Page 43 of Delinquent Dette
Sourdough took too long to prepare more bread on short notice, but he’d just have to tell Frikka to share…but that would leave the Dettesinsufficiently bread. He snorted at his own joke.
By the time the loaf came out of the oven, plopped onto the counter, and wrapped in a towel to cool, the doorbell rang, and Sten shuffled over to let Suyin in.
In his arms was a basket, three Slang eggs nestled in them. Sten reached out to touch the surface of each of them and received a hiss of displeasure through their bonds. They did not like a strange Drake touching them.
“Carry them down.” Sten jerked his shoulder toward the hall, in the direction of their vault.
Sten pulled out a serrated knife and committed the cardinal sin—cut into still-hot bread. They’d eat it too fast to matter, anyway.
He sawed into the crust with a delicate crunch and relished the scent that overpowered him. The crumb of the texture came out perfectly with evenly spaced open cells that neverquitewent through a slice. An utter shame to cut it so soon.
He put the bread on a tray, added the butter dish on the side, a knife, and added some sliced cheese of some cheddar variety they sold at the grocery store. Charcuterie? Nah. Snacks? Definitely.
He piled up a few drinks onto the tray and shuffled his way downstairs.
When he arrived, Suyin and Frikka had the Slang eggs nestled in against his belly and his own right with them.
“How are they responding?” Sten approached the nest with the tray held out and sat it by the Dettes with practiced ease.
“Better. I think they’re just tired.” Suyin stroked the shells and backed up a little before Frikka, in his dragon form, nuzzled at each of the eggs with a hot breath.
Hello, babies. You must be very scared.Frikka nuzzled them one by one again, eyes closed as if he were listening.I’m sure the world is scary. You’ve had lots of cold and your papa went away and so many strangers. You will be strong, happy little pups one day, I promise. There will be so much warmth and love.
“And bread.” Sten stole a slice and sat nearby, not close enough to frighten the babes. Eggs were sensitive to other dragons about.
Their two little eggs perked up with little fleeting notes of excitement and joy. As far as they knew, there were more siblings in the nest to join them! Frikka nuzzled his own eggs, too, before adjusting his body and folding himself around them with a purr of contentment. Suyin, head tilted, closed his eyes and reached for one of the eggs, listening with a wry smile. “They’re calming quickly.”
They need a Dette to purr, to tell them they are safe. Slang Dettes do not purr much, which affects their clutches. See? Happy little pups.Frikka blew warm air over the tops of their shells and sighed once before shifting back, tucking a blanket neatly around the mixed clutch. “Sleeping, just as they should be.”
Suyin sighed, years coming off of his tired face as he leaned back and gestured at Frikka to take some bread. Instead of dressing, Frikka wrapped a blanket around his hips and reached for a slice. Suyin knew better than to take the first slice—even if he was a guest and entitled. One did not take food from a nestingDette. So, when Frikka gestured for Suyin to take a piece, he did so with gusto and a little whimper of pleasure.
“Going to have to hit the gym extra tomorrow for this.” Suyin had more of his Drake father’s build, stockier and prone to carrying a little extra weight. Bryn would never complain, and truth told, even when gravid, the male had looked fit to eat. Despite this, he had his own standards and struggled alittlebit less with his softer features these days.
Sten, for as callous as he could be, only chuckled. “Eat as much or as little as you like. Your mate looks at you like you own the moon and I do not see that changing over a little bread.”
“I think it ishung the moon,” Suyin said through a mouth full of bread.
“Nah, we’re dragons. Own it.” Sten grinned. He knew better than to compliment the Dette’s body or call attention to anything. The best policy was to remind him of his Drake’s interest. It did the trick, it seemed, as Suyin reached for a second slice and beamed.
“Mh! Speaking of owning the moon. Powel is ranking up! He started this new venture where he’s taking the shitty dildos and doing a revenge-mail-type thing where he ships them in form-fitting packages, so it’s really obvious what’s in there. People are eating it up!” Suyin grabbed a slice of cheese and checked on the eggs, satisfied with whatever he felt.
“He got that idea from me.” Frikka sniffed imperiously. “Also, send people bugbeds and the crabs.”
Suyin frowned. “Why would you send people crabs?”
Sten rolled his eyes. “Apparently, humans get infested with crabs on their penises and aren’t smart enough to get rid of them easily, so they spread them about.”
“Hold on. Leo would know more about this. I do not think humans get crustacean infestations.” Suyin pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang a few times before a voice answered.
“Leo, Sten was telling me humans get crabs.” Suyin’s brow furrowed as Leo yammered on the other end. “Ah…”
“Okay. Thanks!” Suyin nodded and made some interested noises. “Oh! Okay. That makes a lot more sense. That’s all! And yes, the eggs are in Frikka’s nest and they’re happy as can be, for now.”
Suyin hummed a bit and gave Leo a quick farewell before hanging up. “He says that it is not crabs, like real crabs. It’s lice that only infects the hair on theirjunk.”
“Junk?” Frikka tilted his head.
“Well, of course, human genitals are junk! Dragon ones are far superior!” Suyin huffed and enjoyed some butter on another slice of bread. “Bryn’s is, at any rate. I’ve had some bad Drake dick…”
