Chapter Seven
Evan
Pulling Nix into his arms, Evan carried him to the couch in the living room. Nix was nearly dead weight as he recovered from his orgasm. Evan had claimed the boy as his own. The dragon part of him was preening under the surface.
Food. Their boy needed food and water. To be comfortable. Pampered. Doted on.
Evan placed Nix on the couch but when he went to pull away, Nix wrapped his arms around Evan’s neck to hold him close.
“Don’t leave me,” Nix whined.
“I would never,” Evan assured him. “I was just going to get you something to eat and drink. I brought lunch, remember?”
Nix laughed. “You do have something I want to snack on.”
There was no missing the intent behind the words. “Later. Lunch and talk. You promised.”
“Fine.” Nix pushed his bottom lip out in a pout. “I’ll give you two minutes to get the food and come back here. I’m a needy boy. I need to be close to you.”
Evan kissed Nix’s forehead. “I need to be close to you too. Stay where I put you.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Nix teased.
His entire body locked up. Evan gripped the back of Nix’s neck hard. “You’re playing with fire, my boy.”
Nix’s pupils widened. “I—”
“There is nothing that Daddy wants more than to pull you into my lap and hand-feed you. My dragon is pushing for it, in fact. You have no idea what you’ve started.”
“Maybe not.” Nix shrugged one bare shoulder. “You haven’t exactly been forthcoming with the dragon thing.”
“I have my reasons,” Evan said gently. He grabbed the soft cotton blanket over the couch and covered Nix’s lap to keep him warm. Evan did like a naked and needy boy. “I’ll explain everything.”
It was time. With both his human and dragon sides in agreement, there wasn’t much they wouldn’t do for Nix. That was how their kind operated. Their partners were just as important as their hoards. Partners actually made the hoards more valuable. Made their long existence worth it.
Returning to the kitchen, Evan washed his hands in the sink then grabbed the bags that he’d brought in earlier. He made a stop at the fridge to pull out two cold bottles of water.
Once he had everything collected, Evan returned to the boy. Nix hadn’t moved. The blanket was pooled on his lap, but he was grinning at Evan. Evan placed the waters and bags on the table beside the arm of the couch before lifting Nix.
Nix squeaked but Evan was already seated with Nix on his lap before the boy could protest.
“Strong,” Nix mused as he nuzzled Evan’s shoulder.
“Dragon,” Evan quipped.
Pulling back, Nix gazed up at him. “Are you really going to tell me about dragons?”
Evan nodded.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Evan questioned. Isn’t that what Nix had wanted from the beginning.
“Why are you willing to tell me now?” Nix asked.
Nix was not going to make this easy. “Because you deserve to know what you’re getting yourself into now that we’re together.”
“Together,” Nix repeated. “You really mean that? That we’re what…boyfriends?”
“Boyfriends,” Evan agreed. “Partners. Whatever term you wish you use.”
“This seems rather sudden,” Nix commented.
“Does it?” Evan inquired. “Because to me we’ve been heading in this direction since the first time we met.”
Nix swallowed hard. “You knew I wanted you.”
“You don’t really hide your feelings well, boy,” Evan admitted.
“Oh, okay.” Nix nodded slowly.
“Are you mad?”
“Relieved really,” Nix said. “More relieved than I could ever say. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not great at making decisions.”
“I noticed that you don’t like to make decisions. Not that you make bad ones,” Evan corrected. “I think you lead with your heart and that’s why everyone likes you.”
Nix smiled as his cheeks flushed. “You always say nice stuff about me.”
“I speak the truth,” Evan replied. “Now how about we eat?”
“And then more kisses?” Nix batted his eyelashes.
“We talk and eat,” Evan told him. “Then maybe more kisses. You also need to get everything ready for our trip tomorrow. Two away games.”
“I hate packing!” Nix whined.
“I might be persuaded into helping my boy out.” In fact, Evan would do all Nix’s packing. Let the boy concentrate on his sweet treats and being happy. That was what Evan wanted.
Nix licked his lips. “I can be very persuasive.”
“You can also be put over my knee,” Evan warned.
Nix’s grin grew.
“Trouble,” Evan said as he held back a laugh.
“Not me!”
Evan didn’t buy the innocent act for a second. Reaching over, he snagged the bag from the table. Luckily, he’d grabbed them cold sandwiches from the deli, so nothing needed to be warmed up. He didn’t want to move with Nix on his lap.
He set the wrapped sandwich across Nix’s knees.
“You want me to eat while on your lap?”
“Do not move,” Evan ordered. “I’m going to hand-feed you.”
“Uh, okay.”
“It’s a dragon thing,” Evan offered. “I need to take care of you.”
“Like I’m going to complain about that,” Nix quipped.
Evan unwrapped the sandwich before he broke off a chunk. He offered Nix a bite.
Nix opened his mouth and accepted the food.
Inside, his dragon rumbled with pleasure.
Nix chewed and swallowed. “And you’re going to tell me about dragons.”
“I am.” Evan held up another bite.
“K.” Nix ate more.
“You can shift into a fruit bat. That is how shifting works. You have two forms, were born that way, but you still only have one soul.”
“Okay, I’m following so far.”
“I was born human but a part of me was…incomplete,” Evan explained.
“Incomplete?”
“My entire line has been connected to dragons,” Evan said. “It was a blessing, or a curse, depending how you want to look at it. My family chose to look at it as a blessing. Once we reach maturity, we’re sent on a mission to find our other half. Our dragon.”
“Wow,” Nix said around a mouthful. “That’s cool.”
“It is.” Evan hadn’t thought about when he’d bonded with his dragon for a very long time. “I walked up a mountain a boy, just ten years of age.”
“Weren’t you scared?”
“Terrified,” Evan admitted. “But it needed to be done. I was starting to feel it. The incompleteness. The missing part. It was cold and I found shelter, but I didn’t know how to find a dragon. Especially one that wanted to bond with a human.”
“You must have,” Nix said. “Found a dragon.”
“It took years,” Evan informed him. “Two very long years. I was barely surviving it when the dragon found me. My dragon has an infinity for the cold. He was able to protect me from the elements. I was warm for the first time in longer than I could remember.”
“That’s amazing,” Nix exclaimed. “So, no breathing fire? No s’mores?”
Evan laughed. “We’ll just have to make them the old-fashioned way.”
“I guess that’s alright.”
“I could make you an ice rink,” Evan offered. “Anywhere you want. It doesn’t matter how hot it gets either. The ice would never melt.”
Nix nearly choked on a bite. Evan hurriedly opened the bottle of water and put it up to Nix’s mouth. Nix drank but his gaze was locked on Evan. He nodded and Evan pulled the bottle away. “OMG! That is perfect!”
Evan chuckled, more than a little relieved that Nix wasn’t hung up on the breathing fire thing.
“You said you have another place,” Nix pointed out. “Where more of your hoard is.”
“Up in the Colorado mountains,” Evan said. “It’s where my dragon is most comfortable.”
“Can I go? With you? When you go? Nix asked.
“Of course. First chance we get,” Evan promised.
“Score!” Nix pumped his fist. “Tell me more, please. I want to know everything.”
“Everything?” Evan teased. “You might get bored with my stories.”
“Never!” Nix sounded scandalized. “I want to hear literally everything.”
It was a good thing that Evan didn’t plan on going anywhere. This might take a few hours, or days.
* * * * *
Nix
“But I’m not tired,” Nix whined as he clung to Evan’s neck.
“Yes, you are.” Bending over the bed, Evan kissed Nix’s forehead. “And we’re leaving first thing in the morning. I’ll come over and get you to ride to the airport together.”
“If you stayed here then you’d already be here in the morning,” Nix pointed out.
The boy wasn’t wrong. Still Evan needed to get himself ready for the away games.
Plus, he was drained from baring his soul all afternoon.
Nix couldn’t get enough of Evan’s stories, but it was hard for him to relive some of what had happened.
He hadn’t told Nix the bad parts. Just enough of his past for Nix to start understanding dragons and what was myth and what wasn’t.
“But I’ll be lonely without you,” Nix said.
He had to laugh. “You’ve been sleeping in this bed all alone for months.”
“It’s such a big bed,” Nix told him. “Too big really. What if I roll off or something?”
“Do you normally roll off the bed in your sleep?”
“If I say yes, will you spend the night?” Nix asked.
“Not if you lie to me.” Evan gripped Nix’s chin between his thumb and finger. “And I will know if you lie, Nix.”
“I don’t normally roll off the bed,” Nix said. “But it is lonely. And we haven’t even had sex. We should totally have sex. Lots of sex.”
Evan found heat rising up his neck. “We can’t do that now.”
“Now or ever?” Nix tried to sit up but Evan pushed him back down onto the mattress.
“Now or at least tonight,” Evan replied. He really wanted to avoid this conversation.
“So, if you stay the night, we can have sex in the morning,” Nix told him.
“Actually, we can’t.” Evan blew out a breath as he sat on the edge of the bed next to Nix.
“Okay, I’m confused again. You literally spent all afternoon telling me stories about dragons and how they pamper, love, and protect their partners. We’ve kissed. You sucked me off! What is going on?” Nix demanded.
Why was this so hard. Evan glanced toward the headboard to avoid Nix’s gaze. “It’s not a dragon thing. It’s…it’s more of a hockey thing.”
“Hockey? I’m a hockey player. I play on your team! Are you talking in riddles on purpose?”
Evan blew out a harsh breath. “No! I’m just embarrassed!”