The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Twenty

Sylvia awoke to strong arms wrapped around her and a rather noticeable hardness against her arse.

She didn't have to open her eyes to know it was Jake. She'd recognize his heat and his scent anywhere.

Just as she contemplated teasing him awake, his hot breath blew against her ear as he said, "Good morning."

Opening her eyes, she saw light filtering through the curtains. "What? It's the next day?"

Nuzzling her neck, he said, "Yes. Don't you remember? You fed Sophie a few times, although you were barely awake. Maybe you can do it asleep now?"

She lightly ran her finger across the hairs of his forearm. "Aye, I don't have to be fully awake. It's just routine—feed and fall back asleep. But I still can't imagine sleeping for that long."

Jake kissed her neck, sending a shiver through her body, before replying, "It's okay to sleep if you need it. You were tired, Sylvia." A hand moved up to her breast to tweak her sensitive nipple—grateful dragon-shifters didn’t leak like many humans—and she bit back a groan as he continued, "Although I hope you're rested now."

Wiggling her arse against his erection, she smiled at his moan. "Aye, I am. So I can go make the rounds of meeting people. Maybe visit with the schoolchildren to talk about Lochguard, better get to know your cousin. See how PineRock is different from Lochguard. I should get up and start it all."

He nipped where her neck met her shoulder. "You can do that later."

Reaching back, she dug her fingers into his arse cheek. "Why? Did you have other plans?"

He kissed his way up her neck until he could nibble her earlobe, and Sylvia melted a little more against him. "I thought my mouth could get to know your body again. You know, just to make sure I haven't forgotten a single curve or valley."

She snorted. "You're going to have to work on those lines, aye?"

The hand that had been playing with her nipples slowly moved down her belly and stopped just short of between her thighs. "Considering you said you're a sure thing, maybe I should use the cheesiest ones I can think of."

She couldn't stop smiling. "Such as?"

His finger stroked through her pussy once, and Sylvia bit her lip to keep from begging for more. At least not yet. She liked teasing Jake, missed it, and wanted a bit of fun before riding him.

He murmured into her ear, "How about this one: you and I are like nachos with jalapeños. I'm cheesy, you're super hot, and we belong together."

She rolled her eyes. "Aye, that is fairly awful."

He stroked between her thighs again, and it took most of her willpower to concentrate on his words instead of the way his thumb slowly circled her clit. "I have one more that suits us well since we both run restaurants. Do you know what's on the menu?"

He increased the pressure against her, and Sylvia barely managed to get out, "What?"

"Me. N. U."

She laughed. "That's even worse."

He removed his hand, and she almost drew it back. However, Jake moved them so she was on her back and he was above her. He stroked the corner of her mouth with his thumb. With his hot body pressed against hers, she nearly started purring. Jake spoke before she could, though. "I think I'm going to have to find some more cheesy pick-up lines so that I can make you laugh every morning and night with a new one."

And there he went being kind and romantic again, making her heart swell.

Aye, a female could get used to waking up to him every day.

Sylvia reached up to stroke his cheek. "You're such a good male, Jake. I still can't believe you're real."

Removing his hand, he lowered his face closer to hers until his breath danced against her lips as he replied, "I can think of one way to show how very real I am." He rubbed his cock against her slit. "What do you say? I'm more than up for it, as you can tell."

He winked, and she giggled. "Are you sure you're in your forties and not a teenager?"

"I only act like a horny teenager around you, Sylvia."

He moved his hips against her again and she clutched his shoulders, digging in her nails. "Then let's hope you don't completely act like a teenager because if you come after a minute or two, I may have to rethink staying here."

With a growl, he took her lips in a rough kiss, nipping, licking, and stroking, until Sylvia was all but grinding against his cock, wanting more than his kisses.

When Jake finally pulled away, she itched to bring his head back. However, he spoke before she could. "Trust me, I want to be deep inside you right now, but I need a condom, love. Which means I have to get up."

Sylvia didn't release her hold on him. Even though she had no right to say it, she blurted, "You don't have to." He raised his brows and she continued, "It's unlikely to happen since I'm still breastfeeding Sophie. But if it did, I wouldn't mind one more bairn, provided you're there with me."

As he studied her, Sylvia did her best to contain her emotions. It was a cowardly way to see how he felt, and she knew it. If her dragon were around, she probably would've stopped her.

But her beast remained silent, and so Sylvia would have to face this herself for once.

And the last thing she wanted to do was truly pressure him. So she opened her mouth to say she'd been stupid when he took her lips in another searing kiss. When he finally let her up for air, he murmured, "I would love nothing more than to have another child, but I think we should wait. Too much remains unsettled."

Before she could say another word, he kissed her again, stroked between her thighs with his fingers, and made her forget about anything but him.

Soon he released her lips and kissed down her body, taking time to lick one nipple and then the other, before kissing her belly and then spreading her thighs wide.

Anticipation built as he stared at her, making her hotter and wetter. She squirmed. She was just about to reach for his head and push him where she wanted him when a loud doorbell rang through the house.

Jake growled, "Ignore it," before he kissed her pussy, licked it, and tortured her clit with his teeth and tongue.

However, he'd barely gotten started when it rang again, and again, and again in rapid succession, as if someone was hitting it over and over again on purpose.

A beat later, Sophie's cry filled the air too.

With a growl, Jake rolled off the bed. "It'd better be a fucking emergency or I'm going to have more than a few words to say."

"I'm sure it's important." Sylvia jumped out of bed. "I'll handle Sophie and you go see who's at the door."

With a nod, Jake went down the stairs and Sylvia went to their daughter, hoping it wasn't anything too urgent. After all, they'd have more than enough drama for a lifetime. Sylvia would gladly welcome a wee bit of boring.

* * *

Jake stomped to the door,peeked through the eyehole, and wrenched it open with a growl, revealing PineRock's head Protector, Cristina Juarez. "What?"

She merely raised a dark eyebrow. "Just save your breath, Jake. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. It's about your sister."

His anger faded. "What happened?"

She looked pointedly over his shoulder. "I'd rather not discuss it out in the open."

He stepped back and Cris walked past him into the living room.

The tall, light-brown-skinned female pinned him with her brown eyes and didn't waste time on niceties. "She showed up this morning without any sort of papers. Even asked directions along the way, alerting who the hell knows how many people of her destination. If ADDA find her here, she could be in a lot of trouble. And before you say send her away, I tried. Even without us saying a word, she's convinced you're here and wants to talk with you."

Jake had a feeling he knew which sister, but he still asked, "Did she give her name?"

"No, but Ashley recognized her. It's Lila."

He sighed. Lila had always been the most protective of him. Apparently the brief note the US and UK dragon departments had let him write to his family hadn't been enough to placate her. "Let me get dressed and I'll convince her to leave."

"Do it quickly. The longer she's on PineRock's lands, the greater chance she's in danger. Not just from ADDA, either. The AHOL fuckers have been hiding out in the forests more and more lately."

AHOL was the acronym of a group called America for Humans Only League, who were hell-bent on ridding the US of anything dragon-shifter. Most people called them the League, but he had to admit AHOL was more fitting since they were indeed a bunch of assholes.

Jake nodded. "It won't take long."

Just as he turned away, Cris added, "And bring Sylvia and Sophie. She might not know they're here, but if she sees you're not alone, it might more easily convince her to leave."

He doubted it. If anything, it'd convince Lila to stay longer. "I'll ask Sylvia. Now, go. Time is of the essence, as you said."

Racing up the stairs, he reached the top quickly and went into the room used for Sophie. Sylvia must've finished feeding their daughter because Sophie now wore an adorable outfit with a baby dragon playing in a field of flowers on the front.

The second Sylvia met his gaze, her smiled faded and she frowned. "What's wrong?"

"My sister Lila showed up here without permission, and she refuses to leave until she sees me." He quickly explained how she could get in trouble from not only ADDA, but could be hurt by the League members too before adding, "I need to see her. It's up to you if you want to come with me."

"Do you want me to come?" she asked gingerly.

If his sister wasn't breaking the law, he would've immediately screamed yes. Instead, he wanted to be cautious, so he replied, "You coming might make her even more stubborn in refusing to leave."

"If you don't want me to meet her, just say so, Jake."

He mentally cursed, crossed the room, and cupped her cheek. "Of course I want her to meet you. I'm just afraid it'll make Lila dig in her heels about not wanting to leave. Meeting her niece for a few minutes won't be enough. I just know it."

She searched his gaze. "Is there a way for her to stay here too? Given what you told me about her grief for her son, it could be a nice change of pace. She could also get to know Sophie."

He resisted a frown. "Lila's never shown an interest in dragon-shifters before."

"Aye, well, I never showed an interest in human males before you. Sometimes life takes unexpected turns and results in changes we never saw coming."

He took her face in his hands. "That's true. I didn't see you coming."

She placed a hand over one of his. "From what I can tell, you've been protecting your sister since your nephew's death. Maybe just ask her what she wants. If someone had done that for me instead of assuming what was best, maybe I would've realized there was more to me than being a mum long before I was ill." She stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. "Grief for a loved one never truly goes away. But finding a small reason to try for more, to finally be brave enough to no longer use grief as a shield, aye, well, that's everything. I'd hate for your sister to suffer as long as I did when you might be able to help her now."

His first instinct was to keep his sister as safe as possible, back home near her children and other family.

And yet, that would be assuming or deciding something that Lila should do for herself. And Jake wasn't going to be like all the dragons back on Lochguard who'd thought they knew what was best for Sylvia, all while never taking into consideration her wants or needs.

He leaned in and gently kissed Sylvia. "You're so wise."

She smiled. "I have my moments, aye."

He grinned and then kissed her again before replying, "Then give me Sophie and get dressed so we can all go meet with Lila."

She handed over their daughter. "Just give me a few minutes."

As they both quickly dressed and left the house, Jake carried his daughter close and held Sylvia's hand with his free one. While he wished his sister would've waited, at least Sylvia and Sophie would finally get to meet one of his siblings.

And who knew—maybe Lila would end up staying on PineRock and maybe even smile again, like she had before tragedy had struck her.

Either way, it would be her decision. And he had Sylvia to thank for letting him realize how important that was.

Jake squeezed her hand and she glanced over at him. He merely shook his head, brought her hand up to kiss it, and then murmured, "I'm glad you're here."

When she beamed at him, his heart skipped a beat. Somehow, someway, he'd discover how to win her over completely.

But first, he needed to deal with his sister.

* * *

Sylvia's heartthudded in her chest as they entered the building used by PineRock's Protectors. She shouldn't worry so much about meeting Jake's sister, and yet she couldn't help it.

Meeting family was usually a big step, although she and Jake had never done things in order when it came to relationships. So she really shouldn't put too much importance or meaning on it.

No doubt her dragon would say the same.

Bloody hell, being without her dragon for the first time in decades was harder than she'd ever imagined. Sylvia missed her more than anything.

However, coming after Jake had been the right choice. She just knew it.

Besides, her dragon should return in a day or two. Fingers crossed.

Jake squeezed her hand in his and she met his smiling gaze. He murmured, "Don't worry. Be yourself and you'll do fine."

She nodded and he handed Sophie over to her as they reached a door guarded by a tall dragon-shifter, a female she vaguely recalled meeting the night before. But since she'd been so exhausted, she couldn't recall her name.

However, Jake did. "Tell me you aren't going in with us, Cris."

The dragonwoman shrugged a shoulder. "I'll stay out here and act as guard. As much as I want to trust you, I can't risk your sister fleeing on her own. She'll need an escort when she leaves, to protect against the League."

Sylvia had vaguely read about the anti-dragon group. They were a bit more militant and obsessive than the dragon hunters back in the UK. She didn't envy the American dragon-shifters dealing with that lot, not at all.

Jake replied, "I know. Although send for Ashley. And if possible, for Wes, too. We might need to talk to them afterward."

Cris merely nodded and Jake moved his gaze to Sylvia's. "Ready?"

She readjusted her hold on Sophie and nodded. "Aye, of course."

He kissed her quickly before opening the door and leading her inside.

A human female with auburn hair streaked with gray stood at the far side, her arms crossed over her chest and her brows drawn together in a frown. However, as soon as she saw Jake, the female's gaze turned softer. "I knew you had to be here, Jake."

He released his hold on Sylvia to hug his sister. "As good as it is to see you, you shouldn't have come, Lila."

The female raised a brow. "As if 'shouldn't' would stop me. I've been looking after you since you were fifteen, Jake, and I'm not about to stop anytime soon."

"Ever the big sister." Jake shook his head as he stepped back. He motioned toward Sylvia. "Lila, this is Sylvia and Sophie MacAllister, my girlfriend and daughter, respectively. Sylvia, this is my oldest sister, Lila Herrera."

Sylvia smiled and forced herself to walk over to Jake's sister. Although, as the human smiled at her, Sylvia's tension eased considerably. "Nice to meet you, Lila."

Lila replied, "You too. To be honest, I couldn't believe it when Jake told me he had a daughter, and yet I'm glad he does. The love and excitement every time he spoke of Sophie says volumes." Lila put out her arms. "Can I hold my niece?"

Sylvia didn't hesitate to do so. And Sophie merely stared up at her aunt with her big eyes, and Sylvia waited to see how she'd react.

But then Lila tickled her chin and side and Sophie smiled.

Jake placed a hand on Sylvia's lower back before saying, "I think she has a thing for Americans. Maybe it's the accent."

Sylvia snorted. "Nothing to do with the person itself, aye? Just the accent. Maybe I should test out your theory."

Amusement danced in his eyes. "Going to go American for a little while then, my dragon lady?"

She tried her best to mimic his accent. "Maybe something like this? Do I sound American now?"

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Don't ever try that again. I much prefer your lyrical Scottish accent."

"Good because the flat vowels would be the death of me."

He laughed. "Can't have death by vowels, now, can we?"

As she lightly smacked his chest, Lila cleared her throat. Sylvia couldn't help but blush. After all, here she was teasing Jake and all but ignoring his sister. She looked at Lila. "Sorry. Something about your brother brings out the devil in me."

But as the human female smiled slowly, Sylvia's unease faded. Lila replied, "No need to apologize. Seeing my brother happy makes me happy." She paused a beat and then asked, "But be that as it may, how did you end up here in America? Did you come with Jake? The last time I talked with him, you both were in Scotland."

Sylvia sighed. "Aye, well, that's a long story and one I don't know if I'm at liberty to share."

Lila frowned and glanced at her brother. "First, you tell me that you can't say anything. And now Sylvia. Just what's going on, Jake?"

There was a knock on the door, and Ashley Swift walked into the room. "I'm back."

Lila stared at her cousin. "Can you talk now? Or are all of you going to look shifty and simply say over and over again that you can't tell me anything?"

Ashley sighed. "I no longer have a choice but to spill the beans."

Jake asked, "What do you mean?"

She gestured for them all to sit. Once they complied, Ashley answered, "Some of the Protectors found and tried to catch some League members lurking in the forest. However, they only caught one, and the others escaped." Ashley looked pointedly at Lila. "Which means they no doubt have your picture and will add it to their collection."

"Collection?" Sylvia echoed.

Ashley switched her gaze to Sylvia. "Yes. The League has started keeping a running tab of who visits dragon clans or interacts with dragon-shifters. Obviously they can't keep track of every single person, but they've made PineRock one of their prime targets, along with the other clans near here. And before you ask why, just know that some powerful humans in the area have made it happen. Partly it's my fault, but that's neither here nor there. The important thing is that they'll now keep track of Lila's comings and goings, at least for a while."

Lila shook her head. "But we don't have a big League problem in the Bay Area."

"Perhaps not, but from what my ADDA sources say, there's a secret online database. Your picture will be there."

Lila readjusted her hold on Sophie before saying, "It's not like I can hide out forever, though. Nor am I going to cower inside my house."

Ashley shook her head. "Of course not. But Jake had told me how, before the whole kidnapping business in Scotland, he'd planned a trip for you, Ada, and your families."

Lila narrowed her eyes. "What kidnapping business?"

Oh, dear. Certainly Ashley had let that slip on purpose? Sylvia couldn't imagine her doing so by accident.

Sylvia remained quiet, wanting to hear what Ashley suggested. Sylvia was, after all, a guest on PineRock and supposedly the first candidate for the UK-US dragon trial program. She couldn't risk saying something she shouldn't.

Thankfully Jake's cousin didn't hesitate. "That's why Jake's here, staying with me and Wes. A dragon-shifter kidnapped him, and they're trying to ensure no one else is out to get him back in Scotland."

Lila looked at her brother and then to Sylvia. "Which explains why you're here in the US, right, Sylvia? Because Jake needed to leave Scotland." She nodded, and Lila looked back at Ashley. "I'm going to ask for more details later, but for now—what does Jake's planned vacation have to do with anything?"

Ashley leaned forward. "Wes has been talking with Lochguard's clan leader, as well as with ADDA and the UK Department of Dragon Affairs. They're close to ferreting out the two others they think were helping the dragonman who kidnapped Jake. If—and it's still uncertain at this point—they can catch them, then it's probably in your best interest to go on the trip Jake planned. A few weeks away should help the League focus on others."

Sylvia, whose clan had been dealing with anti-dragon enemies for a while now, spoke up. "And if it doesn't? We have our own enemies in the UK, and some of them are rather stubborn when it comes to certain targets."

Ashley replied, "Because the League has way more dragon clans and dragon-shifters to keep track of here in the US, I think a short absence will help. As long as Lila leaves today and stays away for a little bit, I think they'll lose interest. As far as we know, there isn't any sort of international anti-dragon network that works together. Besides, the UK DDA sent you here for a trial, and I don't see why Lila can't do the same for ADDA, albeit as a human candidate instead of a dragon one. Especially if her brother is mated to a dragon-shifter."

Ashley looked pointedly at her, and Sylvia stiffened. Aye, she wanted Jake as her own, but not like this—not forced for merely the sake of protecting his family.

Because he would do anything for his sister, she was nearly sure of that.

And she wanted to help Lila too, but a small part of her wanted Jake to want her for her. Not because they merely had a child together. Or because his sister needed help.

Maybe that made her a selfish person, but she didn't want him to resent her for all he'd have to give up to be her mate. Because even once the threat was quelled back in Scotland, the choice would still be which dragon clan they would live on because of her and Sophie. Jake wouldn't be able to go back to the human world he was used to.

If she believed he loved her, Sylvia would risk it. However, he hadn't said anything and everything was still quite new.

Which made the odds of Jake learning to hate his life with her far greater.

It didn't matter that despite her best efforts not to fall too quickly, Sylvia had realized she loved Jake the moment Finn had said the human had been flown back to America. She'd witnessed Logan's one-sided love for her daughter for years, and Sylvia wasn't going to sentence herself to the same.

Jake reached for her hand under the table and wrapped his warm fingers around her cold hand. Jake stated, "I'm going to talk to Sylvia alone. Can you two watch Sophie for a short while?"

Lila nodded and Ashley replied, "Of course. Cris is still outside, and she can take you to the other meeting room, one usually used for the Protectors."

Jake stood and tugged Sylvia up with him. She tried to smile but couldn't manage it. Instead, she blew a kiss at her daughter. "Mummy will be back soon, aye? Be good for your auntie."

And so she let Jake take her out of the room, ask for directions, and lead her to the other meeting room. All the while, her heart pounded in her chest, unsure of how their conversation would go.

For once, she was going to think like her dragon would—in other words, to not suspect the worst before it happened.

Although she was enough of a realist to know it might not go the way she wanted.

Still, she stood tall and followed her human. She'd taken a chance to come to America for Jake. That had taken more courage than she'd shown in a long while, if ever. She could remain strong for this too.

Sylvia wanted Jake to be hers desperately, but not at the risk of her heart and future happiness. It was time to be a wee bit more of the female she had always wanted to be and not settle for less than she was worth.