Page 60 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
I wanted to curse at him so badly I had to bite my lip to keep from saying something I might regret. My inner beast still felt murderous whenever I saw Jin, and at this particular moment, I was close to giving it free reign.
“You got one thing right, though,” Jin said with a smile. “I don't require a paternity test. I've saved Ryan's life. By all rights, that baby is mine.”
What the... He couldn't truly think there was even the slightest chance we would give him our baby.
“You're not getting it! This is ridiculous. You can't ask for our baby.”
“Oh, I can, and I believe I just did.”
“What do you even want with it?” I burst out. Because whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
He gave me an easy shrug. “Every dragon eventually needs an heir.”
“Then get yourself a mate,” I hissed. “But keep your hands off my family.”
He tilted his head and looked at me as if I was an animal in a zoo. “So even you can get aggressive, huh? What are you going to do, hm? Beat me to death? And then what? You won't get any more medicine for your mate.”
Holy sun flares, he was infuriating. And even more frustrating than that was that he was also right. I couldn't hurt him, not really. If I refused his terms, that was it. No more help.
“What's it going to be?” he asked. “Who are you going to hold on to, your mate or your mate's baby? I mean, it's not like you can't make a new baby in the future.”
I stared at Jin, feeling like all the fire in my body was being replaced with ice. What kind of choice was that?
* * *
For the firsttime since I'd started dealing with Jin, I returned to the Island of Dragons empty-handed. There'd been no talking to him, and if I'd stayed any longer, I might have tried to roast him--which was a stupid idea anyway, since dragons couldn't be hurt by fire.
When I reached home, the smell of my mother's cooking filled the house, but I wasn't hungry. No, I went straight into the bedroom on the ground floor Ryan was using now.
He was asleep. No surprise there. And since he was a heavy sleeper, I didn't bother trying to be quiet as I stepped into the room. A stampede could have come through here without waking him.
I pulled a chair up to the bed and sat in it, deep in thought as I regarded my boyfriend's sleeping face. By now, he'd lost most of his hair and shaved off the rest to spare himself the grief of waiting for it to come off by itself. Adrian had helped me pick out some cute hats for him, though. Something I'd done for his benefit rather than mine--I didn't care what Ryan looked like.
I ran two fingers over the smooth skin of his head and he stirred in his sleep without waking.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered, but of course no answer came. I felt silly. Sillier than usual, that was. A bit down on myself too, because I hadn't been able to get my mate the one thing he needed most. What kind of dragon was I?
My eyes strayed to Ryan's belly. In there was another small person I was letting down. “Sorry, baby,” I whispered gently resting my hand on the bump.
And just then, as if the little one hadheardme, I felt a kick. I nearly jumped. There was really something alive in there! A tiny tiny baby. Amazed, I stared at my hand.
I'dknownof course that there was a baby growing in Ryan. I'd even seen it on the ultrasound pictures and I'd heard its heartbeat, but... man, nothing came close tofeelingit.
I was really going to be a dad. I had a child that needed me.
And I really had to step up.
