Page 13 of Witch's Bells and Mistletoe

And even more sobering, a dragon will never abandon all of that and what his instincts demand to stay with a coven. I can’t get carried away. I can’t forget that.

Chapter 10

ADEON

The heat of the pool slides over my scales with a familiar pleasure, but it is nothing compared to the flames that stir within me and rise in response to my mate’s beauty. As much as I don’t like the fact that there is a threat from fairies hanging over the hotel, I’m not concerned too much with it as long as I have Katherine at my side where I can protect her. As capable as she is, I refuse to take any chances. That it gives me an excuse to be even closer to her almost makes me thankful for the idiocy of a human who assuredly was raised to know better.

I shake my head with disgust. I have my female there in the water with me wearing nothing more than a strip of stretchy fabric, and I’m allowing myself to be distracted by the problems of the hotel.

It might not even be an actual problem as far as I know. Aside from all the mistletoe, I haven’t seen any evidence of attacks. Unless the staff and residents managed to put up the protections before there was an opportunity, but that wouldn’t keep them safe for long. There were too many potential openings for attack.

Katherine moans softly as she sinks deeper into the warm water, reminding me of my priorities and why I’m here. My pricks harden in the bathing suit I’m wearing, and I swallow back a groan at the sight of her. Her human softness is so appealing to me, and I love the small lines at the corner of her eyes and beside her mouth that tells me she has laughed often in her life despite the burden she carries. She leans back against the side of the pool and glances over at me.

“How big of a problem do you think we have here?”

I’m so focused on the ache of my cocks that for a moment I’m startled by her bold question and wonder if their size might alarm her until I realize she is speaking of the hotel. I feel my scales flush up to my horns and am grateful that my face doesn’t redden like humans do. The reddish-orange stain between my red scales is far less noticeable to those who don’t know what to look for. All the same I can’t seem to quite keep myself from clearing my throat.

“It’s hard to say. The locals seem to have things in hand,” I reply gruffly.

I know it’s not much of an answer, or the sort of answer she wants, but I know Katherine. She has a soft heart and a tendency to take on the burdens of others onto herself. She would quickly abandon her vacation to help the people here, and then everything would go back to how it was. I can admit that I selfishly don’t want this to end. But nor do I want her to sacrifice the little time she has for herself and her own pleasure for more work.

My sweet Katherine frowns at me.

“You think bunches of mistletoe are really going to do these people any good?” She bites her lip anxiously.

“No,” I say flatly. “But Katherine it’s not our concern. These people can handle their own business with the Good Neighbors,” I point out. “They’ve been doing well enough with it for generations. They will be able to come to some sort of accord without our interference. The best thing we can do is enjoy our remaining time here and just stay out of it.”

I can tell that she doesn’t like my answer. She doesn’t berate me or say anything else. She just gives me a cool smile and closes her eyes, closing me out as she luxuriates in the heat of the pool.

“All we have seen so far are a few frost fairies near town. This is winter, and it’s as cold as the devil’s balls,” I grumble. “Of course there would be frost fairies around with all of their games and mischief. But there have been no other signs of fairy activity—especially not around the hotel, where you would think the worst of it would hit.”

She sighs and swipes a wet hand over her face. “That’s true. It is possible that it is something that can be—and is being—handled locally.” She gives me an unreadable look. “But are you sure, Adeon?”

I stroke my tongue along the roof of my mouth thoughtfully. “Certainty is a difficult thing to ask for, Katherine. But I would suggest that until we know that there is an actual problem that you continue to enjoy your vacation as planned.”

She turns toward me and narrows her eyes. “So we’re just going to act like we didn’t notice anything until something threatens to bite us in the ass? That sounds a little passive—especially for you. From what I’ve seen you’ve always been the sort who prefers to eliminate any possible threat. I’ve never known you to just wait for something bad to happen. You almost had kittens when I invited vampires to the coven house for our annual ball.”

I shrug. She’s not exactly wrong, but she also doesn’t understand the finer points of anything regarding the coven house or a territory I perceive as mine because Katherine is mine—and as far as I’m concerned, the entire land and every member of the coven is mine as well and under my protection as much as they are under her care. But my Katherine doesn’t like to notice that I’m courting her, nor that I fall more in love with her every day so that I practically worship my female. I also know that if I tell her the whole truth that it will make me sound like a real bastard. Because my protection is not due to any sort of charitable feelings the witches. They are simply mine, and I do as dragons do best—I jealously protect what’s mine.

“That’s different,” I mutter.

She cocks her head, giving me an incredulous look, and I know that I won’t be able to evade the truth no matter how much I would like to.

“How in the world could it possibly be different? Are you affected by altitude or something? I’ve never seen you react to a potential threat this way. You are actually being the reasonable one here.” Her eyes narrow once more as she scrutinizes me. “Or do you simply pick and choose when to be insufferable?”

I chuckle despite myself. Oh, yes, I’ve been insufferable many times to my poor female. My nature is to be possessive and protective, and I’m vehemently opposed to intrusions. Even with her coven, my tolerance and acceptance of them under my wing only extends so far. There have been many times where they’ve barged into her study or private rooms at ungodly hours due to something that they believe warrants her attention but could have waited or been handled by another member of the coven. At times I’m tempted to release a tiny flame of dragon breath to remind them to respect her privacy. Nothing too egregious—the dragon flame would be minimal and no more than what we use with hatchlings to get a message across—but effective enough to satisfy me. It’s no wonder my female doesn’t know how to relax and enjoy uninterrupted peace.

“No, as much as I would enjoy using altitude as my excuse, I can’t,” I reply wryly before settling back heavily into the water with a sigh. “I’m a dragon, Katherine and that means that I’m far more territorial over my actual territory and protective of everything within it than I would be anywhere else. It’s a terrible instinct that is difficult to overcome. So I may come across as a little insufferable.”

I half-expect her to laugh at that admission, but instead her brows knit in confusion as she continues to stare at me. “I don’t understand. Is it because of the jewel? You consider the coven house property as part of your territory because it is there?”

“Of course not,” I grumble. “That would be impractical considering how many places I have searched for it. My protection and interest certainly have never extended beyond the land and the individual who owned it. I’ve mostly regarded such places like I regard the hotel. It has something I wish to protect,” I say with a pointed look at her, “but it isn’t home, so I consider everything regarding it from a place of distance.”

A funny look crosses my female’s face, and I am fascinated by it. “Did you really just infer that the coven house is… home?”

I blink, caught entirely off guard, and I feel the flush rising between my scales and around the base of my horns again. “As close to a home as I have, I suspect,” I agree with an uncomfortable growl.

A heavy silence falls between us, and I am regretting the fact that I unintentionally revealed far too much when suddenly Katherine clears her throat and gives me a small smile.

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