She leaned against the door. Harper was exhausted, hungry, and hurting. And here was a man telling her that she was bleeding to death. Then what he said occurred to her.
"Okay, I might not be as smart as most people, but how the hell can you smell when someone has lost a lot of blood?" When the man on the other side of the door laughed, she wasn't encouraged, nor impressed. "Also, how the hell do I know you are what you say you are? For all I know, you could be some nutball that wants to come in here and have sex with a very fat woman."
If you would only open the door, they can help you. She didn't want to … Harper didn't want a damned thing to do with these people and their jewelry. The dragon had told her over and over that she needed to wear the torque so that he could keep her safe. And now that she had the stupid thing on her arm, she felt like there was more shit going on than before. Harper just wanted things back the way they'd been before all this.
Leaning against the door, she tried to stop the tears that seemed to be falling all the time. Harper wanted someone to help her, to hold her when she was emotional and make sure that she had a safe life. But there wasn't anyone there for her, all because of her fucking sister. And now here she was, with two men outside her door trying to help. She wasn't sure there was enough help in the world to get her out of this one.
Opening the door was one of the hardest things she had ever done. Standing there, seeing the two of them for the first time, she wondered what the fuck they were feeding people in Ohio. These guys, like the one that had hurt her, were as big as a fucking house.
"I'm not sure about this." The man with the big bag nodded and moved into the room with her. The other man, younger by a few years, she'd bet, just stood there. When the baby kicked her, she put her hand over her belly and watched his face as he stared at her. "My sister's kid."
"Yeah? How does that work?" She told him she'd been tricked into being a surrogate for her. "Tricked? I'm assuming that there is a story there, but if you don't mind, we'd like to get you fixed up first. Also, do you know if there is a place here that might bring food? We kind of left in a hurry."
"Yes. But I'd not recommend it. The last time I had pizza delivered, the guy thought his tip should be me on my back. I'm not into forced sex any more than I am forced pregnancies." He grinned at her and she wondered if he knew how sexy that was. "You should know that I don't charm easily. I've been screwed over enough for several lifetimes."
"I won't hurt you." For some weird reason she believed him. "Kenton and I are the dragons you've been told about. I'm sure that the dragon-Caelin is his name, in the event that he didn't tell you-has been telling you how we're all connected, correct?"
"Yes. But that doesn't mean much to me." She moved out of his way when he asked to come in. Grabbing the wall to keep herself from falling, she squeaked when he picked her up in his arms. "Good heavens, put me down. I must weigh a ton."
"Actually, you're very light. I thought you'd be heavier." She wasn't sure if he'd just insulted her or not, but decided to let it go for now. "Now, I'm going to hold you while Kenton takes care of your cut. Then you're going to tell us about this pizza guy. He and I need to have a little conversation. That is no way to treat a lady, and he'll soon learn that lesson when I find him."
It was too much. Harper wasn't sure how this hormone thing was supposed to work, but at the smallest thing, she'd be a mess. Now was no different. As she sobbed out her story to the two of them, Kenton pulled out a little vial of something and she felt a needle pinch in her arm. He was telling her she was going to be fine now even as she drifted off.
Harper wanted to tell him she'd not been fine in a long time, but she was too fuzzy to make her mouth work. Even as she snuggled up to the man who held her, she had the strangest feeling that she was in more trouble than she'd been before all this.
Chapter 2
Grady turned in his seat so that he could see her in the back. While she was buckled in, a pillow behind her head, he still worried about her being sore when she woke up. He looked over at Kenton when he said his name.
"Do you know what she meant about being tricked into being a surrogate? I mean, has dragon told you?" Grady said that he'd been quiet since they'd gotten to the hotel. "Yeah, to me as well. I thought he'd at least tell us something, but I can't get him to answer me."