The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Three

Jake didn't know how long he sat with Faye answering her questions before Grant returned. But instead of Sylvia following Grant into the room, a twenty-something dragonman with dark hair and blue eyes walked in. Something about him seemed familiar, although Jake couldn't place it.

Grant motioned toward the dragonman. "This is Connor MacAllister, Sylvia's son."

He blinked. Her…son?

Well, it wasn't exactly like they'd talked in depth about their lives. But she must've been super young when she'd had this Connor, who looked to be in his twenties.

Connor crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Aye, I'm her son. And whilst my mum said she wants to see you, there's been a hiccup. It was a four-to-one decision amongst my siblings—I was the one who voted against letting you see her—but if you want the chance to visit with my mum, come with me."

He blurted, "Sylvia has five children?"

"Aye, there are five older ones. Want to run now?" Connor asked with raised brows.

Jake wondered about the "five older ones" part of his statement.

But right then and there, none of that mattered. Even if learning about all of Sylvia's children was a shock, it didn't change him wanting to talk with her. He'd been dreaming of seeing her for over a fucking year. He wasn't going to run at the first new bit of information.

Jake stood. "Of course not. Although I hope I can talk to her alone."

Connor's pupils flashed to slits and back to round. "We'll see about that."

Faye stood up and sighed. "You can stop with the macho act, Connor. Just let the poor human see Sylvia. She doesn't need babysitters."

Connor grunted. "I'm the oldest male of the household, and it's my job to protect my mum."

Faye rolled her eyes. "Since when?"

Jake merely cleared his throat, and both sets of eyes turned to him. "Maybe Grant can take me to see Sylvia?"

Connor turned toward the door. "No, you're with me. Now, come on."

He followed the dragonman out of the building and down a gravel path. Jake was nearly as tall as Connor, so it wasn't too hard to keep up. Although, given how dragon-shifters were pretty damn fast, the guy was probably slowing his steps to keep Jake from running.

He took the time to study Connor. The young man was nearly half Jake's age, which brought him back to wondering just how young Sylvia had been when she'd had kids.

Then other questions started flying through his head. Was she married? Seeing someone else? Had the night in Glasgow meant the same to her as it did to him? Had his gut been wrong about her?

Stop it.He'd find answers to all those questions soon enough.

As they passed more stone cottages and other dragon-shifters—an older woman stopped in her tracks and openly stared at him before murmuring something to the older man next to her—he got the feeling there was something going on that they weren't telling him.

He was attractive enough, sure. But he wasn't a movie star lookalike or anyone famous. There was no reason for people to notice him.

Another older dragonwoman walked up to him and blurted, "Are you finally here to see Sophie?"

Jake frowned. "Who's Sophie?"

Connor growled. "Shut it, Meg, and move along."

"Well I never, Connor MacAllister. I'm going to tell your granddad about this."

"Go ahead. Now excuse us. We have something to do."

At the furious look on Connor's face, a prickling of unease crept up his spine. Had Sylvia even been her real name, or was it just an alias? "Who is this Sophie person?"

"That's not for me to say."

Jake's temper didn't flare often, but it was starting to heat up. Obviously they all were keeping a secret from him.

And yet, he did his best to take deep breaths and calm himself. Exploding wouldn't help anything right now.

By the time Connor waved ahead of them and said, "There's my mum's house," Jake was almost rational again.

They were about three feet from the door when it opened, revealing another dark-haired, blue-eyed dragonman who looked too much like Connor to be a coincidence.

He must be another son.

The dragonman at the door said, "At least you brought him here in one piece. I was worried you might need to prove how big your dick is by slicing off a few limbs."

Connor growled, "Don't push me, Ian. He's in one piece for Mum's sake."

Ian looked at Jake and raised his brows. "Well, I see now why everyone's been sending me text messages. It's obvious."

Jake clenched his teeth a second and somehow made his voice even when he asked, "What's obvious?"

A familiar female voice drifted from somewhere inside the house—Sylvia's. "Can you two be nice for a change and just show him inside, aye?"

Ian stepped aside. "I have no problem with the human. It's only Connor who's acting like an arsehole."

Not wanting to get in between the brothers, Jake walked past Ian and down the hallway the man had gestured toward. He soon came to a doorway and looked inside.

Sylvia sat on a sofa, a blanket settled across her lap and a mug in her hands. She had the same blue eyes and dark hair he remembered, although she was noticeably thinner, not to mention paler, with dark circles under her eyes.

Even so, she was still just as beautiful as a year ago. Flashes of their night together rushed over him, and it took everything Jake had to push them back. "Hello, Sylvia."

She smiled. "Hiya, Jake. Sorry about Connor. He's a wee bit protective these days."

Connor's voice came from behind Jake. "For good reason. You bloody fainted half an hour ago."

Concerned, Jake moved closer to Sylvia. "Are you okay?"

She waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll be fine. I just haven't had enough sleep or eaten as I should've done." She studied him a second and asked, "So why are you here?"

He glanced at Connor, and the man rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll give you some privacy. I'll be upstairs if you need me, Mum."

Once they were alone, Jake stared at Sylvia again. Not liking the tension in the air, he decided to tease. "Five children, huh?"

Her lips twitched. "Aye, well, my late mate—er, husband—and I wanted a big family. We were young and rather industrious."

"So that's just another way to say you were busy between the sheets then?"

A blush crept over her cheeks and he relaxed a fraction. She'd blushed easily the year before, too, and it reminded him that this was the same dragonwoman he'd ravished that one night.

He walked closer and gestured toward the couch. "May I?"

"Of course. No need to be so formal."

As she sipped from her mug, her blush deepened.

She was no doubt remembering just how informal they'd been before.

He sat down and turned toward her. Jake itched to brush the hair off her face and finally touch her skin again. However, he kept his hands on his thighs and decided to finally answer her earlier question. "I'm here because you slipped out during the night, without so much as saying goodbye."

She set her mug down on the table next to the couch. "I thought it best."

He searched her face. "Why?"

She rearranged her blanket and turned more toward him. "Truthfully? I was ill—with something you couldn't catch, if you're worried—and the doctors didn't think I would live much longer. But I enjoyed our night, Jake, more than you'll ever know. However, I didn't want to drag you into my family drama. That would've been unfair. And so to protect you, I left."

She'd wanted to protect him? Even if he wished she would've talked with him instead of fleeing, he had to admit the dragonwoman was still as sweet and thoughtful as he remembered.

Oh, she'd tried to be bold last year, but the ruse had only worked so well.

Although he didn't like the fact she'd hidden something so huge from him.

He searched her eyes, wondering how bad her illness was. He finally reached out a finger to lightly brush her cheek. "Are you still ill?"

She leaned into his touch a second before backing away. "No. Something finally cured me. I'm no longer terminally ill, just exhausted from something else. I'll be right as rain soon enough, as long as I get some sleep and remember to eat."

For some reason, he wanted to help take care of her. It was stupid, given he'd known her a day, but the feeling was still there.

Not wanting to dwell on how fanciful his thoughts were becoming, he changed the subject. "I looked for you at the expo again this year, but to no avail. My baking partner wasn't anywhere near as charming as you either. He could've been my grandfather, and since he forgot his glasses, he kept confusing the salt and sugar."

She smiled. "I wanted to go, but I couldn't."

He searched her eyes. "Why not?"

As she bit her lower lip, he waited. She finally murmured, "I just couldn't."

He was about to push when a baby's cry sounded from upstairs. Sylvia closed her eyes briefly and then tried to stand up. However, she swayed and Jake instantly stood to catch her. She leaned against him and looked up into his eyes. Her pupils flashed a few times, but it didn't bother him. He'd seen her dragon in full control before.

He finally tucked a section of her hair behind her ear and his fingers lingered on her jaw.

As they stared at one another, electricity sparked between them, and he felt the same pull he had a year ago.

His eyes moved to her lips, and she licked the lower one. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her.

But the baby's wail grew louder and Connor's voice boomed down the stairs. "Mum, we can't get her quiet."

It was as if cold water sloshed over her, and Sylvia pulled away from Jake. She shouted back, "Bring her downstairs."

"Are you sure?" Connor bellowed.

"Aye. Fetch your sister."

He frowned. Sylvia had a baby too?

Sylvia sat back on the couch and rearranged the blanket over her lap. He was about to ask what was going on when Connor entered the room with a hiccupping, red-faced baby cradled against his chest, facing forward.

A baby with red hair a fraction lighter than his, and while much smaller, the nose was the same shape as his as well.

Sylvia said, "This is Sophie Rose. She's your daughter, Jake. Well, more correctly, our daughter."

Even with the evidence before him, he blinked, trying to process her words. "My…daughter?"

Connor walked over and handed the babe to Sylvia. Jake watched as she cuddled the fussy baby, which only made her cry louder.

Never taking her gaze from the child, Sylvia replied, "Aye. If you want to leave now, I understand. But I thought you should know."

As he stared at the tiny thing in Sylvia's arms, he tried to process the fact he had a child.

A daughter.

And as she continued to cry and fuss, Sylvia's eyes were wet, looking about ready to cry herself. In that moment, his shock faded. He instantly knew why she looked so tired, and he held out his arms. "Let me hold her."

Sylvia hesitated a beat before she handed her over, and Jake cradled the baby in his arms. As he rocked her—just like he'd done with his nieces and nephews when they were younger—he hummed a lullaby.

She soon quieted and stared at him with her big eyes, mostly still baby blue with flecks of brown.

Given how much she resembled him, she'd probably end up with hazel eyes too.

"Sophie," he whispered, and she snuggled against his chest.

It was almost as if she knew he was her dad.

He'd never thought he'd be a father, but as the tiny angel fell asleep in his arms, Jake wanted to do everything to protect her.

His daughter.

When he could finally tear his gaze away from his child, he looked at Sylvia. And she promptly burst into tears.

* * *

Sylvia knewshe was being silly. But the sight of Jake holding Sophie, rocking her and humming to her, released a flood of emotion.

She'd wondered for months what it'd be like to see him with their daughter in his arms, staring at her with love.

And to have him there, in her cottage, doing exactly that made her realize how much she'd been struggling to be both mother and father to her bairn.

Not to mention the way Sophie instantly fell asleep in Jake's arms made Sylvia think their daughter had sorely wanted to meet her father too.

Her inner dragon said softly, He's here now. And given how fiercely he's holding her, I don't think he's going to run away.

She wiped away her tears just as Jake sat beside her slowly so as to not wake Sophie. He kept his voice low as he said, "I wish I'd known."

Nodding, she replied, "Aye, I know. But I didn't have any way to find you." She searched his gaze and then asked, "But you believe me that she's yours?"

He gently adjusted Sophie into the crook of one arm and then raised his free hand to brush away Sylvia's lingering tears, his warm touch helping to calm her down further.

He smiled. "She looks just like me, so it's kind of hard to ignore." He lowered his hand and gently took hers. Sylvia instantly wrapped her fingers around his, his strength somehow helping her to tame her emotions. "I'm still kind of surprised, though, and I'm sure it's going to take a while to wear off completely. But she's how old now?"

"Three months."

"Yep, that makes me the dad. Unless you go around seducing red-haired men on a regular basis?"

She actually laughed. "Of course not. To be honest, I'm still surprised I ended up in bed with you, Jake."

"Why's that?"

"Aye, well…you were my first in a long, long while."

"How long?"

Her cheeks heated, but she still answered, "Eleven years."

His eyes widened a second before he grinned. "Well, it's like riding a bike, right? You must've been really good at it before."

And now her whole face burned. She murmured, "I do have five older children."

He chuckled quietly. The simple act showed her how he was trying not to wake the bairn, and it did something to her heart.

Of all the scenarios she'd imagined of how this would play out, Jake sitting with Sophie in his arms and laughing with her had been toward the bottom of the list.

Her inner dragon spoke up. Why? He drove all the way up just to see you. He's clearly interested.

Or was interested.

Her beast sighed. Don't dismiss him so easily.

Jake tilted his head a fraction. "What did your dragon say?"

She raised her brows. "You're always going to ask me that, aren't you?"

He grinned. "Yep. I rather like your dragon."

Her beast stood tall inside her mind and all but preened at the praise.

Sylvia said to Jake, "She's just being your champion."

"Champion for what?"

"For why you're still here."

He frowned. "Well, I have permission to stay for a while, thanks to my cousin. So I'd like to get to know both you and my daughter, if you'll let me."

Her heart fluttered, but Sylvia did her best to contain it. After a week of changing nappies, cleaning up vomit, and getting frequent headaches from Sophie's crying, he might not be quite so enthusiastic about it all. She loved her daughter, but she was easily the fussiest of any of her brood.

Still, she owed him the benefit of the doubt. "I'd like you to stay. Although I'm going to be honest, Jake. I'm not quite the female you met back in Glasgow."

He raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Leave it to her to have to list out her faults. But there was more at stake than merely Sylvia dating a handsome male. Sophie's entire future with her father depended on how Sylvia handled things.

If there was to be any sort of friendly relationship between them for their daughter's sake, it was going to have to be more honest and upfront than either of them probably liked.

Part of her longed for the playfulness and flirting from their one magical day a year ago. However, Sylvia didn't expect there to be any actual romantic relationship. There were far too many reasons it wouldn't work—distance, their respective lives, and that didn't even touch upon how emotionally fragile she was both due to her daughter's recent birth and the fact she still missed her late mate after all these years.

No, if Jake merely came to see his daughter occasionally, she'd count that as a win.

Her beast growled. Stop dismissing him before he's even started.

Ignoring her dragon, she answered Jake, "I'm not as straightforward as I was the day we met. I'm rather shy, and a mother of six, and also not very outgoing. I was trying my best to be more spontaneous when I was in Glasgow, but it took all my energy to do that for a day. It's simply not who I am."

Jake squeezed her hand in his, and Sylvia did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at his firm, warm touch. He answered, "You're not acting that much different right now compared to last year. The only difference is that I have a baby in my arms and I'm holding back on kissing you until you feel better."

She raised her brows. "You want to kiss me?"

He released her hand and traced her bottom lip with his thumb. "More than anything. You're still beautiful, Sylvia. And sweet." He traced her cheek. "You blush more than anyone I know, which is charming." He took her chin in his hands. "At least give me the two weeks the DDA granted me to stay on Lochguard so I can both get to know you and Sophie." He stroked the soft underside of her chin. "Tell me I can."

As his hazel eyes stared into hers, Sylvia's exhaustion and frustration melted away.

If it was just her, it would be so easy to fall under Jake's charm. To grow addicted to him, his touch, the way he made her feel beautiful, and even the way he made her smile.

And yet, it wasn't just her.

Sylvia's gaze settled on Sophie's sleeping face. She murmured, "You can stay for Sophie." She finally met his eyes again. "But I'm not sure you'll have time for much else."

He leaned forward a fraction—as much as he could without jostling their daughter—and whispered, "I'm very, very good at time management, my dragon lady. I will most definitely stay for Sophie, but I'm also going to stay for you."

At the set of his jaw and the heat in his eyes, she swallowed.

Jake Swift might be human, but he had the determination—and probably stubbornness, judging from his words—of a dragon-shifter.

Part of her was thrilled.

However, the other part was worried. If she grew attached, she'd probably fall into another state of depression again when he left.

Because of course he would leave eventually. His life was back in America.

So the best thing was to protect her heart as much as she could. That way, once Jake was gone, she'd be able to take care of her daughter as she should.

Sylvia refused to fail Sophie in the way she'd failed her other five children, back when Arthur had died.

The hard part would be controlling her dragon.

Her beast huffed. Speak for yourself. I want him. You do too. You'll realize that soon enough.

What I want doesn't matter, dragon. Sophie means everything. Not to mention Cat will have her bairn soon and will need my help too. I won't let my children down this time.

Cat was Sylvia's eldest daughter, who was roughly eight months pregnant and on bedrest. The entire clan teased them about mother and daughter having children within months of each other.

Thankfully her beast fell silent and didn't argue further.

Sylvia cleared her throat and stood, her feet steadier this time around. She went to the doorway. "Connor, come down here." She then turned to Jake. "You can stay with Sophie and Connor whilst I make some lunch. You aren't allergic to anything, are you?"

He shook his head. However, just as Jake opened his mouth, her eldest son appeared, cutting him off. She gestured toward Jake and Sophie before the human could reply. "Play nice and just watch them."

Before Jake or Connor could say anything, Sylvia fled to the kitchen.

Aye, she fled. Because she needed time to think, to regain her strength, and figure out how to be around Jake for two weeks and not kiss him again.