Page 16

Merritt

“Okay, start again.” Leaning back in the booth, I focused on Pierce and ignored the old world charm the restaurant had tried to surround us with. “This is better, though. Being able to see you face-to-face without the distractions, I mean.”

Some things just needed facial expressions and no traffic to really be able to discuss.

“I work for the government.” He kept the start simple, which I appreciated, but we both knew that wasn’t going to cut it for the full explanation. “Over the past year, I knew I had to wrap things up in Texas. I think it was like what you were feeling. I knew there was something else I needed to be doing.”

Relating to that feeling completely, I nodded and tried to be patient.

“I’ve always been focused on finding my mate. Even though it wasn’t common in a lot of areas, in my family we’ve always waited for our mates.” Pierce sounded so confident he’d find me it made me smile. “Getting ready for my mate meant, first of all, making sure I had my finances and career sorted out. So while I kept my eyes out for you, I worked a lot and built up a good name in a large local firm.”

Thinking about that for a second, I jumped back in. “Why? You seem like the type to have your own firm.”

I couldn’t be wrong about that and his frustrated look as his lips pinched together said I was right. “I am. Very much so. Plans dictated otherwise, though.”

My planner.

“I wanted the flexibility to move quicker than having my own firm would allow.” He looked more confident in that decision as he continued to explain. “I was concerned about having my own company and then being stuck for months wrapping things up if you needed me elsewhere.”

Because he would be needed elsewhere.

At the portal.

“So you took a job you didn’t really want to have that flexibility?” His shrug made me want to smile. “You’re such a cute planner.”

Rolling his eyes, he let out a huff. “I’m not cute.”

I was going to beg to differ but it wasn’t the time.

“Agree to disagree.” He was definitely cute. “When did that shift from working there to the government?”

I was pretty sure he was only telling me because we were mates, so I mentally shifted the information into work mode, where nearly everything had to stay private.

“About a year ago. Right around the time I was shifting to closing my life there up, I started working part time for them.” Pierce shrugged like changing his life around was the most reasonable thing in the world. “The government is well aware of our existence in a hands-off kind of way. The first meeting went poorly from what I understand.”

Frowning, he leaned back and studied my face. “I think it was that moonshine thing you mentioned. Every time I asked questions I either got confused nonanswers or they looked embarrassed. So it’s definitely seen as a government screwup that everyone hates talking about.”

It was good to know all of it hadn’t been our fault at least.

Most of it probably was, but it seemed like the government didn’t see it that way.

“I would think that we’re considered weird and more trouble than we’re worth.” I wasn’t surprised when Pierce nodded without hesitation. “I have a second cousin who’s in a specialized dragon military unit, so I knew there was at least an understanding on that side.”

“Yes, and in the investigative services as well.” Pierce’s small shrug and the way his gaze shifted slightly said that was where he’d ended up. “They seem to think we’re an evolutionary branch from Earth? I don’t know how they got that idea but I was careful not to make them question that assumption.”

Seemed like the best idea to me, so I nodded. “My cousin said every time he used the word magic they’d just nod and start trying to sort it out in terms of science and shifting mass into alternate dimensions. I wasn’t following what he was saying but it seemed ridiculous to me.”

Chuckling, Pierce nodded. “Playing dumb when it comes to the science goes a long way in getting out of those conversations. I just start throwing in legal jargon and asking elementary school science questions. Once you start throwing around terms like black holes and warp drives, they realize you have no idea why your body works and they move on.”

It wasn’t the conversation I thought we’d be having over dinner but I’d never met anyone who knew about that side of things, so I wasn’t going to miss out on the chance. “Have they done studies on us?”

He laughed. “They haven’t. There’s a rumor they tried one time back in the nineteen twenties and from what I could figure out the dragon they basically kidnapped burned down a whole neighborhood and caused a small earthquake. That didn’t help the more trouble than we were worth label.”

Ah.

“So it might’ve been a few things happening right around the same time that’s kept them from doing stupid shit.” Otherwise we’d have turned into a bad horror movie.

“It seems to be that way.” Shaking his head, Pierce reached for his glass and sipped at his water. “At this point it’s easier to make assumptions about alternate dimensions than to ask us questions. I think they’re afraid we’ll take them the wrong way and start causing more problems.”

“Because we would.” The locals proved that. “They tried to drug you to make you more susceptible to staying in town because they wanted to keep you. Let’s face it. We’re not rational and there’s really no way to logically anticipate what we’ll do next.”

We were interesting and a lot of fun under the right circumstances, but we did not think like average humans and that showed on a regular basis.

Pierce looked like he wanted to argue with me, but after a few seconds, he nodded. “Unfortunately. Some of us are a lot more logical than the rest, though.”

That made me laugh. “Only because we’ve been raised around more humans than the locals here. The humans they do have here all seem to be in the know because they just walk away from the most absurd situations without questioning any of it. At the very least the nonsense that goes on here on a regular basis should’ve ended up on the web or the National Enquirer .”

If that was still around?

Pierce chuckled and gave me a pleased grin. “That’s what I was thinking but everyone around here seems to think it’s reasonable.”

“It’s fun around here and I love how accepting they are, but no, it’s not reasonable. I can’t even pretend it is.” Little me even knew it wasn’t how grown-ups were supposed to behave. “I’m grateful that it’s working out for them, though.”

“That is a very polite way to phrase it.” Pierce’s grin said he’d have found a more colorful way. “I’m slowly getting used to them, though.”

He was trying to be polite but we both knew slowly meant painfully slow and against his will.

“I think you’re doing a wonderful job.” He hadn’t offended anyone at all in the meeting or when we’d been at the bakery. “And they like you or they wouldn’t want to keep you.”

Pierce opened and closed his mouth several times before taking a moment. “Yes. It’s very nice that they’re including me in their local customs.”

He was so cute.

“It really is, but do you have any idea why they like you so much?” It might’ve been a rude question but Pierce didn’t seem to take it that way.

“None.” Brows pulling together, he looked every inch the thoughtful lawyer trying to solve a problem. “I was downright obnoxious the first time I went into the diner with Wren. We’d driven in from the airport and it’d been a long day. They started talking about bugs and asking me if I was Team Pony or Team Binkie.”

“Maybe they liked your attitude? Do you think you flirted with anyone without realizing it?” Nothing they did was logical, so we both knew I was grasping at straws.

What could he have done that would’ve made them think he belonged?

“Did they try to fix you up with someone?” They were very big on finding mates and matching kinky people up.

“No.” Pierce almost looked offended at the idea. “I wouldn’t have missed that.”

Oh, he probably would have if he’d been in work or planning mode, but I hadn’t heard any gossip, so it was low on the possibilities list.

What else?

Oh.

“There’s a woman over at the crystal shop that reads palms and has a crystal ball.” I’d been told she was completely human but that seemed highly unlikely. “She’ll read your fortune and supposedly gives good advice.”

Pierce went very still. “Wren went to the crystal shop for souvenirs.”

Interesting.

“But not you?” Pierce shook his head but looked like he was starting to regret that decision. “Thought he could be left on his own, huh?”

“Yes.” His grumbly tone had me trying not to smile. “His mother is going to blame this on me. Whatever he did, she’ll think it’s my fault.”

From what he’d told me about his family, he was probably right.

“He’s an adult. He can make his own stupid decisions. It’s not like he can be hurt by the average asshole.” He was a dragon for fuck’s sake. “And honestly, all he’d have to do is tell the men at the diner that someone hurt his feelings and they’ll get Lorne to eat whoever it was that caused the problem.”

Pierce nodded before he thought about it, then went very still. “That little dragon isn’t actually eating people, is he? I checked missing persons reports and nothing jumped out at me, but he’s…odd.”

That was a fairly polite description of him.

“Well, I thought it was just for fun to make people realize he was cute and dangerous. But you’re making me rethink that assumption.” He was confident people were crunchy. The men in the diner made that clear. “I’m voting for the we have enough on our plate option.”

Pierce didn’t like that one. The way his face scrunched up made that abundantly clear, but after a few seconds, he slowly let out a controlled breath.

I’d won.

“I will second your vote.” Still sounding frustrated, he traced his finger around the top of his water glass. “Figuring out the portal and if we’re dinosaurs are probably higher on our to-do list.”

Life really had a way of changing on a dime.

Last week I was avoiding my family and trying to find the privacy to have little time, and this week I was sitting at dinner with my mate debating our evolutionary track…and if one of the locals was eating people.

Yep, life was strange.

“And then there’s the whole what do you do for the government conversation and where we’re going after the portal decisions have been made. We’ve really got a lot on our plates.” That didn’t even begin to add in family stuff and what my parents were going to do when they realized I had no plans of dragging my mate back home.

“When you put it like that, I can’t argue with you.” He seemed to find that cute or funny for some reason but making him smile just did it for me, so I wasn’t going to question it. “I will do my best to keep it all in perspective.”

“I think that’s the best plan.” He was such an adorable planner. “Otherwise we’ll get lost in fixing everything we see. We don’t have the time for that. At some point you have to seduce me completely, so that takes precedence over crunchy people.”

Oh, I almost got a laugh.

Pierce barely held it back, eyes sparkling and shaking his head as he let out a slow, deep breath. When he finally spoke, I could still hear the strain in his voice. “Yes, I won’t lose perspective on what’s important in life.”

Good.

“I’m glad we’re in agreement on that.” It was time to check a few things off the list so we could confidently move to the seduction part of the evening when we got back to the hotel room. “First on our to-do list and before our waiter comes back, is there anywhere you have to be in the next couple of weeks? Post-portal apocalypse, of course.”

Almost got it again.

Swallowing back a laugh, Pierce shook his head. “No. Once we handle the apocalypse, I’m free for several weeks. I explained to my work supervisor that there were some cultural events I needed to attend to and then I told him I had to go to a friend’s wedding. He thinks I need the next month off and nothing has come up to make him question that.”

“Unless you have a better idea, after we get this settled why don’t we take a drive down to Texas and you can introduce me to your family?” I thought it was reasonable but he frowned. “What?”

“Nothing bad.” He shook his head, reaching across the small table to take my hand. “I just thought since we were still closer to your family that you’d want us to visit them first.”

Oh.

I’d really been hoping he’d be slightly ruder about that so I could put the conversation off.

“Well, my family is going to be a severe pain in the ass.” No point in beating around the bush any longer. “They’re going to be completely unreasonable about us mating and moving away. Completely unreasonable in every way. Think disappointed locals trying to fix the situation.”

“Ah.” That was the only sound Daddy let out for a long time, thinking even while the waiter came and refilled our water glasses and reassured us our food would be out shortly.

I wasn’t worried but I was incredibly curious about the emotions that kept flashing through the bond. Thankfully, he didn’t keep me waiting forever. “How local?”

He really was incredibly smart.

“Um, well, there’s a reason that I like them so much. They remind me a lot of my family. Aside from the changing the flowers thing. They’ve got a bad habit of fucking with nature around here.” There was no way the local humans weren’t playing dumb. Flowers bloomed out of season right and left and that was the mildest ridiculousness they got up to.

“I’m sure they mean well.” Daddy was trying to be careful of my feelings, and it was probably the cutest thing I’d ever seen, but it was completely unnecessary.

“They kept trying to just walk into my house every time I tried to relax and enjoy being little. They took out the road to one of my cousins’ houses when he tried to move. He woke up and it was gone. There were hundred-year-old trees where his driveway had been the day before and explaining that to the moving company made him look insane.” Yeah, the area really felt like home except less shenanigans aimed at me.

“For—” Cutting himself off, Daddy nodded and took another moment to think. “You left in the middle of the night, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I secretly sold my house to a local dragon who has a very bad attitude when it comes to mages who can’t behave. So they’re beyond pissed at me. I got a good deal on it, though, and it’s kept them from trying to drag me home yet.” Anger would only last so long, though.

Daddy seemed to realize that because after another deep breath, he smiled brightly at me. “We’ll just do a Zoom call or something like that to introduce me. There’s no rush. Like you said, we have a lot on our plates.”

And there was no reason to add more crazy to the mix. “Texas sounds lovely, honestly.”

My response got a teasing smirk from him. “I’m going to accept that answer and not poke at it right now.”

His expression said he was thinking about poking, though. My planner would only be able to contain himself for so long.