“There certainly is a wide disparity in accommodations on this planet,” he muttered in the dining room.
“What?” she asked as she threw her belongings into her suitcase in the bedroom.
She wasn't sure what he had just said. But she thought he'd said something like “disparity in accommodations on this planet”. That was a strange way of saying that Stacy’s apartment sucked.
“Stacy has been a really good friend,” she said, grabbing her laptop and her suitcase. “She let me stay here rent-free. I want to pay her back someday soon.”
“I’m sure you will. You sound like a loyal friend,” he said, picking up Ember’s baby seat.
He carried Ember in one hand and rolled Everly’s suitcase with the other. She slung her backpack, with the heavy old laptop, over her shoulder and followed him out.
They stowed everything in the car and drove back through the city, out into the suburbs, and into the country, headed to the estate. It was a long but beautiful drive and she enjoyed spending time with her new employer. She couldn’t help but notice that Kian was extremely attractive.
He had a face that looked like it should be in a Hollywood action movie, with high chiseled cheekbones, big, bright blue eyes, a strong, square jaw, and full kissable lips that seemed to beg for her to brush her own lips over them. He had a head of thick, black hair and just a dusting of stubble on his chin.
She had to squeeze her eyes and push the thoughts of him out of her mind. Why was she thinking about how hot her boss was? She couldn't get involved with him. No matter how strong and handsome and kind he was. It was totally inappropriate to have these thoughts.
She chalked it up to the fact that she’d just been divorced yesterday and had lost her baby only six months ago. Her subconscious was looking for any port in the storm. It was telling her that he was attracted to her, when she knew that it couldn't possibly be true. He was just an extremely hot dad who wanted the best for his daughter.
When they arrived back at the mansion, he parked the SUV in the six-car garage and retrieved Ember from the backseat. Three other tall, built, attractive men strode into the garage to help unload her things from the car. She stared up at them with a gasp, and Kian grumbled at their presence.
“I told you to make yourselves scarce,” he growled.
“We thought that you could use some help,” said one with long wavy black hair.
He had blue eyes as bright as Kian’s, but he was a few inches shorter than Kian, with a leaner build and visible tattoos on his arms. Another had long, straight blond hair, green eyes and a bright smile. The third was dark and brooding, but with a gleam of intelligence in his amber eyes.
“I might as well introduce you now,” he said. “Everly, this is Cato.” Kian pointed to the one with the intelligent eyes. “This is Aiden.” Kian gestured to the one with wavy black hair and a family resemblance to Kian. “And this is Dax.” Kian pointed at the one with long blond hair and broad shoulders.
“It's nice to meet all of you,” she said.
They helped carry her few things into the house. Everly had to wonder why these attractive men lived together in the mansion. Were they brothers? Were they part of a sports team? Were they male models? She couldn’t understand what was going on. But something about them made her feel safe. So, she decided not to question it too much.
They took her things to her bedroom, a huge suite right next door to the nursery. A window looked out on a sprawling backyard with manicured grounds, a swimming pool, a greenhouse and a well-kept lawn. She sat in the window seat and mused over the beautiful view that swept up into the mountains beyond. Kian set her suitcase beside her bed and she let her backpack fall to the floor.
“This is so beautiful,” she said. “I don't know how to thank you.”
“You don't need to thank me. You just need to take care of Ember,” he said. “And be happy.”
“Of course. I can start that now.”
“That door leads into the nursery,” he said, pointing across the room. “Here is the baby monitor. If she ever needs anything, I want you to attend to her. Ember is very much like a human, so you shouldn't have any problems.” He bit his lip when he said that, and Everly drew her eyebrows together.
“Like a human?” she asked.
“I mean, she is a human,” he said, crossing his arms as if that explained everything.
“Of course,” Everly said.
“I mean babies are human beings, so she deserves to be respected.”
“I totally agree with you on that.” She smiled.
“Well, I have some business to attend to. So, I will leave you to it,” he said, looking disturbed. He turned and left the room.
Baby cooing came from the monitor, so she walked through the door into the nursery and found Ember sitting in the middle of the crib. The adorable little girl looked up at her with bright blue eyes just like her father’s. The baby’s laughter made her dark curls bounce. Ember reached up to Everly, and Everly picked her up, bringing the adorable chubby little baby into her arms. Her head smelled heavenly and Everly decided that she was the luckiest woman in the world right then and there. Despite getting the sudden feeling that Kian wanted to get away from her.
“I'm going to take such good care of you, Ember,” she said, holding the baby in her arms.
Ember's nursery had a large bay window that looked out on the backyard. There was a crib, a changing table, a dresser, and a colorful rug on the floor. The room had all the toys and accessories a baby could need. They sat together on the window seat and looked out at the yard.
“When the weather is better, I'll take you for long walks outside,” she said, holding the child close.
As she tended to Ember, changed her diaper, and played with her on the floor, Everly's thoughts turned to the baby's father. There was something about Kian that attracted her to him. He was strong and bold and protective, and he seemed to want to take care of her even though he’d just met her. She knew that she was just reading things into his kindness. But it made her want to get closer to him and learn more about him. When he’d rushed out of her room, it had made her kind of sad.
She couldn't afford to be attracted to her boss. But she knew that it was going to happen whether she liked it or not. He was just too handsome for her not to be.
She took Ember downstairs and looked around the first floor for the kitchen. Finally, she found the man named Cato sitting at the table in a large, sprawling kitchen with stainless steel appliances, black cabinets, and white marble countertops.
“Can I help you?” Cato asked, looking up from a book.
“I just wanted to get Ember a bottle,” she said.
“The formula is already prepared in the refrigerator. That will be part of my duties now — I can show you everything,” he said.
Cato stood, closing his book, and walked over to the counter where she stood. First, he pulled a bottle out of the refrigerator and popped it into the microwave.
“You put it in the microwave for thirty seconds.” When it dinged, he pulled it out, shook it, and tested it on his arm. “This should be just the right temperature,” he said, handing the bottle to Everly.
Everly gave the bottle to Ember, who sucked it down with sheer pleasure. Cato pulled a container of baby formula out of the cabinet and set it on the counter.
“To make the formula, you just put two scoops into a bottle and add boiling water.”
He showed her where everything was and then told her that Ember was now taking some solid foods.
“Her applesauce, squash, and pears are in here,” he said, opening a cabinet full of baby food bottles. “Avocados are in the fridge, and we keep the bananas on the counter. It’s complicated, but you get used to it.”
“Uh huh,” Everly said, not thinking it was very complicated.
“What's going on?” Kian said from the door of the kitchen.
He looked angry. He strode across the room to Cato, giving him a heated glare.
r /> “I was just explaining to Everly how to feed Ember,” Cato said matter-of-factly.
“I was just about to do that,” Kian said.
“Very well,” Cato said, going to the table and picking up his book. “I'll leave you, then.”
Cato left the room, giving Kian a smug look on his way out. Everly didn't want to know what that was all about. The men seemed like they were some sort of crew or family. But there was also some kind of unspoken rivalry between them. She really hoped that she wasn't going to be part of it.
“Cato told me how to make Ember’s bottle. And where to find her solid foods.”
“Good, good,” Kian said.
He grabbed himself a bottle of water from the refrigerator as she crossed the room. She put Ember in the high chair and the baby drank her bottle.
“You can feed her some solid food now, too,” he said. “If she'll take it. Her feeding times are on the chart on the refrigerator.”
Everly checked the chart and then went to a cabinet to get a small jar of applesauce. She sat down beside Ember at the table. The child dropped the bottle when she saw the applesauce container and made a delighted squeal.
Kian sat down opposite Everly and watched her carefully spoon the applesauce and Ember's mouth.
“You're a natural,” he said.
“I’m so glad I have Ember to look after now.”
“I heard that mating can be difficult for humans.”
She looked up at him quizzically and then shook her head.
“‘Mating’ might not be difficult for some, but it has been for me.”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would let you go,” he said, taking a sip of his water and leaning closer.
“My ex-husband left me for another woman right after I lost our first child. It was the hardest thing that I've ever experienced in my life.”
“You lost a child?” he asked, reaching across the table to touch her hand.
A spark radiated between them, and she had to snatch her hand away as the desire built in her core. She looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes, unsure what to think. He was so compassionate and good to her, but she didn't want to read into his kindness. She knew that she was going to fail at that.
Chapter 5
“Something about her calls to me, Cato,” Kian said to his information officer as he sat in the study, his hands folded over his desk. “I’ve tried to stay away, but she's my mate. I am sure of it.”
“We must confirm it before you take action. The consequences could be disastrous otherwise,” Cato said.
“My inner dragon roars for her. I don't need the computer to tell me that she's mine.”
“But we cannot be sure until we have completed an analysis,” Cato told him. “If we confirm a match between you and Everly, it will set a precedence for the others,” Cato said.
“Then we must do that now.”
“Will need a DNA sample from her.”
“How will we get that?”
“We need a bit of blood or some bodily fluid. I could even do it with a bit of hair, but it is less than ideal.”
“I saw a brush among her things when I brought them to her bedroom. I bet I can get a hair sample from that.”
“You're going to go snooping in her bedroom?” Cato asked.
“It's not snooping,” Kian said, rising from his desk. “This is my house. It's for the preservation of the species. And you're going to help me.”
Cato grumbled, but he followed Kian down the hall, up the stairs, and to the door of Everly's bedroom.
“She's in the nursery now,” Kian said, knowing her movements from the baby monitor. “We have a few minutes before she catches us.”
“Why don't you just ask her for a hair sample?”
“That's not the kind of thing you can just ask a human for,” Kian said at a whisper as he opened the door of her bedroom.
They crept inside and looked around. The room had only been occupied by the tiny, curvy human for a few hours, but it seemed to have an air of her presence about it. He could smell her scent from the open suitcase on the bench beside the bed.
“Let’s hurry up and find the DNA sample,” Cato said, rifling through her things.
A surge of anger rushed through Kian’s chest as his information officer touched Everly’s belongings.
“Get your hands off her underthings,” Kian said, grabbing a pair of black lacy panties from Cato's hands.
“I'm just looking for a DNA sample. Although the little human is quite comely,” Cato said in his typical clipped tone.
“You keep your hands off her,” Kian growled.
Cato's took a step back and folded his arms over his chest.
“We are all looking for mates,” he told Kian.
“Be that as it may, this human is mine.”
“You can't know that until we run a DNA analysis,” Cato reasoned.
“I told you, I don't need a DNA analysis. I can feel it. My dragon won't stop pestering me about mating with her.”
“Like I said, you're not the only one looking for a mate.”
Kian gritted his teeth, holding the silky panties in his hand.
“Are you telling me your dragon is roaring that she is your mate?”
“Not exactly. My dragon hasn't said anything about her being my mate. But it's definitely roaring about mating.”
Kian growled, dropping the panties back into the suitcase. He shuffled through her things and finally found a hairbrush. It looked as if it had been cleaned recently, but he was able to find one strand of long ash blonde hair. He pulled it out of the bristles.
“There,” Kian said, holding the strand between his fingertips. “This is our DNA sample. Now let's get out of here.”
Kian dropped the hair into a beaker, and they headed toward the exit. The nursery door cracked open, and Everly walked through, holding Ember and her arms.
“Can I help you?” she asked, seeing the two warriors standing in her bedroom.
“We were just making sure that everything was prepared for you,” Kian said.
His heart pounded. He was still angry at Cato for touching her things. He knew he needed to prove that she was his mate, but in doing so, he could scare her off. From what he knew about human females, they were sensitive about having their panties touched.
“Everything is wonderful,” she said, walking across the room with a faint smile on her lips. “You've already been so accommodating. I don't know how to thank you for offering me the position. I love it here. Ember is the sweetest baby.” She bounced Ember in her arms.
Seeing Everly care for his child made his heart swell and his dragon roar.
“Very well,” he said flatly. “If you don’t need anything, we’ll get out of your hair.” He cringed at his use of the human phrase.
He went to the door and walked out. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave her one last look. He closed the door and handed the beaker with Everly’s hair in it to Cato.
“Have this analyzed as quickly as possible,” Kian commanded. “I don't want to waste any more time.”
“On it,” Cato said, putting the sample into his pocket. “But I'll need a sample from you as well.”
They went downstairs, and Cato dropped the hair into the analysis plate. He then gave Kian a swab to rub on the inside of his cheek. Kian swapped his cheek and handed it to Cato. Cato then dropped the swab onto an analysis plate with Everly’s hair.
“Bethi, I want you to test these samples for fated mate compatibility,” Cato said.
“Analysis commencing.”
“How long will the process take?” Kian asked.
“Current processing time estimate,” Bethi said, pausing. “Seventy-two hours.”
“You need that much time to process our samples and find out if we’re mates?”
“You’ve provided me with a less than ideal sample from an unknown species,” Bethi chirped.
“Well, just hurry then. This is your top priority.”
“What about the scan of the local vampire coven?” Bethi asked. “I have results.”
“Oh?” Kian asked.
“The local coven is highly involved with the human community.”
Bethi showed them pictures of the local coven. The vampires were pale-skinned men and women, wearing dark clothing. They had red lips and dark eyes. The computer flashed a series of pictures across the screen of the coven’s activities.
“Where did you get this footage?” he asked.
“Surveillance cameras used by humans,” Bethi chirped. “Analysis is limited. I can only find out so much from these cameras. Further observation is required to understand the extent of the vampire’s dealings in the human world.”
“Understood. Well done, Bethi. Now put all of your processing power into matching those DNA samples.”
“Very well,” she said. “Switching priorities.”
Kian nodded with a grunt, and Cato looked up at him with shock and disappointment in his eyes.
“How can you switch Bethi’s priority away from the vampire coven?” Cato asked, crossing his arms.
“Because finding my mate is the top priority. I can already feel my mating impulse weakening my constitution. After a million-year slumber, the last thing I need is to suddenly die from my own lust.”
“We are all feeling the mating impulse.”
“That is why we must prioritize matching me with Everly. Then we can be sure we can all find mates among human Dragon Souls.”
“I see your point,” Cato said. “But that doesn't solve the problem of the vampire coven.”
“We should go investigate,” Kian said. “I want Aiden and Dax down here immediately. We need to discuss this.”
“I will call them now,” Cato said. He tapped his wrist device, and the faces of Dax and Aiden came up on a hologram above his palm.
“Kian requests your presence in the basement, immediately,” Cato said.
“On my way,” said Dax.