Part 17 (1/2)

”No,” a growl. Thunder sucked in a deep breath, he turned to her. Oh s.h.i.+t! He was seriously p.i.s.sed. He had that whole tight jaw, tense thing going on. His features softened when he looked at her. ”You can stay. I would prefer it if you stayed.”

”Are you sure? I don't mind ...”

”I'm very sure.”

He turned back to face his brother. ”Tammy and I are together. You may continue.” His jaw ticked. His hands were clenched at his sides.

”Together. You are not mated to her, my king. I can't talk of quotas, I can't possibly ...” Storm looked fl.u.s.tered for the first time.

”You can and you will.” Thunder sat back down. She noticed that he sat on the edge of his seat, that he was leaning forward.

She put a hand on his thigh. He visibly relaxed, but only somewhat.

Storm was breathing quickly, he took a step forward and sat down. After a few beats he rose back to his feet, the chair sc.r.a.ping.

”Enough of this!” Thunder boomed. ”Tammy and I are together. It is serious ... we are dating.”

”Dating!” Storm made a noise of disgust. ”Dating? Please be kidding me. You were dating the last one as well and look how that ended. Now you expect me to debrief in front of your latest plaything?”

Ouch! No wonder he didn't like her.

”I'm five seconds away from making you bleed,” Thunder's eyes were narrowed, his face was red.

”Someone needs to keep their head in all this. She will be made to leave. Blaze will ensure it. Even if she was, by some miracle, permitted to stay, it's just a matter of time before this ends,” he scowled as he pointed between the two of them. ”You're so d.a.m.ned p.u.s.s.y whipped you can't even see it. It's just like the last time.”

She felt Thunder tense. ”No,” she shook her head. ”Please don't fight. I'll go.” Storm was being a serious d.i.c.k, but she still got the impression that it was because he was worried about Thunder.

”Listen to the female. At least she is rational.”

”Her name is Tammy. She is not my plaything, she is my female. Mine!” Thunder snarled. He stood up, his eyes blazing. ”I won't beat you for your insults because my female has requested it. Do not compare her to any other who has come before because there is no comparison. If it were up to me, we would already be mated. It is only a matter of time.” Her heart beat faster. Thunder was just saying that to put Storm at ease. She forced herself to calm down.

”But Blaze ...”

”f.u.c.k Blaze! I don't care what he or any rule book says, I will listen to my heart. Tammy is a good female. An honest female. I trust her with my life and with my kingdom. I trust her with every secret I have. She will never betray us,” he paused, seeming to contemplate his words. ”Something was off about Lily from the start. It was good to have a female in my bed ... I won't deny that.”

Double ouch! Tammy tried hard not to be jealous.

”It may have made me blind initially but not for long. Lily was only here for a week before I sent her away. I have been with Tammy for longer than that. Our relations.h.i.+p didn't start off as s.e.xual ... Why the f.u.c.k am I even explaining this all to you?”

Tammy also stood up. It felt weird being the only person sitting. ”Maybe because he is your brother and if I end up staying we could be family one day.”

”One day ...” Storm muttered, looking disgusted. He even shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He finally let go and sighed heavily. ”I had hoped it wouldn't come to this,” he looked Thunder head-on. ”I did some digging while you were away. I found out which female you were with. There was only one missing and Granite had seen the two of you, so it stood to reason that you were together. I a.s.sumed that you were holed up somewhere. Tamara Schiffer is not who you think she is.”

What the h.e.l.l!

”She is a gold digger. Just as bad as Lily ... No ...” he sneered. ”She's worse because she has you completely fooled. That female,” Storm pointed at her, ”was arrested for theft. Did you know that? She stole money from the male she was living with. She almost destroyed his business. She's poor and looking for a meal ticket. I'm sorry, I can see that you are taken with her.”

”That's the only intelligent thing you've said.”

Storm's jaw dropped open for a second or two before he clenched it.

Thunder turned to her. ”I'm sorry.” He put an arm around her. ”I'm sorry about the things he said and sorry that my brother is a complete fool and an idiot to boot.”

”He's not.” She looked up at Thunder. ”He cares about you. He went to all this trouble because he's worried. Your brother is a good guy.” Even if he was acting like an a.s.shole. She kept that bit to herself though.

Storm frowned. ”Why aren't you questioning her?” he asked. ”Why is she still even here?” His eyes were wide.

”My female told me all about her d.i.c.khead ex-boyfriend. I know everything, moreover, I know her and I believe her. She was set up. Tammy didn't steal anything. She broke up with the cheating sc.u.mbag and he made it look like she broke in, then he destroyed the property and took money out of the safe himself. He ruined Tammy's reputation and needs to pay for his actions.”

”I still struggle to trust someone who is not in our fold. She is an outsider.”

”All that you need to know is that she is mine,” he snarled the word, his arm tightened around her. ”I have never claimed a female publicly before.” Thunder shook his head. ”Do you think I am a fool?”

”No. I think that you might be blinded.” Storm didn't look as sure anymore. His shoulders were slumped. ”I'm worried about you.”

”Don't be,” Thunder smiled. ”I am a grown male. I'm older than you for f.u.c.k's sake. I came to you two days after Lily arrived on our soil. Two days,” he held up two fingers. ”I told you I was worried about whether or not she was right for our kingdom, for me. I told you that something was off.”

Storm nodded.

”I'm not a whelp. You should trust my judgement. Tammy is my female. She is mine.”

Hearing Thunder talk, Tammy suddenly felt hot in the jeans and sweats.h.i.+rt she was wearing. The hall suddenly felt a lot smaller. The air felt thinner. This was possessive behavior. It had to be. Don't panic, Tammy. It was too soon for that.

”You can go,” Thunder said.

”Be careful, brother. One day ... one day. What does one day even mean?” He raised his brows, shaking his head. ”You know where I am if you need me.” Then he turned his eyes to her. They were the same color and yet, very different from Thunder's. ”We are dragons, fema... Tamara. It would be best to remember that. I wish you a good day.” He picked up the file and left. The door clicked as it shut behind him.

”Shees.h.!.+” Tammy huffed out a breath and fell back into the chair.

Thunder knelt on the floor at her side. ”Do not let him upset you.”

”It's fine.”

”It's not fine. He had no right.”

”Well,” she quirked a brow. ”As your brother, he kind of does. Like I said, he cares about you. That's where all of this stems from. Why did he feel the need to tell me that you're dragons? I know that.”

”Dragons are different from humans.”

”No s.h.i.+t!” she smiled.

”No, we know quickly whether someone is compatible as a mate. It can be instant. Certainly soon after s.e.xual compatibility is established.”

”Okay.” She wasn't sure about this. There was a part of her that didn't want to hear this. It was all too fast for her liking. They had strong feelings for each other. It was all moving in the right direction but it was way too soon to even think about mating one another.

”You look like you're having a quiet, internal meltdown,” Thunder smiled. ”Look, don't let that get to you. You are not a dragon female and every couple is different. We don't have to rush.” He took her hand in his. ”We have all the time in the world. I am enjoying dating you. I love having you in my bed.”

”Yeah, right,” Tammy snorted. ”Like Lily.” The ugly green monster was back and he was crawling around inside her head, scratching at her skull. She should not have said that. ”I'm sorry, that was childish. I guess I'm a bit jealous.”

”You have nothing to be jealous about. I meant it earlier when I said that there is no comparison. I have been with others and yet,” he leaned forward, ”no one else compares. I have no memory of any of them ... there is only you.” Her heart was beating so hard she was sure her chest might explode. ”I want to be a better male because of you. I will prove myself worthy.”