Before she could reply, he turned them toward the table and gently pushed her toward their chairs. As much as he enjoyed standing close to his mate-to-be and teasing her, he needed to sit down to hide his hard cock. For the next few hours, he would think of his clan and not a naked Evie under him as he pounded into her tight, wet pussy.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he sat down and placed a hand on Evie's thigh under the table. The contact reassured both man and beast of how she was safe. Before he could stop himself, he squeezed her plump flesh.

Mine, his dragon said.

Ignoring him, Bram decided conversation would help drown out his inner beast's demands and he switched back to a safer topic. "Arabella's had a difficult time getting past her trauma from a decade ago, but ever since Melanie forced her way into Arabella's life, she's been doing better. Her biggest struggle is accepting her inner dragon. But, to be honest, she was more at ease with Finlay Stewart earlier than she is with most of the members of our clan."

Evie laid a hand on his arm. "I'd take that as a good sign. Besides, don't worry. If Finn hurts her, he'll have to deal with me."

Bram snorted. "And what if he shifts into his gold dragon form?"

"Really? A gold dragon? As if his ego wasn't big enough. Anyway, yes, I can handle his dragon form. After all, I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"But, lass, you aren't wearing any sleeves."

She gave him a glare and he grinned.

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "All right, then, care to give me a few hints about these tricks? That way I can prepare for your attack. I can't have you besting me and trying to take over the clan."

Evie laughed and the sound not only warmed his heart, it made his dragon hum and then say, She is light. She will make us happy.

Still not telling me the why yet?

It doesn't matter. She is our best chance.

His dragon's answer only stoked his curiosity further. We'll discuss this again when I have time.

Evie's voice quieted his dragon. "I think keeping you on your toes will be good for you."

Squeezing her plump thigh, he whispered, "Aye, I suspect it will. But the sooner you share your knowledge, the sooner I can incorporate it into my grand plans."

She glanced up into Bram's light blue eyes. "Provided you reward me as promised earlier, I'll start tomorrow."

"I don't recall promising anything."

Her hand went to this thigh, sending blood straight to his cock. Never breaking eye contact, she moved her hand a few more inches. The pulse between his legs grew more insistent. If she would only move her hand a little further...

A male cleared his throat and it broke the tension. Bram narrowed his eyes and looked up to see Finn grinning. It took everything he had not to punch the Scottish bastard in the face as the Scot said, "Do you need to go for a quickie in one of the side rooms? I can hold the fort if you do."

His dragon snarled. He is too close. Send him away.

I can't. He will help the clan.

Bram focused on the other leader. "Did you finish with Arabella? What's the result?"

"Aye, the lass knows what she's doing; I'll give her that. I'd like for her to come to my lands to work with my IT person to set things up."

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Stewart."

"Well, Arabella said she'd think about it. So you might want to talk with her."

Bram leaned forward. "That's pushing the boundaries, Finn. You should've asked me first."

Finn shrugged. "The lass might've said no if I waited to do that. This way, it's a maybe."

He stared at the other leader, torn between the male's interest and effect on Ara and his disregard for Bram's position. Before he could think of how to reply, Evie touched his arm and said, "People are starting to file in. Finn might want to take a seat."

The politeness of her words brought his anger in check. He missed her blunt nature. He could just imagine her telling them to stop their 'who has the longest dick' contest to sit their arses down. Maybe one day the alliance with Clan Lochguard would be close enough to unleash Evie Marshall on them.

He smiled at that thought.

Finn gave him an assessing look. "I hope that smile wasn't for me. Otherwise, I may have to sit at a table on the far side of the room."

Bram shook his head. "Sit down, already. Your smartass comments can wait."

Finn replied, "Then it was about me." Bram growled. Finn winked and rubbed his hands together. "Okay, it's time to get this dinner started. The sooner your clan knows who I am, the sooner they will all start loving me."

Only because of years of practice dealing with dragon-shifter egos did Bram not roll his eyes.

Evie leaned against him. From the way she turned her face into his side and shook, he could tell she was holding in a laugh. His dragon was not happy about her reaction.

Still, Bram was currently in control and he kept his dragon in check. He motioned to his other side. "Sit next to me. I don't trust you with my female."

As Finn moved to sit next to him, Bram took a deep breath. Between Evie's heat and scent surrounding him and Finn's man-whore behavior, it was going to be a long evening.

Chapter Four.

Evie's stomach hurt from holding back her laughter. Watching Bram and Finn together was better than any TV program. To be honest, the two were already acting more like brothers than two clan leaders with a new alliance.

Of course, that bode well for Stonefire.

Bram squeezed her thigh and whispered, "I need to make an announcement, lass. Keep Finn away while I do or my dragon will cause problems."

Looking up into his eyes, she nodded. "Okay, but you have nothing to worry about. You're the only dragon-shifter I imagine undressing inside my head."

Her dragonman let out a strangled sound. "Lass, you're not helping matters."

She laughed. "You said I shouldn't castigate you in front of the clan. You said nothing about me not teasing you."

"You're clever."

"Of course I am. Now, go do your duties before you become sidetracked again."

Leaning down, Bram placed a gentle kiss on her lips and murmured, "Just remember that I'll have my payback tonight. I think I'll make you beg before I let you come."

Heat coursed through Evie's body as wetness shot between her legs. The end of the dinner couldn't come soon enough. "Hurry up, then."

Her dragonman chuckled, gave a warning glare to Finn, and then moved to the front of the dais. She took a second to admire his broad back. The way his plaid-like outfit cascaded over his arse was quite nice. Earlier, she'd wanted nothing more than to slip her hand underneath the hem of his kilt-like outfit and prove he wore nothing.

Still, Finn's interruption had been a good thing. It seemed that whenever she was alone with Bram, her lady parts took control and they very much didn't care what was happening around them. Somehow, she didn't think giving Stonefire's clan leader a hand job in the middle of dinner would leave a good impression with the clan.

Bram's voice boomed out over the mostly full hall and she listened, "Thank you all for coming. Tonight is the beginning of something which will benefit our clan more than anything else we've done over the last decade. You may have seen him around, but Finlay Stewart, the leader of Clan Lochguard, has agreed to become our ally."

A wave of reactions coursed through the crowd. Everything from dropped jaws to indignant cries. Clearly, the Stonefire dragon-shifters hadn't expected the news.

Bram put up his hands and continued, "I understand some of your concerns, but Finlay Stewart isn't Dougal Munro. His ideas and plans for the future are similar to my own. While the alliance is new, I think it is promising. Especially as his clan can help with the increasing number of attacks by the dragon hunters." There was more murmuring before Bram's voice echoed through the room once more. "Rather than me tell you about Finn, I'm going to step aside and allow Lochguard's leader to say a few words. Listen to him and give him a chance."

Motioning with his hand, Evie watched Finn move from behind the table to stand next to her dragonman. They were of equal height, but Finn was somewhat leaner. Still, she wouldn't take his leanness to mean weakness. Given what she knew of how dragon-shifter clan leaders were chosen, with grueling trials over multiple days, anyone who won the right to the position possessed a great deal of strength and fortitude.

Someday, she wanted to ask Bram how he'd won the right.

But then Finn's Scottish tones filled the hall and she focused on the present. "I understand your concern and your wariness. My clan is the same way. However, combining the forces of Stonefire and Lochguard will increase our reach and ability to control our destinies. Our territories combined cover more than half of the isle of Great Britain. If we can convince the humans of our respective territories to not fear us but rather to become interested in us, we may be able to sway the South of England and Wales, even with the harsh reputations of the leaders there."

He must be talking about Melanie's book. The knowledge only made Evie more determined to help Mel and make the launch a success.

Then the Scottish leader gave a sweeping bow and the murmurs of the audience increased. Once he stood tall again, he continued, "That bow was my invitation to dance with any members of the clan who wish to sneak a peek at me. I prefer females myself, but, hey, I don't want to deny any males who might fancy me a bit."

Evie smiled as laughter echoed through the hall. The Scottish leader did seem to know how to win a crowd.

Then Finn turned toward Bram and put out a hand. Without hesitation, her dragonman took it and leaned to Finn's ear to whisper something.

Once Bram gave the other dragonman's back a clap, he said, "Now, that's enough of the formalities. If Finlay Stewart is to dance with anyone who fancies a chance, we'd better get started."

As the crowd settled to the tables and chairs at the edges of the room, Finn went out to the dance floor and was immediately accosted by five young dragonwomen. No doubt, they were just the start and he would be dancing all evening.

Bram sat down by her side, and without thinking, she leaned against him and said, "That was quite the performance, but it seemed to have worked. Did you plan it earlier?"

"No. The Scottish bastard likes to act in the moment, but I'm going to enjoy watching him dance with whoever wants a chance. I think he underestimates how tenacious the younger, unattached clan members are."

"You did well yourself, mister, but I'm glad you didn't offer the same chance."

Bram's voice was full of amusement. "Oh, aye? Why not?"

She frowned up at him. "Because I would've had to chase them all away and I'd rather spend the time sitting next to you so I can cover you in my scent. I'm pretty sure that's how part of the territory marking goes, right?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. The only time she knew for certain that a person would carry a dragon-shifter's scent was when a female was pregnant.

The thought that Evie would never carry Bram's scent squeezed her heart.

No. There is more to building a life than having children. Besides, there were always children who needed a home. That thought reminded her of little Murray. Maybe they could take him in and raise him. She might not know what the hell she was doing at first, but Evie's determination would hopefully pay off in the end. Bram seemed to like the little tot. Not only that, she would love to see even more of her dragonman's softer side. Nothing brought out a soft side like a baby.

With Bram and Murray, Evie could finally have a family again. She was an only child and her parents had retired to Spain years ago. She rarely saw them.

As much as she was growing to like the image of her and Bram with Murray, she still barely knew her dragonman. Hell, they hadn't even been officially mated yet.

If that wasn't enough, there were also the dragon hunters to worry about as well as the threat from within the clan.

Since Bram had remained silent, she changed the subject and lightened the mood again. "Before half the clan needs you and while I have you here to myself, tell me something I don't know about you, maybe even something no one else knows."

As he poured their drinks, he said, "I enjoy the human sci-fi show Doctor Who."

Evie blinked. "The children's program about a time-traveling alien? Really?"

Bram chuckled. "He's a bit different from everyone else and sometimes feels isolated. As a dragon-shifter clan leader, I can empathize with his situation. Or, I used to." He glanced at Evie. "Now, I have you."

She stopped breathing at the hunger and longing in his eyes.

Her dragonman caressed her arm and she shivered as he said, "Maybe once things settle down and the threats are taken care of, we could watch it together."

She would agree to watch anything if it meant she could curl up against Bram's side. While she'd never really thought about it before, she yearned to do all the small couple things regular people did. Since she wasn't with the DDA anymore, she might just have the time to manage it.

She was about to tease her dragonman about his revelation when he frowned and reached into the sporran settled over his crotch. As he pulled out his mobile phone, she bit back a smile; the phone was on vibrate and must've given his cock a surprise.

Bram answered the phone and his expression went hard. Her amusement faded as she listened to him say, "Slow down, Vivian. Tell me, is Quinn okay? What about Murray?"

Her gut told her that whomever Bram was talking to, it was related to either the dragon hunters or Neil Westhaven.

Clenching his fist to channel his anger at the news of the attack on his clan, Bram listened to the female clan member's reply. "Oh, Bram, Murray is gone. They took him."

He growled, "Was it Murray's father? Did Neil Westhaven attack your mate?"

"No, it wasn't Neil. The two kidnappers were human. S-she did something to Quinn. He won't wake up."

Hearing the pain of one of his clan members helped to switch to clan-leader-mode. "Vivian, you already told me you called Sid. If there's a way to help him, she'll try it. For now, just keep an eye out for any other intruders. I'm coming over. Call me the instant anything seems suspicious, understand?"

While the worry was still in Vivian's voice, the dominance in his voice kicked in her dragon instincts and helped her to focus. "I can do that. And Bram, I'm sorry about Murray. I know you trusted us to protect him, and we failed."

"No, Vivian, it's my fault. I'll explain later, but there's no way I'll allow you to take responsibility for my fuck-ups. Once you hang up with me, call Kai and catch him up so he can send help while I warn the clan. I'll be there soon."

He clicked off the phone and resisted the urge to smash it into a million pieces.

His dragon snarled. No time for sadness. We will find them and punish them. We must protect our clan and retrieve the young.

A hand touched his arm, and he looked over to see worry etched into Evie's face. "Tell me what happened and how I can help."

"I need you to go with Liam, Mel, and Samira to Mel and Tristan's house while I go to investigate another attack."

"I will, but first, tell me very quickly what's going on. If it's related to the dragon hunters, I might be able to help."

His dragon urged him. Tell her.