Page 17 of Mistletoe Wishes and Dragon Kisses

"But Glo," he emphatically and enthusiastically cheered. "I'm home!" Throwing his arms open wide for what felt like the umpteenth time, Chris plastered on a smile he hoped showed his Mate how excited he was to see her and got as far as "I have missed you sooooooo…" Before the rest of his heartfelt sentiment was out of his mouth, the Guardsman was shocked right out of his BVDs when the blunt end of what looked like a high pressure rainfall showerhead attached to a three-inch PVC pipe painted glossy, shiny, metallic silver was shoved into his gut–in exactly the same place that Glo's hands had pushed just a few minutes earlier.

“Woohoo!” Glo scoffed, rolling her eyes and sucking her teeth. “Strike up the band! Chris Archer is back! And lookie there, Folks. He’s finally come to visit us people in the cheap seats.”

“But I…”

"Lemme guess," she deadpanned, her big blue eyes damn near spitting fire through the thick lenses of the industrial-sizedsafety goggles covering almost the entirety of her beautiful face. "You wanna tell me the one about 'The Boys Who Finally Came Home'? Or maybe you think I haven't heard the story called, 'We Really Do Have Magic.'" Swatting at the air with her free hand–the one covered with a glove made of metallic material that was at least five sizes too big–she hissed, "Better yet, how about you give meyourversion of the tale, ‘Hey! Did you know I’m a Dragon Shifter and one of the famed Dragon Guardsmen?’” Huffing out a breath that momentarily fogged up the lenses of her goggles, she ground out through gritted teeth, “I’ve heard ‘em all from your brothers. I don’t wanna hear them from you. YOU CAN KEEP YOUR LAME ASS EXCUSES.”

“But I…”

Showing him the palm of the same free hand, the sun shone off the silver surface as she cut him off and snarked, "What, Chris? Just what? Can it wait? I'm tryin' to…" Shaking her head, it was as if all the wind had suddenly been stolen from her sails.

Unsure what to do as he watched her chin fall to her chest and her shoulders slump forward, it was Hillary K. Hippo who woke his ass up and spurred him into action. Whisper–shouting directly into his mind, she commanded,“Get over here, you scaly assed reptile! Give our Girl a hug! Tell her everything is gonna be okay! Tell her you've missed her! Tell her you love her! Tell her you'll slay the massive bitch, Twiggy Girdler, and her all-Twig Beetle army. JUST. DO. SOMETHING, YOU BIG DUMB DRAGON!”

Closing the distance in one giant step, he wrapped his arms around his Mate, held her as tight as he could around her outrageous outfit, and poured all the love and adoration he had for her into the bond they shared. Focusing on Glo, the woman made for him by the Universe, the only woman he had ever or would ever love, Chris immediately knew he needed to stay quiet.

Gloria didn’t need words–she neededhim, and even better than that, she wanted him–no matter what her attitude and words had said a few seconds earlier. Standing in that moment in time with her in his arms was everything–and he never wanted it to end.

Then things got so much better, but first Chris had to steel his facial expression when Glo lifted her head and went to step back. No matter how much he never wanted to let her go, he knew he had to follow her lead.

“Because you always have,”Rí chuckled.“Even when you were small children. That Girl led you around by the nose, and we were both happy to follow.”

Unable to answer as his sassy little Brown Witch shoved the heavy-duty goggles atop her head and her eyes met his, the Guardsman knew what she was going to say and wanted to stop her. He wanted to tell her that everything was his fault, and he would spend the rest of forever making up for anything that had happened since he and his brothers left Nowhere, USA.

But Glo was quicker.

“Nope, don’t say a word,” she honestly acknowledged. “I amsosorry."

“No. Glo. Stop! I need…”

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and sighed. Then, looking up at him through her impossibly thick lashes, she continued, "I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. I love you, you big dope."

“I love you too,” he gushed, the words coming out of his mouth so quickly he truly prayed that Rí, the Ancients, somebody, anybody was paying attention and making sure he didn’t deliver the biggest faux pas of all time.

"Yeah, so you took…” Glo interrupted.

She wasn’t listening. The beautiful, strong, independent, fantastic woman made for him wasn’t paying one iota ofattention to what he was trying to say. He needed to make her stop talking and hear what he was trying to say. He had to tell her that she had nothing to be sorry about. That it was all his fault. That he had been an idiot, and he would spend the rest of forever making it up to her.

He needed to…

And inspiration struck. He knew just what to do. Grabbing the crazy contraption from her gloved hands and tossing it to the side in one fluid motion, he knew there was no time to waste. If he gave Glo even a split-second opening, he would never be able to do what he’d wanted to do for so very many years.

Reaching forward as he closed the distance between them, and gently placed his hands on either side of her face. Lifting it toward his the second she stopped talking, he laid his lips to hers and poured all the love, adoration and yes, even the regret, filling his heart and soul into that one kiss.

The beat of his heart accelerated, slowed down, stopped completely, then started again in perfect sync with hers. It was heaven. It was miraculous. It was more than he ever could have imagined, and he never wanted it to end.

Feeling their hearts and souls reach for one another and his mind open completely to his One True Fated Mate, he showed her everything. He wanted her to know him, to see where he’d been and what he’d done, to understand and hopefully forgive him for being the biggest, dumbest, idiot that ever walked the Earth or flew through the sky.

And most of all, he wanted her to know with all her heart and never doubt that he loved her with every fiber of his being–always had and always would.

Trying not to groan at the loss when Glo slowly ended their kiss and just slightly pulled back, Chris opened his eyes to find her smiling sweetly, her kiss-swollen lips making her even more beautiful. Opening his mouth to speak, Glo beat him to it whenshe giggled–something he would never get tired of, “You just think I look good ‘cause you’re the reason my lips are all sexy and puffed up. Thinkin’ you’re a big stud, aren’t ya’?”

This was what he’d missed, not as much as just being in Glo’s orbit, but her quick wit and endless hilarious sarcasm had left a hole in his heart for damned near two centuries that in that one little witty quip was being refilled.

“Now, will you listen to me for just a second?” He asked, opening his eyes wide and nodding.

She returned the nod. Then before he could get started, she quickly added, “But only if I get my turn when you’re done.”

“Of course,Mo chorí,and this is the last time I will ever go first.”

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