Page 5 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

“You mean you didn’t want to marry some random guy you’ve never met before?” Bret asked.

I laughed. “It’s every girl’s fantasy. I thought you knew that.”

“I skipped that day in school,” he said. “What changed?”

I shrugged, unwilling to answer the question. All the while, I had to face the music at some point.

“Did he at least treat you right?” Jax said with a dangerous tone in his voice.

I snorted. “You clearly have never met him or his father.”

Jax’s eyes turned shades darker, deepening into a deep ocean blue. Bret’s darkened from soft grey to a deep stone color, almost the shade of storm clouds.

I gulped. Since when did they become so overprotective over me?

“I’m going to kill him,” Jax said.

“Not before I get to him first,” Bret said. “Death would be a kindness to him. That’s something I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get until I’m done with him.”

“Hey, I’m not exactly weak, you know,” I said, taking some unnecessary offense to their chivalry. “Besides, I handled everything already.”

“What happened?” Jax asked. He enunciated each word.

“Explain ‘handled everything,’” Bret said.

I took in a deep breath and held up my hands. “Okay, okay. You both are going to need to sit back and give a lady some room to breathe.”

They did so and I took in another breath as I decided on where to start. “I’ll start from the beginning…”

By the time I was done, my half-eaten breakfast had grown cold and forgotten about. When I got to the parts about having had enough and gave Rowan a taste of his own medicine, the men cheered for me.

I laughed. Oh, how I had missed them.

“So, long story short, that was not only what happened, but what I meant by ‘handled everything.’”

“I’m proud of you,” Bret said, clapping me on the shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze.

“Well, your lessons have paid off,” I said.

“That’s my girl,” Jax said.

“She’s not a girl anymore,” Bret said. “She’s grown into one hell of a powerful woman.”

I blushed. “It’s only been a few years since we saw each other last… hardly long enough to grow up. Not in the way you implied anyway.”

“Be that as it may,” Jax said. “You have changed. And though I hate the thought of that man putting his hands on you, I’m glad he wasn’t able to break your spirit.”

“More importantly, the change was for the better,” Bret added with a wink.

“Stop it, you too… Sheesh,” I said, playing off the effect their compliments had on me.

“Well, if you need anything,” Jax said, standing from the island and collecting the plates, “let us know.”

“Since you mentioned it,” I said. “I noticed the system in the living room when I got here last night. Anyone want to play a video game?”

Both men smiled.

“Absolutely,” Jax said.

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