Chapter 5
I can’t believe you had Tierney bring food up here as well as a broom to clean up the glass from the picture we shook off the wall. Skye laughed before popping a piece of cheese into her mouth. She was so hungry that she’d risk being embarrassed the next time she ran into the….
What is Tierney’s title, anyway? Butler?
“He would be glad to have you call him that, Skye. I refer to him as the household manager. His duties have changed tremendously since the change,” Oldrik shared.
Household manager. That makes sense. Skye popped a carrot stick in her mouth and crunched as she picked up a sandwich to eat next. Everything was so delicious.
“Slow down, Blueberry. I don’t want you to choke,” Oldrik admonished her.
Skye shrugged and took a large bite. She hummed her delight at the tasty food after days of traveling and existing on whatever packaged junk they could find. The freshly baked bread became gummy as she swallowed, and it stuck in her throat. She reached for her glass of water and spilled it as she panicked. Skye looked around wildly as she grabbed her neck.
Oldrik scooped her up in his arms and quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver. On his third compression, the lump popped from her mouth onto the bedspread. Skye sucked in oxygen as she sagged against him with Ardon standing vigil next to them. The tension in all of them slowly ebbed away.
“You’re okay, Blueberry. Just relax and catch your breath,” Oldrik told her and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Ardon, sit down. Encourage Skye to breathe slowly to recover before we help her finish her meal.”
“Never eating again,” she declared, speaking aloud for the first time in hours. Her voice sounded harsher than ever before.
“You will nourish your body. Just in smaller bites and slower. We won’t lose you, My Treasure,” Ardon assured her. “Thank you, Oldrik.”
“Our mate,” Oldrik responded.
When the two shifters exchanged looks, Skye suspected the scary incident had bonded them together. She permitted Oldrik to place her on Ardon’s lap after he leaned back on the headboard. Curling on his chest, she listened to his strong heartbeat. This could have all evaporated. They were the first guys who’d ever seemed to understand and appreciate her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I am too,” Oldrik told her as he quickly cleaned up the mess and righted any dishes that had fallen over in the chaos. “You will let us help you.”
She nodded, still shaken up.
“Here, Skye. Take a sip.” Ardon held a cup to her lips. When she reached for it, he withdrew it. “We will help you, remember?”
This time, she allowed him to control the cup, giving her small drinks as Oldrik joined them on the bed. The liquid soothed her throat and calmed her down even more.
“You’re hungry, Blueberry. Try this.” Oldrik lifted a bite of pasta salad to her lips.
She opened her mouth, accepting the offering. Her appetite came roaring back. She reached for the fork to feed herself more and frowned when Oldrik refused.
“Your Daddies will feed you. Can you tell us about your school, Skye? I’d love to hear how long you were there and what your favorite classes were,” Oldrik asked.
Her mind treasured the pleasure of this intimate care. Skye struggled to relax her need to cover her private desire to be tended to so carefully. Skye responded, appreciating that he shifted her focus to something else.
She chewed and swallowed carefully before answering in any form. Reverting to mental communication, she explained. My parents sent me there a few years ago. I came back a few times, but I often chose to stay there through breaks and holidays. My folks didn’t really know what to do with me, and while I missed them, it was easier to fill my time with drawing instead of struggling to communicate as they wished.
“Is that why you prefer talking mentally with us? You can sense that we treasure hearing from you in any mode: mentally, aloud, or through touch.” Ardon wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively, making her laugh and dismissing more of the fright that still lingered in her mind.
It’s always been hard for me. My parents struggle to understand. Perhaps they decided I just wasn’t trying hard enough. Mom most of all. She requires me to talk to her, but Dad will let me write a note or make a face. She’s not mean. It doesn’t make sense to her.
“How do you feel about them, Blueberry?” Oldrik probed. His expression was fierce.
Skye answered carefully. They took me to lots of doctors. Eventually, when they didn’t get a simple answer, they stopped dragging me around. I love them and they love me, even though I’m weird.
“You are not weird, and you will not describe yourself in negative terms.” Ardon corrected her quickly before offering her another bite.
She sent him a wave of positivity as she chewed. Skye loved that they didn’t think she was strange. She preferred the label of unique—something that was one of a kind. Skye accepted herself for all her quirks. They were just who she was.
The rest of the meal was fun and relaxing. Neither dragon reminded her of choking. They simply ensured it wouldn’t happen again. When she grew full, they’d simply devoured the rest of the spread.
Amazed at the amount of food they could eat, she’d asked, Do you have to feed the human and the dragon sides you have?
“Operating in dragon form consumes a lot of calories. We store energy reserves for that purpose. We eat as dragons as well. That’s one reason we’ve cultivated herds and hired staff. We preferred to ask your ancestors for something much more precious than food. Although you taste delicious,” Ardon told her with a wink.
“Ardon!” Skye blurted and laughed, not embarrassed by his reference to their lovemaking.
“Daddy,” he corrected.
You both want me to call you Daddy? Won’t that get confusing? What do I call you? Daddy A and Daddy O?
“If you’d like. Or Daddy will do, and we’ll respond,” Oldrik assured her.
Skye thought about that for a minute. She’d made a joke because calling someone Daddy seemed to be so intimate. More private than sex. It denoted a whole relationship in her brain. The kind of connection she’d dreamed of for a long time. She wrestled with the emotions whirling in her brain. Was she brave enough to live her dreams? Suddenly, pulling the comforter from under her legs was super important to her. As she took care of that, giving herself some extra time, Skye tried to figure out what to say.
“Little One, look at me,” Ardon commanded.
As much as she wanted to resist, Skye was too curious about what he wanted to tell her. She peeked up under long bangs.
“Thank you, Skye. Oldrik and I will be your Daddies for the rest of your life. Our mate bond will hold us together for all the days we have together. Do you want to waste time concealing what we already know you need?”
She shook her head, denying that thought without consciously deciding how to answer. Her desire to have this relationship with them was bone-deep in her. “No hiding,” she said out loud, needing to hear the words as much as the vow resonated inside her.
“Thank you, Blueberry.” Oldrik wrapped his arms around her in a giant bear hug and pulled her close to press a hard kiss to her lips.
Ardon joined the celebration, embracing the pair. Skye turned her face, tilting her mouth up for a kiss from the bronze dragon. He seemed pleased to cement that plan. Something inside her relaxed as Skye realized she was not only physically but emotionally safe as well.
“Thank you, Daddies,” she whispered when Ardon lifted his mouth, and she earned enthusiastic hugs that made her squeak.
“Let me show you both around your new home. The workmen are waiting to start the demolition,” Oldrik announced.
“Sounds like a good time to give them some room,” Ardon agreed. “And tomorrow, we’ll head to my mountain lair to make it comfortable to you as well.”
I’ll need to go home and grab my clothes if I’m staying here.
“Tierney can arrange for the transportation of your clothes from your parents’ house ,” Oldrik assured her, stressing the last part of that sentence.
Not my home anymore?
Ardon shook his head. “This is your place now, My Treasure. And mine. Let’s fill it with the happiest of memories. First, I want to find the kitchen to thank the cook for the delicious meal.”
“And sweet-talk her into making your favorite foods?” Oldrik asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Brilliant suggestion,” Ardon answered innocently. “She’ll want to know Skye’s preferences as well.”
Skye couldn’t keep her giggles inside as Ardon skillfully accomplished his goal and included her so Oldrik couldn’t protest. She slid off the bed and linked her arm with Ardon’s. “Let’s go.”