Okay, maybe some of them were. But she didn't want him to be because that only tempted her more.
And she couldn't be tempted. Her family, and now Aimee King, depended too much on her.
As they stared at one another, Cat's heart rate jumped. She'd never had someone focus solely on her with such intensity before.
When Lachlan finally spoke, his voice was rough. "Together, then. But remember, dragonwoman, that ultimately I am the one in charge."
She sensed a double meaning in his words, but before she could say more, he added, "I'll send over the paperwork to you later today. Reach out to my assistant if you have any questions."
With that, he exited the room in a few long strides.
Cat let out a long breath. What the bloody hell had that been all about?
And why did she want him to come back so she could match wits and find out?
Pushing the thought aside, she exited the room and headed back to her cottage. She'd deal with Lachlan MacKintosh when the time came. For now, others needed her, and Cat wasn't going to let them down.
Chapter Nineteen
Layla vaguely heard some females’ voices as she slowly woke up.
"Come on now, Faye. Wouldn't it be fantastic? To think, your daughter could mate the male born the same day as her. That'll be quite the story to tell later on."
"Mum, I'm not going to plan out Isla's future for her. So just stop it." A pause. "Right, Yasmin?"
"Aye."
It was Faye, Yasmin, and Lorna MacKenzie.
But was Chase there?
Her dragon was weak inside her head. We need to open our eyes and look around. We can do it.
It should be an easy thing to do, open her eyes. And yet it took several minutes of concentration to get them cracked even a fraction.
Maybe she could've done it sooner, but Faye and her mother continued to bicker, and Layla did her best to block it out. Concentrating in general was difficult, and she didn't want to waste energy on a pointless conversation.
She finally managed to get them open and it took a few seconds to focus. All Layla could tell was that she was in a bed inside one of the rooms of her surgery.
As she tried to make her mouth work, Yasmin gasped and her face came into view. "Layla! You're awake!"
She couldn't manage more than a groan.
Faye's head came into view. "She is. Mum, go get Chase."
Chase. Aye, she wanted to see him. Maybe he'd tell her the truth of what had happened. The others might eventually, but Layla most likely wouldn't stay awake long, and she'd probably have to ask a lot of questions to get the females to share everything.
Faye spoke again. "Can you talk, Layla?"
She finally croaked, "A little."
Faye grinned. "You'll be fine, just like I thought. And I think the bairn healing vibes helped, too."
If she had more energy, Layla would frown.
Thankfully, Yasmin spoke up before Faye spouted more nonsense. "Save your strength, Layla. Chase will be here soon. And aye, I know you love us, too. But he needs to see you more, I think. He's as devoted to you as Phillip is to me."
She debated whether it was worth it to ask for more information on Yasmin's cryptic statement when Chase rushed into the room and came into view. Even with a few days' worth of st