Page 61 of Myths and Shifts

He groaned dramatically, flopping down on me again and burying his face against my neck. “Not a monkey, Daddy. Not a goose. I’m your boy.”

“You are?” Playfully acting dumb, I frowned. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

He made adorable thinking sounds and wiggled side to side like he needed the movement to let me know he was coming up with the perfect response. When he popped up, he looked cute and manipulative, even doing his best to hold back his naughty grin. “You said so, Daddy.”

“Hmm?” Still looking confused, I frowned and cocked my head. “When?”

He obviously thought he had the best answer ever because he was nearly giggling like an evil villain. “I was your good boy. I get to pick.”

He got to pick?

Oh.

I was the one trying not to laugh that time.

“You’re right. You were very good, so I promised you’d get to pick how we played tonight.” I wasn’t sure what game he was thinking of at the moment, but I was up for almost anything. “Okay, you win. You’re my good boy and not my grumpy crocodile.”

That was so funny he tipped over sideways and fell onto the bed. When he could finally breathe, I rolled over and poked his chest. He barely contained his laughter long enough to pretend to frown at me. “Not a grumpy ‘dile, Daddy. You.”

“Hey.” Letting my dragon side out just enough to growl at him, I loved the giggles he made. “I’m a scary dragon, not a crocodile.”

He gave anoh wellkind of shrug. “The science man on TV said they’re dinosaurs too. Daddy’s a dino too.”

At one point my mother would’ve said I had the manners of a dinosaur, but that hadn’t been an issue since I was a child.

“The science man is a crazy mage. I’m a dragon.” Flashing my eyes at him, I let my dragon come closer to the surface. “A scary dragon.”

He patted my cheeks, getting littler again. “Aww, so cute, Daddy. Show. Show me.”

And this wasn’t the game I thought we’d be playing either.

“Are you sure?” We hadn’t known each other very long and some mages never got completely comfortable with dragons in our natural form. Merritt didn’t seem conflicted, but I wanted to make sure he’d thought it through. “You want to see my little dragon? He likes cuddles. I’m warning you.”

There was just something about that form that turned me into a cat ready to stretch out and get attention. I couldn’t help it. Primarily because I’d never tried to fight it, and I wasn’t sure how successful I’d be if my lazy attention-whore side bothered Merritt.

Throwing his arms around my neck, Merritt gave me a big hug. “I cuddle good, Daddy. I’m a good cuddler.”

Okay.

Kissing his nose as he let me go, I scooted back and tugged at my shirt to remind him that I’d get naked first. “You ready?”

“Cuddles!” Popping up like he had a spring in him, he bounced higher on the bed until he was sitting on the pillows. “Ready, Daddy.”

Well, we were as ready as we’d ever be.

Chapter 18

Merritt

Cuddle bug.

Cuddle dino.

Cuddle dragon.

Daddy was gonna be a cuddle bug.

“Faster. Faster. Daddy.” Clap. Clap. Clap. “Gonna cuddle my dragon.”

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