Part 20 (1/2)
And more than off limits.
Maybe if there's a celebration, we can chat her up.
Don't start, dragon.
The female's pupils flashed as well, but her face remained stoic as she took a seat next to Killian. Taking that as a cue to follow suit, Aaron signaled his people to also sit down.
Once everyone settled around the conference table, the Irish female was the first to speak. ”Are you still allies with Clan Northcastle?”
Aaron half-expected for Killian to castigate the female for speaking out of turn. But all the Irish leader did was nod. ”Answer her.”
”We're neither allies nor enemies. Stonefire hasn't had any contact with the Northern Irish clan since the 1970s.” And because Aaron couldn't help himself, he added quickly, ”But you already knew that, didn't you?”
The corner of the female's mouth ticked up. ”Of course. Don't underestimate us just because we're not the almighty Clan Stonefire.”
”And yet you a.s.sume we're liars?” Aaron asked as he raised his brows.
The female shrugged. ”You can never be too careful with the English, be it human or dragon-s.h.i.+fter.”
Killian chimed in. ”Enough, Teagan.”
His beast spoke up again. Teagan. The name suits her. I bet she's feisty when she relaxes.
We don't have time to flirt. Leave it.
As his dragon pouted in the back of his mind, Aaron looked between Killian and Teagan. There was definitely a resemblance. ”I'm Aaron Caruso and this is Quinn, Brenna, and Sebastian.” He pointed to Killian. ”You're Killian O'Shea.” He pointed to Teagan. ”And you're Teagan who?”
She smirked. ”O'Shea. If you haven't figured that out already, then you need to go back for more training, Aaron Caruso.”
He kept expecting Killian to say something, but the male remained silent. Aaron's confusion must have shown on his face because Teagan's voice filled the room again. ”If you're waiting for my brother to tell me to shut it, you'll be waiting quite a while.”
Aaron frowned. ”Females are free to speak their minds. But usually in a meeting of importance, the clan leader does the talking.”
Teagan leaned forward. ”Ah, but you see, the clan leader is speaking.”
”What are you talking about?”
Teagan gestured around. ”Welcome to my clan, Aaron Caruso. I hope a female leader won't change your plans.”
He pointed his forefinger. ”You're Glenlough's clan leader.”
Teagan tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder. Aaron's eyes darted to her bared neck, but quickly caught himself as she answered, ”The one and only.” She a.s.sessed him a second before adding, ”If you even think of challenging me to a contest, stop. I've bested every male in my clan. I'm sure an English dragon-s.h.i.+fter wouldn't stand a chance.”
His beast spoke up. Intriguing. A female leader. I want to know more.
Ignoring his dragon, Aaron growled. ”Not that it matters, but I'm half Italian.”
Teagan's smile widened. ”That should make it even easier to defeat you.”
Aaron clenched the fingers of one hand under the table. Maybe someday he would get the chance to challenge Teagan and wipe the smile off her face. For the present, there were more important issues. ”Getting back on topic, why did you deceive us? Bram certainly won't like that.”
Teagan leaned back in her chair. ”It's common practice for Glenlough to have a female leader. However, we've learned the hard way that if it's made public knowledge, our enemies perceive us as vulnerable and attack more often. So, a male is always publicly named as leader. If anyone does attack, it works well because the fake leader named is always one of our best Protectors and is an excellent decoy.”
Aaron's estimation of Glenlough went up a few notches.
He shot a look to Bennett, but the Stonefire male shrugged. ”I was sworn to secrecy.”
Looking back to Teagan, he murmured, ”Clever female.”
”I'm clever, Aaron Caruso, but also strategic. If you want to leave Glenlough and share our secret with your clan leader, then convince me you're here sincerely and why you give a d.a.m.n about whether we survive a dragon hunter attack or not.”
”How do we know you won't turn on us? After all, you've lied to us once. It's possible you'll do it again.”
Killian finally spoke again. ”We've seen footage of what the dragon hunters and Dragon Knights have done over in England and Scotland. Regardless of the past, we mourn the loss of your clan members. No one wants the same to happen here.”
Aaron studied Killian. His dragon chimed in. I think he's sincere.
I wish his sister would be more levelheaded.
I know you stared at her neck and lips. Maybe she would be more levelheaded if she wasn't thinking of us in a different situation with far fewer clothes.
What the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l are you going on about?
I think we should kiss her.
Oh, no. No, no, no. I don't even want to chance my fate to HER.
His beast sniffed. But she's interesting.
And that's the end of that.
The female in question's voice filled the room. ”I'm curious what your dragon is saying to you.”
Meeting Teagan's moss green eyes, he absolutely refused to admit they were striking. ”He was just telling me that Killian seems sincere.”
She raised one thin, dark eyebrow. ”And what about me?”
”You don't want to know.”
Teagan barked out a laugh. ”I know how that goes.” Her face turned serious once more. ”Now, let's try this again. What's your true purpose in wanting to help us?”
Refusing to think how Teagan's dragon might be thinking of him naked, Aaron answered, ”There are two reasons. The first is Stonefire is always looking for new alliances.”
”And the second?” Teagan asked.
”We'd do anything to deny the hunter b.a.s.t.a.r.ds a win. Even if it means driving a b.l.o.o.d.y car across the island when flying would be more efficient.”