Page 67 of Myths and Shifts

Shit.

The room was not romantic at all, and if I was going to make love to my mate for the first time, he needed fucking romance.

“Wren?” Whispering softly, I stepped closer to our shared wall. “I need candles or something romantic.”

He’d packed like we’d been charging into the apocalypse and there wouldn’t be a mall for years to come, so I wasn’t surprised when his singsong voice came softly through the wall. “Wren to the rescue.”

He’d been watching too many oldRescue Rangersepisodes lately.

I was going to appreciate it for the time being, though, because in under a minute he was softly knocking on my door. “I’m here. I’m saving the day.”

Since he was technically right, I opened the door with a smile, grateful I’d packed a robe. “You are. Thank you.”

Dragons above.

He was dressed head to toe as a fucking squirrel.

Big smile.

“Here you go.” Shoving a shopping bag full of goodies at me, he gave me a beaming smile in return. “It’s not whammied. I bought it at Walmart with…well…I got it at Walmart.”

“With your new friend?” His giggle said I was right but he nodded as well. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes.” Bouncing up and down, he wiggled the fluffy tail that was sticking out behind him. “Lots.”

“Is your new friend nice?” I was really grateful when he nodded earnestly because otherwise it would’ve caused a lot of problems. “Good. You need to remember that being safe is important. Okay?”

Reminding myself that he was technically an adult, I shook my head when I just got a giggle and another wag. “Fine. I’ll stop asking questions, but the first time your mother gives me a call you have to tell me what you’ve been up to.”

He lied terribly and had no ability to keep any kind of a secret.

“Yes. I’ll be good.” That wasn’t believable either. “I told her I met lots of new friends. She stopped asking questions when I told her about Lorne.”

For fuck’s sake.

“That’s cheating. Don’t shock your mother.” It wouldn’t help for very long. “You only have a day or two before she recovers.”

That helpful fact got another happy sound and a wave before he scurried back to his own room. “I’m back. I’m ready.”

Ignoring whatever he was ready for was easy because I’d gotten very good at tuning out anything my family was doing, but it also made it easier to hear Merritt humming to himself as he got ready. “Daddy has to hurry or the squirrel will start having fun before he does.”

Moving quietly over to the bed, I put my robe away and started sorting through Wren’s romantic treasures and was pleasantly surprised to see mostly reasonable options. Candles and chocolates were the best options, so the candy went by the bed and the little candles of varying sizes were sprinkled around the room.

He must have raided some kind of feminine self-care store because he had several trial size bottles of scented lotion and even a pair of fuzzy baby blue handcuffs. I tucked those back in the bag and almost laughed at the sight of the pink bathrobe he’d offered me, but I decided that would stay in there too.

The silky black fabric got stretched out over the bed, though, and while I couldn’t decide if it was high school seduction stupidity or actually romantic, it felt right. What didn’t feel right stayed in the bag and got tucked behind the chair, but I did take the lube that was on Wren’s romance list and placed it by the bed as well.

I hadn’t planned on finding my mate when I’d packed for my trip.

Wren was startlingly prepared for whatever he was getting up to, but I wasn’t going to complain because it made it easier for me. So easy, I had the room perfect for my mate and even had myself cleaned up a bit before he peeked out of the door. “Ready?”

“More than you know, my mate.” I chuckled as he blushed and slowly inched out of the bathroom wearing just a pair of little briefs.

At first all his attention was on how nervous he was, but soon his eyes widened and he smiled as he took in the room. “Oh, Daddy…”

“My sexy mate deserves romance.” Taking his hand, I pulled him into my chest and loved the way he melted into me, hiding his face against my neck again. “You are beautiful and I am the luckiest man alive, dragon or not.”

Merritt let out an embarrassed chuckle but his hands came up to gently caress over my chest. “But you are a dragon and my mate.”

---