Page 7 of Izzy
The old man huffed again and mumbled. "We ain't getting another damn dog."
The baker smiled. "So there's one at the shelter she wants to rescue, I take it." The baker put a couple more cookies in the box and then slid it across the counter before taking the twenty.
"She'd take in any stray. And none of you lot are any better. That's why we have a barn full of cats too." The old man opened the box. "Is that one of those dog cookies?"
"Yep. You and I both know you're going to the shelter next."
The old man sighed and shook his head. "It's a good thing I love that woman."
The baker met Izzy's gaze. "How can I help you?"
"I'd like a dozen of the same cookies, minus the dog biscuit. For a similar reason. Except I didn't piss him off." Yet.
"Do you want some advice, criminal?"
Izzy chuckled. "Sure."
"Woo your mate every day of your life, just like you did the first day you saw them." It would have been good advice if Izzy had been into the romance thing.
"I don't have a mate." Izzy made sure he left before they had a chance to leave him. "And I don't want one."
"You'll change your mind when you meet the right one." The old man was in love. People in love wanted everyone else to be in love too.
"I doubt that." Everyone left eventually. Fated mates could die as easily as his sister had.
Chapter Four
Ten minutes later, Izzy pulled into the driveway of a white house with green shutters. It had a picket fence around it and flower beds in the yard. The flowers were starting to succumb to the cooler weather.
A walkway at the side of the house led to the garage and the small apartment above. Izzy climbed the steps and knocked on the door.
He didn't have to wait long before Ulises stood in the opening. His sweet smile greeted Izzy, as it always did.
"Hi, Daddy."
"Hello, Ulises." Izzy would have called him boy under normal circumstances.
Ulises's eyebrows drew together, and he stiffened just enough for Izzy’s protective instincts to kick in. "Do you want to come in, or…?"
Yep, he knew something wasn't right.
Izzy nodded and fought against doing the thing his heart told him to. Everything in him screamed for him to comfort Ulises. His dragon called him his mate. It didn’t seem to matter thatthey weren’t fated. He wanted to take him to bed, fuck him and bite him to secure the bond.
And everything about the instinct made him want to run away in fear. It all collided inside Izzy at once, creating chaos.
Ulises didn't let him get very far. He wrung his hands together and bit his lip. Before he made a decision about whatever was rolling around in his pretty head, Izzy handed him the box of cookies.
"I know you like pumpkin spice."
Ulises took the box with a smile. He opened it, peering inside before closing it again. "Thank you."
The apartment had a small kitchen area, but it had everything Ulises needed, including a small oven and refrigerator. It was the perfect size for a regular-sized person. But the kitchen—-the whole damned apartment—made Izzy feel like a giant, so he sat at the table separating the living room from the kitchen.
Ulises arranged the cookies on a small plate in a nervous way that was new. "I know you're going to tell me we're breaking up."
Izzy hadn't expected the boldness. Ulises was usually shy and didn't say very much. All they did was fuck like rabbits whenever they saw each other. They hadn’t had any deep conversations. "We're not really together, honey. It was just messing around."
Ulises stiffened as he turned and set the plate of cookies in the center of the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter as far away from Izzy as possible. "Was? Not is?"
