From decades of earned trust, his dragon listened. Bram said to Finn, “Give us a minute and we can start over.”
The Scottish leader answered, “Is she your new mate?”
What the other leader didn’t say was that it was bad form to flirt with a newly mated dragonman’s female; more than one fight to the death had erupted in the not so distant past over such a misstep. Their inner dragons were finicky beasts when it came to mates.
Bram wanted to lie, but knew his ties to Clan Lochguard were tentative at best, so he told the truth. “Not yet, but soon.” He turned toward Evie and Nikki. His comments were directed at his young clan member. “Nikki, take her wherever she wants, but bring her back here for lunch. Evie and I need some time to talk.” He moved his gaze to Evie. “You’ll get some time, lass. Just take the other coat is all I ask.”
She searched his eyes a second before nodding. “Asking is all I want.” She paused, her voice soft when she added, “Don’t order me around, Bram. I don’t like it.”
Except when she is naked. She will like it then.
Since Finn was in the same room, Bram didn’t bother wasting time with his dragon. Instead, he said to Evie, “We’ll discuss it at lunch, in private.”
The human stood on her tiptoes to glance over his shoulder, acknowledging their audience, and then back to him before nodding. “I hope it’s going to be a long lunch.”
Rather than comment, Bram headed back down the stairs and stopped in front of Finn. He gestured for Evie to come forward. Ignoring his dragon’s snarling, Bram said, “Evie Marshall, this is Finlay Stewart, the leader of Clan Lochguard.”
The other dragonman put out a hand. As Evie shook the man’s hand, Bram put a hand on her waist and squeezed. She shot him a quizzical glance before she turned her attention back to Finn. “While it’s nice meeting you, I expected Dougal Munro.”
Finn winked. “Prefer the older men, do you?”
Before the Scottish shifter could flirt any more with his female, Bram guided Evie away as he explained, “Dougal retired six months ago. I can tell you all about it later.” He plucked a coat off the peg on the wall. “Try not to get into too much trouble, lass.”
Evie gave a mischievous smile and his heart skipped a beat. “That’s the fun part.”
He nearly groaned, but Nikki came to his rescue and ushered the human out the door before she could taunt him with any more glances or smiles.
He turned toward Finn. The Scottish leader grinned. “We can talk about the alliance later. First, you need to tell me where you found such a fiery female. I could use one myself.”
“Lay one hand on her, and I don’t care if you’re a clan leader, I’ll challenge you to a dragon fight myself.”
All Finn did was grin wider and Bram knew this was going to be one long meeting.
Chapter Three
Evie smiled as she left Bram’s cottage. She’d stirred his jealousy, just as she’d intended. The new, youngish and attractive Scottish clan leader had made it even easier to do, but all that mattered was that she had a lunch date with Bram.
Of course, lunch was hours away, and even though the DDA would toss aside any report she submitted, Evie felt the need to investigate Caitriona Belmont’s death. With the facts under her belt, she could hopefully direct the new DDA inspector sent to replace her to the truth. If Stonefire was to be her new home, she would need to protect them from the bureaucratic loopholes that could weaken the clan.
Finding out the truth might also help her earn Bram’s trust enough for him to accept her as his mate.
Nikola, or as Bram called her, Nikki, stopped and turned around, garnering Evie’s attention. Nikki narrowed her eyes as she said, “I will take you where you wish to go, but not until I say that if you hurt Bram, I will make your life miserable while you’re here.”
The fact so many of his clan seemed to love him eased her apprehensions bit by bit. “I have no intentions of hurting him as long as he doesn’t hurt me.” Nikki nodded and Evie decided to give the dragonwoman a bit more of an explanation. “He’s protecting me from the dragon hunters.”
Nikki waved the arm not in a sling. “I don’t care about the reason. Bram is my leader and I respect his decisions. Just don’t hurt him and we’ll get along fine.”
Since Evie would be spending the next few hours with Nikki, she decided to merely bob her head and push on. “Sounds good. With that out of the way, I need to visit Dr. Cassidy Jackson’s surgery and ask her a few questions.”
“What for?”
She could simply tell the dragonwoman to mind her own business, but she wasn’t a DDA inspector anymore. She needed to try fitting in with the clan members or her future could be extremely lonely here. “There are some questions about Caitriona Belmont’s death. I was originally sent here to find out the truth. While the DDA will soon no longer trust me if I’m Bram’s mate, I want to find out the truth before the replacement inspector arrives. I want to make sure they don’t overlook anything.”
“The DDA thinks we killed her?”
Evie eyed the woman a second before she replied. “You act like a soldier, so answer this and I’ll give you more information. Are you one of Stonefire’s Protectors?”
The other woman raised her chin. “In training, but I’m nearly done.”