Page 18 of Mistletoe Wishes and Dragon Kisses

“Now, don’t get crazy, Dragon Man. I think we better take the leadership role in our relationship on a case-by-case basis.”

Chuckling so much that his shoulders were bouncing, and he had to take a few extra breaths, Chris started to speak and let his heart lead the way, “I am not gonna bore you with any excuses or stories about what has happened during the time we’ve been apart. I know that my brothers and cousins have done nothing but regale y’all with anything and everything that happened over all that time. Hell, I was there for some of those stories, and…”

“And you opened your mind to mine. So, all your memories are my memories and vice versa.” Tapping her temple with the silver-covered tip of the index finger of her left hand, she nodded, “Trust me, the Reader’s Digest version will do me just fine.”

Reaching forward and running the top of that finger down his stubble-covered jaw, she winked, “After all, we’ve got forever.”

Gently wrapping his much larger hand around hers, he held it over his heart and started again, “Girl, I tell you with all honestly, you are my kryptonite. All you gotta do it bat thosebaby blues, and I am a goner. It’s the same now as it was when were kids. But this time…” He paused for dramatic effect. “…I need you to hang on just a second and let me get all of this out. I really need to…”

“You really need to do this.” She nodded. “I got it. I’ll be good.”

“Well, you’ll try,” Hillary snorted. Then to Chris she huffed, “Hurry up and make with the explanation/apology. We were kinda busy when you showed up.”

“Oh, shit!” Chris boomed. “I completely forgot. We can…”

“No, we cannot!” Gloria adamantly objected. “Twiggy Girdler and all her bullshit can wait a few more minutes. She is such a scene stealer that she couldn’t even stay dead. That Beetle’s a pain in the ass. I don’t care if she singlehandedly kicked Lucifer’s ass and crawled on her hands and knees–if she even has hands and knees–out of the Underworld. Whoopty–freakin’–doo! She needs to learn that she is not the center of the universe. She can wait untilI’mready to deal with her this time.”

“Twiggy Girdler?”

“Long story…” Once again tapping her temple, she seethed, “Just check it out up here. I promise it’s front and center in big, flashing letters in my brain.”

Torn between finding out who and what a Twiggy Girdler was and explaining everything to Glo, Chris instinctually knew apologizing to his Mate was infinitely more important. “Okay, here goes.” Letting go of her hand so he could focus, the youngest Archer Dragon opened his mouth and went for it.

“You wanted the Reader’s Digest version, and your wish is my command,Mo ghrá.” With a wink and nod, he was off and running, “Yes, we got home a little over four years ago. Thank the Ancients that we were here, or there in Nowhere, to save Molly from our dickhead parents. I can’t even imagine whatwould have happened if Big Daddy and Mother Archer had even a drop of Magic.”

Shaking his head at the thought, he pushed on before getting lost in thoughts of what might have been that would do nothing for anyone. It was time to get it all out and he was going to do just that. “Right after, Mick and I were called back to the Isle of Skye to help Uncle Diar with a disturbance in the Arctic Circle. When we got back from there, we found out that our parents were up to their old tricks and we needed to go help your Cousin, Ella.”

“After that, I freaked the hell out. If Mom and Dad could get people to do their dirty work and come after our Mates, what would I do if they came after you?”

“You would have…”

Not letting Glo derail him, Chris smiled and just kept going, happy when he felt her understanding fill their Mating Bond. “I was all ready to come out here to Purdy Petals, sweep you off your feet, and tell you how much I loved you and never wanted to leave your side ever again, and once again, I was called into service. No sooner was that over and my feet touched down back in Nowhere, USA, than we had to run off to help Vi because yeah, once again, Big Daddy and Mother Archer were up to their old tricks.”

“At that point, I was shook. Like shook all the way down to my BVDs. There was no way I could put you in danger. So, I started driving over here and sitting at the end of your lane just to be sure you were okay.”

“You were on your Harley, weren’t you?”

“Yep,” he smiled.

“I knew I heard that motor.” Swatting his arm, she held up her hand and kept right on going. “And that’s enough of an explanation. I never could stay mad at you, and I damned sure can’t do it now. And I need to say is, I accept your apology. Thereis no need for anymore. Yeah, you took an extra-long time gettin’ around to comin’ to findin’ me, but shit and Shinola, I didn't come to find you, did I?” Shrugging with a mischievous grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, she added with a chuckled, “So, how about we call it even?”

Before he could so much as take a breath or think of an appropriate response, Glo moved faster than even he could track. The wonderfully magnificent woman made for him and only him by the Universe and The Powers That Be coaxed Hillary K. Hippo to hop off her shoulder and float to the ground, then instantly closed the scant distance between them. Pushing up on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down to her height, and slammed her lips to his with an “I accept your apology and hope you accept mine too’ kiss of her own that curled his toes and made his heart race.

Opening even deeper to one another than before, it was just as he always hoped it would be. Just as he knew she would, Gloria took control of their embrace, and that made it all the better. Needing to feel her in every way possible but not wanting to take the time to strip her out of the weird, silver space suit, Chris slid his hands from around her waist, down the outside of her thighs, and under the beautifully full globes of her butt.

Lifting his Mate's feet off the ground, his heart soared, and Rí roared in his mind when Glo wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her ankles together to hold on tight. Walking into the shed, mostly because he didn't want to share even one second of their first real kiss with anyone, Chris continued until Glo's back was against the wall.

With the tips of her fingers pushing through her weirdo gloves and digging into his shoulders, Glo climbed his much larger body in all the right ways. Holding each other so closely, so tightly, that Chris had no idea where he ended and she began, the Earth literally moved.

The ground beneath his feet shook. Little pebbles, dust, and bits of debris fell from the rafters overhead. The Heavens roared. Their passion andtheir reunionwere so powerful that the tiny four-pane windows on either side of Glo's little red shed rattled with such force that Chris feared they would shatter.

The pounding of his heart was so profound, so life-altering, that he finally understood why the giant bellowed. "Fee–fi–fo–fum!" He felt it everywhere. The moment that the elusive piece of his soul–the one that had Glo's name written all over it–slipped into place was so overwhelming and awe-inspiring that currents of electricity, the vibrations of their connection, came from the Goddess of All and from the center of the Earth. It entered the soles of his feet, shot through his body, and filled his soul with renewed life and a sense of purpose that he knew was because of his One True Fated Mate.

Lost to their kiss, to all they were together, he felt as if he was flying without wings. It was everything he ever wanted. It was…

"Snap out of it, you two!" Hillary shrieked. "You are NOT making the Earth move, you freakin' boobs!"

“No, don’t…” he moaned when Glo’s lips left his. But when she yelled, “Holy crap!” His eyes snapped open just in time to see the roof of the shed being ripped away.

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