The Dragon's Dilemma (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 1) (27 page)

She frowned. “Didn’t I answer that already?”

He brushed a piece of damp hair from her face. “You never actually gave me an answer. As much as I appreciate hearing you love me, I need a yes or no.”

The corner of her mouth ticked up. “So you’re the kind of dragonman who needs everything spelled out to the letter?”

“In this, yes. Because I don’t dare hope or start planning the future until I hear a clear ‘Yes, I’ll be your mate, Fraser’ from you.”

“Hey, I don’t sound like that.”

He bopped her nose. “You do, but despite that, I still love you.”

“You’re exhausting sometimes, Fraser MacKenzie.”

He grinned. “That’s what my family keeps telling me.”

Holly looped her arms behind his neck and tilted her head. “I will mate you.”
 

Joy swelled his heart. He’d been fairly certain she’d say yes, but hearing the words made him the happiest he’d been in his life.

Fraser leaned down to kiss her, but she shook her head. He frowned. “Why are you shaking your head when you just said yes?”

“Because you didn’t let me finish. I will mate you, but only on one condition.”

He growled out, “What’s the bloody condition?”

“I need to meet with your family and make sure everything is okay with them.”

“Of course everything is—”

She cut him off. “They’re an important part of who you are. In order for you to be happy, you need them. Let’s have lunch with them tomorrow and you can meet with my dad at the same time. If everything feels right, then I’ll claim you as mine in front of them all.”

“I can’t see you scooping me up and carrying me away.”

She sighed. “Not all of us need to go caveman-like to claim someone.”

He lightly tapped her backside. “I’m not sure why you’re complaining. I know you like it.”

“I’m afraid to confirm or deny that. Your ego is pretty big today already.”

Leaning down, he nipped the side of her neck. “Then maybe I need to find other ways of making you answer my question.”

There was a warning in her tone. “Fraser.”

He chuckled. “Not right now. I’ll do it when you least expect. For the moment, I need to feed you. Your stomach keeps rumbling and my dragon doesn’t like it.”

Holly gently tugged his hair and he moved to look into her eyes. “Do all dragon-shifter males act this way? As if I couldn’t take care of myself?”

He frowned. “Of course you can take care of yourself. But a good male keeps his female happy. That way, she won’t leave him.”

Smiling, she cupped his cheek. “Good answer. But if I say I want to do something, then I’m going to do it. That will make me happy. Understand?”

His dragon growled inside the maze, and Fraser agreed with his beast. However, he would probably need to compromise with his human every day for the rest of their lives. Despite the challenges ahead, he found himself looking forward to it. “For now. But if we ever have a child, I will take care of you whilst you’re pregnant. It’s a dragonman’s duty. I hope you understand that.”

Holly searched his eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet. “If it ever happens, then we’ll revisit the idea.”

He took her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks. “Even if all we have are ten cats and a hamster, I will be happy. Because, Holly Anderson, all I need is you.”

Her eyes shined with wetness. “Fraser.”

He gave her a gentle kiss and added, “But I’m drawing the line at ten cats. If you try for number eleven, I’ll sleep in the forest by myself. The wee beasties tend to follow me around and the last thing I need is all of those furry bodies trying to squirm into bed between me and my mate.”

Mischief danced in Holly’s eyes. “Now that you’ve told me that, I have some plans to make. Maybe your brother and sister will help me see them through.”

He sighed. “Bloody fantastic.”

Holly laughed and the sound sent a rush of happiness through his body. He could listen to her laugh all day and it would never be enough.

She snuggled into his chest. “Now about that food…”

“Oh, aye? Now you’re wanting me to pamper you?” She smacked his bum and Fraser chuckled. “I can’t promise anything fancy, but even I can fry up some eggs and bacon.”

Nuzzling his skin, she murmured, “You’ll do, Fraser. You’ll do.”

Hugging Holly tight against his body, he closed his eyes and memorized the moment. He was confident everything would go well the next day, but there was always the chance her father wouldn’t accept him. After all, Fraser had put Holly’s life in danger several times already.

Fraser would treasure every second between now and then. It was a rare gift to find one’s mate and earn her love. He wasn’t about to do anything to fuck that up ever again.

Chapter Twenty

The next day, Holly stopped about twenty feet from Lorna MacKenzie’s cottage and squeezed Fraser’s hand in hers.
 

What happened inside that cottage would determine her future. As much as she loved Fraser, she wouldn’t be the one to cause strife in his family. Fergus might have said he wanted her to come back to Lochguard over the phone, but that had been during the heat of the dragon siege.

She only hoped it held true in the present as well. The thought of never seeing Fraser ever again, let alone tease him, was a bleak future indeed.

But if it meant Fraser could mend things with his family, she would do it. For him.

Fraser released her hand and hugged her against his side. As she melted against his heat, he whispered, “You won’t believe me no matter how many times I tell you everything will be fine. And here you are, delaying things. If there’s one way to upset my mum, it’s to be tardy.”

She frowned up at him. “That isn’t helping, Fraser.”

“Hey, it’s the truth.” He squeezed her again. “If I know my family at all, and I do, then they won’t hate you, honey. If anything, they’re going to try to draw you into the madness. Faye, in particular, has been looking for an ally against me and Fergus her whole life.”

“It’s not Faye I’m worried about.”

Before Fraser could reply, the door opened to reveal the tall, auburn-haired form of Fergus MacKenzie.

Holly held her breath and waited for the hatred or worse, indifference, to flash in the dragonman’s eyes. But Fergus merely shouted, “Oi, hurry up you two. Faye and Arabella are starving and their whining is driving me crazy.”

She released her breath as Fraser answered, “Maybe we should stay out here a bit longer, Fergus. Then you can be the focus of their irritation a wee bit longer.”

Fergus shook his head. “If I have to carry you inside this house myself, I will, brother.” Fergus then grinned at Holly. “And then I’ll be back for you.”

Fraser growled. “You’ll not touch her, Fergus. Holly is my female.”

Fergus raised his brows. “She’s about to become my sister-in-law and if you think I’m going to never hug the lass or poke her side, then you clearly don’t know me, let alone our family, very well.”

Fraser’s grip tightened around Holly’s waist. “Then don’t touch her skin. I’m going to implement a gloves and jumper rule. If you wear both of them and don’t touch your cheek to hers, then I’ll allow you to hug Holly.”

Holly was about to protest about Fraser allowing anything, but Fergus was in front of them in the blink of an eye. Before she could utter a word, Fergus growled out, “Are you trying to order me around?”

Fraser leaned closer to his twin. “Aye, I am.”

Something sparked in Fergus’s eyes. He then grinned slowly and reached out a finger to poke Holly’s cheek. Fraser roared as he released his grip on Holly and tackled his brother to the ground.

Holly sighed as the two brothers wrestled in the grass. She needed to figure out how the hell she could tear the two of them apart. Given that both of them were at least 200 pounds of muscle each, it was going to be quite the feat.

So distracted by Fraser and Fergus, Holly didn’t noticed Lorna MacKenzie show up next to her. Holly jumped when the dragonwoman muttered, “The idiots.”

Holly glanced over and saw that Lorna was carrying a wooden spoon. “They’re fighting because of me.”

Lorna shook her head. “Bollocks. They’ve found something to wrestle about nearly every day of their lives. It’s when they’re not picking on each other that I start to worry.”

Holly blinked. “This is normal?”

Lorna grinned. “Aye, it is. Does it want to send you running for the hills?”

Holly straightened her shoulders. “Of course not.”

Lorna reached out her free hand and lightly patted her cheek. “You’ll do, Holly.” Lorna looked back at the men. “Leave this to me.”

In the next instant, Lorna smacked the closest male bum with her wooden spoon. One of the twins yelped. Only when he shouted, did Holly recognize Fraser’s voice. “Mum, stop it. We’re not children any more.”

Lorna waved her spoon. “You could’ve fooled me.” She looked to Fergus. “You, in particular, I’m disappointed about, Fergus Roger. You know what’s waiting inside the cottage.”

Holly dared to ask, “What’s waiting inside the cottage?”

Lorna looked at her with mischief in her eyes. “You’ll just have to come inside and see, child.”

Holly didn’t detect any worry or nervousness in Lorna’s voice or eyes. She only hoped that meant it was a good surprise; Holly had had far too many of the other kind of late.

The twins stood up and brushed the dirt and grass from their clothes. Fergus was the first to speak up. “Aye, well, shall we go inside, then? I think Fraser learned his lesson.”

Fraser shoved Fergus. “More like you learned yours.”

Holly sighed again. She started to see Lorna MacKenzie in a whole new light; the dragonwoman was a saint for raising the three MacKenzie siblings.

Just as they started walking toward the cottage, the front door banged open. It was Faye MacKenzie.

Faye scowled and clapped her hands. “Are you two clowns quite finished? I’m starving. The sooner you get your arses in here, the sooner I can eat.”

Fraser scowled. “Thanks for the greeting, sister.”

Faye shrugged. “Do I ever greet you when I’m hungry? It’s not like I’m going to start now.” Faye turned. “Now, come on before I send Finn out here. He’ll get you inside asap, especially as Arabella isn’t feeling well.”

Holly’s curiosity piqued. “What’s wrong with her? Maybe I can help?”

Lorna jumped in. “I doubt you can, lass. Arabella is having triplets and she’s still in a bit of a shock.”

Fraser frowned. “When the bloody hell did they find that out?”

Lorna answered, “Yesterday evening. So I’d recommend we all head inside as soon as possible. Finn and Ara came to support you and Holly, but Arabella isn’t feeling all that social.”

Holly moved to Fraser’s side. After taking his hand, she tugged. “Come. I want to see if there’s anything I can do to help her. Expectant mothers who find out they’re having multiple births need to be watched closely. As much as I hate to say it, they often go into bouts of depression.”

Lorna chimed in. “I was hoping you could help her. But don’t let on that you know about the triplets yet. It’ll ruin the surprise we have for you.”

Holly looked askance at Lorna. “Okay. But can I at least introduce Fraser to my dad first?”

Lorna nodded. “Aye, but let’s get a move on.”

As Lorna herded them all inside, Fraser squeezed her hand. His touch helped to ground her.

There might not be rogue dragons dropping her out of the sky or holding her hostage inside a hospital, but it looked as if there would never be a dull moment on Lochguard.

~~~

As Fraser walked down the hall with his mate’s hand in his and his brother right behind him, his tension eased away. Things looked to be going right with his family.

His dragon spoke up.
Of course they are. You and Holly worry too much.

Not everything is as simple as you like to think.

Holly is our mate, which makes her a MacKenzie. You love her, so the others will, too. It’s not complicated.

Fraser wanted to sigh, but knew it’d cause Holly and his mother to worry. Instead, he looked to Fergus and whispered, “What’s the surprise?”

Fergus shook his head. “A thousand horses couldn’t drag it out of me.”

“I thought we weren’t keeping secrets?”

“This is different—it’s a surprise.” Fergus mimicked zipping his lips closed and throwing away the key.

The next second, they walked into the dining room and Fraser blinked.

Not only was the table decorated with a table cloth, candles, and fancy china, a giant cake sat on a table off to the side, next to a large black box. There was also a few sheets of silver fabric draping from the ceiling, tied around the middle with cord. Sprigs of heather draped from each cord.

The room was decorated for a mating ceremony.

Fraser met Finn’s eyes. Despite the circles under his cousin’s eyes, they were also filled with humor and happiness. Finn waved a hand. “Surprise.”

Holly frowned. “What’s going on?”

Ross Anderson walked up to Holly. After kissing his daughter’s cheek, Ross murmured, “They seem to think you’re going to marry your dragon-shifter today.”

Holly looked to Fraser. “Did you know about this?”

Fraser shook his head. “I swear I had no idea. But I guess this means I need an answer.”

Faye growled out, “Well, she’d better give one because if there’s not going to be a mating ceremony today, then I’m going to start eating.”

Fraser ignored his sister and kept his attention on Holly. “What do you say, honey? If my family went to the trouble of throwing us a surprise mating ceremony, then I think it’s safe to say they want you to be part of the family.”

Lorna chimed in. “Why wouldn’t we? It’ll get you out of the house.”

Everyone chuckled. Even Arabella smiled.

Fraser brushed Holly’s cheek. “Will you agree, lass? Please?”

Holly opened her mouth, but then shut it again. Fraser’s dragon snarled, but he managed to keep his beast in check.

His human looked away from him to her father. “I guess I should introduce my dragon-to-be, then. Dad, this is Fraser MacKenzie. Fraser, this is my dad, Ross Anderson.”