Dragos Takes a Holiday (Elder Races #6.5)(6)

They had gone to the estate for their honeymoon and had stayed in the estate manager’s house, which had four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a family room with a fireplace that overlooked a lake. She loved that house. She had given birth to Liam in that house. She didn’t feel any affinity whatsoever for the palatial mansion.

Still, she knew she wasn’t being entirely rational. Just the sheer size of the place had intimidated her when she first saw it, but she might like it more if she spent some time there. After all, she had once felt funny about Cuelebre Tower and the penthouse, and familiarity had gone a long way to making her comfortable here.

She sighed. “He’s going to need the space, isn’t he? Especially when he learns to fly.”

“Yes, he will. The place up north is more private, with lots of greenery and open space.” He paused thoughtfully. “We can make it more secure too.”

“Two hundred and fifty acres would be a hell of a backyard for him to play in,” she murmured.

Pia had always followed her mother’s advice and stayed in the city, which was densely populated and easier to hide in. She had never seriously considered moving to the country, but now as she poked at the idea, she realized that two hundred and fifty acres would be a hell of a backyard for her to play in too, and her Wyr form approved. It approved most strenuously.

“We can get to the city in a couple of hours if we fly in.” Dragos angled his head, considering it. “That’s not so bad. When you’re stuck in traffic here, it can take a couple of hours just to get across town. I could have a complete office complex built on the property.”

She put a hand on his leg. His hand sewn Armani suit was made of lightweight woven wool that stretched taut over the thick, powerful muscle of his thigh. “We would need more than just the office complex. There will need to be living space for security and staff, and for the sentinels, because they’ll be flying back and forth. As spacious as that mansion is, it’s no Cuelebre Tower. We can’t all live there, nor would I want to try.”

He rubbed her back, his clever fingers following the curve and hollow of her spine. “We could build along the lake. There’s plenty of space to spread out. None of us would need to feel crowded.”

She broached another subject hesitantly. “I would want to redecorate the main house. Maybe even do some renovations.”

“You should,” he told her, smiling. “Hell, you can bulldoze the place if you want, and start over from scratch.”

That thought was a little too overwhelming. “I don’t know if we need to go quite that far.”

Dragos stroked a loose strand of hair away from her face. “But do we both believe that we need to make the move?”

She looked down. The weight of Liam’s body lay draped along the back of her neck and shoulders, and his slender, graceful white legs and tail curled around her, just underneath her collarbones. While it seemed like it might be an awkward position, he didn’t appear to mind at all. In fact he seemed perfectly comfortable, and he was sound asleep.

He was not a perfect white, but more of an ivory hue. His hide had the same iridescent sheen that Dragos’s did, but he had gotten his pale coloring from her. She wondered what people would think when they saw him. She put a hand lightly on one of his forelegs, and he stretched, flexing his paws, and sighed.

“Yes, we need to move. But we won’t have time to start building or redecorating until July. First we’ve got to get through all of the inter-demesne functions surrounding the summer solstice, and Graydon needs his vacation.”

“Agreed.” He gave her a lopsided smile that eased his harsh features and banished the tiredness from his expression. “In the meantime, is it too much upheaval if we consider taking a long weekend away?”

She loved him so much, with all of her heart. She loved his harsh side and needed his ruthlessness, because she knew he would always provide for her and Liam, and protect them with every ounce of his considerable power. But when he smiled at her like that, everything inside of her brightened, until she felt like she floated in a sea of light, and she grew weightless and dizzy with delight.

She peeked at him between her lashes. “I don’t know, Dragos, this is awfully sudden. Where would you want to go?”

He tugged at a strand of her hair behind her ear, and her gaze fell to his wrist. It had been a year since she had sewn a lock of her braided hair around his wrist, and he still wore it. He had done something to protect it, and it shone with an extra sparkle of Power.

“You said you’ve never been to Bermuda or the Caribbean.” He angled his head, watching her expression. “How would you like to go there? I think it would be fun to do some treasure hunting. We can go swimming and soak up some sunshine, and go out to eat. I could use a break before we plunge into all of the summer solstice activities, even if it’s a short one, and I’ll bet you could too.”

She smiled. “I would really love to get away.”

“How soon could you be ready to go?”

She tilted her head, and her smile turned into a grin. “Is fifteen minutes soon enough?”

“Really. Fifteen minutes.” His gold eyes narrowed suddenly. “Those books. That conversation. You little Machiavellian, you set me up.”

She closed one eye and held her thumb and forefinger close together. “Maybe a teensy, weensy bit. Actually, I just presented you with opportunities.”