Page 81 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

He looked down quickly when Ace looked up, hitting the Purchase Now button before he could second-guess himself.

The transaction was approved. Nothing exploded. The website directed him to a Thank You page, and said his books would be delivered soon.

“This is crazy,” Ivo breathed. “That was a lot of money.”

Ace smiled. “You did it?”

“Yeah.”

Ace puffed out his chest. “You did great! Now, you’ll need to buy a bookcase for all your books.”

“Um, okay.” Ivo opened a new tab and began a search for bookcases. He went to a furniture website that he thought was affordable, only to have a message pop up at the corner of his screen.

Ace

Check these out.

[link]

When Ivo clicked on the link, it took him to a website with several beautifully carved bookcases, and several zeroes in the prices.

“Holy crap,” Ivo whispered.

“They’re still below your monthly limit.” Ace shrugged. “But tell me if you find something that exceeds the limit. I’ll raise it.”

Just like that.

Ivo shook his head disbelievingly, scrolling through all kinds of bookcases: ornate ones, elegant ones, bookcases with leaves and birds carved into them. You could even customize them by adding spells—spells that would sort the books automatically, spells to light up the bookcases, or to give the illusion that snow was falling gently onto your books.

“You could have the genre or author name carved onto the individual shelves,” Ivo breathed.

Ace smiled. “Take your time, pick out something that makes sense to you. We can always get another when you’ve filled up this one.”

“Another?!”

Ace looked around the office and shrugged. “We could put the bookcases in here, or turn one of the rooms into a library.”

Ivo’s heart stuttered. “That... That sounds amazing.”

Ace grinned and patted his lap. “Open up that link on your phone, and come sit with me.”

Ivo left his laptop on the desk, padding over to climb onto Ace’s lap. His belly was rounder now; Ace slipped his fingers under Ivo’s shirt and rubbed his baby bump, growling when their baby kicked.

“I felt that,” Ace said excitedly. “Did you feel it?”

Ivo rolled his eye. “No, I didn’t.”

Ace grinned and nipped his ear. He scooped Ivo up and turned him around, nosing his belly. “Hey, baby,” Ace murmured against Ivo’s skin, his voice vibrating through Ivo’s body. “Papahere. You’re growing bigger and stronger every day, and we can’t wait to meet you. Just today, we put up some animal posters in the nursery. Your uncle Raptor and your honorary annoying uncle Harvey helped.”

“Soon,” Ivo said, tangling their fingers together. Then he grunted when there came another kick, in a different part of his belly. “Oof!”

“Shh. Don’t kick your Daddy,” Ace murmured against his belly. He rubbed Ivo in an attempt to soothe their baby, then crooned one of the silly lullabies he’d written. It must’ve worked, because the kicking stopped.

They sat together for a while, enjoying each other’s company. Then Ace turned Ivo around so Ivo’s back was pressed against his chest, looking over Ivo’s shoulder at his belly. He lifted Ivo’s shirt to expose his abdomen, snuffling against his neck.

Elsewhere in the mansion, someone said something. Ace cocked his head. “Ah.”

“Visitors?” Ivo asked.

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