He moved to the front window when the girls talked about going to bed, listened as Charlie asked about the plants, and smiled when he heard the joy his presents had given her. She may not have known they were from him, but she now knew for sure they were not from Sam. It was only a matter of time before she figured it out. Dr. Charlene Gallagher was smart, as well as beautiful, strong, quick-witted, and a force to be reckoned with. All the things, he had to admit, that made her perfect for him.
When he’d realized she was his mate, Aaron had done everything in his considerable power to stay away from her. Had gone so far as to ask Rayne to take him off Sam’s guard detail so that he didn’t have to be at the hospital at all. Anything to avoid seeing the woman who made him think of all the things he’d sworn didn’t matter.
Thoughts of her were incredibly distracting but also a lot of fun. Charlie had curves in all the right the places, was tall enough to rest her head on his shoulder, and best of all, fit perfectly in his arms. The first time she’d glanced in his direction, her piercing blue eyes had grabbed him by the soul, making him helpless to do anything but stare. He’d felt the long, warm fingers of destiny wrap around his heart, embedding themselves for all time, followed by the scent of roses and dewdrops that had filled the air, a scent forever identifying her as his mate.
He closed his eyes, imaging the bounce of her short blonde hair and the sway of her perfectly rounded ass as she walked away from him. Her laugh reminded him of tiny bells singing their song, and her clear, melodious voice was smooth as the finest whiskey. Aaron wanted to hear her shouting his name in passion as much as he wanted to draw his next breath.
A sigh escaped as the thought of their first kiss floated through his consciousness. Aaron had heard his brethren talk about kissing their mates. He’d scoffed and dismissed them as the musings of lovesick fools. It was now obvious he had joined the ranks of those fools, having to admit he’d never been more wrong in all of his hundred years. Her perfectly bowed lips were soft to the touch, sweet to the taste, and in that one heart-stopping kiss, he had been forever lost; helpless to do anything but claim the one miraculous woman meant for him and him alone.
I really am a lovesick idiot. The guys are never gonna let me live this one down.
He spent the night watching her sleep and wishing he were lying beside her. As the first rays of sunshine shone through the trees, Aaron touched Charlie’s mind one last time. He had to be sure she was still sleeping soundly before he left. Rising from his crouch, he made his way down the dirt round to his Harley. After climbing on, he sped away, vowing to man up and talk to the Charlie later that day.
As he turned onto the road leading to the lair, a familiar voice sounded in his head. “Where are ya, loser?” Royce, the oldest of their Force and most levelheaded, laughed.
“Two minutes from home. Where are you?”
“Standing on your front porch with a bottle of scotch and an extra-large everything
pizza. Hurry the hell up.”
“Pizza and booze before noon?”
“Pizza, at least. It’s the breakfast of champions.”
“I’m hurrying,” Aaron chuckled.
True to his word, Royce was standing on his porch, a pizza in one hand and a bottle in the other. Parking his bike in the driveway, Aaron made quick work of opening the door and getting glasses and plates, not wanting the pizza to get cold. He also grabbed the iced tea and set the scotch aside for later, while catching up with his longtime friend. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but I thought you and Kyra weren’t coming back until you found Calysta.”
“Yeah, that was the plan, but Kyra found new clues and needed to talk to her Aunt Della. Plus, I think she wanted to see Grace. I have a feeling the baby bug has bitten my lovely mate.”
“Oh damn, lucky you. You ready for the family gig?”
“Actually, I think I am. I know Kyra will be an awesome mom and having a little guy to teach to use a sword, hunt, and fish…be a mini-me, sounds cool.”
“What if it’s a girl?”
“Then I move us to the farthest regions of the earth and build a hundred foot wall surrounded by a moat filled with gators around our well-guarded home and have fifteen locks on every door of our castle.”
Aaron choked and spit his tea across the table, “Seriously, old man? No way Kyra would let you get away with that.”
“Get away with what?” Kyra asked as she made her way through the front door with another pizza, and what smelled like muffins in a basket hanging from her arm.
“Your boy here says when you have a little girl…and I quote… ‘I’ll move us to the farthest regions of the earth and build a hundred foot wall surrounded by a moat filled with gators around our well-guarded castle.”
Kyra shook her head and chuckled, “Whatever, big guy. Just keep dreaming. If our children are anything like you and your brothers, we’ll need our clan and theirs, plus the coven just to keep tabs on them.”
“You know that’s right,” Royce agreed before pulling Kyra into his lap and kissing her like he hadn’t seen her in days.
Aaron was immediately uncomfortable as thoughts of Charlie and feelings of jealousy that she was not in his arms threatened to overwhelm him. Never one for sharing his feelings, he quickly covered with his best defense…sarcasm. “All right you two, stop that shit or get a room.”
The couple broke apart, the old man laughed, and Kyra stuck out her tongue as she crawled off Royce’s lap. “Do you have anything to drink besides beer, scotch, or iced tea, nasty ass?”
“Nasty ass?” Aaron asked in mock anger.
She smacked him on the back of the head on her way past. “You heard me.”
Chuckling and rubbing his head, he answered, “There’s Diet Pepsi. Kyndel threatened to beat me senseless if I didn’t have her favorite when she came over, so I relented.” Then, as an afterthought he added, “There’s also caffeine free something for Grace in the cabinet.”
While Kyra was rattling around the kitchen, Royce asked, “So you gonna fill me on what the hell’s going on with Charlie?”
“You know most of the story. We danced. We kissed. She saw Anya in dragon form and ran away. End of story.”
“Okay…” Royce’s eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared under the hair laying across his brow. When he spoke, his tone said he wasn’t buying Aaron’s story. “Why haven’t you gone over there…made things right? Come on, man, you’ve battled hordes, wizards, and hunters, you gonna let one woman bring you down?”
Aaron chose to ignore the snort that came from the kitchen, deciding he didn’t want the white witch in on the conversation any more than she already was. He stood as he spoke, “Yeah, sure, okay.”
He threw his hands in the air as he paced from one end of the room to the other. “I’ll just show up, knock on her door, say ‘hey’, then tell her all about dragons and knights and old mages that combined the two. If she hasn’t fainted by then, or better yet, kicked me in the nuts, I’ll also tell her she’s my mate. And that the Universe said so. Wonder if I’ll get the ‘we’re meant to be together for at least a thousand years or so’ part out before she slams the door in my face?”
Turning on his heel and heading back the direction he’d come, he mumbled more to himself than his brethren, “Should go over like a fart in church.”
Royce’s chuckle stopped Aaron mid-pace and the words his brethren spoke grated on his nerves, especially because of their truth. “That’s about the size of it. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that straightforward and honest works the best. Oh! And then there’s groveling…that seems to be a winner for me.”
Kyra nodded behind him just as another voice entered the fray. “You know you really don’t have to grovel. All you need to do is take your ass over there and talk to her,” Sam instructed, shocking both men.
Aaron and Royce spun around at the sound of their brethren’s laugh and found both with ear-to-ear grins.
Afraid to hope, Aaron asked, “You really think that’s all it’ll take?” Then added, pointing at Sam, “Weren’t you sleeping soundly at the cottage just a few hours ago?”
“I was, but this whole dragon’s mate thing means I don’t need much sleep. Now, for your original question…I know that’s all it’ll take.” Sam nodded and Lance shrugged behind her. Leave it to the pain in the ass of their group to lend no moral support whatsoever.
“We spent the night talking…”
“And drinking.” Her husband laughed, quickly followed by a grunt as her elbow connected with his gut.
“As I was saying, we spent the night talking. She asked tons of questions. I answered them all the best I could, and when we went to sleep, she was her old self. I’m sure you could tell a difference in her.”
The young doctor paused and winked with a coy smile plastered on her face. “I probably shouldn’t tell you, and if any of you ever breathe a word of this I will deny it and then kick your butts…” She looked around the room with narrowed eyes in an attempt to intimidate them all before continuing. “She’s attracted to you but is resisting it, as only my stubborn bestie can do. Every time I mentioned your name, her pupils dilated and there was a catch in her breath. She’s got it bad, but has no clue what’s really going on. I explained mates and their connection, hoping it might lead her to a logical conclusion, but as I said, she’s in denial. She’s a sharp cookie, though. If she hasn’t figured it out yet, it won’t be long. Now it’s all up to you, bud.”