveness; I won’t stand by and watch someone intentionally cause harm to themselves. I won’t try to change you, but you need to accept me as well.”

As he waited for Nikki to answer, Rafe breathed evenly to prevent himself from fidgeting. He was used to giving orders and having them followed. It’d been far too long since he’d had to wait for someone else to decide his future. Yes, the army could send him anywhere in a split second, but this was different. Nikki’s decision would affect not only him but also their child.

He only hoped she agreed to the compromise and gave him a chance. Ever since Rafe accepted he would soon be a father, he couldn’t imagine anything else. He wanted a family. Would Nikki give him a chance?

He nearly frowned at that, but caught himself in time and waited for Nikki’s answer.

~~~

Nikki tried to figure out what to do. A small part of her would like to wake up to Rafe every day and get to know everything about him. For one, she wanted to know more about his friend who had been killed in action back in Afghanistan.

And yet, she knew firsthand that Rafe was a dominant, protective male. If she agreed to let him be himself, she might regret it. Especially if they grew close and she started to fall for him again, only to turn around and have him shatter her heart.

Her beast groaned.
Stop overthinking it. Give him a chance. True mates can be a dragon’s best chance for happiness.

“Can” being the operative word there.

He will also understand our occasional nightmares.
 

Nikki often dreamed of her time as a prisoner of the dragon hunters. It had been almost a year since her captivity, but being tied to a chair and “coerced” into talking lingered with her to the present.
 

Had Rafe been captured in the past? Maybe he could understand more than most others.

Rafe spoke again, his voice soft. “I don’t want to rush you, but your parents are no doubt waiting for us. Not to mention Bram and probably my sister might drop by any second. I don’t want to face them until I know how you want to proceed.”

“You’d stay here until I made a decision?”

Nodding, he squeezed her hand. “I would. I might be a stubborn bastard, but I’m a patient one. I wouldn’t be planning months-long operations if I weren’t.”

Give him a chance
, her dragon repeated.

As she stared at Rafe’s large hand engulfing hers, Nikki made her decision. “Okay, we’ll go with the compromise—you not trying to keep me from my work as long as it doesn’t endanger mine or the baby’s health.” Triumph flashed Rafe’s eyes, and Nikki narrowed hers. “Act cocky now and I don’t care who is in the next room, I will make Mr. Happy very unhappy.”

“Stop calling my dick that.”

“No way. It’s too much fun to tease you.”

“Is that so?” Rafe lunged at her and rolled until she was on her back on the floor, with his body caging hers. “You’re my prisoner now, so maybe we can renegotiate the name.”

Reaching out, Nikki did something she’d wanted to do since the frenzy hit and tickled his sides.

Rafe yelped, but quickly recovered. He tried to capture her wrists, but Nikki used the split-second opening to grab his neck with her arm and roll them over. For good measure, she flipped him over and tightened her arm around his neck.
 

With Rafe’s belly on the ground, she dug her knee into his back. “I think you mean you’re my prisoner, and we’re keeping the name.”

A deep, rich chuckling sound filled the room. It took Nikki a second to realize it was Rafe.
 

She’d never heard him truly laugh before. Snort, yes, but not the current manly chuckle that made her smile. “So, you can laugh.”

A female voice Nikki knew all too well jumped in—Delphine’s. “You two are adorable. Are you really going to tell me again that you won’t be mated? Because from what I see here, you two fit well together.”

Rafe’s laughter died. He touched her arm around his neck, and Nikki reluctantly let go. His voice was serious and gravelly as usual when he replied, “How about we not talk about matings? Or any other celebrations just now? We’re both exhausted and Nikki should eat something.”

As if on cue, Nikki’s stomach rumbled. So much for denying Rafe’s assumption. “What do you have for us, Mum?”

Delphine motioned toward the kitchen. “Come, come. I have several of your favorite meals. Curry, fish and chips, and shepherd’s pie, to name a few.” Her mother scrutinized Nikki from head to toe. “And you could do with some cushioning. Being all muscles surely can’t be good for the child.”

Rafe stood up and offered his hand. Too hungry to challenge him, Nikki took it and soon stood at his side. “How about we just start with some dinner, first?”

“Fine, fine. Come on. You know how your father doesn’t like to wait.”

As Delphine disappeared into the kitchen, Nikki looked up to Rafe’s face. “We need to decide what to tell them.”

“How about we find out if Bram has permission for me to stay, first. And then we can go from there.”

Silence fell and Nikki shuffled her feet. There was so much she wanted to ask Rafe, but they only had a few seconds alone. And she didn’t want to ask him anything in front of her family.

Rafe placed a hand on her lower back and gently pushed. “Come on. If we don’t get a move on soon, your dad is sure to come out and yell at me. Besides, the sooner we eat, the sooner we can sneak out and talk.”

“Am I going to regret saying I like the way you think?” she asked with a smile.

“Probably.”

Nikki laughed and allowed Rafe to guide her back into the kitchen. Maybe they wouldn’t kill each other, after all.

However, as soon as they went through the door, Nikki’s laughter died. In addition to her father and stepmother, Bram, Kai, and Jane stood in the kitchen. All of the males in the room had assessing stares.

She only hoped all hell wasn’t about to break loose.

Chapter Seven

Rafe instinctively pulled Nikki close to his side at the sight of so many male dragon-shifters in the kitchen. Every set of eyes darted to his hand on Nikki’s waist before looking at his face.

Rafe stood tall. “Whatever you have to say can wait until Nikki has something to eat.”

“I bet,” Jane said with laughter dancing in her eyes.

Nikki pushed him away and sat down in the closest chair. As she nabbed a chip, she pointed it at him. “I have food and am not putting anyone’s life in danger. You can stop being protective now.”

Rafe opened his mouth, but Jane beat him to it. “You two can save your arguing for later. Bram has something important to share.”

Shaking his head, Bram murmured, “I swear all the strong females in this clan are going to usurp my place before long.”

“Just wait until we tell Evie what you just said,” Nikki said with her mouth half-full.

Rafe remained behind Nikki’s chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Right, then, what’s so important?”

“Watch yourself, Hartley,” Bram barked. “If you’re going to be living on my land for any period of time, you’re going to have to accept I’m the leader here. Step out of line, and father of Nikki’s child or not, I will punish you accordingly.”

Hope rushed through his body, but Rafe was careful to keep his face expressionless. “So I’m to stay?”

“Yes,” Bram answered. “But you may change your mind when you hear the rest.”

“How about we stop dancing around the issue and you tell me my fate?”

Bram waved toward him and Nikki. “You two are going to work on the Bourne mission, as well as a few other side projects. At least, as long as Nikki can still perform her duties. I’m not about to have a nine-month pregnant female stalking through the forest in the middle of the night.”

Rafe nodded. “That we can agree on.”

“Good. I’m glad we agree on something, human.”

Jane spoke up. “Bloody hell, you two are going to drive Nikki crazy, aren’t you?”

Rafe ignored his sister. “Is that all, then? Working on missions?”

“Mostly,” Bram answered. “However, if you fail to capture Simon Bourne in the next six months, you’re going to be kicked out of the armed forces and handed over to the DDA.”

He squared his shoulders. “Then I’ll just make sure not to fail.”

Nikki swallowed her latest bite of fish and glared up at him. “You are aware that you saying it will be done doesn’t mean it’ll actually happen.”

Rafe met her gaze. “Of course it will. I vow right here and now to be there for my child. Once I make a vow, I see it through, no matter the cost.”

Jane pointed a finger at Rafe. “Not exactly true. You vowed to become a superhero as a child. That never happened.”

“Janey,” he growled in warning.

Nikki touched his arm and he met her gaze. “I’ll vow, too. The two of us together should be enough to see it through.”

He knew Nikki well enough that the determination in her eyes told him all he needed to know. However, he wondered if her vow also meant she wanted him to stay.

He’d just have to find out once they were alone. “Right, then that’s settled. We’ll have Bourne before you even start waddling.”

“Rafe—” Jane began.

Nikki cut her off. “I’m not going to waddle.”

Bram took a step forward. “Enough. There’s one more requirement.” As soon as Rafe met Bram’s eyes, the clan leader continued, “Having a human male living on Stonefire, who is military no less, will make many of the clan members uneasy. It’s best if you stay with Nikki. She can protect you from the clan.”

Nikki’s dad, Hector, nodded. “Good. I can keep an eye on him under my roof.”

Bram shook his head. “No, Hector. Nikki and Rafe are going to take one of the small, empty cottages and share it.”

Hector’s eyes flashed. “There’s no way I’m allowing my daughter to shack up with a human male. I know nothing about him. He didn’t even ask my permission before agreeing to the mate-claim frenzy.”

“Dad,” Nikki interjected. “Enough. I love you, but Rafe was right earlier—I’m an adult now. I’ll visit as often as possible, but it’ll be easier for Rafe and me to focus on our tasks if we have a place to ourselves. Besides, you don’t want him to be thrown in jail if we fail, and have your grandbaby grow up without a father, do you?”

Rafe wondered what game Nikki was playing at. Not ten minutes ago, she’d barely agreed to think about keeping the baby.

Still, whatever it was, her father’s expression turned into one of resignation. “I just want what’s best for my baby girl. I nearly lost you once, and I don’t want it to happen again.”

Nikki stood and moved to her father. Engulfing him in a hug, she murmured, “I’ll be fine, Dad. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

All the other dragon-shifters in the room shuffled their feet or rubbed the backs of their necks. Even Delphine was looking at Hector and Nikki with teary eyes.

Rafe hated being in the dark. One of his first tasks would be drilling Nikki on her past. If there was anything that could come back to harm her, he needed to know.

Clearing his throat, Bram broke the silence. “Right, then with that settled, I’ll let the DDA and British Army know you’ve accepted their terms. Kai and Jane can show you to your new place since it’s next door to theirs.”

Rafe blinked. “What?”

Kai met his gaze, and the corners of the dragonman’s mouth curled up. “It’ll be easier to keep an eye on you.”

“Surely there’s another empty cottage?”

“That one was just vacated by a Protector who went to foster with Lochguard in Scotland. It’s the best—and only—option you have.” Bram turned toward the back door. “Keep me updated on everything.”

Once Bram was gone, Hector pierced Rafe with his blue-eyed stare. “Hurt my daughter and I will personally drop you from a very great height.”

Before Nikki could reply, Rafe jumped in. “Hurting Nikki is the last thing I plan on doing.”

Nikki’s expression turned guarded. No doubt, their past had flashed through her mind.

She turned to pat her father’s arm. “We’ll be fine, Dad. I can take care of myself.” She turned toward Kai and Jane. “Take me and Rafe to our new place. I know you have loads to do, Kai. I don’t want to keep you.”

Kai bobbed his head. “Right, then follow me.”

Kai and Jane left the cottage without another word.

Nikki hugged her dad. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll drop by as much as I can, I promise.”

Hector grunted. “I still don’t like it. The human won’t be able to protect you like I can.”

Rafe took a step. “I will protect Nikki and the baby with my life, so stop doubting me at every turn.”

He and Hector stared at one another until Delphine finally broke the tense silence. “He’ll do fine, Hector. You haven’t seen them together like I have. He suits Nikki.”

“If you say so, love.”

“I do.”

Nikki nodded toward the door. “I’m off, then. Love you both.”

Not wanting to dally, Rafe moved as quickly as possible to Nikki’s side. He looked to each of her parents in turn before Nikki took his hand and hauled him out the door. It looked like he at least had Delphine on his side. That could come in handy later.

~~~

Nikki kept a hold of Rafe’s hand as she charged silently after Kai and Jane in the distance.

Not because she didn’t have loads to say. No, it was because she was tired of the males in her life meddling, growling, and all around acting as if she couldn’t make her own decisions. The next time she talked with Rafe, it would be alone. That way, she could pin him if need be to make him listen. Hell, she wasn’t above tying him to a chair and putting tape over his mouth.

Unfortunately, Rafe didn’t have the same idea. He leaned down and whispered, “You seemed to accept all that rather easily. I expected more of a fight.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? I’ve wanted to move out for years, but never really had a strong enough case to win against my father’s worry. Now, I do.”