Page 25

Pierce

“We’re going to end up infested with dinosaurs.” I tried not to sigh, and I didn’t even do it out loud, but Merritt’s giggles filled my mind. “I’m going to have to call the government.”

The giggles didn’t fade but he shrugged. “Well, they didn’t even come when one of the locals somehow ended up stealing an armored truck full of gold bars. Or something like that. So I’m not sure doing a live remake of Jurassic Park is going to get much attention from them.”

He might’ve been right…gold beat disasters any day.

“The fact that the other side of the portal is in such a deserted area is the only reason we haven’t seen something ridiculous come through.” That was not good or as interesting as Kenzie and Florida Man seemed to think. “I can’t decide if insurance would hold us accountable or not…much less the legal system.”

Merritt frowned as we wandered through the town park that seemed to butt up against the forest. “Well, no one is sure how long ago it was built or who built it. So it could be some kind of early human civilization. That means plausible deniability.”

I liked that answer, so in the back of my head I started mentally arranging an argument I could use in court. “That has merit.”

He giggled in my head but kept a straight face. “Thank you.”

“Dork.” That made the giggles worse. “Every time we figure out one thing two more pop up.”

I was starting to think someone whammied us, as Wren would’ve called it. But even Merritt had said he didn’t feel anything magic being specifically directed at us.

“Let’s focus on the positive.” Forcing himself to look more cheerful, Merritt kissed my cheek. “We’ve got the basic team put together. We’ve made the commitment to go. We know they’ve still been looking for us. That’s amazing. We still mattered to them.”

That hit me a bit too hard and I had to swallow past a lump in my throat. “My great-great-grandmother died when I was little but one of the memories I do have of her was her talking about her…I think…great-grandmother and how she cried about what had happened. I might have the details wrong because I was really young when I overheard her talking to one of her cousins or someone like that.”

I should’ve written more of those memories down.

“The original stories were lost in a house fire a few generations ago, but what was passed down orally was just about how sad they were and how lonely that first generation was until they started making families here on their own.” I couldn’t imagine starting out life that way, but with Merritt, I knew I could do it.

“We’ve got stories like that.” Merritt squeezed my hand and tugged me close enough to bump his shoulder against my arm. “We have a few journals too, but they’re mostly about gossip and recipes and one that’s nothing but a man…a dragon…complaining about his mate. Just complaints and one line at the very end about how much he loved him.”

Him.

“That’s sweet.” And probably very accurate for some relationships. “I bet there are some good stories in it mixed in with all the complaints.”

And probably interesting tidbits about how the outside world handled the two men being so close.

“If you ever manage to drag me back to visit my family, I’ll show you.” Merritt chuckled when I rolled my eyes. “You heard them on the phone earlier. They’re not reasonable.”

They made decisions so badly they’d fit right in with the locals.

Which made their logical responses to the portal and those decisions sound even more insane. Merritt had said that fell under work for most of them and they took that very seriously. Insanity should not be based on work or pleasure, but they didn’t seem to see it that way.

“I still don’t see how they thought storming a dragon’s home was a good idea.” Even the slightly interesting rule book we’d cobbled together about laws said that if a dragon’s home was invaded or his hoard was threatened, he could do whatever he wanted.

Was that when that strange sparkly dragon had started talking about eating people?

Had someone broken into his home?

Realizing I might’ve misjudged him, I pushed that thought to the back of my head for later and went back to focusing on my mate. “But yes, at some point I will make the mistake of thinking I know best and will push you into something stupid like a trip to visit your family.”

I was just that annoying and we both knew it.

“So I’m apologizing in advance and you have permission to say you told me so as many times as is necessary to make up for the chaos I cause.” At the moment I knew it would be stupid, but I wouldn’t be able to help myself if he said something ridiculous like he missed them.

Merritt was doing his best not to laugh, but swallowing it back made him sound like he was coming down with something. “It’ll take a lot of them…just to let you know.”

“Thank you for warning me.” It was going to be a cascade of bad decisions, but I wasn’t sure we could keep it from happening.

Well, there weren’t good ways of keeping it from happening.

As some of the ideas rolled around in my head, Merritt cleared his throat, and from the slightly concerned look on his face, I realized I’d been projecting. “Sorry. There are a lot of new things to worry about.”

Like if he’d changed his mind about going through the portal.

It would be a once in a lifetime experience.

Everything I’d seen from him said he’d be the best to go.

“I know we talked about not going when we were first discussing all the options.” Merritt tried to sound relaxed but I could feel his anxiety through the bond. “Is that still how you feel?”

Was that how he felt?

“The type of unknown we’re facing has certainly shifted.” It’d gone from being purely exploration based to having a significant political component. “I think Wren is the only one unhappy that the amount of roughing it has decreased.”

That got a laugh from Merritt. “He was disappointed, but he perked up when Toman promised to take him camping to see the dinosaurs.”

Wren was going to get himself and his eager to please mate eaten.

Merritt’s giggle said I might not have held back that thought or my sigh well enough. “They’re supposed to be small from what Wren was describing.”

Thankfully, it seemed like only smaller dinosaurs that had been able to fit through the gate had gone back and forth, so I didn’t have to worry about a T-Rex eating him, but there were still a startling number of unanswered questions.

“I still can’t believe they have living dinosaurs.” It was too surreal for me to process completely. “And I can’t believe we still don’t know which side had them first.”

“Every time we figure out one answer, ten more questions pop up.” Merritt swung our hands, smiling like all he could see was the adventure. “I think recording Toman talking is going to be a good idea even if the people who go through the portal take a lot of notes.”

“They’re going to be taking notes for the rest of their lives.” And they still wouldn’t catch up.

Wait.

The people going through the portal?

“It sounds like you haven’t changed your mind.” I hoped I was reading his words and emotions right. “I know the situation has shifted completely.”

Unfortunately.

It seemed like with dragons nothing was ever logical or went according to plan.

Merritt gave me a curious look but slowly shook his head. “No. I would’ve gone through before, but after meeting you, it doesn’t feel right. Is that how you’re seeing it as well?”

Yes .

I opened my mouth to explain that but his snickers cut me off. “I’m not going to point out how dramatic that answer sounded, Daddy.”

Rolling my eyes got more silliness from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but even though there seems to be a glitch in our bond, I’m glad it’s strong enough that you can hear me.”

“Glitch, huh?” He raised one eyebrow, aiming my own expression back at me. “Is that how you’re going to explain away your drama?”

“Yes .”

That time I deliberately formed the word in my head and made sure it sounded dry. Merritt tried to keep a straight face but it was too difficult. His mate was just too funny and laughter was the only response to it.

“You’re so ridiculous.” Still giggling, he kissed my cheek. “But you’re right. You’re funny and special and amazing.”

“I know.” That got more happy sounds from him and the last of the stress I hadn’t realized he was carrying seemed to fade. “I also know that I’m a wonderful mate for not dragging my mate through the portal. I’m very understanding about that and I’m not going to complain about missing out on meeting strange people with new drama and more political chaos than you can shake a stick at.”

Merritt was trying to hold back more laughter, but he was going to hurt himself, so I did the only thing a Daddy could do and reached over to tickle his side before he registered the movement. “Gotcha.”

As laughter spilled out of him, his entire body twitched and wiggled. He gave me an adorable frown when he finally caught his breath, though. “ Daddy .”

“Yes?” Aiming for innocent, I raised one eyebrow. “Your air seemed stuck. So I helped.”

“Stuck air?” He sighed, doing his best to channel a dramatic dragon. “Stuck air. Yes. You’re very helpful.”

“Thank you.” Kissing his cheek that time, I stood straighter. “It feels good to do nice things for my mate. Like helping him breathe and play toys.”

Shaking his head, Merritt managed not to laugh but he was barely holding back a smile. “You’re always very nice to me and I like it when we play toys.”

“I like it too.” He seemed to be sliding closer to his little headspace, so I swung our hands wider and slowed my stride. “I like walking with you too. Especially when you knew to do it so Daddy didn’t explode.”

His quiet snicker made me chuckle. “You were…you had big feelings, Daddy.”

“That is a wonderful understatement.” That got more happy sounds from him. “I’m not used to dealing with people who are so stubborn about being wrong. I’m also not used to people like the councils sending their most annoying people to get them out of their hair for a while.”

Merritt sucked in a dramatic breath and stuck his nose up in the air. “I’m not annoying.”

“I am.” My timing was pretty good on that and I got a giggle from him before he managed to catch himself. “You were smart enough to grab it as an out, though. So you’re in a different category.”

That had his nose coming back down and he gave me a very imperial nod. “I’m special.”

Damn straight.

“I’m a pain in the butt and I think my legal expertise as well as my dealings with the government got me sent here.” Someone had figured that out. “Our local council had been bouncing around ideas but someone got a phone call and then it was Pierce this and Wren that.”

“Wren surprised them.” Merritt’s grin was ear to ear. “He liked surprising them.”

“He did and I think he’s enjoying driving his Daddy insane too.” Shaking my head got another happy sound from Merritt. “But their bond is almost as good as ours and Toman is almost as good a Daddy as I am.”

Merritt knew the right answer because he immediately bounced and gave me a cute cheek kiss. “You’re the best.”

It was good to have a mate who realized it.

“You’re the best little and mate.” Nodding as he did a cute aww shucks wiggle, I kept my tone serious. “You haven’t caused chaos in town. You knew me right away. You keep your toys neat and are lots of fun to play with.”

Merritt nodded, looking like he knew how special he was too. “I haven’t eaten anyone either and I don’t tell the diner men naughty things.”

He knew where they’d gotten the spreader bar.

I wasn’t going to ask about that.

“You are amazing.” I could’ve kept listing out why he was so special, but that would’ve taken up our whole evening. “You’re so amazing, in fact, I should push you on the swings.”

They were tucked away at the back of the park and sturdy enough that they weren’t designed for children, so I didn’t hesitate to steer us in that direction as Merritt sucked in an excited breath. “I like swings.”

“I think I’m going to like pushing you.” I’d rather fly than swing, so it wasn’t a punishment to push him. For some reason, the damned things made me motion sick. Wren still liked to tell that story, so I knew Merritt would hear about it sooner or later. “Then how about we make dinner in the camper and you play toys?”

I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with crazy at the moment and I knew if we went back to the motel I’d end up in another conversation about dinosaurs and alien dating habits. Kenzie could think of a thousand questions to ask Toman, and unfortunately most of them would be at the very least interesting, so it was hard to tell him to stop.

“Yes.” Bouncing excitedly, Merritt started marching us toward the swings. “I want soup. Kenzie doesn’t like soup but I like soup.”

I wasn’t going to ask about the circumstances that had led to him having that information because it was probably as ridiculous as mine.

“I think that’s a great plan.” What else could we have? “I think I remember seeing that you have the stuff for grilled cheese. Does that sound like it would go with our soup?”

“Oh, I like grilled cheese too.” As we got to the swings, Merritt plopped himself into one and lifted his legs. “Ready, Daddy.”

King of the dragon and the swings.

“I’m ready too, little mage.” Ready for playing and cuddling and dinner and not having to deal with anything but my mate and making him happy.

I just had to remember that he was my primary focus and nothing else mattered as much as he did. That meant they didn’t get to suck up all my patience or my peace of mind. That was for Merritt and I wasn’t going to forget it again.

And if I said that enough times, I was bound to remember it.

Merritt was worth it.