Page 15 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

Ace drove by a solid iron gate and honked once without stopping. “That’s where my twin lives.”

“Your twin?” Ivo squeaked. The property wasn’t even visible through the thick hedge.

“Raptor. You’ve met him.” Ace kept driving. The hedge never seemed to end... until they pulled up in front of another iron gate, identical to the one they’d just passed.

The gate rolled aside. As they passed through, magic swept over Ivo’s body—a protective barrier. Then they began driving up a long, winding driveway.

Did Ace... live here?

Halfway up the driveway, Ace stopped and cut the engine. In the distance sat a sprawling brick mansion, with several French windows dotting its walls. The rest of the land was covered in tall grass, trees, and—a little creek, like Ace had promised.

The creek ran from one side of the property to the other, where it passed under a hedge— Actually, the fourth hedge wasn’t even a complete wall.

Instead, its middle section had been removed to give access to the mansion next door. A low hedge maze had been planted between the two mansions, with a tiered stone fountain in the center of the maze.

“Wow,” Ivo breathed.

“Raptor visits me sometimes,” Ace said. “I’ll tell him not to bother you, but if you cross the line into his property, he’ll have every right to annoy you into pieces.”

“Okay.” Ivo was still staring open-mouthed when Ace opened the back door.

“C’mon, I’ll show you where you can nest.”

When Ace’s back was turned, Ivo made sure Mary was well-hidden in her blanket. Then he followed Ace onto the grass, kicking off his shoes so he could feel the soft greenery between his toes.

Ace led him to a small cluster of trees with sweeping, protective branches. Grass grew generously there, far more than Ivo had found at the park. It was definitely enough for both of them to make nests.

“Is this a good spot?” Ace met his eye, looking hopeful.

“Yeah.” Ivo fidgeted. “Will you be making a nest, too?”

Ace lit up. “Would you like me to?”

Ivo nodded. Even though he knew that Ace owned this property, it was still... a little too large for him to feel completely safe. In fact, he felt safest when Ace was nearby, close enough that he could reach Ivo in case of any danger.

“Then I’ll make a nest,” Ace rumbled.

Ivo looked down to hide his blush. He made his way through the tall grass to the far side of the creek, examining the tree roots. When he’d picked a spacious spot between two large roots, deep in the shade of an oak tree, he asked, “Where are you making yours?”

Ace stuck to his side of the creek, snapping off some twigs to mark out a spot near the water. Then he disappeared into a small, inconspicuous shed.

He emerged a few seconds later with a long blade attached to a pole—a scythe. Ace began cutting down large swathes of grass, his shoulders flexing beautifully under the sun. When he’d accumulated a huge pile of grass, large enough to wrap both his arms around, he carried the grass over the creek, and laid it by Ivo’s feet.

“There,” Ace murmured. “That should be enough to get you started.”

It looked so lush that Ivo wanted to roll around in it.

He blushed. No alpha had done this for him before. “Thanks. That’s—That’s a lot.”

Ace grinned. “Just holler if you need more. I have a butler in the mansion keeping his ears open for any unusual sounds. If I don’t respond to you right away, he’ll pass the message along to me.”

Ivo couldn’t wrap his mind around just how rich this dragon was. And he also needed to remember: he couldn’t say anything to Mary that would jeopardize his secret; Ace’s butler was probably a shape shifter, and he could probably hear the quietest of whispers out here. “Thank you for this. Really.”

Ace shrugged. “I’ll park the car and get some things sorted at the house. I’ll come by later to see if you need anything else.”

Ivo nodded. He held Mary against himself and watched until Ace had gotten back into his car. It was only when Ace had disappeared into the mansion, that Ivo relaxed.

“I guess it’s just you and me out here,” he said, freeing Mary from her blankets.

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