The Accidental Dragon Baby (Babies For Broken Dads #1)

9. The Morning After

9

THE MORNING AFTER

Ivo woke in a warm, cozy cocoon, although his head felt chilly and there was a crick in his neck.

“Slept well?” someone rumbled.

Ivo yelped and flailed, looking around for the source of that voice.

He found Ace nearby with the scythe, cutting down more tall grass.

Had Ace been there the entire time? Had he been watching Ivo sleep? Ivo groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, only to remember Ace tucking him and Mary into bed last night.

A plastic bottle crinkled next to him. When he looked down, he found his phone fully charged, plugged into a power bank.

Ace had done all of that. He’d touched Ivo last night, made him come so many times that Ivo had fallen straight asleep. Hell, Ivo hadn’t even stayed awake to return the favor.

He groaned, scrubbing his face. “Last night—”

“Was last night good for you?”

A hot blush stained Ivo’s cheeks. “You didn’t—” He glanced at Ace’s hips. “I should’ve helped.”

“I took care of it.” Ace grinned. “That wasn’t why I did all that with you. I just wanted you to feel good.”

Ivo blinked rapidly. “But when? I didn’t see you...”

“Before bed. Out of sight.” Ace gestured at a clump of bushes further away, still smiling. “It was enough that you were squirming under me.”

Ivo buried his face in his hands, his ears burning. He would’ve asked what Ace had fantasized about to get himself off, except Mary had squirmed onto his chest, and she was nursing from him.

“You never did answer me,” Ace said, watching him intently. “Why shouldn’t Mary shift in front of me?”

Crap! I said that? Ivo froze, trying not to panic. “She, um. She’s a dragon!”

Ace raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You know I’m a dragon. You rode on me.”

That had been last week. Ivo didn’t remember much of the ride—at the kidnappers’ hideout, Ivo had tripped and smacked his head against a concrete wall. Ace had flown him and Mary to the hospital, and Ivo had spent the flight sitting on one of Ace’s dragon feet, Mary wrapped in his arms.

The ER doctor had diagnosed Ivo with a concussion. He’d ended up staying for a day; the nurses had told him that his savior had waited outside his room the entire time, but Ace never stepped in.

When Ivo was finally discharged, he’d found out that his hospital bills had been taken care of, and Ace had disappeared.

He opened his mouth, trying to think of a reply.

Ace quirked his eyebrows. “You liked riding on me.”

“Oh, gods.” Ivo hid his face in the blanket.

“What else does she shift into, Ivo? What do you shift into?” Ace asked quietly. “I should know, in case the kidnappers try something again.”

“Nothing special!”

Ace’s eyebrows went higher.

Ivo tried not to whine. If Ace discovered Ivo’s identity, would he be mad? Ivo vaguely remembered him saying that the condom had been too small. That was Ivo’s fault, too, since he had to use Uriel’s condom instead of bringing his own. Then the condom had split. Obviously. Because Ace was so big.

Oh, hell. I’m pregnant. Ivo touched his belly under the blanket, trying to come to terms with this. Ace’s baby was growing inside him. Despite the circumstances, warmth spread through his chest.

Ivo kind of... wanted more than one baby. From Ace. He wanted Ace to stuff him with babies all the time.

I shouldn’t be having thoughts like this.

“Ivo,” Ace said gently. “I need to know what I’m protecting.”

“She’s, um, small! And harmless. A mammal.”

“A dog?” Ace teased. “A cat?”

“Cats are not harmless,” Ivo muttered. “They hate everybody.”

Ace laughed. Then he turned to regard Mary. “Hello, Mary, you not-cat.”

Mary continued to nurse, eyeing Ace suspiciously.

Ivo’s lips twitched without his permission.

Ace continued to smile. He glanced at the creek thoughtfully, then at Ivo, back and forth like he was wondering how Ivo had managed a swim last night.

Ivo braced himself for another round of questioning, but it never came.

Instead, Ace brought over two armfuls of cut grass. “Is this your ideal nest?”

Ivo blinked. “What?”

“In a perfect world, what would you have in your nest?”

Ivo looked around. He’d never gotten the chance to do whatever he liked, but... “My dream nest would have lots of things for Mary,” he said wistfully. “Pillows, toys, blankets. Snacks, clothes, wet wipes. I know she’s entertained by the smallest things, but I just want to provide for her, you know?”

Ace’s eyes went soft. “Yeah,” he murmured. “But what about you? What would you want in your nest that’s all for you?”

“Snacks,” Ivo said immediately. “Lots of snacks. And pillows. Soft things. I’d have to charge my phone, but... You already brought me a power bank.”

“I’ll swap it out for a fresh one when that runs out,” Ace said.

Ivo’s chest grew warm. “Thank you. If I had all that stuff in my nest, I’d probably need an umbrella, too. Mary and I are fine with rain, but blankets and electronics are not.”

Ace nodded. “What else?”

“Maybe a couple of books,” Ivo said shyly. “Romance novels for me, picture books for Mary.”

“Favorite author?”

“Llain Hardcox.” Ivo blushed the moment the words fell out of his mouth. “He lives in a town called Meadowfall, and he writes about people in a world without magic. All his characters are still alphas and omegas though.”

Ace’s eyebrows jumped. He pulled out his phone, and Ivo squawked.

“Don’t read them!”

“Oh? Why not?” A smile played on Ace’s lips. He tapped on his phone, his eyebrows rising at whatever he’d found.

Ivo buried his face in his hands. Those books were something of a guilty pleasure, for him to escape into when good alphas seemed to be so rare.

“Which is your favorite?”

“I don’t want to say it,” Ivo mumbled into his hands.

“The Billionaire’s Big Knot? Alpha’s Meat Sausage?” Ace’s eyes were dark, his face lit up with interest.

“No!”

“The Lumberjack’s Knotted Wood? Mountain Alpha’s Wicked Plan?”

“Oh, gods,” Ivo whispered.

“Tell me, then, and I’ll stop asking.”

“Stuffed by the Billionaire,” Ivo mumbled, blushing to his hairline.

“Mmm.” Ace grinned and tapped on his phone, before tucking it back into his pants. “I’ll look into this later.”

Ivo made a strangled sound. “Can we go back to talking about nests?”

“Of course.”

Ace was picking up the scythe when Mary pulled away from Ivo’s chest. When Ivo sat her up, she gave a big, smoky belch.

Ace drew a slow breath. “I’ve never seen her in her dragon form before.”

“I don’t know if she can shift at will,” Ivo admitted. “Into her dragon form, anyway. There was never anyone she could try it with.”

With her mink shape, he knew, except he’d do anything to avoid that right now.

Ace shrugged out of his clothes. With a golden shimmer, he turned into a huge onyx dragon, his scales glittering, his leathery wings snapping open.

Mary stared at him for a long moment. Then she shifted into a tiny purple dragon, with three teeth on her otherwise bare gums.

Ivo melted. He set her down outside the nest, watching as she stumbled forward, her tiny wings flapping.

“Awww!” Ace cooed. He lay down in front of Mary, going still as she flopped onto his snout and patted him with her paws.

Ivo sneaked a photo on his phone just because he could.

It struck him suddenly that she didn’t have a dragon parent, someone who could teach her about her dragon side. How to breathe fire, how to fly. Before he could worry too much about that, he looked up.

Mary puffed tiny ribbons of fire, her wings smacking into Ace’s face. Ace didn’t grow angry, though. Instead, he lifted her up and set her on top of his snout, opening his mouth so he lifted her into the air.

Mary gave a little roar, flapping her wings excitedly.

Ivo bit his lip. Mary was bonding so easily with Ace that it would really suck, if Ace decided to kick them out.

Ace wouldn’t steal her, would he?

As though he’d heard that thought, Ace looked over. “What are you thinking about?”

“Would you steal her from me?” Ivo blurted, then cursed himself. He shouldn’t be accusing his host of kidnapping!

But the dragon only laughed. “Why steal her, when I can steal you both?”

That took a moment to sink in. “B-both?”

“You made Mary, didn’t you?” Ace glanced at the little dragon puffing smoke in his face.

“Yes...?”

“So you can make more dragonets.”

Ivo’s mouth fell open. He stared at Ace, only for Ace to calmly move Mary off his snout.

“Anyway,” Ace said, getting to his feet. “Get dressed.”

“Dressed?” Ivo asked dazedly. Mary was pawing at Ace’s leg, asking to be carried.

Ace shifted back into a human and pulled on his clothes. Then he scooped Mary into his arms, lifting her so high that she gave a tiny roar of delight. “We’re heading out,” Ace said.

Out? Where there were bad guys ready to leap at them from shadowy corners? Ivo tried to understand.

“I’m sorry that the clothes I gave you don’t fit exactly,” Ace said solemnly. “I only had a few fireproof ones on hand—”

“Why do you even have them?”

Ace’s cheeks turned pink. “I was... saving them in case someone showed up, someone who might need them. Maybe someone who might stick around.”

He wants a mate? Ivo’s thoughts crashed together. He pulled on his clothes in a daze, trying to figure out if now was a good time to mention the glory hole.

He was so distracted that he missed the growing warmth in his stomach. When he turned to grab the clothes that had fallen to the ground, it put pressure on his insides.

And he burped, smoke rushing out of his mouth.