He hadn’t expected Teagan to lead him on and then walk away.
His beast spoke up. It’s not fair to assume she led us on or used us. That was Nerina’s way.
Then what the fuck happened? I was even being charming.
There’s much we don’t know about Teagan. Maybe if we spend some time with Orla, we’ll find out.
And why should I care? We kissed her and there’s no true mate pull. Most dragons would move on and look to the next female.
His beast huffed. She is interesting. I want to know her better.
Since when are you going against your instinct?
This isn’t the Middle Ages. If there’s an intriguing female, we can pursue her. I’d rather have someone keep us on our toes than merely find a female to have a baby.
Aaron drawled, That’s pretty forward-thinking for a dragon.
Stop insulting me or I’ll replay the kiss with Teagan when you least expect it.
Don’t even think about it.
Just watch me.
His dragon turned his back and ignored Aaron, which was bloody hard to do considering it was inside their shared mind.
Still, he’d let his beast cool down. Aaron needed to calm down himself and shower before meeting with Killian. Teagan’s scent covered his body, and he didn’t need the questions.
He gathered some clothes and hopped into the shower. As the hot water cascaded over his body, the heat eased his muscles and bruised ribs. He had just stepped out to dry off when someone pounded on his front door. Quickly wiping his body, Aaron wrapped the towel around his waist and went downstairs. He opened the door to a stoic Killian.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect a social call from you.”
Killian grunted and pushed his way into the cottage. Once the front door was closed, Killian spoke up. “Where did you go this morning with my sister?”
“That’s her business. Ask her.”
“I trust her, but I’m on the fence about you.”
“You trusted me to help with tracking down those dragon hunters not that long ago.” Killian took two steps closer to him, but Aaron didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. He continued, “Look, I’m going to make this easy on you. I have no interest in your sister that way. I’m here to hold up my end of the bargain and go home. But if you persist in harassing me about this, then I may just mention to Teagan how her brother is being overprotective. That can’t be good for her image.”
Killian clenched his jaw and his pupils flashed. After a few beats, he replied, “Watch yourself, Caruso. If you hurt anyone in my family, be it my sister or my grandmother, I will personally hand out your punishment. Your cheekiness and swagger won’t help you there.”
It was on the tip of Aaron’s tongue to make a snide comment, but he forced himself to be civil. Fighting with Killian would cause an unnecessary headache for Teagan, and she didn’t need that with possible trials hanging over her head. “Understood. Is there any other reason why you trekked all this way?”
“Yes. The invite was put out this morning, and two clan leaders have confirmed that they’re going to challenge Teagan for the leadership. As an outsider, you’re going to be in charge of security for some of the judges, who will all be from other clans.”
“So you don’t trust me to meet with your sister, but you trust me to do this?” he drawled.
Killian grunted. “You know the Scottish clan well and they trust you. That makes my job easier if they accept the invitation.”
“Wait, what? Who is coming from where? I can’t do my job if I don’t know what is going on.”
Killian crossed his arms over his chest. “The other leaders agreed to the challenge provided that unaffiliated parties conduct the judging. Each clan nominates a pair from their list of allies. Since none of them will have direct ties to Ireland, it will help with lessening bias.”
“Except for the part where they’re allies,” he murmured.
“All judges must come to a consensus. The differing viewpoints will have to convince each other of the best choice.”
Aaron had to admit that was a clever idea. “So who’s coming from Clan Lochguard in Scotland to judge?”