The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Seventeen

After nearly four weeks living with his cousin's dragon clan—PineRock—situated not far from Lake Tahoe on the California side, all Jake wanted to do was sneak off and hop on the first flight back to Scotland.

Not because the PineRock dragons and humans didn't welcome him or that his cousin and her dragon mate weren't going above and beyond by keeping him safe. No, it was because he wanted to talk with Sylvia and he wasn't allowed to make any sort of outside contact until ADDA said he could.

Some bullshit about safety or something.

He couldn't even send Sylvia a letter, as old-fashioned as that was these days.

For all intents and purposes, he'd just vanished, abandoning both Sylvia and Sophie without a word.

Sophie.He wondered for the thousandth time what other milestone he might've missed by now.

Or all the ones he'd miss in the future. Ones he and Sylvia should be cooing about together during the day.

And then sharing other joys at night.

He was about to do one of the things he despised the most—go down the road of what-ifs—when he heard his cousin Ashley's voice from behind him. "Glowering at trees again? Or maybe at the birds this time?"

He turned around and frowned at his dark-haired, fair-skinned cousin. The mischief dancing in her blue eyes didn't bode well. "What do you want?"

"And to think I told everyone how charming you were when you first arrived."

He sighed. "Sorry, Ash. I'm…not in a good mood. Being caged and useless, not to mention unable to see my daughter, is close to a nightmare for me."

"I know." Her expression softened as she took a step closer and touched his arm. "But I have news that might help."

Hope flickered in his chest. "They're letting me go free again?"

She shook her head, her long hair swaying in front of her. "No. Although I think this might be a very close second to freedom."

He narrowed his eyes and growled, "Just tell me already, Ashley. I'm not in the mood for games."

She shrugged one shoulder. "I'm mated to a dragon-shifter, Jake. Growling doesn't work on me." Just as he was about to do it again, she put up a hand. "But I promised Wes I wouldn't give away the surprise. So stop growling and just follow me."

And without waiting for him to reply, she strode off, and Jake had to quicken his pace to keep up with her. "Is it something to do with Ben?"

Ben was Ashley and Wes's young son. And while they were in no way conscious of causing him pain, being around his cousin's child only made him miss Sophie even more.

"No. Ben is with his grandma Cynthia for a few hours." She glanced over at him. "And keep asking questions if you want, but you know how well I can keep a secret."

"What, like how you kept your burning lust for Wes hidden for years until the two of you finally came to your senses?"

Ashley's cheeks tinged pink. "Can we not talk about my lust? You're my cousin, and it's weird."

He smiled, which was rare for Jake these days. "I think every single clan member I've met has told me your and Wes's story. It's kind of hard not to bring it up."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe, but you don't have to bring it up every day."

He full-on grinned. "But it's fun. I'm bored and need something to do, after all."

And teasing Ashley helped him forget about who he'd rather be teasing and laughing with.

Before he could think yet again of Sylvia and Sophie, Ashley's reply garnered his attention. "Well, being bored might not be a problem for much longer." She stopped walking and he did as well. "How about we race back to my place? It's been a while since I've beaten you. Unless you're too old now?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "That was more than twenty years ago, and you cheated."

She raised her head a fraction. "I never cheated. I merely scoped out the racecourse ahead of time and knew which shortcuts to take."

He rolled his eyes. "That's still cheating."

She waved a hand in dismissal. "This isn't a camping trip to Yosemite. We both know the way between here and my home. And I promise not to take any shortcuts, only the direct path. Ready?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're a mother and a dragon clan leader's wife?"

She grinned. "Of course. But having a little fun isn't something you should forget as you get older. Besides, your surprise is waiting at the end of it."

He sighed. "Fine. All of my bruises have healed up, so it should be fair."

"Good." Ashley readied herself. "On the count of three. One, two, three!"

As she raced off, Jake followed. His cousin was faster, but he was slightly taller, and he soon caught up to her.

They had just about reached her home when he noticed someone sitting in front of the window to the living room, and he stopped in his tracks.

Could it be? He walked a little closer until he made out Sylvia's dark hair, small nose, and full lips. Her eyes were closed as she tilted her face into the sunshine.

He blinked, but she didn't disappear.

Somehow, someway, Sylvia was here. On PineRock.

Jake raced into the house and hoped like hell he wasn't imagining things.

* * *

Sylvia triedher best to smile at the pale, ginger-haired American dragon leader named Wes Dalton, but she couldn't quite manage it.

Not only was her dragon still silent because of the drug she'd had to take in order to fly, but the number of flight transfers and then a long car drive to get to Clan PineRock—the American dragon clan nestled some miles away from the nearest human city—had sapped most of her energy. Add in taking care of her daughter over all those miles, and Sylvia could barely keep her eyes open.

Maybe under other circumstances she'd enjoy the massive pine forests that put most in the UK to shame, or the hills and peaks that were similar yet different from Scotland, or even wish to see more of the beautiful, blue Lake Tahoe she'd glimpsed on her way here from the Las Vegas airport.

However, for the moment, she merely held Sophie close and allowed her son Jamie to chat away with Wes while Sylvia tried to stay awake.

She'd wanted to bring Ian, but Jamie had begged to come to America. And sensing her youngest son needed a chance to be someplace where he wasn't merely one of the MacAllister brood—one where he had been the youngest for more than twenty years—she'd given in. He had a way with Sophie, too, which had come in handy on the various flights.

But her son loved to talk, and of course that meant poor Wes had to endure his chatter. Jamie had now moved from learning about the dragon clans in the area to asking about any football teams nearby. Once Wes established he meant soccer and not American football, they'd started discussing how they should start a team or two in the area.

As she studied the American dragon leader, she had to admit he seemed genuinely interested in what Jamie had to say. Male bonding, she supposed.

Hmm, maybe Jamie could get to know Wes better and then ask him to reach out to Finn. That could work.

She'd ask him to do it later. For now, however, Sylvia merely sat on the chair near the window and held her daughter close. And as the sun warmed her, she soon half dozed until she heard the front door bang open, and seconds later, Jake stood in the doorway.

His ginger hair was windswept, his hazel eyes bright, and his cheeks slightly flushed above his close-cut beard. He was gorgeous, as always, and all she could think of was how much she wanted to kiss him again.

If he still wanted to kiss her, that was. Sylvia still didn't know how he'd taken Arlo's kidnapping. One of her fears was that Jake blamed Sylvia for it.

The conversation died in the room as Jake walked toward her. Sylvia slowly stood to avoid waking her daughter, her heart thudding in her chest. She watched his eyes, looking for anger, or disdain, or any other number of negative emotions.

But all she saw was joy and relief.

Maybe he didn't blame her after all.

Jake gently cupped her cheek. "Are you really here?"

Leaning into his touch, she inhaled the mixture of pine and spicy male, her worry fading as some of her tiredness melted away. "Aye, I am."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, erasing even more of her built-up tension, before doing the same to Sophie's forehead. "Hello, little one." He brushed Sophie's hair from her forehead as their daughter stirred a wee it. "Daddy's missed you." Emotion choked Sylvia's throat as Jake looked back into her eyes. "And you."

Her voice cracked as she began, "Jake—"

Wes's voice interrupted her. "We'll just leave you two alone for a little while. Come on, Jamie. I'll show you where you'll be staying and then introduce you to some of the other young males here."

Sylvia barely noticed the others leave. But once the door clicked close, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I hope it's okay I came. I just needed to see you again and knew this was the only way I could do it."

Jake brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Of course it's fine you came. I wanted to go back to you, but they wouldn't let me."

A whisper of guilt raced through her. "That's partially my fault. I'm sure they've told you about Arlo and why he took you."

He growled, "The jealous bastard and his actions aren't your fault, Sylvia. Don't ever think that."

She searched his gaze. "But if not for me, you wouldn't be banished here, unable to see your family and run your restaurants."

He stroked his thumb against her cheek. "It's not exactly banishment, my dragon lady. And now that you're here, staying with PineRock just got a whole hell of a lot better."

She tried searching his eyes to see if he was merely trying to make her feel better. But all she saw was happiness and something she couldn't define in his gaze.

Did he truly not blame her at all for his circumstances?

At this point, her dragon would usually speak up. But she couldn't, and Sylvia sighed at the silence.

He murmured, "What’s wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's silly. I'm just tired is all."

He rubbed her upper arm. "Tell me."

"Well, in order to fly, I had to silence my dragon for a few days. And it's a wee bit…strange. I know you've never had to worry about another voice in your head, but it's like half of me is missing."

He gently took Sophie from her, held the baby in one arm, and then pulled her close to his side with the other. She melted against him without a thought as he asked, "She'll come back, though, right?"

"Aye, she should. Very rarely the dragon stays silent longer, sometimes forever, but it's unlikely."

He squeezed her gently, and Sylvia took strength from the gesture. He replied, "Well, is there anything we can do to help bring her back sooner? I rather miss asking you what she's saying."

She smiled up at him. "You just want her to say some more dirty words, aye?"

He winked. "Of course." He nuzzled her cheek a second before adding, "But if there's anything I can do, tell me." He paused a second before asking, "Unless you have to fly right back?"

She shook her head. "Your cousin Ashley is quite a marvel, really. Between her and a few humans both on Stonefire and Lochguard, they managed to get me an extended stay. Something about a trial run for better relations between the UK and America. Although I do have to write an official report at the end of my time here, but that was hardly a reason to keep me from coming."

He smiled at her. "So not only did our one-night stand give us dear Sophie, it might change US and UK relations for the better."

Sylvia snorted. "That's a bit much." And the devil in her, the one that loved to tease when around Jake, came out. "I assure you, your cock isn't that important."

Jake laughed, and the sound washed away much of her exhaustion and anxiety. She'd worried about things being awkward, or it being a mistake to come halfway around the world just to see him. But his laughter made it all worth it.

Of course it was loud and unplanned, so Sophie scrunched her wee nose and finally opened her eyes. Before she could wail, Jake released Sylvia to bring Sophie up to his chest, to his eye level. He bopped her nose as he also made funny faces at her.

And then Sophie laughed for the very first time and Sylvia stopped breathing.

Jake noticed it and murmured, "What is it?"

"She hasn't laughed before." She met his gaze. "That was the first time."

Pride filled his eyes before he looked back at their daughter. "Well, now your daddy has three gifts all in one day. You, your mom, and now your first laugh." He kissed Sophie's cheek and Sylvia's heart melted. "Now I'll have to see just how many times I can get you to laugh to make your mom happy."

Tears threatened to fall, but Sylvia took a deep breath and kept them back. She was absolutely not going to cry today.

No, she wanted to spend time with Jake and try to enjoy it while she still could.

Because even though she hadn't told him yet, she knew that if they did decide they wanted to mate, it would mean not only him giving up his life back in San Francisco for good, but Sylvia would most likely have to give up hers back in Scotland too.

Until the DDA and ADDA declared it safe for Jake, he couldn't go back to the UK.

So if he did eventually want to mate her—and she was hoping more and more he would—she would probably have to live in America for a while.

Which meant not seeing her older children every day like she was used to.

But all of that was a big what-if. She would take each day as it came, ensure Jake got to spend as much time with Sophie as possible, and go from there.

And not for the first time, she wished her dragon was back to tell her it would be all right in the end.