Page 6 of Mistletoe Wishes and Dragon Kisses

Running the fingers of his free hand through the blond curls atop his head, Chris Archer–the youngest brother of the illustrious Archer Dragons–thought about pulling every single strand out by the root. Of course, that was when his alter ego's growl filled his mind with enough heat and smoke to barbeque all the pigs in Mrs. Doty's back pasture and maybe a few of the cows.“You will NOT pull out your hair. If I remember correctly, and I always do, Miss Gloria is especially fond of those curls.”

“Yes, but….”

“But nothing, even as a young girl, she spoke of them often. Do NOT do something you will regret–or something that will make the process of claiming your Mate take even longer.”

“Like sharing my soul with an overbearing Dragon King?”

“We both know that you are incredibly fond of me, even though you insist on being a petulant brat and trying to make me believe to the contrary. We share a soul, mind, and so much more. Therefore, I always know what you are thinking and feeling. It is time you…”

“For me to stop my childish behavior? To get a move on? To stop bein’ afraid of disappointing the most beautiful, amazing, fantastic, and wonderful Witch in the whole world who was made just for me?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you have a plan for me not to get turned into a greasy spot on her front porch before I have time to explain what has taken me so long to come to her?”

“I cannot do everything, but….”

“Yeah, well, thanks for nuthin, Old Man.”

When no witty retort immediately came his way, Chris wondered what the Dragon King with whom he shared his soulwas cookin’ up. When Rí was quiet, some grand plan was always in the works.

Some grand plan that almost always included Chris' ass being put into a very large, very precarious sling while a thousand-mile-and-hour wind blew out of the North and the flames of the fires of Hell snapped and crackled just under his left butt cheek.

But he wasn’t going to poke the Dragon King. Sometimes–most of the time, it was better to let scheming Dragons lie. With that in mind, the Guardsman returned his focus to his brother.

And… he wasn’t surprised when Mick snickered, “You do know that I agree with the Old Man, right?”

“Sure, you do,” Chris ground out through gritted teeth.

Unclenching his jaw before he broke a couple of teeth, or worse yet, his jaw, and had to have it wired shut by one of the Healers on the Isle of Skye while the Dragon King with whom he shared his soul was Magically knitting the bone back together, he poured all his frustration into the next comment that flew from his mouth. "Not only have you been reading my mind the whole time–something I have repeatedly asked that you NOT do–but somehow, I also missed the memo telling me that today is 'National Pick on Chris Day.'"

“Aww, poor baby,” Mick playfully mocked.

Then, before Chris had time to tell his brother where he could go and how to get there in no uncertain terms, Mick quickly added, "I'm sorry I read your mind. It's a horrible habit, and I need to stop."

“Wow! Thanks. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time you’ve ever apologized for doing it.”

“Yeah, well, Vi gets the credit. I know it sounds corny, but she just makes me want to be a better person.”

Mick paused, and Chris could almost see his brother shaking his and grinning like a Dragon in love–and that was without theuse of Magic. Before he could give his older brother a hard time, Mick was back in the conversation with renewed gusto.

"And as for 'National Pick on Chris Day,' you know that's just not true. I swear on a stack of Tomahawk steaks as high as the Heavenly Tower on the Isle of Skye that I am not pickin’ on you. Believe it or not, I’m tryin’ to help. Vi and I just want you to be as happy as we are. Heavens know you deserve it.”

“Well, thanks.”

“Yeah, and if you tell anyone I said you’re a good kid and have earned all the best in your life, I’ll deny, deny, deny.”

"Deal." Blowing out what felt like the hundredth exasperated breath since he had gotten out of bed after yet another sleepless night, he added. "I know you're right. I hate that you're right, but I know you're right, and I can admit that to you andonly you.” He huffed again. “And you know what makes me even madder.”

“That you know I’m right about you draggin’ your feet?”

“Yep, you got it in one. You’re just hittin’ the lottery of right answers today.”

“And I didn’t even have to read your mind. You gave me the answer.”

“Well, give that boy a gold star.” Pausing for just a beat, Chris let the words flow. “I know, just like you and all the others did, that Ishouldbe beating a path to Glo's front door. I should get there with flowers, candy, and the big diamond ring I've been carrying around since I had it made right after we got back to Nowhere, USA. All I want to do is slide it on her finger, tell her that I love her, and ask her to be mine for the rest of forever. I want to get down on my hands and knees, knock on the door, and just let the words flow like water. I want her to know how much she means to me, that I never forgot her, and that I thought about her every day we were away–even though we weren't allowed to make contact. But I… I… I just haven't figured out how to do all of the above and not get turned into a toador a newt or, worse still, a houseplant. Glo isn't known for her patience. It's just one of the millions of things I love about her." Pausing for a split second, he quickly added, "And you haven't been much help with the detail side of things, so…."

Stopping as a thought crossed his mind, the youngest Archer brother couldn’t keep the snort of laughter from slipping out. There he was in the middle of pouring out his heart to his brother, and then,bam, he wished for Mick to be in the same room and not halfway across the country.

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