Chapter 14
Brooks tried to pull himself together on the flight to Oldrik’s mansion. His Daddy had held him and Rogue close until the last moment when they needed to take a shower and get dressed to go. Brooks hoped no one could tell by the stiff way he walked that he’d gotten a spanking followed by intense lovemaking. Being the only guy mate was hard. The women mates couldn’t understand.
He looked normal when they’d left. All the tear marks were gone, and his jeans covered the lingering pink blush on his butt. Just thinking about that spanking made him hot again. Stop it. Down! Brooks hoped his shaft would listen this time.
“No one will know, Adventurer. And if they figure it out, they’ll understand more than you anticipate. Remember you were going to ask if the other mates had any hobbies to see if you had some fun things in common.”
“I think you suggested that. I don’t think I’ll try to wiggle my way into any activities they’ve already set up. That seems pushy.”
“Totally up to you,” Rogan assured him.
He’s going to ask the other dragons. “Fine, I’ll ask if the subject comes up.”
“Perfect. Have fun.”
Brooks could feel Rogan’s gaze on him as he walked to the group of mates greeting each other. He obviously hadn’t hidden his nervousness well. Brooks did appreciate the stream of support that flooded toward him through their connection.
“Hi!” Brooks greeted the others and gritted his teeth when his voice sounded a bit too cheerful to be natural.
“Brooks! We’re glad to see you. We were talking about getting together to read the book Ciel is writing,” Aurora shared, seemingly not noticing Brooks’ tension.
“Brooks might not like to read Daddy books,” Ciel blurted as she turned a delightful shade of pink.
Instantly intrigued, Brooks guessed from her blush that the book was spicy at least. Daddy books. Was that a thing? “I don’t think I’ve ever read a Daddy book. Are they a relationship like we have with our mates?” Brooks asked, forcing himself to ask the question.
“Yes. That’s what makes them so delicious,” Lalani said with a grin. “It turns out all the girls had found these books before we discovered what Wyvern had in store for us. Surprise! Fated dragon Daddies.”
The group laughed at that term. Almost everyone’s lips moved as they repeated that phrase to themselves. There was no doubt the shifters would be called that from now on. Fated dragon Daddies.
“I think of it as training and orientation,” Ciel joked. “Daddy and I read the few paperbacks we each had in that genre together. When we ran out, he suggested I try writing my own.”
“What? On an old manual typewriter?” Brooks asked in disbelief.
“Exactly. I’m getting better. I don’t get the keys jammed together much anymore. Aurora read each chapter after I finished it. Now the audience has grown to the four of us—well, five if you are interested. You don’t have to join if you don’t want to,” Ciel assured him quickly.
“Oh, I want to join. Is there a chance we could start at chapter one so I can hear the beginning, too?” Brooks asked. He couldn’t believe this was a thing and couldn’t wait.
“Of course. We usually start at the beginning. That helps everyone remember the story,” Lalani said. When even her darker skin tone turned red, Brooks knew those stories were spicy to say the least.
“Each mate takes a chapter,” Ciel told him.
“Count me in. I can’t wait. When’s the next reading?” Brooks asked.
“I finished a chapter last night before bed. We could review it today,” Ciel admitted. “We need to find a quiet spot. The Daddies enjoy eavesdropping and getting ideas.”
When each mate in the group nodded almost as one, Brooks suspected this had happened more than once. Ciel must be creative. “After dinner?”
“Yes. My nursery.” Skye shared the gathering spot.
Aurora helped him. “You haven’t been in there yet, I bet. I’ll signal you and we can sneak off together. That way I can show you where it is.”
Brooks nodded his agreement. He couldn’t wait. Glancing over at Rogan, he found the dragon shifter studying him. His Daddy had to know about this and had suggested Brooks ask about activities to break the ice. How crafty of him. Brooks sent him a thumbs-up signal to let Rogan know he was fine and saw his Daddy nod in response before turning back to talk to the others.
* * *
After eating three of the hotdogs Oldrik’s amazing chef had created from scratch, along with homemade chips and ice cream, Brooks followed Aurora into the darkened mansion.
“That was an incredible dinner. Who knew stuff made at home tasted so much better than the packaged stuff I used to buy at the grocery store?” Brooks said to Aurora.
“We are very lucky to have our mates’ staffs. In town, all of Wyvern is banding together to help each other. A lot of neighborhoods have communal dinners where everyone contributes. The dragons help by collecting supplies we can’t make here in Wyvern. Sugar is the one I’m going to miss, but medicine is scary.”
“I’d thought of that,” Brooks commented. His grandmother had run out of her high blood pressure medicine a month ago. The dragons checked in different pharmacies on their scouting trips, but the manufactured supplies were running low. It was a scary time to have a health condition or illness.
His grandmother didn’t seem too concerned. She tried to eat well and exercise—which she’d always done in the past as well. Brooks hated to imagine a future without her. That’s why he’d stayed in one place for so long. Having time with her meant a lot to him.
As he turned into Skye’s nursery, sad thoughts blew out of his mind. The room was so her. The high ceiling and enormous windows would make this a perfect art space for her creations. Already, Skye had drawn dragons on the longest wall, creatively using the door in the design to make it blend in beautifully. He guessed this room connected to her Daddies’ rooms on each side while giving her some quiet space.
Arriving last, Brooks quickly took a seat on the floor next to Skye. He inadvertently let out a groan as he sat on his spanked bottom. Catching himself, Brooks scanned the room, hoping the others hadn’t noticed.
They all smiled at him. Brooks immediately shifted to jump to his feet to flee. Skye put a hand on his knee and pointed around the circle. Three women raised their hand.
“Join the club,” she told him cryptically.
“What club?” he asked, not wishing to jump to a conclusion.
“The ‘we made bad choices, and our Daddies spanked us’ club,” Lalani admitted. “We all winced or moaned as we sat down. It’s a dead giveaway for everyone else. Skye needs pillows.”
“Next time,” Skye promised and made an X over her heart.
“Okay. Let’s move to the story. I hope you like this new chapter I wrote last week. I was inspired after recovering from a cold. Daddy had warned me it was too chilly to swim in his pond, but I insisted,” Ciel admitted.
“Oh,” Aurora said, waggling her eyebrows. “Our Daddies have all sorts of old-fashioned medical tools they collected years ago.”
Brooks tried to unpack all that statement had included in it as the others nodded in agreement. He really wanted to ask what type of equipment their dragon shifters had, but maybe he didn’t want to find out.
“Let Brooks listen to the first chapters. He hasn’t heard the story yet,” Lalani suggested as Ciel started passing out the chapters.
He got the sixth chapter and forced himself to turn it upside down on the floor so he didn’t get distracted while the others read. By the time Ciel was halfway through the first chapter, he stretched out on his stomach. Others chose to follow his example. He guessed it wasn’t for the same reason since they didn’t need to hide their arousal, but it was more comfortable for his butt, too.
Ciel was really good. He enjoyed the story. The sixth chapter was sweet, to his relief. Reading the steamy stuff might have challenged him.
“I love hearing Brooks read. The story is even better in a man’s voice,” Lalani said when he finished.
“Want me to read the newest chapter?” Argenis asked from the doorway. He, of course, had already heard it. Ciel had shared she always read the newest chapter to her Daddy after finishing one.
“Daddy! You’re supposed to be in with the other Daddies. Shoo!” Ciel said, using the papers in her hand to wave him away.
“If I must,” Argenis agreed with a smile. “I thought I would offer since I’d come to check on you.”
“We’re good,” Lalani told him, nodding frantically to convince him.
“Perfect.” With that, Argenis disappeared back down the hallway.
“Is he gone?” Aurora whispered.
“I’m gone.” Argenis’s voice drifted to them from a distance before the front door closed. Brooks had already learned those darn dragons had extremely accurate hearing.
“Okay, here’s the new chapter. Fingers crossed you like it!” Ciel lifted the paper and read her newest addition.
Her audience listened in absolute silence as she detailed the main character’s illness and her Daddy’s treatments. Brooks’s gaze rose to fix on the ceiling. He couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze as he struggled to control himself. From the corners of his eyes, he could see the other mates shifting restlessly. Everyone was affected.
When Ciel finished, Skye demanded, “More!”
“I haven’t written any more. Sorry, Skye.”
“You’ll write fast through, right?” Lalani asked.
Ciel smiled. “As fast as I can. Daddy will only let me work a couple of hours a day. He thinks I need fresh air and sunshine.”
“I’m never getting sick,” Brooks said softly. The women quickly agreed with that before he added, “I can’t believe these books existed, and I never knew. The others can’t be as good as Ciel’s.”
“Thank you, Brooks. There are great stories out there. The ones I found first were on my e-reader,” Ciel shared.
“Time to go, Brooks!” Rogan’s cheerful voice shattered the hushed atmosphere in the quiet room.
Brooks turned to see him checking out Skye’s drawings on the wall. “Um… Do I have to?” He wasn’t quite ready to get up yet. His body was on hyper alert still.
“Did your feet go to sleep as you laid like that?” Rogan asked. “Let me help.”
To Brooks’s relief, Rogan stood in front of him to lift Brooks into his arms. His Daddy’s bulk shielded the view of his erection from the other mates. Rogan held Brooks tummy-to-tummy in his arms. “Wiggle your feet. That will help.”
“I really need to get pillows,” Skye mentioned. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, Skye. I’ll recover soon,” Brooks promised before turning to Rogan to ask, “Are we headed home?”
“Not quite yet. There’s a full moon. We thought you all might like to see it,” Rogan suggested.
“Nice. I want to see,” Lalani said, leaping to her feet. “Let me help Ciel, and then I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks, Ciel,” Brooks called as Rogan carried him down the hallway. Once outside, Rogan walked around the side of the house to set Brooks on his feet.
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“I figured you might need some help. Take a second and we’ll rejoin the others,” Rogan suggested with dancing blue eyes.
“You all knew what we were doing?” Brooks asked.
“Oh, yeah. Argenis clued us in,” Rogan said. “She’s a good writer?”
“The best. I’d never heard of Daddy books.”
“There are some in my library,” Rogan told him offhandedly. “Maybe we should read them together.”
Brooks could only nod. It was going to take longer now for him to be able to join the others. That idea was even more exciting.