Page 35 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
“It’s so warm,” Walren blurted.
“Oh?” With their fingers still linked, Raptor pulled Walren’s hand all the way up to his face, and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles.
Walrenblushed.No one had kissed him there before. While looking him in the eye.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, then promptly wished he hadn’t.Why do I keep stuffing my foot in my mouth?
Except Raptor smiled. “Just a lil kiss.”
He leaned in and buried his nose in Walren’s hair, taking a deep breath. Then he stepped away, tugging Walren by his pinky through the mansion.
Walren worked hard to focus on everythingbutthe sock puppets. The living room was a huge open area with high ceilings and large couches—the couches were so vast that a dragon could lie comfortably on them. The doorways were wide enough for a dragon to walk through, and the kitchen...
The kitchen was a thing of beauty. Dark stone counters contrasted against redwood cabinetry. An eight-burner stove took center stage on the kitchen island, facing a row of plush barstools. There were at least four ovens, and two commercial fridges that made Walren itch to peek inside—were they both fully stocked with food?
“The kitchen looks really professional,” Walren said, impressed. Then he wanted to smack himself—obviously it was professional. Raptor had cooked him an entire meal last night,in his own restaurant.
“I enjoy cooking. More so now that you’re living with me.”
“Um.” Walren squirmed. “I haven’t mentioned it, but I’ve been transitioning Zebs to solid food. If it’s not too much trouble, I could... cook some things for him?”
“Pssh. I’ll cook for him. He’ll get special stuff.” Raptor grinned.
“You don’t mind cooking boring food? Like pureed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs?”
Raptor shrugged. “I have extra burners on my stove. It won’t be a problem to put another pot or two on there.”
“Okay.” Walren gulped. None of the alphas in his past would have offered to cook for his baby, much less cater to Zebbie’s specific diet.
Raptor led the way up the grand staircase to the second floor. They passed several guest rooms, then a room with double steel doors and a sensor pad.
Raptor breezed by it with no comment.
Was his hoard in there? It made sense that Walren wasn’t given access to it.
“This is your room,” Raptor said, stopping at a door right before the end of the hallway.
Walren’s new room was huge, with cream-colored walls and a sheer curtain fluttering over the open window. A small desk and dresser stood in one corner of the room, and next to the queen-sized bed was a sturdy wooden crib.
Walren almost asked,Is the crib fire-proof?
But Raptor would want to know why he was asking that. And Walren didn’t trust the alpha enough with the answer yet.
Maybe Walren could test the crib with a box of matches? Better a tiny controlled burn, than an accidental blaze leading to a mess of charred wood.
But how was he going to get his hands on a box of matches without arousing suspicion?
“Is this where, uh...” Walren trailed off, self-conscious about voicing the rest of his question.
Is this where I’ll help with your ruts?
Raptor smiled as though he had heard the words anyway. “No. You will help me in my bedroom. Here, I’ll show you what that’s like.”
He turned away from Walren’s room, going to the double doors at the end of the hallway. These doors were a dark, dense wood, carved with twin dragons and inlaid with gold.
Raptor pushed open the doors. A wide, short hallway led to a huge, airy bedroom, bigger than anything Walren had seen in hislife.Against the longest wall was a plush bed, larger than king-sized, and more than enough space for a fully shifted dragon to stretch out. Armchairs and a coffee table occupied one corner of the room. In another corner was a dark-paneled wall that contained a mini fridge, a microwave, and an espresso machine.
Walren stared.
