Page 34 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

His face tightened. “I said I would come back to you.”

“You were gone for over two hours!” I cried, surprising myself with the outburst. Just how worried had I been that he was gone that long?

“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m sorry. But I wouldn’t have been gone for that long if it weren’t for good reason. I’m back now. I’m right here, and everything is okay.”

“You’re not going to be punished?” I asked.

“No, I’m not,” he said, gesturing at my arm, which was still extended out in front of me. “Do you think you could put the knife down now?”

I shook myself. “Right. Sure, of course.” I set the knife down, trying very hard to not reveal just how badly my hands shook.

Damon noticed anyway. He was at my side in an instant, holding them still. “It’s okay,” he whispered, letting me look deep into his eyes. “I’m here now. You’re safe, Elanya. The baby is safe. You can relax.”

Without thinking, I folded myself into his arms. He wrapped them around me.

“This is too stressful,” I moaned. “Having to creep around. Not feeling safe.”

“I know. We’ll figure that part out, I promise,” he said, stroking the back of my head, his fingers running gently through my hair, releasing some of the tension.

“Okay.” What else could I say?

“Is there anything else you need right now? How are you doing?”

“I’m hungry,” I said immediately. “You don’t have any food.”

Damon snorted but didn’t let go, his thick, meaty arms holding me tight.

“What?” I asked.

“You really don’t like my house, do you?” he said with a chuckle.

I shrugged. “It’s fine. It just needs some work, that’s all. It’s really sterile and empty. Like you don’t actually live here.”

He was silent for a moment. I’d touched a nerve, it seemed, but how?

“You’re right,” he said at last. “I, um, don’t really spend a lot of time here.”

There was a lot of unspoken emphasis in that sentence, but before I could pry into its meaning, he continued in a rush.

“But I intend to change that, Elanya. I really do.”

“What are you talking about?”

He pulled back slightly, holding me by the shoulders so he could stare into my face. “I’m going to be here. For you and the baby, I mean. Whatever you need, whatever our child needs, I’ll be here.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be honest,” he said, not picking up on my hesitation, “I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. Having children never seemed in the cards for me, and I just … I’m going to be a dumb idiot in a lot of ways, so you should probably be ready for that. But I swear to you I will be there by your side or wherever you need me to be.”

“Damon,” I said, easing myself out from his hands to step away. “I …”

“What is it?” he asked, pools of concern filling his eyes, darkening their blues until they were almost black. “What’s wrong?”

I chewed on my lip, searching for the right words. I didn’t find them. “It’s just that … I don’t know you. At all. I know nothing about you. Nothing about dragons, dragon culture. This is all coming at me so fast. I’m not sure—”

“You want an abortion.” His eyes went flat.

“What?” I jerked back. “No, not at all. I mean, there’s a part of me that’s terrified a dragon baby might kill me and thinks perhaps I should have one because we have no idea what cross-species breeding will do. I’ll admit I think any sane woman would have those worries, too. But I already told you the doctors said I would never be pregnant. If there’s any way I and this child can survive, then I’ll do it.”

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