Hoarded by the Dragon (Monstrous Matches, #4)(47)

We deserve better than that.

“Then I guess you have some time to figure out how to be the best parent this baby needs,” I say. “Otherwise, we’ll figure this out. With or without you.”

I don’t know how much time he really has left with the apparent progression of this pregnancy. I rub a circle on my stomach, wanting to feel another movement, but they leave me wanting.

Kalos watches the motion, his jaw clenched. A breath later, he nods in understanding.





23





KATARINA





I PULL BACK a beautiful indigo robe with a gold peacock pattern and look at myself in the mirror. The swell of my stomach is still small compared to the full-term pregnancy photos I looked up. Ben was kind enough to get me a specific moisturizer for the stretch of my skin. I don’t know what Kalos pays him, but he’s worth his weight in gold.

“Rina.”

I jump.

Kalos leans against the doorjamb. He’d stopped knocking when coming into my room. Which doesn’t bother me as much as it did when I was hiding Griffin.

“What are you doing?” he asks. His gaze is on my face, rather than my bared stomach.

“What does it look like I’m doing? Looking at my belly.” My cheeks burn, but I refuse to feel embarrassed. This is a big change in a small amount of time.

Maggie estimates that the baby is probably the same as a little over twenty weeks along in a human pregnancy. Which is terrifying. I went from ten weeks to halfway there in the blink of an eye and the glare from an angry dragon. My body aches a little, trying to accommodate the growth. I’m sure it would be much worse if the pregnancy didn’t have magical origins.

I am focusing on the positives.

I sneak a look at Kalos in the mirror, admiring the breadth of his shoulders and the way his robe gapes to show the muscles of his chest.

The horniness from before throbs hotter now. I don’t know if it’s because of hormones or the moment in the kitchen earlier. It’s probably both.

I want to take off my clothes and throw myself at this dragon, but with the way he carefully doesn’t look at my body, I don’t. He doesn’t seem to be feeling the same heat as I am.

I pull my tank top over my belly and belt my robe over it.

What if he’s not attracted to me anymore? I swallow that thought down. That doesn’t matter and it would probably be for the best. We have a lot of other things to deal with in the meantime.

“Did Stella give you the answers you were looking for?” I ask. He’d done his interrogation over the phone so as not to spark his dragon to anger.

“You were right. She doesn’t have any contact with the family. She’s never been on their compound. She has a tenuous relationship with one brother who refused to join the family business. She gave us the phone number he uses, but he’s a globetrotter of sorts, and she has no idea where he is. She said I should just burn the rest of them to the ground.”

I raise my brows at Stella’s bloodthirstiness. I knew she didn’t like what was done to her mother, but her emotions seem to cut much deeper than what she revealed to me.

“How would getting in contact with her brother help?” I ask, leaning my hip against the bathroom counter. Griffin jumps on the counter and meows at me to pet him.

“The whole compound is keyed to blood ties. If we could get him to turn against his family, he could simply walk out with the figurine, and we’d be done with this business.”

“That would be convenient.” I scratch under my cat’s chin, and he starts purring.

Kalos arches a brow at the cat. He accepted his presence here surprisingly well.

“Your animal wants to cuddle,” Kalos says dryly before clearing his throat. “Did you want to join me on the couch?” Kalos asks, letting his gaze drop briefly. The contact probably isn’t necessary tonight with how much of his energy I’ve had today.

“Of course,” I say, not because it would be good to keep feeding the baby heat… but because the idea of not falling asleep in his arms makes my heart hurt.

Gah, I’m in such trouble when it comes to him.



I WAKE from blurry dreams of pleasure, aching with need.

My arm shakes when I reach out for Kalos, but the other side of the bed is empty. I whimper. My hips rock, and the thin robe clings to my hot skin. The horniness from the pregnancy is finally calling all its cards in, and there’s no way that I’ll be able to take care of it myself.

I need my dragon, and he isn’t here.

I don’t even know exactly where his bedroom is.

I blow out a breath in frustration and punch a pillow. Perhaps it’s better this way. I can’t give in to my desires even if I wanted to.

Maybe my body just has a primal need for his presence. His scent. I could go curl up in his office and see if that helps. I’m not prepared to search him out in the middle of the night, wandering the halls of this giant place horny.

I have more pride than that.

I move in the dark, keeping my steps soundless until I come to Kalos’s study. There’s no moon tonight, but his scent fills every inch of this space. I’m familiar enough with his office to try and pick my way to his couch before changing directions. His chair will be the most scent soaked.

The chair creaks as I round the desk, and I freeze. There’s a whisper of movement, and talon tips run up my thighs.