Tasha replied, “I don’t know about breakfast. I’m really tired and want to sleep and sleep. But maybe later tomorrow?”
“Promise?”
“I’ll try my best.”
Andy nodded. “Okay.”
Megan placed her hands on Andy’s shoulders and turned him toward the stairs. “All right, mister, it’s bath time. Say goodnight.”
“G’night.”
Megan looked at Tasha. “You have my number, so feel free to call if you need to.”
Brad grunted. “I can take care of my mate.”
Tasha snorted. “Your mate is standing right here and can speak for herself.” She switched her gaze to Meagan. “Thanks. We’ll see how the next few days go.”
After all the goodbyes were done, Brad took his mate home.
Yes, home was the perfect word. Almost as if the fairly empty house had been waiting for someone so full of life to arrive and fill it.
Tasha was most definitely that person.
And if he had any say in it, she would be his mate forever and not just for a short time to protect her against the League assholes.
Chapter Eight
The next few days flew by in a blur as Tasha tried to catch up on sleep, learn little bits about living with dragon-shifters, and manage her business as best she could from afar.
While she’d told her employees they’d have to close for at least a few days, she’d given them paid vacation time for it. She might not be able to do that indefinitely—and one of them had said they might have to find work elsewhere—but it was a quick fix for the moment.
So as she finished up some paperwork on her laptop, one of the few things Brad and some of the other dragon-shifters had collected from her home, she leaned back and stretched her arms over her head.
Time for a break.
So she went looking for Brad, who had been mostly working from home.
Not that she could really tell what he did all day. The dragonman had been spending more and more time away from her again. Although why he was avoiding her, she didn’t fully understand.
From what little she knew about true mates and the needs of an inner dragon, her best guess was because he wanted to protect her from a possible frenzy.
Of course, Ashley had told her that a lot could be done without setting off a mate-claim frenzy, provided the dragon in question was strong enough to avoid kissing their true mate on the lips.
And given how her dreams were filled with one sexy, naked dragon-shifter, she was definitely open to a little fun.
If only she could convince him to do it. He was one of the strongest, most stable men she’d ever met. Surely he was strong enough to keep from starting a frenzy.
Not that she could tell him any of that without talking to him. So it was time to have a frank conversation with Brad before they became unfamiliar with one another again, which she really didn’t want.
Tasha finally found him on the back porch, hunched over a computer on the table, typing something. It was almost funny to see the huge dragonman trying to work with such a tiny laptop. “You think they could get you a slightly bigger one. I’m not sure how you can type anything on that thing with your giant hands.”
Brad grunted but didn’t take his eyes off his screen. “This one is fine. The screens and keyboards in the Protector building are bigger.”
She slid across from him and asked, “Then why don’t you go and do some work there? I mean, I’m not trying to chase you away or anything, but you said yourself that I’m safe as long as I’m in this house.”
He finally met her gaze, his pupils flashing quicker than they usually did. “No fucking way I’m leaving you alone until we’re sure the damn League isn’t targeting you.”
Still being overprotective, as always, it seemed. “I’ve only gotten one letter addressed to me here, and that was from a lawyer. I wouldn’t exactly call it a huge threat.” He grunted again and looked back at his laptop. Tasha sighed and added, “What happened to the guy who liked to tease me a little? I haven’t seen him in a couple days now, and I miss him.”