Page 30 of The Ruby Dragon’s Unconventional Mate (Oro Escondido #3)

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

L ars hummed, sorting books onto shelves. He needed to rearrange them all, and while Bryant had done most of the heavy lifting for him, putting them on a table so he could sort them, he needed to get this done.

Slippy and Andine played in and out of the stacks of books, always careful not to knock them over.

And he could hear Arthur in the kitchen, baking up a storm of cookies for something. Some bake sale or some such. There was bread, too, which made his mouth water.

He loved fresh bread with butter.

The whomp of dragons landing made him glance up, and Bryant came out of his office, eyebrows raised. “Are we expecting anyone?”

“Nope.” He put a hand on his belly. “Not even this one just yet.”

“Hmmm.” Bryant went to peer outside as Slippy chittered happily.

So it was clearly someone they knew.

Bryant chuckled, then opened the front door for a dozen or so dragons to troop through, carrying little ones or baskets of stuff.

“Time for the baby shower!” Dakota called.

“Surprise!” That was Samuel.

“Oh, but—” He looked at his books, chewing his lip.

“Baby, come on. I can help you finish that later.”

“We all will!” Logan beamed at him, coming to kiss his forehead. “You and your books.”

“Well, they are the gift that keeps on giving.” He let Dakota tug him over to a chair, and he eased down into it. “You should have warned me,” he told Bryant.

“Mmmhmm. I should have.” Bryant winked. “But I wasn’t sure exactly what day they would choose. Just that it would be this week.”

The front door opened again, with Lachlan and Alban coming in, hands filled with wrapped packages. Then Bea and Mickey and their toddler followed along with Amber and Mari.

“We brought cake and presents to celebrate the new baby! German chocolate for the win.”

Oh, that did sound good.

Lars grinned as his home was suddenly filled with all his family, his friends. His eyes filled with tears, and he blinked them back because he wasn’t sad at all. “You guys…this is amazing.”

“We didn’t want to stress you out by planning something formal, so we thought we’d just do a visit with food and presents!” Lachlan kissed his cheek. “And surprise you. Were you surprised?”

“I still am!”

Everyone settled in—finding chairs and cushions, keeping the little ones more or less corralled between the adults. There was room for everyone, and the din was fascinating. He ended up snuggled in between Samuel and Dakota.

“How are you feeling?” Samuel asked him, bumping shoulders with him, and he had to grin.

“I’m doing great. I don’t mind being pregnant too much. Except for the flying thing. I hate that part, but honestly, it’s really been very good so far.” He was a little lonely. He needed to get out more, he guessed. He just…wasn’t sure.

“We haven’t seen you very much, so we were worried that maybe things were hard.”

Dakota nodded and smiled at him. “You know, anytime that you want to hang out, all you have to do is call.”

Could it be that they all missed him as much as he’d missed them? He wasn’t sure. But he hoped so.

“I do miss you guys. A lot.”

Samuel beamed at him. “Well then, we will keep you busy. We have all sorts of things we could do.”

Dakota nodded. “TV. Games. Pedicures.”

“It all sounds amazing.” And welcome. He’d missed his friends.

“We just got our signals all mixed.” Samuel leaned over and whispered. “And we knew you and your mate needed to adjust to the Keeper situation, but that looks pretty solved.”

He glanced over to where Alban and Arthur were chattering in twinspeak. “I think so, yes.”

“Good deal.” Dakota winked at him. “Then you will be hard-pressed to be rid of us now.”

“Good, I missed you, and besides that, you both know how to be pregnant.”

“Dude, Lars, you’re doing an exceptional job. After all, you don’t hate your life.” Dakota looked up at Logan when he growled and smiled beatifically. “At all.”

“Someone’s in trouble!” Samuel singsonged.

“Are you trying to suggest that maybe you don’t want to get pregnant with another set of twins or thirty?” Lars teased, knowing exactly how his brother-in-law felt.

Dakota held up one finger. “No, we don’t. Not only no, but fuck no. There are no more. Zero. Zip. None. Absolutely under no circumstance. No more. Do you know how many children four is? Four!” His eyebrows raised. “Do you know how many children two sets of twins is? At least eighty.”

“All right then. I think that during adoring-the-pregnant-person time at my house, we should be child-free.”

“I think this is a fabulous idea. I think personally—” Samuel smiled at over at Bryant, eyes twinkling. “—that Bryant and Jake and Logan could have Daddy time altogether. Bryant could practice. It would be a beautiful idea.”

Lars nodded. “I like it.”

“I like this a lot.” Mickey came and sat. “Do I get to play too? Do I get to join in this whole let the alphas have the baby’s thing?”

“Absolutely new rule. I think once a week there should be alpha daddy time and Bea, of course.” Lars couldn’t stop giggling. “Alpha daddy and Bea.”

Bea grinned over at Lars, flexing her muscles. “I’m totally a daddy.”

They all cracked up, every single person, and the little boy twins began to cry. Then sure enough, Logan and Lachlan and Bryant actually all went over, which was handy because as soon as Lachlan made a move, Ari and Mari were leaping on him.

“Uncle!”

Well, that was impressive.

“My baby girls. How are you today?” Lachlan danced them in a circle, his wings fluttering at the tips, which made the girls squeal.

“Lachlan should definitely help the alphas out. He’s got a knack for it,” Mickey murmured.

Amber hooted. “He does. I can help too, even if Mari and I haven’t joined the club.” Mari was a beta, so she and Amber would have to adopt.

“Oh, we want you to help. Even if you bring Teaball,” Lars teased.

That lizard bird loved Slippy. So he would never tell Amber she couldn’t bring him, even if she often left him at the bookshop to guard it.

Since it sat outside the wards of Oro, on the main road, a little extra security was a good idea.

Bryant tilted his head. “Why don’t you guys have two birds,” he asked Mari.

She made a face. “I’m a beta, remember? I’m not sure I’ll get one.”

Lars shook his head, and Bryant let it drop, which was perfect. Mari could be a little sensitive about it. He thought once they decided on adopting, if they did, that Teaball’s mate would show up.

Maybe she would anyway… Or he. Lizard birds might be more like dragons.

“Anyway,” Amber said, “I’ll take someone’s little one and read them books.”

“Books are always good.” Lars looked around at all his stacks of books. “I want this little one to start early and read everything.”

“What about you, Bryan? Are you a reader?” Samuel asked.

All eyes turned to his mate, and Bryant chuckled. “I am. Mystery and suspense. And financial reports.”

“Ew. Finance.” Dakota shuddered. “I’m so glad you took a lot of that over from Logan.”

“It keeps me busy, and I can work from home.” They all heard a baby start to cry, and Bryant went immediately to help.

“That bodes well for you,” Dakota said, nodding toward Bryant.

“I think he’s amazing.” In fact, Bryant got more so to him every day. They were learning the reality about each other, not the surface level, and it was so much better than he’d imagined, even when Bryant had been charming him after they’d first met.

“Honey, he thinks you hung the moon,” Mari said.

“Well, I should hope so.” He winked. “Oh, this is so fun!” Yes. He was ready to lean on his wing again. It had been like he and Bryant were in a cocoon, but now they were ready to fly. Well, not literally.

But soon that too.

“Here. I brought you a dessert.” That was Jake, who was clearly checking in on Samuel. But he handed Lars a plate of little pastries.

“Wow! Look at those little pies.”

“They’re cherry cheesecake tarts.”

He moaned, then picked one up and ate it.

Mate? You okay?

I am. Cherry. Cheesecake. Tarts.

Oh, the Keepers are swinging for the fences now.

They are. Is everyone okay?

It was one of the girls, actually. She fell and hit her sister’s teeth.

Oh, ow.

Yeah, but she’s fine.

Okay, good.

Was this what parenting felt like? Always worrying and then breathing a sigh of relief. He would bet it was, especially if what Dakota and Logan told him was true. And gods knew he had no reason to doubt them.

Come back and sit with me? Suddenly, he wanted Bryant with him. Desperately.

Of course, love. In seconds, he could see Bryant wading through their friends, and Lars picked the best little cheesecake on the plate to offer to Bryant, popping it into Bryant’s mouth.

“Mmm. That is amazing.” Bryant settled in by him, Samuel moving to Jake’s lap when Jake sat. Grant was with Celeste, playing with some kind of a top, and the wee one was with some of the other smaller babies in a sleepy baby area.

This was his wing. His family. And his mate was right there with him when it came time to open presents. He loved presents. All the surprise and the pretty paper and?—

“Aw. Books. Amber, thank you. Tiny cloth baby books.”

“You’re welcome, sweet one.”

And it went to theme from there, but Bryant handed him one final gift, a long, flat box just big enough for a piece of jewelry, the kind of box that usually held a necklace.

“What’s this then?” He undid the bow and opened it, gasping when he saw what lay inside.

It was an intricate silver chain, and dangling from it was a square-cut brilliant diamond that managed to be both gorgeous and yet fitting to his body. “For my silver dragon.”

“Oh, Bryant.” He touched it gently. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I wanted to get you something to remind you that you’re my mate, and a pregnant omega, but you’re still a guardian. I love you.”

Tears stung his eyes, and he stood so he could toddle over to sit in Bryant’s lap. “I love you too. So much.”

Bryant kissed him, and there was a collective, “Awwww,” from around the room.

Their baby chose that moment to kick him and Bryant both, just boom, and Bryant broke the kiss by laughing.

“I love you too, little one,” Bryant said, hand on Lars’s belly. “I promise. I’ll take good care of you and help Daddy protect the wing.”

“I know you will.” He stared into Bryant’s dark, beautiful eyes, and he knew then that he was all right. His friends had come to him, and his mate understood him and trusted him.

Now all he had to do was to get through having this baby.