Page 67 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

Ace grinned. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“Not Fart Trumpet.”

Ace grimaced. “I wasn’t going to suggest that!”

“What about Cartbreaker?”

“Oh, that’s clever.” Ace grinned down at Ivo, then shook the shopping cart gently with his other arm. “What do you think? Would you like to be called Cartbreaker?”

The cart lifted its flap twice. When Ace set it down next to the barricade, the cart wriggled and bumped against his leg.

“Guess you’re Cartbreaker now,” Ace said proudly. “Welcome to my lair.”

Cartbreaker squeaked its wheels. Ace opened the door in the barricade and carried Ivo and Mary through.

Weeks ago, this part of Ace’s property had been overgrown—ordinary trees around a tiny creek. Now, a low wood wall surrounded those trees. It reminded Ivo of an above-groundpool, except instead of water, the nest was stuffed with colorful pillows and blankets.

“What do you think?” Ace asked anxiously.

“It’s big. What if it rains?” Ivo whispered.

Ace nodded at the tree canopy. Under the leaves, he’d built a sloping roof that would direct rainwater away from the nest.

“Won’t that dry up the roots under the nest?” Ivo asked.

“I thought of that too. I’ve installed some water lines to direct the canopy runoff back to the roots.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.” Appeased, Ivo squirmed in Ace’s arms. “Let me down.”

Ace obliged. Ivo approached the huge nest cautiously. It was the size of a swimming pool, with a wavy outline that had to be difficult to build. The walls were slightly lower than his knee, and there were so many pillows that he couldn’t see the floor.

“Everything’s fireproofed,” Ace said. “Mary won’t be able to set anything on fire in there.”

His heart swelling, Ivo released Mary onto a huge cushion that floated on top of the pillows. She babbled and tried to grab the cushion’s tassels; Ivo climbed into the nest after her.

The pillows were all soft and silky, and so very cozy. “This nest is huge.”

“Is there space for me?” A smile played on Ace’s lips.

“You built it to be big enough for you,” Ivo said, and paused. “Even as a dragon.”

“Well... I did. But this is your nest, first and foremost. You’ll have the final say on whether I’m allowed in there.”

How could Ace spend this much effort on a nest, only to give Ivo complete control over it? Ivo swallowed hard. “You should be in here, too.”

Ace grinned and kicked off his shoes, stepping in. He waded through the pillows; Ivo watched the way his muscles bunched under his clothes, the way Ace’s full lips curved when he caught Mary before she face-planted off her cushion.

He built a nest for me.

Ace moved Mary onto Ivo’s chest, and settled down by his side.

“This is amazing,” Ivo whispered. “All of it. I can’t even begin to thank you.”

Ace shrugged as he swept his gaze over the nest. “There are still some things I need to clean up. The finish isn’t perfectly smooth on the south side. I have to re-hang that string of fairy lights. The east power outlet needs a second coat of paint...”

“Ace.” Ivo curled his fist into Ace’s shirt, looking into his eyes. “This is so much more than any alpha has ever done for me. You could leave the imperfections as they are, and I would still think this is incredible.”

Ace’s gaze softened. “Okay. How about I tell you the things youwouldlike to know?” At Ivo’s nod, Ace lifted a brown flap on the inner wall, revealing an electrical outlet. “I’ve put in a few of these around the nest, so you can charge your phone whenever you’d like. There’s a box next to each outlet with all the cables you might need.”

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