The big man is standing behind Jossie and pulling her into his arms as he leans forward to clasp hands with Dorin. "Brother."
Brother? This is Dorin's brother.
"You're looking well."
"As are you, Drake." Both men have broad grins on their faces.
"Two weddings. That means twice the visitors." Sofia has visions of dancing women and well-dressed men flashing in her eyes as she looks at the four of us.
"You...you found a...you...too?" How the hell do you ask someone if they have their own dragon?
Jossie smiles and gives me a big nod knowing exactly what I am trying to ask. "I fell in a hole."
As if that clears everything up. "You're getting married?"
A wisp of envy flares up inside of me. She's marrying her dragon.
No need for envy, little flower. We will have our ceremony as soon as possible. Unless you want a large elaborate wedding but definitely before the babe gets here.
"Baby?" My knees go out and I start to fall but Dorin is there to catch me.
Why do you think you are no longer in heat, my sweet Lillie. You carry our child inside of you.
"And of course I want to marry you. You are my mate. My everything. I want the world to know you belong to me."
He kisses me senseless and when we both come up for air it is to find Jossie and Drake looking at the two of us. Jossie lets out a huge sigh while grinning like a mad woman, "Dragon romances really are the best, aren't they?"
A smile tilts my mouth as I look into the eyes of the creature I love. So much love is shining back at me that my heart feels ready to almost burst. They sure are! I couldn't ask for a better fairy tale than the one I found falling through a stone floor, waking a monster, and finding the heart of the one who completes me. Yeah, dragon books really do kick butt!
Epilogue I
____________
Lillie
Six Months Later
Things are in full bloom this spring and my sinuses can tell. Ever wonder what happens to a pregnant woman when she sneezes back to back three or four times? It’s nothing good I can tell you that. I think I might have been to the bathroom at least ten times today and it's not even lunch yet. Not to mention my ability to focus is shot all to hell.
Jossie hefts herself up out of the overstuffed couch the men brought into the library/office that was all locked up and covered in dust when I first came here. Things have changed since the night I went looking for the sound of a beating heart in the dead of night. The castle doesn't feel empty anymore. Sofia is tickled because we have visitors coming almost every day but me and my mate still find a way to have our private time. This room in particular is off-limits to anyone who’s not a part of the world our husbands live in.
So I am more than a little shocked when Sofia ushers someone in. The man is tall and lanky, but I think his appearance is deceptive. There is still a sense of power that emanates from him. He must be no harm to either of us since she has let him not just in the office but also around their pregnant mates.
"I am sorry I'm intruding upon your time. I wouldn't be here of course were it not for my mate." The sound of the voice carries a soft sound that reminds me of something kind of vibrating. Then I hear it. The unfurling of wings and the soft woosh of air as my lover drops from the ceiling in the same form I first saw him in when I was bathing.
In a blur of black, he touches the ground and straightens into the impressive creature I am hopelessly in love with. I can tell he is listening to my thoughts by the slight curve of his lips. "You say you are here about your mate."
"For my mate. For her."
Dorin looks over at me as I navigate the stacks of books that are mounded on every available flat surface. It’s hard to move like I used to now that I am heavily pregnant. According to Dorin, we will be having two dragonlets while Jossie only has one inside of her. Speaking of Jossie and her mate I notice Drake bringing up the rear so to speak when a shadow moves in and out of the light cast on the stone next to the visitor.
I should have known they wouldn't let someone around us without being all over it.
"You need something?"
Dorin gives me a heads-up about our visitor.
He smells of reptile. I think he is a lizard.