"No need to thank me, Layla. I know it's not official, and it's still early, but a mate does whatever he or she can to help their partner. To do less is unthinkable for me."
As they stared at one another, her dragon spoke up. Finally. If nothing else, Chase helping you to realize it's okay to accept help makes me want to kiss him.
No, don't even think of starting the mate-claim frenzy right now. Too much is going on.
Not now, but someday?
She paused, looking at Chase from under her eyelashes. Aye, he was handsome, and fit, and clever. But she was starting to think he might be the key person she needed to not work herself to death. For whatever reason, he saw her merely as a female and wasn't cowed by her position so far.
And he made her smile and laugh. No one else, apart from maybe old Archie or Cal, could do that.
Layla replied to her beast, Maybe.
She finally spoke aloud again, wanting to tease him. "So if I made a list of unusual tasks, sort of like quests, you'd do each and every one?"
He leaned close, his voice dropping an octave. "That depends on the reward, lass. If it's you tied up in a bow, naked on the bed, I'd do anything."
The temperature hiked up several degrees. "Then I'll keep that in mind. You merely seeing me tied in a bow is a fairly easy reward to give."
"Not just naked, but at my mercy, too."
She bit her lip as the image of Chase's head between her thighs, licking her to orgasm, flashed into her head.
If she wasn't careful, her years of celibacy were going to make things difficult going forward.
Her dragon huffed. You're only now figuring this out?
He traced her jaw before adding, "But truth be told, I'll probably have a few favors owed to you soon enough. After all, you'll soon have to put up with my sister-in-law in labor. And believe me, that is worth at least ten favors from me. Faye isn't one to keep her thoughts to herself."
She couldn't help but chuckle. "Faye's not that bad. A bit spirited, aye, but she has a huge heart."
He lightly brushed the back of her hand under the table with his thumb, the action sending a tendril of warmth through her body. "She does, but she also likes to throw knives, which makes her a wee bit dangerous. So remember to keep anything sharp hidden during the delivery, aye?"
As they grinned at one another, a small weight lifted from Layla's shoulders. She had a feeling Chase would always be able to make her smile.
The only question was whether he would want to keep trying when she couldn't see him for a few days when the clan suffered an attack or epidemic. Or, if a nurse or her doctor in training fell sick and she had to work sixteen-or-twenty-hour days, four days in a row.
Chase opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but the front door opened and voices trickled down the hall.
Faye, Grant, and Logan had returned.
Pushing aside thoughts of herself, she stood and turned toward the door. Chase was instantly at her side and murmured, "Not yet, lass. Faye or Grant will come get us when it's time."
Muttering a curse, Layla paced the kitchen. "I just want to know what's going on. I hate mystery and the unknown."
"Aye, that's probably part of the reason you became a doctor." He put out a hand, palm up. "Come here."
She stopped pacing. "Why?"
"Just come here."
Too tired and wound up, she obeyed. As soon as she was close enough, Chase pulled her against his chest and held her tight.
For a second, she froze. The instinct to appear invincible and in charge coursed through her.
Then he whispered, "It's just you and me, Layla. No one else can see you."
Between his words and the comforting heat of his body, she leaned into him and closed her eyes. For a few beats, she forgot about everything but his heat, his spicy male scent, and the gentle caress of his hands on her back.