Page 40 of Distinctly Daray
“Sorry, guys,” Evergreen remarked earnestly. “Seriously, I didn’t mean to overstep. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable with my little flirting, Keegan.”
“No, I’m good,” Keegan said. “Phillip. Victor. I’m fine. I promise. I like Evergreen. He can tease me.”
“Tease me all you want, Keegan, but I’ll think before I open my mouth again. Your mates are still eyeballing me like they want me dead, and it’s making the hair at the back of my neck stick up,” Evergreen confided.
“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Victor remarked. Pain sang up his fingers, and he realized it was because he had a death grip on his fork. Victor set it aside. He laid a hand on Phillip’s thigh and found the muscles bunched beneath his palm.
“It is an important clue,” Dudley murmured. “You are both overprotective of Keegan. You must keep that in mind for Phillip’s dragon.”
“My apologies, Evergreen,” Phillip eventually said. “Intellectually, I know you were doing nothing wrong, but my dragon wanted to shift. Dudley is right. I must be mindful of how my dragon reacts to my mates.”
“Are you okay now?” Keegan asked.
“Yes, no shift is imminent,” Phillip assured him. Victor released a long exhale as Phillip laid a hand on Victor’s. The muscles in Phillip’s leg also relaxed. It soothed Victor’s kitty. “He is nearly calm again. Evergreen, you do not owe us an apology, and I hate to think of you suppressing any of your personality by overthinking your words.”
“No worries, I’ll flirt with you instead unless Victor is going to maul me for that too,” Evergreen quipped.
“Find your mate, then you can flirt with him,” Dudley suggested.
“You’re a sentinel. Go track my mate and bring him here,” Evergreen retorted.
Phillip chuckled. “I hope we can arrange a meal at your home soon. It will be delightful to spend more time with you both.”
“Oh, for sure, Phillip,” Evergreen said. “Except Dudley will have to skip it because he’ll be busy tracking my mate.”
Dudley rolled his eyes, and Victor laughed. He was still taken aback by the ferocious response from his cat, but he respected his beast. Neither Victor nor Phillip could tolerate Keegan being teased. Was it a clue into a past where the three of them were separated? It was really no use wondering; there would be no answers. Bar the minor hiccup of a dragon almost shifting in the cafeteria to protect Keegan, their first meeting with Evergreen and Dudley had gone off with barely a hitch,which pleased Victor. He wanted his mates and best friends to get along.
Chapter 15
Feeling triumphant that he hadn’t taken any potions since morning, Phillip took a seat on the blue couch in Victor’s suite. His tummy was pleasantly full following a delicious dinner Victor had cooked for the Darays.
“Did I mention how much I enjoyed our meal?” Phillip asked.
Victor’s grin flashed. “Three times.”
“It was yummy,” Keegan remarked as he dropped onto the cushion next to Phillip.
“How’s your dragon, Phillip?” Victor asked. “Did meeting us for lunch help?”
“I hope it is not an imposition to have the midday meal together again because it was a success,” Phillip replied. “I feel no imminent desire to shift, and my dragon is quiet. Being with our mates pleases us both. My last potion was this morning.”
“Getting to have lunch with you both is wonderful,” Keegan enthused, his brown eyes glowing with happiness.
“Absolutely,” Victor said, toeing off his boots from the pink chair opposite the sofa. “And I know I don’t have to convince Evergreen and Dudley to change our normal lunch plans. They loved you guys.”
“What was up with you guys growling when Evergreen complimented me?” Keegan asked.
“My cat has never acted like that before,” Victor revealed. “I was as shocked as you.”
“It is no surprise to me that my dragon is overprotective. All his responses are dramatic.” The beast in question grumbled at the criticism, but Phillip had to be honest. “Still, I was not expecting to growl at Evergreen. I wish I could promise it will not happen again, but—”
“But nothing, Spicy,” Keegan said. “Your relationship with your dragon is precarious enough; don’t even think about suppressing any of his reactions. It’ll make things tougher for you. Did you talk to Alaric today?”
“It was not much of a conversation,” Phillip confided, thinking back to his brief conference with the Lich Sentinel. “I mentioned I wanted more to do, and he told me to teleport to the office in the morning. Evergreen and Dudley will give me tasks in the morning, and if I am able to return in the afternoon, it will be Alaric directing me.”
“That’s wonderful,” Keegan enthused. “Are you excited about working in the office?”
“I am. It will be helpful to accomplish things, and sitting in my dorm is boring. I have already read my textbooks several times now.”
