Page 46 of Purple Protector

And hopefully, trouble wouldn’t find him. He had enough of this shit. Was it too much to ask for the universe to let him enjoy his life with Birch?

Chapter Fifteen

AARON WAS NERVOUS. He’d never done the meet the family thing in any of his relationships, but he was tonight. He had no idea how it would go. He wanted to believe that Birch’s family would like him, but he couldn’t be sure, and it made him anxious. Birch had told him that they only cared about him being happy, but maybe they’d rather have Birch be happy with a dragon shifter instead of a human. Maybe they hadn’t said anything about it to Birch because they didn’t want to hurt him.

Or maybe they wouldn’t care that Aaron was a human, but they wouldn’t like him anyway. He wasn’t universally liked. He couldn’t afford not to be liked by Birch’s family, though. Birch was close to them, even though he talked about them as if he was perpetually annoyed by them, the love was obvious.

He looked down at himself, then back at his reflection in the mirror. “Are you sure this is fine? Because I can change.”

Birch stepped up behind him. He wrapped his arms around Aaron’s waist and hooked his chin on the top of Aaron’s head. He was ridiculously tall, but Aaron didn’t mind. In fact, he loved it.

“You’re incredibly beautiful, and my family is going to love you. You don’t need to stress out about this.”

“Put yourself in my position. Wouldn’t you be stressing out if you were meeting my family?”

“Will I be meeting them eventually?”

Aaron sighed. He wasn’t sad—he’d come to terms with not being close to his parents a long time ago—but sometimes, he missed having people he was so close to. “No. We were never close, and we drifted even further after I came out to them. I don’t have any contact with them, and I don’t know what they’d think of me being with you.” He snorted. “Probably that you could have much better.” Either that, or they’d be horrified. It was a good thing that Aaron didn’t care either way.

Birch’s arms tightened around Aaron. “I really couldn’t. You’re the most perfect man I could have dreamed up.”

That wasn’t true, but Aaron loved it when Birch said these things. He sounded like he believed them. He probably did. “Well, you’re not dreaming.”

Birch kissed the top of Aaron’s head. “I’m glad I’m not. It’s time to go, and you don’t have to change. You’re perfect just the way you are. My mothers will be all over you.”

“And you’re sure they’re happy about you dating me?”

“When I told them, Alaina started crying in happiness and planning how many children we’ll have. Yes, I’m sure. The only one who might give you problems is Curran, but that’s just because he’s a dickhead.”

Aaron laughed and stepped away. He didn’t have time to change anymore, so his dress pants and button-down shirt would have to do. Whatever happened, it didn’t matter. As long as Aaron had Birch, he could take anything. Hell, he’d even punched a dragon and had lived to tell the tale.

He and Birch made their way toward the rooms where Birch’s family lived. From what Birch had told Aaron, he’d never actually lived with them since he’d been raised with Killian and Marlin. It explained why the three of them were so close, and while Aaron found it strange, he’d come to realize that he’d find a lot of things the dragons did strange. They were dragons. They had different traditions, and Aaron not understanding them didn’t make them any less valid. Besides, Killian and the people close to him were working on changing the traditions that had hurt his people, like the ones that took children away from their parents. Killian was doing what he could to fix the errors that had been made before he became king, and Aaron respected him for that.

He managed to keep himself distracted until Birch stopped in front of a door. He quickly knocked, then opened without waiting for an answer and strode in. Aaron followed him, looking around with curiosity. He didn’t know what to expect about spending the evening with four dragons.

The room they stepped in was cozy and homey. The sitting area was decorated with art on the walls and soft carpets on the floor. There were blankets on the couch, and it was clear that people spent a lot of time there. There was a dragon sitting on the couch, their feet on the coffee table, their attention fully on their phone. They didn’t even look up when Birch and Aaron walked in.

Aaron didn’t have the opportunity to introduce himself to the dragon on the couch. Birch was turning toward him, holding out his hand, and Aaron took it and allowed his boyfriend to pull him forward.

He came to a stop in front of two dragons. One of them was a very dark red, while the other was dark blue. Aaron had no idea who was who, but he didn’t have to wonder long.

The blue dragon stepped forward and folded her arms around him. He squeaked, but he hugged back automatically. The dragon’s hug felt a bit like Birch’s—compressing and strong, and they made Aaron feel safe.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Aaron,” the dragon said. “I couldn’t believe it when Birch told us he was dating you. Do you know how long I’d been trying to find him someone? He rejected all of them, and I thought he’d taken up a celibacy vow.”

“Mom!” Birch complained.

Aaron had heard from Birch that his mothers had been trying to convince him to date for a while. He’d rejected all their suggestions, even when they’d invited dragons over for blind dates. Aaron was glad he had because otherwise, they wouldn’t be together. Birch was annoyed by his mothers’ matchmaking, but Aaron saw it for what it was—a sign they cared and loved him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, still unsure what to do since the dragon wasn’t letting go.

Birch huffed. “He needs to breathe.”

“Yes, Alaina,” the other dragon said. “Let the poor boy go.”

Alaina did, although she didn’t look happy about it. Aaron was pretty sure that his cheeks were flushed as he turned toward Yarra. He held out his hand, but he should have known better. Seconds later, he was being hugged by a different set of arms.

“We are so happy to meet you,” Yarra murmured before letting go. “Dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t you and Birch sit down while Curran comes to help us in the kitchen.”

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