Page 29 of Nix
Laney was grinning at him. “Fuck, man. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that part of you.”
He stiffened but Laney just laughed.
“That’s not a bad thing,” Laney whispered. “You’ve been hiding yourself for too long. I knew putting you with Nix was the right thing to do.”
“It’s not like that,” Evan lied.
“Sure.” Laney nodded but he couldn’t keep the smirk from his face. “You keep telling yourself that.”
Evan slapped Laney on the shoulder. “Shut up.”
Laney rubbed his hands together. “First Vin and now you. I don’t know what it is about these little shifters, but they are definitely shaking things up in the league.”
Evan couldn’t deny that fact.
“I think your boy is freaked out,” Laney said quietly. “You might want to calm him down before the game. We need his head on straight.” Laney snorted. “Maybe not straight…”
He rolled his eyes at his captain.
“Anyway, go talk to him. He’s surprised us all by his unselfish and hard playing. We need him on top of things.”
“Yeah.” Evan cleared his throat. The heat inside him was starting to cool as Evan calmed himself down. He might not breathe fire like Nix wanted but he was a dragon. His abilities were so unique that Evan often wondered what Nix would think if he knew everything.
“Go to your boy.” Laney shoved him in Nix’s direction.
It would be stupid to deny Laney’s claim. Nix was his. The weeks, month, that they’d been together, had all been leading up to this. Turning on his heel, Evan made sure to meet the gazes of the teammates clustered around Nix, probably concerned as Nixwas obviously upset. They didn’t need to worry about his boy. Evan would take care of everything. His!
The word repeated over and over in his head as the dragon wanted to stake his claim loud and clear.
He received several nods, not that Evan was worried about anyone other than Marlin. Most of their other teammates had accepted Nix quickly. The kid was just so easy to get along with. Quickly, he stalked and closed the distance between him and Nix.
Their teammates immediately found somewhere else to be.
Nix stood with his back to his cubby, wringing his hands. His orange eyes were wide as he watched Evan. Such unique eyes for the shifter. One more thing that set him apart from everyone else.
Evan didn’t stop until he stood right in front of the boy. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Nix danced in place. “Really! It was no big deal.”
Evan pressed his lips together. It was a big deal. Nix didn’t deserve to have to put up with a bully. Nix was the kindest, sweetest, most laid-back person that Evan had ever met. Nix just wanted to be liked and accepted. Evan stepped closer until he could feel Nix’s breath against his face. He wanted to smile at the scent of Nix’s beloved pumpkin seeds seasoning.
“Everyone is staring at us,” Nix whispered.
“Are they?” Evan asked. Like he gave a damn. The dragon inside him cared even less. Now that his dragon was so close to the surface, Evan wasn’t as intent to keep him buried as he’d been before.
“Yes,” Nix hissed.
“Let them,” Evan ordered. He cupped Nix’s face with one hand as he wrapped the fingers of the other around Nix’s wrist. He liked holding Nix still. “No one touches you. Ever.” Except for him. Evan was the only one who should have his hands on the boy. Period.
Nix’s eyes widened as he licked his lips. “Your eyes are glowing.”
“I know,” Evan said. It was time that he stopped hiding his feelings. They were always together, him and Nix, and that meant something to Evan and the dragon. He just needed Nix to understand his nature. Being with him wasn’t like dating another paranormal and definitely not like being with a human. “We will talk about this after the game.” It was obvious that Nix was confused and, yes, maybe freaking out a little.
“The game.” Nix nodded.
This was the worst time for all of this to happen. Evan needed to get Nix’s focus where it belonged. “Did you know that the deli started their fall menu today?”
Nix shook his head. “The deli— What?”
