Her human said, "I love you, Lavinia."
Lifting her head, she met his gaze. His hand instantly went to her cheek and wiped away the wetness from her tears. "What's wrong, love?"
She shook her head. "It's just everything seems so perfect right now. And my life never stays that way for long."
"Well, if I have any say in the matter, it will. Mostly. I'm sure we'll fight, or get frustrated, or be competitive in the future. After all, that's who we are, and I love those parts of you. But I've never met a woman who is as brilliant, clever, determined, and sexy as hell like you before." He cupped her cheek. "I want to mate you, Lavinia. If you'll let me."
Her dragon hummed.See? He wants the same future we do.
Just as she opened her mouth to answer him, someone pounded on the front door. For a few beats, they ignored it, but it grew louder until Max cursed.
He kissed her lips and slowly untangled himself. Reaching for his phone, he checked the doorbell camera. When his frown deepened and he swore, she asked, "What is it? Or, rather, who is it?"
Max sighed. "It's my brother."
Chapter Eleven
Many times over the years, Max had wanted to strangle his brother. But right now, the urge was stronger than ever before. He'd just told Lavinia he loved her, wanted to mate her, and of course Antony would arrive to disrupt it all.
He tossed his phone on the bed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I can tell him to sod off."
She touched his jaw, and he finally met her gaze again. "No, it's fine. I want to meet this mysterious brother of yours. Well, as long as he's not here to steal Dragon's Court from us."
He gently ran a finger against the creases at the top of her nose until her frown eased. "I won't bloody let him, Lavinia. I promise."
She smiled, and his heart sang. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her, hold her close, and repeat his question about mating. But Antony banged on the door and continuously rang the doorbell until Max growled, "I'm going to kill that bloody bastard."
Lavinia laughed and rolled away. He nearly reached out for her, but she already stood next to the bed, searching for someclothes to toss on. "Fratricide is illegal, no matter how irritating your brother might be."
Grunting, he rose and put on some trousers and then a shirt. "I'd settle for knocking him unconscious and dumping him on a remote island somewhere. Although knowing Antony, he'd have something like modern-day pirate contacts who'd come to rescue him."
Even though his words hinted at Antony's secret role in the British government, Max didn't regret saying it. He trusted Lavinia, and if he couldn't be close with the woman he wanted to make his wife, life wouldn't be worth living.
He wasn't like Antony—Max could never live so isolated for so long.
Once Lavinia was dressed, he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her warm skin. "We'll talk more after we see what he wants, okay?"
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
As the ringing continued, plus the knocking, Max's phone started vibrating.
Growling, he tugged his dragon lady along, went to the front door, and checked the screen on the side, showing the camera footage. Antony was still alone.
Releasing Lavinia's hand, he unlocked and tugged open the door. "What the fuck do you want?"
His brother smiled, ignored him, and gave a slight bow to Lavinia. "Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Walker. I'm Antony Holbrook, Max's older brother. Such a delight to finally meet you."
Lavinia blinked and nodded. "Same."
Max rolled his eyes and gestured for Antony to come inside. "You can drop the fancy act, Antony. Either come in or fuck off. Lavinia's not used to the cold, and you're letting out all the heat."
Antony strode inside and shut the door behind him. "If you couldn't tell from my enthusiastic knocking, I have something important to discuss." Antony's gaze shifted to Lavinia. "It involves you, Dr. Walker."
"Call me Lavinia, please. And what is it?"
Antony replied, "Let's sit down first. And I could do with some tea or coffee."
Max was about to grumble, but Lavinia beat him to it. "Come, tell us what's going on first, and then I'll decide if you can stay for a drink."