Aiding the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 7)

He paused and replied, Maybe.

His beast huffed. Not everyone in a position of authority will use it for harm. You let your hatred of our father get in the way of treating Teagan fairly.

Aaron tried not to think of his father, if possible. Still, if only she’d treated me as an equal, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m not entirely to blame.

Then as I’ve said fifty times before, talk with her. Teagan is not our father. She won’t belittle you or make you feel as if you’ve overstepped for merely making a suggestion.

For most of his life, Aaron had hidden his past with a smile or a joke to avoid probing questions. His father had verbally abused him during his childhood, and humor had helped to overcome the barbs and enjoy some aspects of life. His mother had taken the brunt of it, at least until Aaron was older and he’d directed the attention away from his mother and toward himself.

And yet, part of him was tired of the facade of always being happy and carefree. He thought he had finally found a female to share everything with, including his true self, back in Italy.

Of course Nerina had only used him to get to another male. If that wasn’t enough, she’d tossed his past and trust back in his face, shaming him in front of the entire Italian clan.

Her voice rang inside his mind. No one wants to hear you whine. All parents scold their children. You’re a poor excuse for a male.

Aaron clenched his fingers. Not every parent blamed their child for ruining their life and made sure they knew it every day.

His beast growled. Enough. Nerina isn’t worth our time. And Teagan is a clan leader. She won’t throw information back in our face, and most certainly not in public.

I’m sure as hell not going to talk about our dad with her.

You make things more difficult than they have to be.

His dragon turned his back on Aaron and plopped down for a nap. They had been going in circles for hours and Aaron had wanted nothing more than a little peace and quiet. Now that he had it, the eerie silence of nothingness beyond the faint snoring of the male in the jail cell rubbed the wrong way against his ears. It was as if the quiet was beckoning him to think about his past again—the yelling, the never being good enough, and the blame for everything going wrong in his father’s life.

How everyone would be happier if Aaron had never been born.

He gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t let his bastard father ruin any more of his life. Glenlough was a new clan, and he planned to take advantage of that fact.

Exercise would banish thoughts of his past. Standing, Aaron stretched his arms above his head before taking off his shirt and lowering to a plank position. Push-ups would keep him awake and occupied. His guard duty should be nearly over anyway.

As he used his muscles to lower his body and rise back up, he wondered what his life would’ve been like if Nerina hadn’t betrayed him but had fallen in love with and mated Aaron instead of the other bloke. He’d still be in Italy and might even have a baby on the way.

He did want all that one day. However, he kept that thought tightly concealed from his dragon. As much as his beast might think he wanted Teagan, Aaron’s home was on Stonefire. He trusted nearly everyone there. He also had his mother to think about. While his father was dead, she still needed him. Aaron never wanted her to be hurt again, especially after being targeted by the Dragon Knights recently.

Just remembering her unconscious on a hospital bed fueled his desire to return home to make sure she was safe. The doctors had ruled her healthy, but there was much they didn’t know about the concoction used by the Dragon Knights. She could maybe experience a relapse, which meant her dragon would take complete control and go rogue.

As he finished his fiftieth push-up, the door to the room opened. It must be his relief watch. Aaron turned his head and nearly fell to the floor.

Teagan stood with a slight smile on her face and her hand on her hip. He’d caught her looking at his back, even if she had shifted her gaze quickly. Her long, dark hair billowed around her shoulders, and the faint scent of female drifted to his nose.

His dragon turned around. Look at her eyes. She’s interested. Take advantage.

Ignoring his beast, Aaron turned to sit on his bum and propped his arm on his bent knee. “Like the view, oh great leader?”

Her smile faded. “I was just thinking that I could probably best you in a push-up contest. If we ever have a spare ten minutes, I’ll show you.”

He decided to just be honest and take the first step. “There’s no need to prove yourself to me.”

Her eyes widened, but quickly returned to normal. She cleared her throat and glanced at the cell. The Irish male was still asleep. “Come into the hall for a second.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that he would be abandoning his duty to leave the room, but he kept the remark in check. She’d never divulge information if all he did was piss her off.

His dragon huffed. Good that you finally realize and admit

that.

Aaron stood and followed Teagan out of the room. He was careful to keep his gaze on the back of her head. If she caught him staring at her arse, he’d never hear the end of it. He might not want to kiss her, but any straight male with eyes would admit that her long, lean body curved in all the right places.