Page 18 of Under the Dragon's Spell
Because I wanted a family. Because I couldn't get him out of my head.
But even if I won this thing, there was no guarantee that I'd ever be more than a baby-making factory in this house, and that thought weighed heavily on my mind.
Realizing that sleep was not an option right now, I got up and stood by the window. It overlooked the back yard. My breath caught in my throat when I realized that I was looking at Tyrel—and that Tyrel wasn't by himself. He was talking to William, and they were standing pretty close together. Too close for comfort. At least, too close for my comfort.
Fuck pitying William.
All I wanted to do at that moment was drag him away and send him home to his kids.
Maybe Tyrel likes him because he's already shown that he can have children.
I closed my eyes against the thought because it hurt. There was no guarantee that I could give Tyrel what he needed.
Why won't you get pregnant?I heard Rory's voice in my head.
Why, indeed.
I stepped away from the window and didn't look out again until it was time for dinner.
8
ADRIAN
For dinner, we were all seated around a table that was so large it would never even have fit into my brother's house. And yet, I still ended up sitting next to the person I wanted to avoid for the time being. Michael sat to my right, William to my left, Tyrel… right across from me. Next to Tyrel sat his mother. She was keeping her eyes on her plate for the most part—we were having a beef stew—but I still felt permanently watched. And who knew? Maybe my doubts weren't completely unfounded. If her son had magic, she could have magic, too.
You don't know whether Tyrel has magic.
But I had plausible reason to believe so, anyway.
Every now and then, he'd catch my eyes and I'd feel myself heat up in a way that was decidedly not natural. Couldn't be.
I'd never experienced anything like it.
"How are you liking it here?" he asked.
I wondered if maybe he'd meant to ask everyone, but he was looking straight at me and next to me, William simply continued eating.
"It's a very nice house," I said.
He chuckled, showing his teeth. He didn't quite have vampire fangs, but he came close. "Wait until you see our actual house," he said. "Compared to that, this is a doll house."
"I suppose it's up to you whether I'll get to go there."
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Only in part."
I scraped my knife over my plate. The food was good, but I didn't have much of an appetite and with Tyrel's eyes on me like this, it was hard to focus on eating, in any case. "I have some questions," I said. "Regarding this job."
"Oh?"
I put my knife and fork down and straightened in my seat, feeling all eyes on me. I hadn't wanted so much attention, but I had it now. "The person you choose… will they get to be a parent to the child?"
Tyrel's mother spoke up: "I believe the original job offer stated that they'd be expected to help raise the child. I believe it's beneficial for a child to have both parents available."
Tyrel snorted, although I wasn't sure which part of his mother's statement he disagreed with, and he didn't say. He kept looking at me instead. "That's not what you were asking, is it?"
I shook my head. "Not exactly. What I mean is… I understand that I would be there, but I don't want to be there as…"
"As an employee?" Tyrel prompted. How did he know what I wanted to say? Did he have mind-reading abilities too? His eyes narrowed as he waited for my response.
