Page 44 of Lahaina Noon

He rumbled in his chest quietly and turned his face to her palm. Breathing warmth into it.

“Vaughn,” she whispered, and he looked up at her, like he was frightened of what he might see. Overwhelmed with emotion and realization, the tears came to her eyes. “Vaughn,” she whispered again and leaned her forehead against his. “I’m so sorry. I’m not going anywhere. I wouldn’t admit it to myself, but I will to you. I love you. I absolutely love you, too.” She pressed her lips to his.

Chapter 25

At her admission Vaughnshuddered and wrapped his wings around them both, pulling her into his lap. It was like a warm cocoon, and she snuggled into his chest while he rested his chin on her head, holding her tightly. They were quiet for a while. Then he softly told her about when a dragon and their human side both fell in love with someone, and that person loved them in return; it became a magical bond, and they became mates. He told her that she was his mate. His destiny and the only one he could ever love. He shared how he’d realized it was happening when she’d picked up on his thoughts at the office and she’d channeled his magic in the car. He told her about how his heart was so connected with hers now that without her, his magic would wither away, and he’d lose the ability to change into a dragon. He talked about how fiercely protective dragons were and how an insult to a mate was an affront to the dragon.

Bridget sat quietly, taking it all in, listening to the rumble in his chest, the beat of his heart that was so strong and full of life. She’d never thought of loving anyone again after Brian, and she’d certainly never thought to be loved like this in return. This was on a different level.She learned that now that Vaughn had recognized her as his mate, there was no way for him to ever be mated with anyone else. He’d told her there was a process to mark her; it involved sex and blood of course. She wasn’t surprised.

She was ready to go for it right now, but he declined. They had time. He wanted to make it special for her. They only got one shot at it, and he wanted her to know the full extent of what she was getting into before she committed. Bridget knew it didn’t matter what else there was. She knew it deep in her soul. This was right. This was meant to be, and she was going through with it.

Bridget was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for a salad because even though dragons were meat and potato creatures, she had a growing son to try to shovel healthy food in. That was her job, wielder of vegetables. She heard a cry of amazement and saw Gabe cheering as Vaughn used his fire breath to light the oversized fireplace in the dining room. He kept it going until the grate he’d placed there was hot enough and put the steaks on. She had wondered why there was such a large fireplace in the dining room of all places, but now she understood. She remembered her first night here when Vaughn had made a joke about cooking on an open flame. She rolled her eyes. Dragons. She glanced over again.

Now, Vaughn was showing him how to check for doneness. Her heart filled with joy to see them bonding over guy things. Gabe needed this. She needed to ease up and let people help her. Vaughn obviously enjoyed being around Gabe; he must have needed it too. Surrounded by friends, he’d been alone for hundreds of years.

Earlier, when they’d come back into the kitchen, Gabe had hugged her, whispering that it was all going to be okay. He’d begged her not to be too mad at Vaughn.

She whispered back that she’d only yelled at him a little, and everything was going to be okay now.

He looked at her, “Does he make you happy, Mom?”

She’d nodded. Yes.

“He loves you.”

“What do you think about that?”

He tilted his head, looking just like his father in the moment. “I like it, Mom, I like it a lot. And if you want to love him back, I’m good with that too.”

She hugged her baby and told him, “I do love him.”

He shrugged and warned her not to do any mushy crap in front of him.

Vaughn had heard the last part, so of course he dipped Bridget over his arm and kissed her right in the middle of the kitchen.

Gabe had pretended he was gagging and throwing up, but she had seen the smile on his face. He really was happy, and that was all she needed.

They sat down at the table, just her, Vaughn, Liam, and Gabe.

“Where did Siobhan go?” she asked as she added more salad to Gabe’s plate than he had originally taken. She heard him complaining under his breath about the vegetable enforcement officer and added salad to both Liam and Vaughn’s plates as well in solidarity. They wisely didn’t comment and tucked into the food.

“Oh, she left when the fireworks started,” Liam said then jumped. Vaughn had obviously kicked him under the table. Liam grinned while he rubbed his shin.

Bridget laughed, “Well, I just wanted to thank her again for helping me earlier. It was amazing, really.”

Liam smiled with pride. “Yes, my baby sister can do amazing things. She’s not really supposed to be able to heal, but she’s worked out some things that turn warding into healing spells. Vaughn thinks she’s really gifted; I just think she’s too stubborn to accept she can’t do something.” Liam put a bite of steak in his mouth and smiled his boyish smile.

Bridget couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “You know she reminds me a lot of Jorrie in that way, stubborn, beautiful, won’t take no for an answer. I can see why you like her.” She derived a small about of pleasure from seeing Liam flush and take a big gulp of his wine.

“Hey,” said Vaughn, “You peasant. That is a very nice Bordeaux. It’s meant for savoring, not chugging.” He winked at Bridget.

Gabe looked up from his potato, a piece of cheese hanging from his mouth that he was trying to catch with his tongue. “Wait, Liam, dude. You like Aunt Jorrie?” he said incredulously. “Weird. You know she can curse you out in five other languages and probably knows, like, a gajillion ways to kill you and hide the body.”

“So I’ve heard,” Liam said dryly. They all laughed then, and Bridget couldn’t help smiling when the warm feeling of family settled over her.

They adjourned to the living room to watch a movie. Once they had picked something to watch, Liam and Gabe made noises about popcorn despite the large meal they had just inhaled.

Bridget was quite sure Gabe had a hollow leg and it was obvious Liam hadn’t grown out of his yet, either. Since it wasn’t a school night, and quite frankly, what boy didn’t deserve to stay up late and gorge on snacks after being shot at, she didn’t protest when they came back with popcorn, soda, and a bag of M&Ms. She just smiled and settled in the comfort of Vaughn’s arms while the sound of a high-speed chase filled the room as the movie started.

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