“Both.”
Mel knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she couldn’t do it. “I hope you’re starting to realize not all humans are bad, Tristan. Because if not, I should just leave right now.”
He glanced over at her. “So if I said I still hated all humans, you’d leave?”
She didn’t want to answer him, but she needed to stand her ground with the dragonman. “Yes.”
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop. “Before I give you my verdict, I want to know why you care so much for my opinion. You said yourself that you fulfilled your end of the contract, as have I. There is no reason for us to pretend for the sake of the child. I’ve heard that you want to stay afterward, but if family is so important to you, would you be able to live the rest of your life here without them? Humans aren’t allowed on Stonefire’s land, Melanie, unless they either come as a sacrifice or are with the UK Department of Dragon Affairs.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I do love my family, but I’m a grown woman, Tristan, and I’m not about to leave my child behind, no matter how much I’m starting to think you’d do a good job of raising him or her.”
His grip eased a fraction. “You barely know me. Why would you say that?”
“I watched you with the children before you noticed me. With no one watching, you were kind, patient, and understanding. Whatever your issue with humans, I believe what I saw back in the clearing is your true self. You may never act that way around me, and that’s fine. But I can easily see you acting that way with our child, and that’s the kind of father I’d want for my baby.”
~~~
Tristan had remained silent on the walk to his sister’s place to avoid saying something he’d regret. He couldn’t promise anything until he knew how things played out with Arabella.
But when Melanie pushed him on the issue of humans, he hadn’t been able to hold back. The last thing he’d expected to hear from her lips was that he’d make a good father.
He wanted to say he bloody well would be a good father; no one would ever harm his child. But talking of their child meant talking about the future. Tristan never made a promise he couldn’t keep, and all too easily, he could see himself starting to make tentative plans with the human. She intrigued both the man and the beast with her ability to stand up to him, face a new culture and a new way of doing things, all without blinking an eye.
But no matter what he was starting to think of Melanie Hall, he would never do anything to harm his sister. The sooner he introduced her to Arabella, the sooner he could start thinking about what he wanted. Or, rather, what he could have.
He released her wrist and nodded toward the cottage. “Can we finish this discussion later? Dragon-shifters have supersensitive hearing, and if we keep going at it, my sister might hear us and flee out the back door.”
Melanie’s expression relaxed a little. “She’s that skittish?”
He nodded. “Yes. I don’t make promises lightly, but after our visit with Arabella, I promise you we’ll sit down and have a proper chat about you, me, and the baby. For now, can we just put it aside and see how my sister is doing?”
Mel’s eyes searched his before she said, “All right, but if you break your promise, Tristan MacLeod, so help me, I will find a way to tie you down and get some answers.”
He fought the urge to smile, but couldn’t resist. He shook his head. “You might be a good foot shorter than I, and quite a few stone lighter, but somehow I think you’d find a way to accomplish that if you put your mind to it.”
Melanie raised her chin. “Of course I would. Everyone told me I wouldn’t be able to save my brother, that my odds of qualifying to be a sacrifice would be too great. Yet here I am, while Oliver is finally healthy and out of the hospital.”
He couldn’t help but tease her. “So through sheer force of will you made your DNA compatible? Somehow I doubt it.”
Melanie gave a shy smile and his dragon crooned at the same time his heart skipped a beat. He’d always found her attractive, but the shy smile made her look pretty and vulnerable at the same time. That made him want to haul her against him and protect her all the more.
But he didn’t have time for that right now. He motioned with his head toward the cottage. “Come, let’s catch Arabella before she disappears.”
She nodded and walked the short distance in silence. Apparently, the human could listen to something he said if she wanted to.
Once they arrived at the cottage, Tristan motioned for Melanie to stand off to the side. Then he took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He only hoped Arabella hadn’t already fled out the back.
~~~