Page 5

Pierce

“This is a fun house for a little who drives around a lot.” Kissing the side of Merritt’s head, I marveled at the camper that was designed to be perched on the back of his truck. “You’ve got lots of toys.”

They seemed to be hidden away in every nook and cranny, and he was wonderfully excited to show me every single one. We were at the point where there was a pile on the tiny kitchen table that looked like it was going to explode everywhere if we so much as breathed.

“I like toys.” He was certainly being honest about that but I had a feeling his job was stressful enough that he needed good ways to relax. “I have cars.”

Nearly crawling under the table, he pulled out a basket of Hot Wheels cars that seemed to appear like magic.

Magic.

“Cutie, do you have your toys hidden by magic in here?” Had there been a basket under that table before?

His giggle said I was right to question the logic of his storage. “Like the purse, Daddy.”

Nearly falling over with laughter, he caught himself and shoved the basket in my direction. “Pick. You pick.”

Knowing what an honor it was to be able to pick first, I grabbed a sexy little red number that would’ve flown down the interstate if it’d been real. “Oh, this one.”

That got me more giggles. “Daddy goes fast.”

Possibly.

My attempt at a casual shrug wasn’t as believable as I’d hoped. “Daddy doesn’t have any speeding tickets.”

Because Daddy had very good reflexes and better than human senses.

Snickering, Merritt dug into the basket. “Truck.”

“Are you going to work on the ranch then when we go visit?” He seemed like the rough and tumble type that would enjoy it. “I think we need to get you some overalls.”

He gave me a happy little wiggle but peeked over at me curiously. “Big boy overalls? Grown-up overalls?”

Big boy?

Did that mean there was a little boy who would come out to play sometimes?

“Both.” He’d look adorable no matter what style. “We’ll get some cute ones and some that Daddy can make grown-up comments about.”

Merritt giggled, wagging his bottom back and forth. “Silly Daddy.”

Oh yes.

I shook my head. “Cute boy.”

That got the most adorable grin from him and more excited wiggles as he swept his arm across the table to make room for the cars. “Faster-faster? Gonna go to the ranch, Daddy?”

“Yes.” Since that seemed like the direction our play would take, I nodded and ignored what the mess was doing to my stress levels. “Daddy gets to go faster-faster and you’re going to bring the truck?”

Nodding excitedly, Merritt giggled as he waved at me. “Bye, Daddy. Nice to the policeman.”

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leaving me in the dust to be nice to the policeman…it was never going to happen. “If my boy is going to leave me, I might just have to make him drive with me or make sure I can track him down.”

Shaking with barely suppressed laugher, Merritt hid his face against the table. “Daddy’s gonna track his boy.”

That was clearly hilarious.

“I protect my treasures.” I was a dragon. Of course I was going to track him and watch over him closely. “My boy is more important than my hoard, so you’re lucky I’m going to let you out of my sight.”

Pushing up off the table, he climbed over it and kissed my cheek, sending more toys everywhere as he smiled sweetly at me. “Special.”

“You’re very special to me.” That had him giving me a happy huff like I was silly. “What? I’m special? Nooo , you’re special.”

I was just a slightly grumpy dragon with an impatient streak for stupidity.

Shaking his head, Merritt inched back to his seat and looked at me like I wasn’t very bright. “Dragon Daddy special.”

It seemed like he wasn’t willing to negotiate on that part.

“I will concede being special only because I have a cute little mage mate who’s very smart and special.” If I was special, it was only because of him and that was something I wasn’t going to negotiate on. “I’m right. So don’t try to argue with me.”

Merritt sighed. “Stubborn Daddy Dragon.”

Oh yes.

But since that was a lesson he needed to understand early, I nodded and didn’t fight the label. “Yes, and I will be a pain in the butt sometimes.”

I should’ve said bottom.

Snickering, Merritt’s shoulders jerked as he made a happy sound. “Naughty Daddy.”

“Sometimes.” Hmm. “But you’ve got a naughty dragon who can take you to ride horses and who can show you cows and who can take you flying. So I think that’s a pretty good trade.”

“Flying?” Merritt looked curious but not worried about it. “Dragon flying?”

That was a good question.

“Okay, I did learn to fly when I was younger. The human airplane type of flying, I mean. I was…let’s just say I liked challenges. But yes, I was talking about dragon flying.” I’d been too busy the last few years to keep up my certification, but I could handle a plane if I needed to.

Grinning, he shook his truck at me. “Not a flying boy. Driving boy.”

Both feet on the ground, huh?

I could understand that, but teasing him was fun. “A slow driving boy. Putt. Putt. Putt.”

He was doing his best to keep a serious expression, but it was just adorable when he was obviously so little. “Naughty Daddy.”

It seemed like I’d found the only little in the entire world who had very firm thoughts on safety. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell him about my car collection?

****

“I hear a rumbly tummy.” Stretched out side by side on his small bed, I set the book I’d been reading down. “And it’s not mine.”

Merritt wiggled closer, not quite snuggling yet but almost there as he laid his head down on the bed. “Nuggets?”

Hmm.

“Big date nuggets or little time nuggets?” There were technically a variety of breaded chicken products that could be called nuggets depending on how strict of a definition we were using.

Rolling over, he flopped into me, definitely not cuddling but pressed against my side. “Dipping?”

Sentences had gotten significantly shorter once we were alone, and it’d made me wonder how much younger he’d go under other circumstances. “Anyone can dip.”

Something about that reassurance had his little side retreating and I could almost see the change shifting over him. From one moment to the next I could see him trying to decide if he should move and there were definitely thoughts about what he should say next.

“You still want to dip? I’m partial to barbecue sauce but I’ve heard from the diner men that there’s a large contingent of ranch dippers here.” They’d overheard me saying something about the ranch the first time I’d gone in with Wren and it’d ended up in a strange Who’s on First kind of situation.

His lips twitched like he wanted to grin but he was playing along like it was a serious conversation. “I think the question is what are you dipping fries or fried potato products in.”

“Oh, lawyer talk. That’s kind of sexy.” Wanting to make sure he knew I could shift from playtime to grown-up time, I rolled to my side and pushed up on one elbow so I was braced over him. “Are you going to make me define potato product? Is this going to be like a cheese and cheese product conversation?”

He was barely holding back his laughter, but he nodded as he swallowed down giggles. “I think so. We need to make sure we’re both on the same page. Details matter.”

Oh yes…and I could work with that.

“They do. Details like asking if I can kiss my grown-up mate matter too.” It was fairly smooth based on what I had to work with…and better yet, it made him blush. “My little mage, well, he leans his head close to me and pouts if he doesn’t get a sweet kiss fast enough.”

It was adorable, and Merritt knew he was doing it too, which made it even cuter.

“But my grown-up mage mate might want to take things slower, even though I gave him cake and played cars and let him tell me how the police were going to get me and I even read him the same book three times.” He had an adorable sigh, what could I say.

For some reason, it was mentioning the book that made Merritt blush. “I…I like being read to.”

He seemed to think that was bad or maybe made him high maintenance, but I only nodded and tried not to show I was reading into the statement. “That’s good to know. Would you like me to read to you every day as a part of our relationship or would it be part of your submission?”

When he blinked at me and went very still, I decided I needed to give him more information. “It doesn’t matter, but knowing would help me decide how to organize it in my head and maybe what kinds of books to pick out? I don’t know, but they seem to be very different things to me.”

Maybe it was a me thing?

“It might be a lawyer brain thing or maybe just a Pierce is anal thing?” I knew what I’d said and he had a hard time keeping little Merritt in check. “Come on. He wants to giggle. Just let him.”

“No.” Giving me a bashful grin, he hid behind his hands and scrubbed his face. “I’m hungry and you want a kiss.”

“So food comes before kissing?” I would’ve put it the other way around. “Is that just a now thing or is that generally how things work for you? No sex or intimacy until you’ve been fed and watered?”

“I’m not a horse.” His grumbling made me smile but it also made him forget he’d been embarrassed. His glare was as adorable big as it was little. “I didn’t think about the order. That was just what came out.”

“Understood.” No assumptions. Ask questions. Got it. “Well, how about I take my slightly nervous mate to dinner in town. Not the diner. There’s a pub place over near Walmart that has good reviews.”

And no locals to ask ridiculous questions.

“Then we’ll find someplace to walk or maybe see a movie. I might bribe you with ice cream.” Oh, that got his little side to perk up again. “Then I’ll wrap my arms around you and get a kiss. How does that plan sound?”

His lips barely curled into a smile. “Not the diner, huh? And you make it sound like the drive to Walmart is on the other side of the mountain.”

I shrugged. “That’s how everyone describes it. I’m practicing being local. Soon I’m going to start asking inappropriate questions to strangers. I think I might like that part.”

No point in hiding that.

A snicker escaped Merritt. “I think you would like that too.”

Barely shrugging, I didn’t feel bad about it. “People seem to want to confess everything too. It’s weird.”

Merritt blinked. “That is weird.”

It was strange.

We both sighed at the same time.

“Will you please check the diner for anything that would increase people’s susceptibility to answering stupid questions the next time you go in?” It should’ve been a ridiculous request but Merritt let out a long breath and nodded.

“Yes.” The change in topic somehow made him feel more confident because he stopped wanting to hide and wiggled closer until his head was right under mine and he was snuggled into me. “I wasn’t thinking about that when I went in before.”

“Me neither.” He’d touched me first, so I was fairly confident when I brushed my fingers over his head. “But I’m pretty sure the locals who aren’t insane haven’t thought of it either, so we can’t feel bad about it.”

Grumbling softly, he rolled over and hid his face high on my chest, tucking his head under my chin. “It might be something subtle?”

Oh, my boy didn’t like missing something like that.

“I’ll admit that there is too much dragon in my background for me to have paid any attention to Magic 101 kind of stuff.” I had to ignore his snickers since it was the truth. “But if there is something, I’m betting it’s something that makes people relaxed or want to chat. Something subtle like you said.”

The stiffness was starting to go out of his shoulders and he seemed more relaxed as he gave a faint nod. “Some kind of hospitality spell. Like one my grandma would’ve used to make guests more comfortable? My mom had to be the one to tell her that was manipulating people.”

I was the one snickering that time. “That generation used magic for that kind of shit on a regular basis. There were several church lady friends of my grandmother’s that she wouldn’t go over to their house because they used those kinds of spells to get the best gossip.”

Sure, the most recent generations were slightly reckless with magic, but if our grandparents’ generation had had cell phones with cameras everywhere, we’d have been outed a long time ago.

“They were devious.” Shifting like he was shaking his head, Merritt stayed pressed against me, so I started making long strokes from his head down his back. “You know. The old men aren’t devious.”

He had a point.

“I really don’t like thinking of them as innocent.” I huffed as Merritt laughed quietly. “It would explain a lot, though.”

“They’re not innocent. They’re naughty everywhere they go.” Merritt made another good point.

“Thank you for pointing that out.” In worrying about the diner, I’d overlooked the obvious. “I feel much better now that I can still find them annoying.”

Merritt made another happy sound, but he pulled back enough to give me a soft peck before snuggling back into me. “You’re welcome.”

Hmm.

“Daddy is still an appropriate title when you’re not little, you know. Unless you want to call me Pierce?” That got a silly giggle from him even though I knew he was still big. “I thought so. Daddy it is.”

“You’re kinda bossy…Daddy.” There was enough laughter in his voice that I knew he was playing with me.

“Only when I’m right.” I was flexible otherwise. “And I was right about kisses coming before food.”

I waited for a few seconds, wondering if I’d need to be a little less subtle.

No.

He pulled back, doing his best to look frustrated with me. “I’m right about you being bossy.”

Yes, but I got more kisses, so as his mouth came back to mine, I decided being bossy was working for me.