Page 10

Merritt

I knew ways of putting Daddy’s hair back in place if he pulled it out, but I was kind of hoping we could keep it attached to begin with.

That was probably asking for a lot, though.

“This is not a meeting.” Frowning, Daddy let out a quiet sigh as he moved us through the crowded room, not really caring who heard him. “They brought cupcakes and I’ve been asked three times which vanilla cupcake I like best.”

He was doing his best to be polite, though.

Maybe.

“I won’t leave you alone again.” Clearly going to the bathroom had been a bad idea, but I hadn’t been gone that long. “I will handle the cupcake people.”

Even if it meant eating all the offerings for him because somehow the baking idea had gotten out of hand.

It’d probably started with that artistic dragon named Kenzie and then the sparkly one had made it worse. According to the men at the diner, that was always how it started. But I didn’t know how Kenzie probably wanting to bring refreshments had turned into a bakeoff where half the town brought cupcakes and we were supposed to pick the best.

It was chaos, and even though we’d been here fifteen minutes already, we hadn’t talked about the portal yet.

Most of the people didn’t even seem to know why the meeting was being held, because as we made our way around a group of confused-looking businessmen, they started talking about some kind of chamber of commerce event.

“I would appreciate that.” Standing straighter, Daddy seemed to be trying to talk himself out of eating all of the annoying people. “I’ve run out of polite ways to say no to more cupcakes.”

Laughing would’ve made the situation much worse, but I had to remind myself of that several times.

“No problem.” I was positive I could help with that part at the very least. I just kept saying yes. “Let’s not actually kill anyone, though. I don’t have a spell to bring people back from the dead.”

There were a variety of spells that could be used for healing, but nothing that worked that well.

“Noted.” Daddy’s dry tone probably should’ve worried me, but I just liked that he understood boundaries. “I’ll go over the specifics of the rest later.”

I was starting to think I needed to ask Daddy more questions about what kind of lawyer he was exactly. “Okay.”

For the time being, getting him away from cupcakes and nosy women seemed to be the best course of action. My options were limited, though, and the room was too small. “I think we should talk to a local leader about clearing out some nonessential people first.”

It was packed.

“Someone needs to take charge or I will.” He was definitely trying to sound threatening but it was kind of sexy. That part probably leaked through the bond because he gave me a dry look and raised one eyebrow. “Really?”

I shrugged. “I can’t help that you’re hot when you’re angry.”

He shook his head and sighed, but I could feel the way some of his anger had faded. “My mate is an interesting individual.”

At least I wasn’t the one who seemed to be picturing eating the cupcake people.

“My mate is also an interesting individual.” And it was time to distract him a little. “So interesting, in fact, he’s making me think of questions I should’ve asked sooner.”

His smirk was sexy but it said I was right.

“I think more privacy will be necessary for that conversation, though.” And the smile got wider. “For now you’re going to walk with me over to the deputy sheriff guy who’s human. He has just as much patience with the cupcake nonsense as you do, and then we’re going to find Wren so you can introduce me.”

We’d woken up to hearing giggles coming from the next room and Pierce had spent all of breakfast wondering if Wren’s mother was going to kill him in his sleep.

Dragon families were always interesting and it looked like Wren’s mother wasn’t going to like him finding fun so far from home.

“I think that’s a very good plan.” Daddy looked like he’d decided to ignore everything else, so I focused on a small subtle spell that would basically just make us less interesting. I’d thought it was subtle, but as we started to cross the too small conference room everyone had been jammed into, he looked around. “You’re going to have to tell me what you did later.”

Did he pay more attention to what was going on than the average person or was it being my mate that made him sense something had changed? “Deal.”

We’d trade stories, but I had a feeling his would be more interesting. Most of my spells just came from necessity because I had a large extended family with no understanding of boundaries. He seemed to as well, but that wasn’t what made his reactions so interesting.

“Thank you.” Squeezing my hand, Daddy leaned over and kissed the side of my head. “This is not the environment I thrive in.”

Definitely not.

“We just need someone to take charge and everyone seems to be playing hot potato with it.” Looking around, I could see several people glaring at one another but no one seemed to want to take control of the situation. “I don’t think that’s our problem, though.”

“Agreed.” Back to looking sexy and stern, Daddy weaved us through the crowd and seemed to enjoy the way everyone made room for us without thinking about it. “You are amazing.”

He was cute.

“Thank you, Daddy.” Big. Had to stay big. “Okay, I’m going to leave the spell in place as long as the deputy doesn’t have too difficult a time dealing with it.”

I had a few family members who could charge like a bull through nearly any spell, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react because of the whole human part.

“Thank you for the warning.” Daddy was looking less insane and more relaxed as we approached the deputy, but I was one hundred percent convinced it was fake. “I don’t want him to mistrust us just because of the spell. Or for him to think we’re a weirder variety of alien.”

“Don’t make me laugh.” It probably wouldn’t put the deputy at ease, or at the very least, he’d forget to treat me like an adult. “We’re being professional.”

For the most part, everyone seemed completely at ease with kinks and real life, but I wasn’t trying to send mixed signals.

“Professionals can laugh.” His completely deadpan tone made me roll my eyes. “I’m laughing on the inside.”

He was such a dork.

“I’m ignoring silliness.” Because I didn’t have anywhere near his ability to keep my face blank. “No making me little in here.”

Being around him made it so much harder to stay completely big and ignore my submissive side. It wasn’t a problem when we were on our own, but when we were around everyone else in town, I still had to work at it.

“I will do my best.” Giving my hand another squeeze, he eased back his teasing as we approached the sheriff, who looked like he was ready to pull his hair out too.

Daddy went right into lawyer mode, which had a bit more warmth than his frustrated expression but not much. “Deputy Winslow? Do you have a moment?”

The deputy sighed and rolled his eyes. “I should be able to tell you no, but somehow this turned into the Great Dragon Bakeoff.”

Daddy gave him a commiserating nod but I was just focused on not laughing. Thankfully, Daddy liked taking control, so all I had to do was look relaxed and not giggle. “I wasn’t sure the best way to move past that either. Until we figure that out, though, I’ve run into a…situation that I don’t know how to handle.”

Daddy was being polite but the deputy groaned and looked up at the ceiling like he was praying for patience. “What did they do now?”

He was really smart for a human.

“Pierce Haslet from Texas. Well, when I first arrived at the motel the other day, I was met by what seemed to be a welcoming committee of local women.” Pierce was sounding very calm but the deputy was already shaking his head like he knew there was a problem right around the corner. “They gave me a reuseable bag from one of the local stores filled with snacks and bottles of water and a few trinkets from shops around the area.”

It was a well-thought-out bundle of chaos.

Letting out a deep breath, the deputy nodded slowly. “This is a new one, so I don’t have any idea what they did.”

Oh, we got a new one.

That was kind of sweet actually.

“I don’t know whether to appreciate their creativity or not, then.” It was Pierce’s turn to let out a deep breath. “But I haven’t spent much time in my room, so I didn’t open anything until last night when I was going to give a bottle of water to my mate.”

Turning to nod toward me, Daddy started to make introductions but the deputy interrupted him. “I heard about that. Congratulations on your mating. Everyone is very excited but please use safewords to keep them from planning your wedding or mating ceremony or your reception.”

It was getting harder and harder not to laugh.

“They had fun planning the last one.” Sounding exasperated again, the deputy put his hand out for me to shake. “I’m sorry. I was distracted. You’re…fuzzy? I’m Deputy Winslow.”

“It’s a spell designed to make people…not notice us. I can try to tone it down or release the spell if you’d like.” Oh. “And I’m Merritt. I was sent by the West Virginia council.”

Because no one else wanted to do it.

I was starting to see why.

“It’s fine. I can ignore it for the most part and it’s saving us from more cupcakes.” After a moment, the deputy frowned and studied me curiously. “I was pretty sure they told our local council where to shove it.”

Yep. That was my relatives.

“I volunteered.” Somehow, that made him look even more skeptical. “I needed an escape from an incredibly nosy family and I knew I was supposed to be somewhere else.”

That had him nodding, which probably meant he thought I’d been coerced in some way.

“Here.” I pointed toward Pierce. “I was supposed to be here.”

“I will never get used to that, but it does come in handy.” Handling everything remarkably well for a human, the deputy glanced between us. “I will also never get used to the new and interesting ways they try to get themselves arrested.”

That was Daddy’s cue to keep going with his story.

“As I opened the bottle of water, Merritt let me know there was a problem and that the water was spelled.” Daddy looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but he kept his drama in check. “He was able to make it safe to consume, but we thought you’d want to know.”

Deputy Winslow looked like he’d rather be talking about anything else. “Yeah, I need to know.”

Unfortunately.

It was my turn to help with the explanation. “There were a variety of spells, some stronger than others, but they were all focused on making the person who consumed them relaxed, happy, and…well, susceptible.”

To just about anything, unfortunately.

The deputy went still before taking a deep breath. “I know what a human would be doing with that combination, but around here it could be anything. We had something similar happen a few months ago when there was a fight about lawn decorations. A local mage took offense at the gnomes in a dragon’s front yard and that was how he decided to get them taken down.”

Oh, interesting.

“He thought it was the least confrontational way to handle the situation.” The deputy nodded when Daddy made a hmm, that’s curious sound. “At the time I was just glad he hadn’t burned anything down.”

“Do you think he’s part of this?” Daddy sounded appropriately skeptical but didn’t specifically point that out. “It was a group of women who came to welcome me to town.”

Deputy Winslow took another deep breath, which didn’t give Daddy a good answer but it was enough to have Daddy commiserating with the law enforcement officer. “I would love to give you a confident answer on that, but I’m just going to have to investigate and probably lecture people.”

Daddy went full Pierce and frowned, looking a bit like an angry statue, but after a moment he nodded. “That’s the best I can hope for probably.”

Neither of them liked it, but they seemed to be realists because the deputy sighed. “I’m guessing that whatever they thought they were doing was manipulative but not intended in the way I’m assuming. But if I’m wrong, I’ll get Lorne to eat ‘em. He’s a rabid little thing.”

They were all so weird.

I loved it.

“I’ll take it.” Looking slightly happier, Daddy glanced around the room. “You might want to talk to anyone else who possibly got welcome gifts?”

Oh, Deputy Winslow didn’t like that. “For fuck’s sake.”

He had the best job.

But it seemed like the whole situation was enough to give him a push to take charge, so he metaphorically grabbed the hot potato they’d been tossing around with both hands and stood straighter as he glared at everyone. “Alright. We’re getting started. If you brought cupcakes to one-up Kenzie, you have to leave. He gets to stay because he was just being nice and he’s got a place on the council for this situation.”

That got a few grumbles but one good glare shot them down.

“If you’ve been going around giving out welcome baskets, you’re going to meet me over at the sheriff’s office at three o’clock with a very good excuse for why you’ve been drugging our visitors.” Deputy Winslow wasn’t pulling punches, but he huffed when five women at the back of the room made a hasty exit.

“If you’ve been given gifts by our local welcoming committee, please be alarmed because we don’t have one. We have locals who make ridiculously bad decisions.” Shaking his head, the deputy seemed relieved that no one started screaming. “If you ate or drank anything that they gave you, please see me before you leave or before you do anything stupid.”

He was my favorite local.

“I’m turning the meeting over to Boyd as our local representative and Pierce here to represent the visiting councils.” That finally got more reactions from everyone and grumbling spread around the room. “Enough.”

The fun human wasn’t having any of it.

“Most of you didn’t realize you’d been drugged by old ladies and the rest of you were waiting for someone else to take charge so you could blame them when shit hit the fan.” That had everyone going quiet. “Congratulations. Someone took charge.”

Daddy.

Daddy took charge.

His quiet hum said he hadn’t expected it but he wasn’t going to turn down the chance to tell everyone to sit down and shut up.

It was fine with me. I didn’t care who was in charge of the meeting because I had bigger issues to deal with…how to get revenge on naughty little old ladies.

Yep. Daddy and the deputy might be bigger people, but I wasn’t. I was a pissed-off little with a Daddy to protect and I was going to remind everyone that scary came in cute packages.