The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Six

Jake had grabbed his stuff from the rental car, returned to Sylvia's place, and was promptly marched into the dining room by Emma and Jamie.

Apparently Connor had finished making dinner and they were all sitting down together, no matter what.

Sylvia murmured that they knew about the temporary living arrangements and would leave after the meal.

At least they'd let him sit next to her and not tried to place him between two of the sons. Emma sat across from him, her older sister, Cat, next to her, and Connor was on Jake's other side.

Although once everything was dished out, Jake didn't have a chance to say a word before Emma blurted, "Are you two going to share a room too?"

Jake blinked and Sylvia sighed. His dragonwoman answered, "Are you ever going to learn to be respectable to guests at the dinner table?"

Emma grinned. "Why? That wouldn't be any fun."

Lachlan chuckled and looked at Jake as he said, "She asked me something about shagging her sister at the first family dinner. I think Emma wants to shock people, just because. Don't you, lass?"

Emma shrugged. "Why beat around the bush when it comes to family? Besides, it's not like Jake hasn't slept with Mum before. I would hope everyone here knows where babies come from because I'd rather not be related to idiots."

He noticed Sylvia's cheeks flush. Jake wasn't easily embarrassed himself, but he didn't like how Emma's words made Sylvia uncomfortable.

And if Emma wanted to be blunt and borderline scandalous? Well, so could he. Jake asked, "And what about you? Do you want us asking if there are any guys debauching you recently? Breaking beds? Secret rendezvous in Inverness with a human that you shouldn't see?"

Emma didn't bat an eyelash. "Cat and Lachlan are the ones who break beds, not me."

Cat growled. "Can we not share that with everyone, aye? It's not like it's happened recently. I can barely waddle, let alone do anything acrobatic."

Lachlan merely sighed.

However, Jake jumped back in. "I think you change the subject when you don't want to talk about yourself, Emma. Is there something you're hiding?"

The young dragonwoman sat up taller. "Of course not."

The youngest son, Jamie, snorted. "You're lying. You always sit or stand taller when doing it, Em."

Emma slumped forward a little. "I'm not important. Jake here is the one we should focus on, aye? He's the newcomer."

Jake smiled. "You're doing it again."

Sylvia frowned. "Just tell me your secret won't endanger your life, aye? You're full grown and have a right to your privacy, but not if it's going to kill you."

Emma murmured, "It's nothing that will kill me, Mum. I promise."

Sylvia nodded. "Aye, well then we'll leave it at that." Her words held a sort of dominance he hadn't heard before, and wondered if that was due to her being a dragon-shifter or a mother.

She turned toward him and asked, "Maybe you can tell us about your restaurants? I doubt even my children can turn that into something embarrassing or scandalous."

The corner of his mouth ticked up. "You just all but issued a challenge to them, Sylvia."

She glanced at each of her children in turn. "Not if I guilt-trip them about how I fainted earlier today and need some calm to fully recover."

Half of her kids rolled their eyes, but they murmured how they'd be good.

Under the table, he placed a hand on her leg and squeezed. She met his gaze and grinned. "You have to use what you can with this lot. Remember that."

Cat shook her head. "Such loving words, Mum."

Sylvia snorted. "Oh, rubbish, Cat. You used the same tactics with your siblings growing up."

Lachlan wrapped an arm around Cat's shoulders and nodded. "I love you, but she's right, lass. It's advice you gave me too."

Cat glared. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am, love. But the truth is more important, aye?"

She muttered, "Bloody stupid vow to honesty," before shoving some potatoes into her mouth.

Jake answered Sylvia's question, saying, "I have three restaurants in the San Francisco area."

Connor perked up. "That's quite the achievement for your age, aye?"

He shrugged. "It was a dream of mine, and I've spent more than twenty years making it happen." He smiled. "And it's not as if forty-three is a toddler, barely learning to walk."

Connor replied, "Well, I mostly run Mum's restaurant now. And I'm only twenty-five."

Jake bit back a smile at the boy's bragging. "You'll have to show me around soon, then. I'm curious to see if a dragon-shifter's place is really that different from a human one or not."

Sylvia answered, "Mostly just that the portion sizes are bigger. Or, rather, I should say they're American-sized."

He raised his brows. "Have you been to the US?"

She shook her head. "No, but I've run my restaurant for more than twenty years and visited enough events to hear the talk."

He shrugged. "There's nothing better than having enough to take home in a doggy bag and eat it the next day. Then the meal lasts two days."

Sylvia said, "Maybe so, but it's nice to have a fresh meal each day, aye?"

Jamie spoke up. "Not that it matters in this house. Connor, Ian, and I eat everything we can find. Emma, too, although she tries to hide it."

Emma raised her brows. "I don't hide it. I just have to sneak it out before you lot get to it."

And most of the children started arguing again.

However, Sylvia placed her hand on top of his under the table and squeezed. He met her gaze and she murmured, "Thank you."

He leaned over and whispered, "For what?"

"For not getting angry at their antics, or frustrated, or any number of ways others might react."

Jake wondered if more people than not lost patience with her kids. "I find it amusing. Besides, my nieces and nephews are just as bad, maybe even louder, if that's possible."

Or, rather, it was just the one nephew now.

Not that he was going to bring that up and ruin the evening.

He quickly murmured, "Although as entertaining as they are, when can we kick them out and be alone for a little while?"

Her pupils flashed to slits and back again before she replied, "Soon. They're finishing up dessert. And as long as you don't mind doing the dishes later, I can shoo them away for the night once they're done."

Her hand squeezed his again, and the touch made him think of what he wanted to do to his dragon lady when they were alone.

Especially if Sophie slept well in the night.

Not that he'd force her into anything, but every cell in his body itched to kiss her again. And maybe hold her close.

They'd had such little time together since his arrival, and it was high time to rectify it.

As soon as Cat finished her dessert, Lachlan declared they were leaving. Sylvia gave a few hints to her other children, and they grudgingly took the keys from Lachlan that Finn had given him, gathered their stuff, said their goodbyes, and one by one, left with their bags.

Once Jamie—the last to leave—was gone, he cupped Sylvia's cheek and murmured, "As much as I like your kids, I'm happy they're gone."

She smiled, her eyes flashing. "Me, too."

He leaned closer, until his lips were an inch from hers, and asked, "And what's your dragon saying now?"

Her hands lay on his chest and stroked up and down, sending heat throughout his body. "She's wondering why you haven't kissed us yet."

"Then let's not disappoint your dragon."

Jake closed the scant distance between them and took her lips in a slow, gentle kiss. He teased, nibbled, licked, and when she finally moaned and parted, he took advantage and entered her mouth.

Her heat, her taste, and even her small moan snapped something inside of him. He pressed her against him, her soft belly cushioning his cock, and put every bit of desire, and wanting, and sheer need he'd been bottling up into the kiss.

There was so much they still didn't know about each other, but in this moment, none of it mattered. Because if he didn't kiss her, and hold her, and revel in her warmth, he felt as if he might die.

When her nails dug into his back, he groaned. And then Sylvia took control of the kiss, exploring his mouth, battling his tongue, pressing more against him, as if they couldn't get close enough.

Fuck, he wanted her. All of her.

And yet he wondered if this was right. Maybe he should take it slow, get to know her better, prove he wanted more than sex with her.

Because he did. Even if there were a lot of unknowns, he'd never felt so right with another woman, desired someone so much, to the point he couldn't imagine never seeing or holding her again.

It was why he'd traveled halfway around the world just for the chance to talk with her.

With every iota of self-restraint he possessed, Jake broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. Both of them breathed heavily, and he could see the desire and heat in Sylvia's eyes. Her pupils flashed a few times before she asked, "Why did you stop?"

"Between me showing up and you fainting, you've had quite the day and I didn't want to take advantage."

She stroked his jaw, and the light touch shot straight to his cock. "I've had a long nap, plenty to eat, and I can shift into a rather large dragon. If I didn't want this, you'd know."

He searched her gaze. "Are you sure, Sylvia? You're the sexiest woman I've ever met, and damn, I want you. But I can wait. I can tell you more about me, learn more about you, even spend more time with your kids, if that's what it takes. Because in the end, we might not know each other well, but my gut tells me you're worth it."

She smiled and kissed his jaw. "You just become better with time, aye? I sometimes wonder if I'm dreaming."

"I've had a lot of dreams of you over the last year, and trust me, this is so much better."

Her smile widened. "You're as charming as I remember."

"Only with you, not just anyone."

She ran her fingers through his hair and he leaned into the touch. "Sophie's asleep in the secondary crib we put in Cat's old room—it was in case her bairn came over after she was born. So my room is empty." She leaned more against him. "And did I mention our daughter is asleep?"

He gave her a quick, rough kiss before murmuring, "Then we'd best take advantage."

He swooped Sylvia off her feet and carried her up the stairs.

Jake hadn't planned on this so soon, but hell, Sylvia wanted it as much as he did.

And he wasn't about to deny his sexy dragon lady.

* * *

Sylvia's heartthudded as Jake carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Earlier, she'd thought about putting off sex until they'd talked more. Maybe learned his favorite food, or the name of his family members, or even just what he liked to do in his free time.

And yet, the tension hummed between them constantly. Attraction was what had brought them together in the first place, giving her the gift of Sophie, and eventually had resulted in Jake coming to find her.

She had a feeling they both needed this—sex, and kissing, and orgasms—before they could relax and think more of the future.

Her dragon spoke up. Remember, you're not going to plan it all out this time, aye?

I know. But it's hard. For now, I'm just trying to enjoy tonight without thinking of more.

Good. Have some fun. You deserve it.

Before she could reply, Jake laid her on the bed, covered her body with his, and all other thoughts fled her mind as he kissed her. This time, it was slow, gentle, and lazy, almost as if saying they had all the time in the world.

Clearly he'd never tried having sex with a young bairn in the house.

She pulled back and whispered, "Take off your clothes. Hurry, in case Sophie wakes up."

After one more quick kiss, he stripped his clothes off as she did the same.

Sylvia took in his broad shoulders, strong arms, and the dark ginger hair on his chest, leading down to his groin. His cock was hard and long, and just as thick as she remembered.

In a flash, any tiredness or worry about the future fled. Sylvia just wanted to feel a strong male above her, around her, inside her, making her forget everything else for a wee while.

Jake stroked his dick and turned toward his bags. When he pulled out a condom, Sylvia said, "Wait."

He gave her a puzzled look, and she added, "That's what got us into trouble last time. Human condoms and, er, dragon-shifters don't mix well. They're fairly useless with female dragons—they break down." She gestured toward her drawer, "But there should be some in there that will work."

Emma had told her she'd snuck some into her room. Thank goodness for her responsible daughter, even if Sylvia didn't want to be thinking of her until recently youngest daughter sleeping with however many males.

Jake took one of the dragon-approved condoms out and as he rolled it on, said, "Why didn't you say anything last time?"

"Er, well. My late mate was a dragon-shifter. And we were industrious, if you remember. Condoms were never really needed." Not to mention Arthur had eventually gotten a vasectomy, making them unnecessary altogether. "And whilst we're told about such things in our early teens, do you remember much from school twenty-odd years ago, about topics you never thought you'd need to know?"

Condom on, he crawled over her on the bed. "I'm not the best one to ask that question since I have a stellar memory." She opened her mouth, but he placed a finger over her lips. "But I don't care. For whatever reason, it worked out. Otherwise, we wouldn't have Sophie."

For all that Sylvia had thought she'd been done having children, she couldn't imagine her life without her ginger-haired daughter now.

And knowing that Jake didn't regret her, either, did something to her heart.

Focus on just tonight, Sylvia.She reached a hand up and threaded her fingers through his short strands. "Speaking of which, I love our daughter dearly, but she's a wee bit fussy. So kiss me whilst you have the chance, Jake. Because otherwise, we'll have to wait, and I know I don't want that."

With a growl, he crushed his lips against hers as he lowered his hot, solid body. The instant his warm skin touched hers, she moaned and took the kiss deeper, needing this male, almost as if she might die if she didn't.

Her dragon growled. Why wait? Flip him over and ride him. It's easy enough.

Before she could even think of a reply, Jake broke the kiss to lick her jaw, nibble down her throat, and lightly bite where her neck met her shoulder.

Sylvia arched up, her hand on his back, pressing him closer.

His hand trailed down her body, lightly tweaking her nipple, before stroking between her thighs.

Moaning, she moved her hand to his firm arse cheek, gripped him tightly, and tried to press him closer yet again.

Jake chuckled against her shoulder. "Impatient are you?"

She arched her hips, loving how he sucked in a breath as she made contact with his balls and the base of his cock. "Aye, and for good reason. We can do slow and torturous later." When Sophie was a wee bit older, she thought. "For now, just fuck me. Please. You want it as much as I do." She moved against his dick again. "You liked hard and rough with my dragon. Let's do that now."

The hand not on his arse went to his cock. She squeezed, then fondled his sack. With a groan, Jake moved her hand and positioned his dick. With a hard thrust, he filled her, and Sylvia arched into him, moaning.

Then he held her hips down as he moved, each thrust faster than the last, making the bed shake as Sylvia's beast hummed inside her head.

Needing to drive him crazy, she lightly scored her nails down his back. And just as she remembered, it made him growl and grow more frantic.

Then he took her lips, his tongue exploring her mouth, tangling, thrusting, making her breathless in a good way.

When his fingers found her clit and pressed harder, she moaned. All it took were a few rough, quick strokes, and she fell apart, light dancing in front of her eyes as pleasure surged through her body at the same time as she gripped his cock.

Still reeling from her high, she barely noticed Jake still and cry out before collapsing on top of her.

They both lay like that, breathless and languid, for who knew how long. Sylvia slowly stroked his back, reveling in his heat and the slight sheen of sweat on his skin, inhaling the musky scent that was purely Jake.

It was the little things like this—laying with a male above her as they both caught their breaths—that she'd missed most over the years. The little intimacies she'd once taken for granted.

No. She wasn't going to get overly attached. Sex with Jake was fantastic and had relaxed them both. That had to be enough.

Her dragon said sleepily, I want more, though. Don't you? Imagine him here every night, his strong arms around us as we sleep.

Stop it, dragon. You're not helping. Besides, you're the one telling me to live in the moment.

Living in the moment is brilliant. However, you tend to go all in or keep someone at a distance, with nothing in the middle. I'm just trying to remind you that it's possible for more, but you have to work for it, unafraid to accept a little closeness without obsessing over it.

You're just on cloud nine from the orgasm and not making any sense. Go to sleep.

Her beast yawned. Fine. For now.

Jake rolled off her, and she nearly hauled him back, wanting just a little more time without reality seeping in.

But he propped his head on his arm and looked down at her, searching her face for something she couldn't name. He finally brushed a few stray hairs off her cheek as he said, "Tell me something about yourself I don't know."

She blinked at the sudden question. "Like what?"

The corner of his mouth ticked up. "I don't know. It can be silly or serious. Whatever you want. But as much as I already know I like this." He gently cupped between her thighs and winked. "I want to know more of this." He moved his hand to her breast, where her heart thumped wildly. "And this." His hand then cupped her head.

And there the human went, being charming and a wee bit romantic.

Guarding her heart so she didn't fall completely in love with him too soon was going to take more work than she'd originally thought.

Still, no matter what happened, he was Sophie's father. He should know her somewhat, if for no other reason than that.

Clearing her throat, she replied, "I've never been outside the UK."

He studied her a beat before asking, "But I sense you wanted to travel at some point?"

She nodded. "My late mate—his name was Arthur—and I had planned to do it after the children were grown."

"But then he passed away."

She bobbed her head. "I suppose I could've gone on my own eventually. But I just never bothered."

"Because of your children?"

"Aye, partially." She paused a beat and decided to be fully honest and not lie through omission, although she couldn't quite meet his gaze as she did it. "However, it was more than that, I think. My late mate was murdered, aye? And, well, it took me a long time to come to terms with that."

He traced her cheek and then gently made her meet his gaze again. "Sorry isn't enough of a word to make up for what you went through."

Even though he didn't ask how Arthur had died, the question hung in the air.

The evening was turning quite serious, and yet a part of her wanted to get this all out of the way. Almost as if telling Jake about it would help lighten her load a little, maybe even take some of the still lingering grief off her shoulders.

And if she did that, she could focus more on Sophie and ensuring her daughter could see her father in the future.

So she took a deep breath, willed herself not to cry, and explained, "Arthur's best friend went missing, you see. And even though Arthur managed my restaurant and wasn't any sort of Protector, he had promised his friend's mate he'd do whatever he could to help find him." She looked over Jake's shoulder to some far point on the wall, remembering how she'd begged him to stay home. Pushing the memory aside, she continued, "And, well, Arthur took his vows seriously. He said he knew of a place from when they were lads, a place few would ever think to check, and went looking. Except he never came back. It was two days later when they found Arthur and his friend, both in their dragon forms and completely drained of blood." Her voice hitched, but she couldn't help but whisper, "Someone had cared more about making a few quid selling their blood than the lives of two dragonmen and everyone who cared for them."

If only dragon-shifter blood didn't have healing properties. They would've left Arthur alone and he'd still be alive.

Jake moved to pull her close, but she put a hand on his chest and kept him back. "It didn't end there."

He took her hand and waited as Sylvia did her best to blink back her tears. She was going to reveal one of her greatest failures—being unable to care for her children as she should have—and it wasn't going to be easy.

Her inner beast murmured soothing nonsense, which did help a little. Finally, taking a deep breath, she carried on. "Arthur's death hit me hard. I've always struggled with depression. But after mating him and then with the liveliness of my children, my bouts were few and far between. But his death…aye, well, it all came crashing back. I couldn't get out of bed, I could barely string two thoughts together, and I just wanted to hide from the world." She swallowed. "Including my children.

"Oh, they tried to bring me food and cheer me up. But I was always crying, or sleeping, or just trying my best to avoid the ever-present darkness that wanted to take me over completely."

It had been the worst time of her life, far worse than even when her parents died.

But as much as she didn't want to reveal how her children had saved her and not herself, Sylvia pushed on, determined to finish the memory for Jake. "I was that way for weeks, just over a month, actually. If not for my eldest, Cat, I don't know how long it would've gone on."

He squeezed her hand and asked softly, "How did Cat help?"

She finally met his eyes again. But instead of judgment, or disappointment, or any other number of negative emotions, all she saw was curiosity.

The sight gave her the strength to continue. "She said invoices were due for the restaurant and that if I didn't get out of bed to pay them, she and her siblings would carry me out of bed to do so." She smiled at the memory of teenage Cat taking charge. "She was only fifteen but still determined to keep our family together and strong. And whilst you may not know her well yet, Cat has a certain tone and look in her eye that when it happens, you know she's not bluffing. She would've had them all cart me out of the bedroom, out the door, and all the way to the restaurant too."

Not for the first time, Sylvia was glad Cat had found Lachlan and now had someone to look after her as her daughter deserved.

She continued, "The sight of my teenage daughter trying to take charge, trying to keep our family going, was what finally snapped me out of it. I wasn't exactly happy for a long while after that—and Cat helped me raise her siblings for years—but I was able to at least function somewhat. It took everything I had to help my family, and traveling was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, going to Glasgow last year was the greatest distance I've been from Lochguard in over a decade." She sighed. "And so, in a very long, roundabout way, that is my answer to your question as to why I haven't traveled."

She waited to see how Jake would react to her tale. It was probably something better reserved for days or weeks later, but she and Jake didn't have that sort of time. And they'd sort of skipped the usual course of dates and things, considering they already had a daughter together.

He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "We all have pasts, Sylvia. But they help shape us to become who we are, right? I'm sorry you've endured such hardship, but I do think you're being harsher on yourself than you need to be. It's clear you love your children and they love you fiercely back, and that's what matters right here, right now." He brought their clasped hands to his chest. "But if you were trying to scare me off, it didn't work. I'm still here."

She tried to think of how to reply to that when Sophie's cry rent the air.

Out of habit, she moved to get up, but Jake gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll check on her."

He kissed her gently, quickly removed the condom, put on his boxers, and left.

And alone once again, all Sylvia could do was try not to think of how nice it was to have someone helping her, easing the burden of being both mother and father to even just one of her children.

Because that had been the hardest aspect of raising her five older kids, once she'd managed to contain her grief for Arthur to a somewhat manageable level. Her late mate had been the steady rock, the lively focus, of their little family. Sylvia hadn't been ready to step into that role but had been forced into it, to make do.

Even brushing aside the nice feeling of Jake's support, Sylvia still couldn't believe the human didn't seem disgusted or disappointed in what she'd revealed about the lowest point of her life.

Between his support and seeming acceptance, old Sylvia would think too much of it. Instead, she decided to harden her heart a little and dismiss it as nothing more than him being nice.

Aye, nice. And still high from his recent orgasm.

That had to be it.

* * *

Jake hurrieddown the hall to check on his daughter, wishing he could've had a few more minutes with Sylvia to talk about her revelations.

She thought of herself as a failure and was being much harsher on herself than she should be. True, he didn't know why she hadn't asked for help from friends or family after her mate's death. Or why her daughter had ended up being the one to help her mother when she needed it most instead of her in-laws, whom Sylvia's kids had talked about briefly during the card game.

He hated not knowing everything he should about the dragonwoman. Jake was used to knowing everything, being the one in charge, and fixing things in his life.

And in the present, he knew nearly nothing, was a human on a dragon clan, and didn't know if he had the power to do much of anything.

Except help with his daughter.

So as he entered, he approached the crib and murmured, "Now, now, Sophie dear, why're you crying?"

He gently picked her up and her tearstained faced twisted his heart. Even though he knew from helping his older sisters with their kids when they were younger that babies often cried, it didn't mean he had to like it.

Placing her over his shoulder, he rubbed her back and said in a soothing tone, "You're all right, little one. I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you were born. But Daddy's here now and I want to make it up to you. And your mom, too." He kissed her cheek. "Let's start by getting you changed and happy again."

As he took care of his daughter, she babbled nonsense and made him smile, her tears forgotten.

At this point in his life, he hadn't imagined he'd be a father. But even though he'd only learned of the fact earlier in the day—had it only been a day?—he wanted to do whatever it took to be there for Sophie.

The trick, though, would be finding what could make him, Sylvia, and Sophie happy together.

And he had no damn idea how to do it.

Unlike with his restaurants, he couldn't plan in advance, make detailed goals, and see it through. Children and women were different and far less predictable.

But he needed to get to know the people of Lochguard better, spend time with both Sylvia and Sophie, and maybe even call his cousin for some advice on how to deal with dragons in general.

Because his cousin's packet hadn't included dating advice or how to better know five grown dragon-shifter children of a woman with whom you had a child.

One of whom was about to have a child of her own, which would make Sylvia a grandmother.

His life really had become like a soap opera, hadn't it?

At least discovering the Uno cards tucked into one of the zippers in his suitcase—there from his visit with one of his sisters a few weeks ago—had been lucky. The card game had been a good start to better know the MacAllisters—it had always cheered his family up—but it wasn't enough.

Jake was definitely in new territory, but that wasn't a deterrent. He liked challenges and would face this one head-on.

Once Sophie was changed, he sat with her in the rocking chair in the corner. Soon she fell asleep cradled in his lap, and Jake didn't have the heart to move her. And so he dozed, the soft weight of his daughter laying on him, and tried to think of how to tackle the next day. Hell, how to approach the next weeks, months, and possibly the entire next phase of his life.