Page 78 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

“Kind of how she lights up sometimes when talking about me and me about her,” he said softly.

Silence ruled the little house.

“Do you love him, dear?” my mother asked, eventually breaking the quiet. “If you do, then as much as he wronged you in the past, you can work through it.”

“I can’t believe this,” I said softly. “He had me sent to jail, where I could have rotted away for the rest of my life. And you’re saying I should take him back.”

My mother smiled, tilting her head. “I’m only saying what I can tell you want us to say, dear.”

Inhaling through my nose in surprise, I sat back into the couch, thoughtful.

Did I want to take him back?

And did I … could I possibly be in love with Damon?

The answer scared the absolute shit out of me.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Damon

“Damon.”

I stared straight ahead at the empty crib sitting in the middle of the room.

A crib that would never be used. At least not by me. Not for my child. It was the only thing I’d actually put together for them before Elanya had left.

Now it was all I could look at. A reminder of the future that had once seemed so bright and cheery and full of hope. Until my own actions had brought it crumbling down around me.

Fire curled in my belly. I strongly considered burning the reminder of my failure to a crisp. It and everything else in the room.

But I couldn’t. I didn’t. So, for another day, I sat there, staring, wondering if I could have saved things. Wondering if I’d been honest from the start and told her what I knew that would have changed anything.

“Damon.”

She was gone. My mate and unborn child. Gone from my life, and it was my own damn fault.

A growl broke free of my throat, filling the room, growing in anger with each passing second as my self-loathing built.

“Damon!”

My head came around as the voice finally penetrated the dark cloud hovering over my head.

Someone was in my house. Not only that, but they were also standing in the room. In my child’s room.

“Get out!” I bellowed, on my feet in an instant and charging at them. “Get out of here!”

My dragon was in full protection mode, guarding the unused and permanently empty room against anyone. It was my memory box. It wasn’t for anyone else.

“Calm down,” the other dragon said, holding up both hands, trying to placate me. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”

I closed the door behind me, my teeth bared in a snarl. “What the hell do you want?”

“Enough. You will accord me the respect due my position. Is that understood?”

The thunderous tone brought me to a screeching halt, piercing the shroud of sleep-deprivation and anger that had wrapped me up tight, and for the first time, I processed just who was in my house.

“Vicek,” I said sharply, bringing myself to attention, my right arm out and bent across my chest in salute. “My apologies, Heir.”

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