Tears trailed down my cheeks. “I love you, too. I never thought I’d find a mate, especially one who accepted me as a dragon shifter. I can’t believe I met you.”
He opened his mouth as if to say something, when we both heard the metal storm door open at the front of the house.
I grabbed my clothes and raced down the stairs to the basement, leaving my now mate to fend for himself. In the bathroom, I wiped off all evidence of what Blaze and I had been doing before putting my clothes back on and hoping they were on right. After wiping my eyes and washing my hands, I examined the mark Blaze had left. My dream come true.
I climbed the stairs, wondering what kind of scene I would face in the kitchen. Instead of finding Blaze in a compromised predicament, I saw Kirin sitting on the couch in the living room, the controller in his hand as he turned on the television.
“Back already?” I asked, wondering where Blaze had snuck off to.
“Yeah.” Kirin turned toward me, leaning over the back of the couch. “Winslow had to go with his father and dad to a birthday party for his uncle. He didn’t want to go. I told him he could come over here, but he wasn’t allowed.”
“Oh, well at least you got to play with him for a little bit.” Finally giving Blaze and I time to join together. Though almost not enough time once again.
“Yeah.” Kirin wrinkled his face. “Daddy, do I have an uncle?”
“No.” My stomach twisted as I was reminded that I had no family for Kirin to get to know. And it seemed Blaze wasn’t close to his, either. “I don’t have any brothers or sisters, and I have no idea where my parents are.”
“But we can make a family here.” Blaze walked down the hall from our bedroom, buttoning up a new shirt. “No one has to be blood related to be family. When we’ve been here long enough, we’ll probably consider some people here to be like family. Until then, your dad and I are always here for you.”
Kirin’s little eyebrows furrowed. “Will I get a brother or sister some day?”
“Um…” I wasn’t sure how to answer. Blaze and I hadn’t talked about that yet.
Blaze wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Maybe someday. But I just started at the firehall here, and you’re starting kindergarten in September. Plus, your dad is going to be busy working in the office of your school. I think we need to focus on that right now.”
I leaned back into him and held the palm of his hand over my heart. “That’s right.” But I knew the next time I laid an egg, I would have my mate by my side. I wouldn’t have to do it all alone again.
Chapter Eighteen
Blaze
Two years later…
I climbed out of my truck, every muscle in my body aching. It had been a particularly trying day with a fire at a grain mill a couple of towns over. Not our usual area, but we’d been called to help their team of mostly volunteers. The fire had been relentless, bringing down some of the towers holding the grain. And when they fell, we had to make sure the flames didn’t spread to the fields beyond. It didn’t help that there was no water source, so we sometimes had to wait for more tanker trucks to arrive.
By showering at the station before going home, I tried to leave it all behind me, but sometimes it proved hard to do. I wanted to focus on Ladon and Kirin, both of whom had their last day of school before summer holidays.
I didn’t know what to expect when I came home, but it wasn’t finding Ladon sitting in the middle of the living room with tears streaming down his face while I could hear Kirin playing in the basement.
“What’s wrong?” I rushed to Ladon and wrapped my arms around him. “What’s got you so sad?”
“You.” He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “I was so worried about you. I heard about the fire while at work and my stomach has been in knots all day. I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it home to me. I don’t want to lose you.”
I wiped his face with my thumbs and kissed his forehead. “I told you, I will always try with everything I have to come home to you two. Besides, the fire wasn’t too bad, just more than their brigade could handle.”
“I didn’t know.” His voice cracked as more tears trailed down his cheeks. “I’m just terrified I’m going to have to do it all over again. I don’t think I can handle it this time.”
“Handle what?” My heart started to race, confused by his words. “What are you going to have to do all over again?”
“Raise a child.” He sobbed, closing his eyes before leaning against my chest.
“A child? What do you mean? Kirin’s fine, right?” The exhaustion from the day made it hard for me to figure out what Ladon was telling me.
“He’s fine.” Ladon looked up at me. “But raising two kids on my own without you or any family is going to be too much.”
I sucked in a quick breath. “Two kids? You’re eggbound?” We’d been trying, but I hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. I don’t even remember Ladon going into heat. We just had sex whenever we had a chance.
He nodded. “I saw the doctor on my lunch break. I told him I haven’t been off suppressants for that long, but he confirmed it.”
