Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (22 page)

As soon as the ladies walked in carrying bags,
the conversation at the kitchen table ceased, and everyone headed out to bring
in the supplies. Sam could only imagine how much food it took to keep the huge
men fed. They were like the front line of a football team, and that was without
Royce. He was a
mountain
, all by himself.

She sighed at the looks of complete adoration
Rayne and Aidan gave their wives, and the welcome kisses they received from
their men, curled her toes from across the room, reminding her of the kisses
she and Lance had shared not so very long ago. She had just reached the door
leading to the garage when she came face to face with the object of her
fantasies. The twinkle in his eye and shit-eating grin on his face told her he
had a least some idea about what she was thinking. Before she could move out of
the way, he shifted the groceries he held to the side, and grabbed her around
the waist. His lips landed on hers, and she was helpless to do anything but
kiss him back. Their kiss was hot, entirely too quick, and completely scrambled
her brain. When he set her back on her feet, she had to count to three before
she could catch her breath and get out of the way of the others.

Devon smiled as he passed by with a knowing
look in his light grey eyes. She blushed as she walked towards the SUV, still
loaded with food.
Kyndel
met her, chuckling, “Guess I
should’ve told you that our guys are seriously into PDA.”

Feeling the embarrassment fade away, she
laughed right along with her, “Yes, I
really
need to talk to Lance. He
picks the most inopportune times to
manhandle
me.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than
she heard laughter from every direction. Within seconds, everyone in the house
had joined them in the garage, and loved her joke. It was so cool, she laughed
right along with them. Royce touched her shoulder, and she was once again
amazed at the warmth she saw in the huge man’s eyes. “If you can figure out how
to make that pain in the ass behave, we’ll all be forever in your debt.”

She searched out the face of the man that had
started the whole damn thing, only to find him looking at her like she was the
only person in the room, maybe even the world. Caught by his gaze, she didn’t
even realize he was moving until he was right in front of her. His hands closed
on her shoulders, and even through her shirt, the electricity of his touch shot
through her body, making her ache to feel him everywhere. His smile was so
sweet, and the little dimple in his cheek that seemed to appear just to torment
her made her wish they were alone. He pulled her so close that only a breath
would fit between their bodies. She was helpless to do anything but follow his
lead. Her body leaned forward of its own volition, and she had no doubt she
would have kissed him no matter who was looking; but at just that moment, Aaron
did his best impression of Freddy Mercury, “And another one’s gone, and another
one’s gone, another one bites the dust.” The entire room erupted in laughter so
loud, she was glad the nearest neighbor was almost a mile away, and the tender
moment was thankfully gone before she had completely humiliated herself.

Several hours later, after all the groceries
were put away and the biggest dinner she’d ever seen had been
devoured.
The men had resumed their talks in the kitchen, and she, along with Grace,
Kyndel
, and the kids were in the living room watching
Cars
.
Sydney was sitting between her and the little boy, explaining the movie to
anyone that would listen like she was the newest edition to
Siskel
and Ebert. Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when the child’s hand landed on her
leg. “Dr. Sam, Miss Grace is talking to you.”

She smiled at the elegant brunette, trying not
to laugh. “Sorry about that, I was at least a million miles away.”

“No problem, I was just letting you know that I
filed the paperwork to change Sydney’s guardianship to you. The police reports
and hospital employee accounts definitely support that she’s not safe there.
Even Dr.
Monoghan
agreed that Sydney needs to be
monitored by a healthcare professional for at least a few more days to make
sure her mysterious fever doesn’t return.” Grace spoke with such a professional
air there was no doubting she was an attorney, but there was also a wealth of
feelings in her words. It was obvious she had fallen under Sydney’s spell, just
like everyone that met the little girl.

“Do you think the judge will go along with your
request,” she asked, not really caring what the paperwork said as long as the
little girl was safe, and she could see her. It was hard for her to admit after
spending so much of her life alone that both Sydney and Lance had come to mean
so much to her so quickly. She simply could not imagine her life without them.
All her plans and goals for the future were still running through her mind, but
now they were evolving, and going places she’d never imagined. It was like she
had no control over the path she would take, but that a power so much bigger
than anything she’d ever known was directing every decision and action she
made, and she was just along for the ride. One thing was for certain; this
unseen
force
was doing its level best to tell her that two very
persistent, blue-eyed people that seemed to bust through every one of her
defenses were going to be very present in her future, and there wasn’t a
damn
thing she could do about it. Never one to take anything lying down, she tried
to get pissed about all these changes to her well laid plan, but the anger
never came.

She realized that Grace was talking while she
had taken her little trip to la-la land, and refocused to hear what the
attorney had to say. “Yes, I believe he will. He’s very concerned with child
welfare and has been on the bench forever. Not to mention, he’s a personal
friend of my father, so he knows me well enough to know the request is
justified. I expect to have the signed paperwork back in just a few days.”

“Your father’s an attorney, too?”

“He was when I was very young, but gave it up
for politics. He’s been with the Embassy for years now, and my mother is
involved in so many humanitarian efforts that it’s hard to keep track. They
travel at least three hundred and sixty days of every year.
Hell
, they
haven’t even met my ma…husband except through Skype.” She watched as Grace
closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before she continued. “Sorry about that.
Guess old wounds run deep.” She gave a half smile, and looked to the charming
red-head that had been watching Grace with concern. “Had it not been for
Kyndel
and her granny, I would’ve ended up just another
spoiled socialite, wasting her life.”

Before any of them could respond, Aidan’s voice
came booming from the kitchen, “Thank the Heavens for
Kyndel
and her granny!”

The men all laughed, and the look that came to
Grace’s face could only be described as true love. In the next instant, Rayne
was kneeling beside
Kyndel
whispering, and making his
wife smile as well. She wondered how she had missed him coming into the room,
but before she could think about it any further, she was being lifted over the
back of the couch, and into the arms of the man that turned her world upside
down. Sydney giggled, and Lance ruffled her curls.

He turned back to her and with that one look;
it was as if she was falling into him, floating towards a future that would be
filled with love, warmth, and incredible happiness. He had snuck in, and in
that moment was as much a part of her as the blood that flowed through her
veins. The depth of emotion she saw in his eyes said all that and more, was
reciprocated. For the first time since she’d lost her family, she actually
felt
love coming from another person. Any other time, she would’ve done everything
possible to throw up all her defenses and keep him at arms’ length, but none of
the old fears came. Quite the opposite, she felt comforted. It was a completely
new sensation, one she could really get used to.

 “We have a couple of hours before heading
out, Doc. Got any ideas what we can do while we wait?” He wiggled his eyes
brows, and she couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out.

“Well, there’s a certain little girl that needs
a bath and her
pj’s
.”

She watched as his smiled turned more sweet
than salacious, and they both laughed as Sydney moaned, “Oh man, Dr. Sam. Can’t
I play with Baby Jay just a little while longer?”

Kyndel
saved the day, already one of the best moms Sam had ever
seen. “Jay has to have his bath and
jammies
too,
Sydney. But maybe, if you’re a good girl and do what Dr. Sam said without a
fuss, you can come and have a bedtime story with us.
Sound
good, Kiddo?”

“Can I? Can I, Dr. Sam?” Sydney flew off the
couch and danced around.

Lance let Sam slide down his body, and she had
to work really hard to keep her focus on the child, and not on his amazing
body, or his obvious happiness at having her in his arms. She turned towards
the still bouncing and twirling little girl, and extended her hand, “Of course,
Sweetheart.”

Sydney grabbed her hand, pulling her towards
the stairs, and yelling over her shoulder, “See
ya
when we’re done, Lance. Hurry, Baby Jay, so we can have a story.
Night, everyone else.”
And then she blew kisses as they
ascended the stairs.

Everyone downstairs laughed, and said their
‘Goodnights’. They may not all be blood, but they were definitely a family, and
she was happy to have them for however long they were a part of her life. She
had learned early in life that nothing was forever, but in the deep recesses of
her mind, she really wished this could be.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lance watched as the door to their bathroom opened, and
Sydney ran towards him, a cloud of steam in her wake. She jumped on the bed,
and pounced on his chest, hugging him around the neck for all she was worth.
“Can you come too, Lance? I want you to come to Baby Jay’s room with us.
Please?”

There was no way he could say no to that sweet little
face, and then he looked up as Sam was walking towards the bed. The steam from
Sydney’s bath had made her hair even curlier, and the heat from the bath
flushed her cheeks, making her look even younger, and definitely more
desirable. If
Syd
had not been sitting on his chest,
he would have already had her against the wall, naked and panting. He might
have lived one hundred and twelve years, and experienced more things than
ordinary human men, but he’d not truly started to live until the day Samantha Malone
entered his life. He’d been the idiot Royce had called him for all those years
to have ever imagined being anywhere but with her. With her by his side, he was
a better person. She was his strength.
Hell
, she was his everything.
There was no way Andrew, ‘The Auctioneer’, or any other idiot that sought to
hurt them would get anywhere near his mate. She was his, and he would fight to
his dying breath to keep her happy and healthy. Oh yeah…and naked as much as
possible, but that came later.

“So are you coming with us, Lance,” Sydney
impatiently asked again.

“Absolutely,
Syd
,” he
set her on the floor, and stood beside her. “Let’s hit it, Kiddo.”

She giggled, and grabbed his hand, “You called
me
Syd
. I like it.”

“Well, then I will call you
Syd
all the time.”

She laughed, and grabbed Sam’s hand too, “Let’s
go, you guys. Baby Jay’s waiting for me. I just know it.” They all chuckled,
and headed into the hallway.

Wanting to make sure Rayne and
Kyndel
were ready for the intrusion, he called directly
into Rayne’s mind, knowing
Kyndel
could hear him too.
Her mind speaking skills were becoming damn near as good as any of theirs and
it hadn’t even been two years since she and Rayne had mated. No matter, he
never called directly to any of the mates. It just seemed like way too much of
an invasion even for him.
“Hey, Bro, we’re on the way. Is the coast clear?”

“Get your ass over here. I love my son, but I
really want some alone time with his mom before we head out.”

“I hear
ya
, man,”
he chuckled
. “Be there in a sec.”

Sydney pulled on his hand, and when he looked
down, she crooked her finger in a ‘come here’ move. When his face was close to
hers, she put her chubby little hands on his face, and her mouth to his ears.
What she whispered had him almost falling on his ass. “You were talking to Mr.
Rayne in your head just now, weren’t you?”

He pulled back, and looked into her angelic
face. For the first time since meeting her, he saw a knowledge in her bright blue
eyes that was so much older than her years. He placed his lips to her ears, and
answered, “Yes,
darlin
’. Can we talk more about this
when it’s just you and me?”

She whispered back, and he held back his
laughter at the seriousness of her tone, “Yep, I don’t think Dr. Sam knows. She
might freak out, huh?”

“Yeah, she might.”

“Okay,” she nodded her head, and turned,
running the last few steps to Jay’s room. Sam came up to his side, and he
grabbed her hand. Right as he raised his other hand to knock on the door, she
spoke, “What was that back there about?”