Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“I’m sure there are games one particular little might be curious about playing with you.” Lorne always radiated happy innocence, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t nearly as naïve as he appeared. “I heard from a very reliable source that he was researching if handcuffs came sparkly or if they were all plain.”
Occasionally, the nosiness was helpful.
Carrick went very still, but his grumpiness only came down a tiny notch. “Really? I think that’s highly unlikely.”
“Nope, the source is trustworthy.” Because he hadn’t known I’d been listening in.
People really shouldn’t gossip or overshare near open doors, but I wasn’t going to point out the behavior when it was helpful.
“I think that’s a very good sign.” Not that Carrick seemed to want to admit it. We just had to figure out how to get him to notice us without coming across as creepy or overbearing.
But considering my dragon side was very interested in adding the sparkly cutie to my hoard and Carrick was startlingly possessive for a mage, I wasn’t sure how we were going to accomplish that.
Magic?
Nope, even though I had a mage who was handy with fascinating things, I wasn’t going to cheat by using it even if it were possible.
But using the townspeople?
Yep, that would just be using my resources.
“You know, if we dropped a bit of gossip in the right ears, we could probably get him to come to you. I bet he’d be very curious to know where you found sparkly handcuffs or a plug that was decorated with rhinestones.” It wasn’t something that I would personally find fascinating but those two were different creatures.
“What would you be doing?” His tone didn’t tell me if he was worried I’d feel left out or if it was something else, but I shrugged anyway.
“I haven’t figured that out yet, but my fallback plan is to be the one to return his wallet the next time he loses it somewhere.” I’d hoped that he’d come into the shop eventually but the nut seemed to trade his car in every six months.
So that’d been a bust.
And we were going to talk about his love of sparkly new vehicles too…but that would wait until after I was his Daddy.
“How are you going to manage that?” Carrick’s glare came back in my direction but I could see the spark of laughter he wasn’t going to let out.
“I fixed Nancy’s car for free.” And Lorne left his wallet at her diner at least once a week. “She threatened to burn my food for the rest of her life if I was mean to him in any way, but she thought it was a fair trade.”
The town, and everyone in it, was fucking crazy…but that worked to my advantage sometimes.
Shaking his head, Carrick’s grin peeked out for a split second. “That’s devious.”
He definitely approved.
“Yep, but just remember the deal. First one to get his attention and an actual date has to explain that there are two of us.” It wasn’t incredibly common to have more than one mate anymore—fuck, it wasn’t common to have mates anymore—but there was no doubt that we were a package deal.
I didn’t think the cutie would mind, though, and I was fairly certain it’d take two of us to manage him.
“How many boxes of beads should one little own?” I’d been trying not to get distracted by the incredible amount of crafting supplies that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but it was getting to the point of ridiculous.
“Not that many.” Frowning instead of glaring, Carrick sighed. “Do you think it’s another compulsion? I told you that you should’ve let me hex that—”
“First, he has to give us permission to take over his life, and second of all, he doesn’t know we’re his mates, so it would’ve looked like we were stalkers.” We’d been hoping he’d stand up for himself, but he seemed to have been enjoying the attention and the watches he’d been collecting, so the mixed signals hadn’t helped us know what to do.
“Third.” Carrick rolled his eyes at me as he continued. “I’m going to be a damned good stalker once he’s ours.”
Ours.
Aww.
It’d taken him almost six months to start saying that on a regular basis and it was still cute as fuck.
“Deal.”
I just hoped Lorne didn’t mind having an overbearing Dom and a mushy Daddy for a mate.
Chapter 2
Lorne
“I think I’m being followed and would you happen to know where I left my wallet?” Alick was generally the most levelheaded friend I had, probably because he was human, so I was hoping he’d be able to help me on numerous fronts.
He paused as he lifted a bite of pie up to his mouth, but he thought fast and was soon back to finishing his dessert. “Okay and yes.”
“I’m glad you believe me.” Kenzie hadn’t. “And I need to pay several people back, so it would be lovely if we handled the wallet first.”