Page 76 of Myths and Shifts

I couldn’t tell which Merritt was cuddled up with me, so I kissed his head again and agreed with him. “I liked being ridden.”

His giggle didn’t give me much of a clue, so I kept him cuddled up against me and chuckled as he shivered when my cock slipped out of his ass. “That’s not funny, Daddy.”

Yes. It was.

“Everything you do makes me smile.” My smooth response got a huff out of him, which just made everything even more adorable. “I have a wonderful mate.”

“I have a brat for a mate.” As he grumbled, he rubbed his face against me and wiggled. “I’m sticky.”

And since that was a cardinal sin in our new family, I gave him another kiss. “How about a bubble bath?”

We’d already had theeveryone likes bubblesdiscussion, so I wasn’t surprised when I got a nod that didn’t tell me what headspace he was in. “When we get our big house, we need to make sure we have a tub we can both fit in. Then we’ll both have fun relaxing with the bubbles.”

Merritt let out a dramatic sigh as he nodded again. “Then I can have lots of toys too.”

Little?

“And then I can ride my dragon in the tub without making a mess or hurting ourselves.”

Big?

“Don’t wanna break my dragon.”

Little?

“Then we couldn’t play the naughty kind of games.”

Big?

“I’m in agreement with being ridden again and not being broken. So yes, the tub here is one at a time but we’re going to work on making sure the house we end up living in has a big enough tub for both of us.” That seemed like a necessity, not a luxury.

“And we need a big shower.” A yawn snuck out of Merritt as he nuzzled against me again. “That…that might be expensive.”

Big?

“You’re a mage and I’m a really good lawyer. Between money and magic, I think we can get you an expensive-looking bathroom.” If we couldn’t, we were doing both things wrong. “And I like houses, so I don’t think building one is going to be an issue.”

Nodding slowly, he turned his head and rested his cheek against my chest. “Have you…have you ever built one?”

Ignoring what I thought was another yawn he’d managed to hold back, I kissed his head. “No, but I’ve done basic research on the process and I’ve walked through a lot of houses in those fancy Parade of Homes things.”

I couldn’t decide if I approved of the business side of building a fancy home just to show it off to people, but I could admit that I loved walking through the beautiful homes. Building one of my own had just never been reasonable because I knew I should wait for my mate.

He might want a castle after all.

Merritt lifted his head and frowned at me, curiosity coming through the bond. “What’s your hoard?”

He got me.

“Houses.” As far as slightly useless hoards went, it wasn’t the most ridiculous I’d heard of.

Merritt studied my face for a few seconds before nodding slowly. “What kind of village do you have?”

He was really smart.

“I’ve got a few. One Christmas one I’m collecting and a few other different non-holiday ones.” I’d limited myself to one Christmas village because otherwise it would look ridiculous. They needed to match.

“We’re going to need a room for them in the castle.” Merritt’s immediate jump to the castle made me smile.

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