“Are you taunting the dragon?” Brian placed his hand on his chest, raising his eyebrows mockingly, as though he couldn’t believe she would dare to tease him.
“Yeah,” she thought for a minute, and then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that I am.”
“What am I going to do with you?” Brian grabbed her and tugged her closer. Winter’s entire body was pressed against his front, and she felt hot and aroused and excited to be touching him like this. When the party was over, they’d go back to his place, and she’d drop to her knees.
That was what she wanted to do.
A wedding blowjob had to be the best possible gift she could offer this man who had stolen her heart, and she didn’t want to wait. She was more than ready to sneak off with Brian and fool around right at the party, but then she noticed something.
“Brian? Is your mom okay?”
Winter gestured to one of the corners in the room. Raya was standing there, clutching her necklace, and she looked like her heart was breaking. Something was wrong. Something was definitely, totally wrong.
“Get my brothers,” Brian said, and he started striding toward his mother. Brian and his brothers were very close, and they were always looking after each other. No matter what any of them seemed to be going through, the others were always close by to help them out. Now, Winter scurried to get Declan and Christopher, as well as their mates. It was hard to move fast in her bulky wedding dress, but she didn’t care.
If Raya was upset or hurting, Winter wanted to find out what was wrong. The dragon lady had been nothing but kind to all of her daughters-in-law. Although each of her sons had chosen a human mate, Raya hadn’t seemed to mind. If anything, she’d shown love and appreciation toward each of the kids and their mates.
She’d truly welcomed Winter to the family.
When the group found Raya and Brian, they were standing in a little area at the end of a hall. There were some tables and chairs there. It was a quiet little nook where anyone who visited the hotel could go to sit and talk or just relax for a few minutes.
“Mom,” Brian said. “What’s wrong?”
“Mom, are you okay?” Christopher and Declan spoke at the same time.
“I’m fine,” Raya whispered.
“No, you’re not fine,” Winter stepped forward. She placed her hands on Raya’s and looked at her carefully. “There are dark circles under your eyes, and you look sad instead of happy. Now, I’m not so stuck-up that I think this is about me. I think you like me pretty well, so if you’re not crying on my wedding day because you think I’m a bad match for Brian, then something else is wrong. Right?”
Raya nodded. Winter noticed that Raya was clutching the necklace she always wore. It was a beautiful one with a big stone in the center that sometimes seemed to glow. Winter had never pushed too much, but she had been a writer long enough to know an enchanted item when she saw it.
That necklace?
It was covered with some sort of spell.
She just didn’t know what.
“It’s okay,” Zoa said gently, stepping forward. She placed her hands on Raya’s shoulders and looked at the dragon mother right in the eyes. “You can tell us. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, we can help.”
“We’ll do anything we can,” Allison added.
Yeah, the Monster brothers had chosen their mates well. Each of the human mates would do anything they could to help their dragon family. Anything. Even Winter, who was the newest addition, would do whatever she could to make her new mother-in-law smile again.
“You should sit down,” Raya whispered. She pointed to the chairs, and something in her voice made everyone sit down. Even Winter, who was usually pretty contrary, took a seat. Brian did, too.
Once everyone was seated, Raya started pacing in front of them. From their position in the seating area down the hall from the party, they could still hear the music. Winter wished, for just a second, that she had the power to shut it off so they could listen to Raya without any sort of distractions.
Once Raya started talking, though, everything else seemed to fade away.
“I think I should start off by apologizing,” she said.
> “For what?” Brian asked.
“I haven’t always been entirely honest with you boys.”
The Monster brothers exchanged looks. They’d always valued honesty, Winter knew. Brian was especially interested in people being truthful and honest. He’d always felt like someone telling the truth was a sign of good character.
“Mother?” Christopher asked gently.