As he stood in the doorway, watching Cat fiddle with the shower, he had a hard time believing this was his life now—a beautiful woman, a child on the way, and more laughter in the last couple of weeks than in the last ten years.
Lachlan wasn't usually the optimistic sort, but for once, he thought maybe he could be.
As soon as Cat was in the shower and started washing her body, he followed her and did exactly as he'd promised.
Twice.
Several hours later, Cat was clean, sated, and walking as slowly as possible toward her mother's house.
Her dragon snorted. You know they're going to make a big deal out of it. Delaying it a few minutes won't change that fact.
You can say that as you'll just laugh from the back of my mind. I'll be the one trying to keep them a wee bit tame with their comments whilst also protecting Lachlan.
After the last couple of weeks, I think he can protect himself.
She glanced over at the male in question. He had her hand in his and was doing his best to scroll through the DDA emails he'd missed during the frenzy.
She knew why he had to do it now instead of talking with her. After all, he'd told the DDA only that he'd be gone a few days. But she wished he didn't have to worry about the future of his job.
And not just because it was her fault that it was in jeopardy either. She'd experienced his event planning skills firsthand the year before, and he was bloody good at it.
Not even an eccentric archaeologist running off into the night had flustered him. Well, at least not much.
Her dragon sighed. He's clever. I'm sure he'll figure some way to make it work.
Before she could reply, her friend Faye's voice came from off to the side. "Cat!"
She turned, and Faye—for once without her daughter—ran toward her and skidded to a halt to hug her. "Finn said you two were done." She leaned back so she could see Cat's face. "This is brilliant, like I told Grant. Our kids won't be too far apart in age. They can get into mischief together."
"Aye, that was exactly my first thought," she drawled.
Faye released her and rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's definitely a perk." Faye glanced at Lachlan and winked. "I guess her dragon didn't break you in the end, aye?"
Lachlan squeezed Cat’s hand but kept his gaze on Faye. "She tried, but I'm fairly stubborn."
Faye snorted. "You might be human, but you act like a dragonman sometimes, that's for sure. If I wasn't so devoted to my mate, I would've liked to try out a human male first, just to compare."
Cat's cheeks heated. "Faye MacKenzie, what would Grant say?"
She shrugged. "He'd just grunt and ignore it because he knows I'm happy." Faye took another step backward. "Speaking of which, Grant is with my mum and daughter, and whilst he's patient, he could probably do with some rescuing." She waved. "Congrats, you two."
As Faye ran off, Cat looked up at Lachlan. His lips twitched at the edges. "Faye's growing on you, isn't she?"
"A wee bit." He gently tugged her hand. "But we should hurry. Otherwise, your brothers might show up, tell us we're too slow, and carry us to your mum's place."
She snorted. "I'd like to see them try. I think they could only manage it if they shifted."
Lachlan raised an eyebrow. "Seeing as they mentioned dropping me into a loch at one point, I'd rather not tempt them."
Cat laughed. "It's not too bad, as long you're fairly close to the water when they let go."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why do I feel as if you speak from experience?"
She shrugged. "I do. Let's just say that teenage dragon-shifters have their own brand of fun."
Lachlan muttered, "Remind me to learn what they all are before our child is old enough to try them."
The image of Lachlan keeping a detailed list of all the ways their child could get into trouble made her smile.
They soon stood on the front porch of her mother's house. Cat could hear muffled sounds inside the cottage.
A lot of them, meaning it was more than just her immediate family.
Her dragon laughed. This is going to be brilliant. I want to see if Lachlan will actually blush.
Ignoring her beast, she glanced up at Lachlan's gaze. "Ready?"
He leaned down, kissed her gently, and murmured, "Now I am."
She nearly sighed. Lachlan was really quite a romantic at heart.
Her dragon yawned. Aye, aye, he is. Now, hurry up. We need to get this done so we can free up time for me to shift. I want him to scratch behind my ears.
I'm not sure we'll get to it today.
It better be soon. I want some attention too.
Cat bit her lip at her dragon's petulant tone and opened the door.
Squeals at their entrance made her wince, and soon they were inside the cottage, surrounded by her family, her cousins, and even her grandfather and the other two partners of his thruple.
Cat could easily push aside and dodge her family's innuendos and eyebrow waggles.
However, she worried about Lachlan. He was open and sweet and honest with her. How would he do with so many people focusing on him this time around?
And why did it seem so strange to worry about him still?
Her dragon growled, Because he's ours now.
Everyone thought male dragon-shifters were protective and territorial, but female ones were just as bad.
Cat replied to her beast, Aye, but let's not overstep just yet. He's strong, as you know, and let's watch how he does first.
Her beast huffed. I suppose. But if Connor tries to challenge him to a fight again, I'm going to take charge and toss him outside on his arse.
She tried not to smile. He'll deserve it, but let's save that as a last resort, aye?
And so Cat did her best to watch Lachlan as he interacted with her family and not step in too soon.
Lachlan went from holding Cat's hand to being forced apart and instantly surrounded by a bunch of men.
Correction, a bunch of dragonmen.
Some he recognized—her brothers, for example—but there were quite a few he'd never seen before. Or if he had, he hadn't taken much notice.
Connor slapped him on the back. "Survived the frenzy, aye? Female dragons have been known to break a cock or two, so you're a wee bit ahead of some dragonmen."
An older man Lachlan only recognized from pictures as Cat's grandfather, elbowed him in the ribs. "If he couldn't handle a wee female dragon, then he wouldn't be worth Cat's time."
Some unknown woman said, "I heard that, Archie MacAllister."
Archie flashed a grin toward the woman with gray hair. "Except for you, love. Not even two of us is enough to satisfy your hungry beast."
Lachlan nearly groaned, but quite a few others did. Connor spoke. "Stop it, Granddad. It's embarrassing."
"Why, lad? It's the truth. The stories I could tell you…you'd be redder than a beet in no time."
A middle-aged man Lachlan didn't know put an arm around Archie's shoulder. "Come on, Dad. Save your stories for another time."
Archie grunted as the man led him away. "You always say that."
Once Archie was gone, Ian murmured, "Remind me to thank Uncle Seamus later."