Page 5 of Prey It Ain't So

“Um… nothing.” My cheery response doesn’t fool him, so I stand, brushing off my pants. “I’m just, uh, deciding what I’m taking. You know, girl stuff.”

The dragon arches a brow, glancing at the chaos again before he says, “I see. Are you planning on packing theentirecloset or…?”

“No!” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest as I stomp over to him. “Of course not.”

“Then why does this place look like a tornado hit it?”

“Because… because…” I frown as I struggle to find the right answer that will allow me to keep my inexperience a secret. “You shouldn’t give a woman shit about what she’s packing. It’s a rule; I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t think so,” he chuckles, stepping into the room and shutting the door quietly. “Why don’t you tell me what’sreallywrong, mm?”

Deflated, I let my shoulders fall as I kick a shoe. “I don’t know how to pack for a vacation. I mean, I know how to pack up for school, obviously, but that’s different. My stupid parents never took me with them out of town or across the world, so I just… I can’t seem to get a grip on what I should do.”

I feel him move closer, even though I’m looking at the carpet. His large hands land on my shoulders right before his lips brush my ear. “Delores Drew, you have an entire house full of mates who would be happy to help. Why didn’t you come find any of us?”

“Because Ihateall this normal stuff I don’t know about; you know that.” I sniff haughtily, but lean back into his touch to let it soothe my jagged edges. “Iknowyou guys don’t think less of me—how could I help not being taught—but my brain won’t listen to logic. It makes me feel stupid.”

Aubrey spins me in his arms, his eyes gentle as he looks down at me. “I know how that is, actually.”

“You do?”

He nods, his lips curving up. “I am aware of how intelligent I am. However, I struggle like hell with technology, and every time I have to get Fitz to help, it makes me want to stab myself in the eye. Of course, some of that is because it’sFitz…”

Laughing softly, I reach up to cup his jaw. “He teases you because he loves you. You know that, right?”

“Perhaps,” he grumbles, making me giggle again. “But it’s difficult for me to admit I don’t know things or can’t teach myself some things. Until Rennie, I was on my own for averylong time and because I was so smart, I could survive. Admitting things are out of my wheelhouse rankles my dragon and my pride.”

“Same,” I say. “I mean, Mattie helped me a lot, but there were limits to what she could get away with teaching me. My friends… Well, you’ve met them. They weren’t exactly eager to help me come out of my naïve bubble. So I also got used to figuring things out by myself because no one else was there to help.”

“I shouldn’t ask; it’s going to piss me off.” I arch a brow at him, and Aubrey sighs. “You probably got in trouble for asking questions, and punished if you did things wrong, too, right?”

My eyes widen, and I pull back to stare at him. “Yes.”

The fire flickers in his gaze for a second, then fades. “Well, that’s not how it is with us, snack size. All of us… including that psycho tiger…loveto help you. In fact, doing things for our mate, even when not fully mated yet, makes our animals extremely happy.”

“So if I ask you to teach me this, would it be a good thing? ‘Cause the internet actually made me feel worse.”

Smoke rings escape his nose as he snorts. “I believe that there isn’t adamnthing the internet doesn’t make worse, but yes. I’m probably not the most skilled in this arena—that would be Chess, I believe—but I would be honored to teach you.”

“Honored is a bit much, isn’t it?” I wrinkle my nose as my flush grows for a different reason. “I’m just a sheltered bunny who needs to fold clothes, Aubrey.”

“No, you’re my mate, and I get to share things with you I never thought I would. Honored is right, no matter what we’re doing.” He steps back, his smile making my insides melt. “Now, let’s get started, shall we?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” I tease and he rolls his eyes.

If I’m going to admit I’m clueless about something and let him teach me, I might as well have fun doing it.

After Aubrey leadsme through the process of organizing my daily needs, the packing goes faster than I would have expected. I just didn’t know where to start or how to decide what was necessary. The dragon said he wasn’t the best teacher for this, but he actually did a perfect job. He was patient but playful, letting me make mistakes without criticizing. He even let me figure out what I’d done wrong and find a solution on my own.

It’s a shame he never gets to be in a classroom; he has a way of guiding you without it feeling like he’s breathing down your neck that’s very reassuring.

“Okay, so I have enough outfit pieces to mix and match for at least two weeks. I whittled down the shoes to one pair of a few styles that will cover a bunch of situations. Now, I have to accessorize.”

He blinks, tilting his head. “What kind of accessories?”

Chuckling, I shrug at him. “I need toiletries to keep me looking and smelling good. Probably some jewelry and stuff, in case I have to look less casual. And I’ll need stuff that is morefunctional, too. Books, my tech, cords… you know. The backpack type stuff is what I saw when I peeked online.”

“Ohhh. You need girly shit.”

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