She had never been loved or cared for in her entire life, and he would have to make her believe they belonged together before he told her anything about what being his mate would mean.
Bas removed the torte from the cake tin and set it before Bridget. He offered her a spoon.
“Torte, as promised. This is my grandmother’s recipe from my father’s side,” Bas said. He took a knife out of the drawer and prepared to cut it, but Bridget had already taken her spoon to the middle of it.
“Oh my god, my cake. All mine,” she said between spoonfuls.
Bas burst out laughing at the joy on her face.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, giving up on the knife and digging his own spoon in. “My mom used to make me this on bad days.”
Bridget slowed her chewing. “Your turn for the big dark secret?”
“Not a secret really. You keep asking why I feel the need to feed and coddle everyone. The real reason is someone had to,” Bas said, drinking some rum. “She died when we were young, and my dad kind of lost it. We are dragons, and they were mates. For a while, my brothers and I thought he was going to kill himself.”
“Jesus, Bas, I’m sorry,” Bridget said softly.
“It was a long time ago. We were teenagers, but Reeve was still young, and I took on caring for him because he was so confused by everything that was happening. Val completely shut down. He used to be this wild, hilarious know-it-all. After Mom, he got this hard layer that nothing has brought down since. Apollo was in the car with her and had to watch her die. He’s never talked about it, but he won’t let anyone close to him. I am the most like my mom personality-wise. I was always cooking with her. She was the heart of the house in every way. I didn’tknow how to deal with the loss of her, and being in the kitchen made me feel closest to her.”
Bas had a spoonful of cake and could hear her laugh in his mind. “The day she died, I was hiding in the cellar, and I dissociated so hard that I ended up in the astral plane. I got so good at mind magic because it was the best kind of escape I could get.
“My dad pulled himself out of his grief bit by bit, but he was never really the same. We all work too hard. It’s gotten better since Charlotte came along and mated with Reeve. Being dragged into a big family again has helped all of us. The dragons came with Taranis last year, and that has been eye-opening for all of us too. The family has softened again. It’s not up to me anymore to try and hold us all together.”
Bridget made a disgruntled sound. “It wasn’t up to you to begin with.”
“I know. Please don’t blame my dad or brothers for it. I took it on because I’m...the soft one. I always have been.”
“Being kind and nurturing doesn’t make you soft. It makes you strong. You could have let it harden and twist you. Instead, you chose the hardest path by keeping your heart gentle. I wasn’t anywhere near strong,” Bridget replied and reached for him.
Bas went to her because his heart was hurting in a way it hadn’t in years. Bridget wrapped an arm around his waist, and they kept eating in silence.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to stop being the one to feed and fuss, by the way, especially over you. It’s a dragon thinganda me thing. Is that going to be a problem?” he asked. She was so independent that he knew he would stifle and frustrate her if he didn’t rein himself in.
“Bas, I’ve never had anyone to feed or fuss over me, as you put it. I think it’s just your love language, and it’s not anything to be ashamed about.” Bridget tugged on his shirt to make himlower his head. “Besides, if I ever complain about a hot magician who cooks, I’ve clearly gone crazy, and you have my permission to lock me up.”
Bas was about to kiss her when Valentine walked in. He took one look at them and walked out again without a word. Smart man.
Bas pulled Bridget close and enjoyed the taste of her mouth just as much as he did the cake.
“We are both too tired to get up into any real mischief tonight,” she said when they finally came up for air. “But I was wondering if I could sleep with you? You really fucking scared me today, Bas, and I don’t think my nervous system is going to settle without having you close.”
Bas kissed her forehead. “I would like that too. That fucking creature still wants you and boasted as much. Until it’s dead, I’m going to want to be as close to you as possible.”
“It said that? You talked to it?” she pressed.
Bas told her what had happened inside of Lily Beauchamp’s head while he covered the remains of the cake and took her upstairs.
“You were out of it for nearly an hour, and it only sounds like it was minutes for you,” Bridget said as she crawled into the middle of his bed.
Bas stared at her, his brain and heart and dick all fighting for blood at once. Gods, how was he going to sleep at all? He lay down beside her and tried to think unsexy thoughts as she burrowed down into him.
“You know, I’ve always hated being touched for too long, but you always feel so good,” she murmured sleepily.
“It’s because you know I’m going to keep you safe from dream monsters and everything else.” Bas turned off the lamp and buried his nose in her hair. The dragon inside of him settled, content to hold her close.Mine.
“You better, Greatdrakes. At least until I can learn enough magic to do it myself,” Bridget said and sighed. “I really want to learn magic, Bas.”
“Sleep now, we can worry about magic in the morning,” he replied, putting his arm around her and letting exhaustion pull him under.
