Page 92 of Never Feed a Dragon

I rolled my eyes at him. “A romantic happily mated couple.”

His lips curved upward.

He’d totally been teasing me.

I loved the hell out of that.

“We should find out what Randa told her before we profess our undying love,” he added.

“Agreed.”

He grabbed my clothes from the night before off the floor. “If you want them to think we’re sharing a bedroom, you’ll have to put these back on. The rest of your clothes are in your bedroom.”

Right.

I took them, and Eli tugged his shirt over his head. He waited for me, his eyes moving over my figure while I got dressed.

When I was done, I captured his hand and reached for the door.

He stopped me with a hand to the wood, dipping his head down. I frowned for a moment—until his lips met mine.

He kissed me slowly, but deeply.

My tongue moved with his, the response automatic and absolutely uncontrollable.

When he pulled away a moment later, I was too dazed to remember what we’d been doing.

“Now those eyes are sparkling.” He winked at me, then put his arm around my waist and pulled me in front of him. My body hid the erection I could feel against my ass, but his jeans were holding it down as much as possible. So, hopefully it wouldn’t be noticeable.

We walked out together, his arm still around me as we went. The touch made me feel secure.

My mom was pissed, but we’d figure it out.

Dad was a few feet away, studying a massive landscape photo of the mountains. Mom was in the living room, standing stiffly in front of the couch.

When my stomach started to clench, Eli’s arm tightened around my middle lightly. “Change of plans. Let me handle this. I think I know how to ease the tension,” he murmured. “Your mom likes me.”

“And she doesn’t like me?”

“She loves you fiercely. But I know you two butt heads sometimes, so let me take a stab at it. Trust me, Spaghetti.”

Our eyes locked as our wills collided.

But… he was right.

And honestly, it would be a relief to have someone else take the brunt of my mom’s temper. She’d never been abusive in any way, but standing up for both myself and Randa over and over had gotten exhausting.

So, I’d let him give it a try.

“I’m glad to finally get you guys in here. I’ve spent the last month trying to convince Vi that I’m the perfect man for her, and I think I’ve finally won,” Eli said, grinning as he sat down on the couch and pulled me onto his lap.

My mom blinked.

I did too.

That… was not how I expected him to try to ease the tension.

It wasn’t a bad idea, though.

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