Page 93 of Never Feed a Dragon

It was actually kind of genius. And closer to the truth than some of the BS I’d been about to spew.

My mom slowly took a seat on the couch she’d been standing in front of. Her body position was still really stiff, but the sitting was a major improvement.

Dad wandered back over and sat down next to her, draping his arm over her shoulder. She didn’t lean against him, but she didn’t move away, either.

Then again, I’d never seen her move away from him when he tried to touch her. They weren’t love birds, but they were friends. And I respected that.

“When we saw you at the wedding reception, we told you the truth,” Eli added, for clarity’s sake. “We weren’t mates then, and we didn’t expect to become that, either. I’ve been in love with Viola since we met, but I didn’t think it would amount to a mate bond after I spent so much time pissing her off in an attempt to make the magic work.”

My mom’s lips twitched, but she didn’t relax.

“We went home together, and by some miracle, the bond finally started. Vi wasn’t thrilled, so I convinced her to go on vacation with me so we could get to know each other better. She picked Switzerland, and I flew us there. We stayed a few weeks, and explored more of Europe as well. We were friends at that point, but nothing more,” he explained.

Eli didn’t mention the copious amounts of sex, thankfully.

But he went on. “We haven’t been back long, but I’ve been trying to convince her that we’ll be perfect together. She refused my offer to let her be my housewife, so I got her a job cooking for the other dragon shifters at Mate Mountain, making way more than she was before. We’ll be living there half the time when our apartment is done in the next few days. And she’s still not completely sold on me—but she’s accepted that she’s not getting away from me. And I think she’s even starting to like that.” He poked my side lightly, making me squirm a little, and a sharp laugh escaped me.

My mom’s position eased as he finished.

“I didn’t call you because I didn’t know how to explain it,” I admitted to her, “We’re still figuring everything out.”

My dad’s fingers stroked my mom’s shoulder lightly. She didn’t look nearly as angry as before, but I couldn’t read her poker face. There was a reason she was a damn good lawyer.

“For what it’s worth, I think it’s a good match,” my dad said. “Vi’s too stubborn to end up with someone quiet.”

Mom finally sighed. “Alright, fine. I want to be mad at you, but I’m not surprised this is how you’re dealing with the situation.” She gestured toward us. “The next time something big happens, you better get your ass to my doorstep that same day, Viola.

I smiled. “Deal.”

We both knew I wouldn’t keep up that deal, but I would make sure to tell her much sooner if anything else happened.

Eli kissed my forehead. “Vi tried a new recipe last night, and it was fucking incredible. Want to share the leftovers?” he asked them.

My parents agreed, even though I protested against eating leftovers while I was perfectly capable of cooking something else. We all made our way to the kitchen together.

The meal we shared was so much more comfortable than I ever would’ve imagined.

And when my parents finally left a few hours later, I couldn’t help but throw my arms around Eli. I hugged him fiercely tight.

He laughed as he hugged me back. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“You made that nice. If it had been just me and them, it would’ve ended with me and my mom arguing. She would’ve stormed out, and been pissed with me for weeks,” I mumbled against his skin. “You stood up for me. You made yourself the target to take the pressure off me.”

Gavin never would’ve bothered considering that.

Hell, he wouldn’t even realize it could matter to me. We hadn’t talked about stuff like that—and he liked that I could stand up for myself.

Eli did too.

He just didn’t want me to have to do it all the time.

And that was… well, it was huge for me.

Really, really huge.

“So am I up to an A now?” He poked my side lightly.

I smiled, my eyes stinging just a little. “B plus.”

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