She’d learned that once a human woman was pregnant with a dragon-shifter child, the League transferred their efforts to those humans who could still be “saved” and shown the light.
Which was fine with her.
Brad growled. “You’re not tainted. You’re fucking perfect.”
She smiled and placed her free hand on his cheek. “You’re so much sweeter than you let on most of the time.” He merely grunted, and she couldn’t help but give him a quick kiss. “It’s okay, you can be sweet with me. I won’t tell anyone about the yellow ruffled apron. You can be the big badass to the world.”
; Brad pulled her against his body and cupped her cheek with one hand. “Your opinion matters the most. I never want to hide from you, Tasha Jenkins. I love you and will fight every day to show you how much I do.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Had he really just said that? “You love me?”
He held her even tighter against him. “Yes, I do. And if I need to prove it to you over and over again, until it’s undeniable, then I will. You’re my mate and my future, Tasha. I love you.”
Brad’s words were exactly what she needed to hear. “I love you, too, Brad. I know it’s been rushed, and even two months ago you barely said two words to me, but so much has changed. We balance each other, I think. And I have never trusted anyone as much as I trust you. The thought of being by your side, raising our child, and watching as we encourage human-dragon relations at our bar and restaurant is simply perfect. I love you.”
With a growl, he took her lips in a rough kiss, his tongue sliding between her lips and slowly devouring her mouth. Tasha held onto him tightly, doing her best to kiss him back, the pair of them fighting to show who loved the other more.
Which was perfect and just how their life would be. And Tasha wouldn’t have it any other way.
Epilogue
About One Year Later
Brad checked on his napping daughter against his shoulder and was amazed that she was still asleep despite the grand opening.
It was almost as if she knew how important today was for her mom and wasn’t going to ruin it.
His dragon snorted. She is barely three months old. I doubt she worries about more than eating, sleeping, and pooping at this point.
Just because she can’t talk doesn’t mean she can’t sense things. Any daughter of Tasha’s is going to be extraordinary.
He lightly brushed Mia’s cheek and smiled. At one point, he never thought he’d be a father, let alone have a mate. And now? He couldn’t imagine life without both his females.
And even though dragon-shifter populations skewed male, maybe he’d have another daughter soon, too. He and Tasha had talked about trying for another child once her bar and restaurant was up and running.
His dragon spoke up. Well, it opens today. Besides, we had that couple month break after the birth and definitely need to make up for it. So maybe we should start practicing a little more, so when we don’t need condoms anymore, we can knock it out of the park right away.
Brad mentally sighed. That’s not how it works, and you know it.
Still doesn’t mean we can’t do a little more practicing, just for fun.
Thankfully, Tasha tapped the microphone at the front of the bar area, preventing him from replying to his beast.
Mia moved a little and adjusted her position at her mother’s voice, but didn’t wake up.
Tasha’s voice came over the speakers. “I want to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate the grand opening of the Butterfly Bar and Grill—the butterfly a symbol of change and transformation, which I hope we can do here in some small way. It really has been a joint venture between humans and dragon-shifters to get this place up and running. And in a way, that’s perfect because my aim is to help us get to know each other better. Not only humans and dragon-shifters, but also the clan members of both StoneRiver and PineRock. To celebrate this grand opening, we’ll have words from both of the clan leaders. So give a warm welcome to our first speaker, David Lee from StoneRiver!”
Applause went up. Brad’s gaze went to David, but the dragonman was staring at some human female Brad only vaguely recognized.
His dragon said, She’s the sister of Gabriela Santos’s human male.
That’s right—Tiffany Ford. She’d been helping Tasha with the bar and restaurant prep.
Although the longer David stared at the female, the more Brad wondered if she were his true mate.
Jon Bell thumped David on the shoulder, and StoneRiver’s leader smiled and went up to the stage.