Page 55 of There's Something About Dragons
“Mhm.” The cop jots a few notes and radios for a paramedic to join us, who checks me out and pronounces all my bumps and bruises superficial, which I could’ve told him.
“The perpetrator has been taken into custody,” the officer assures me after I sign his form. “You won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
I blink at him. “The Sasquatch?”The one that Zed swallowed whole?I don’t ask.
“The dragon coughed him up like a hairball,” the cop chuckles. “He’ll have to pay a fine for shifting inside San Drogo city limits, but I’m not sorry he did.”
“I’ll cover the fine,” Tristan says from behind the cop. He has Radar in his arms. He passes the dog to me with a soft expression. “And the kitchen repairs.”
“Thank you,” I tell him sincerely, both for the offer to pay and for taking good care of my little old man while everything was going down.
He shrugs, looking as unruffled as always. “Anything for a friend. Of course, if you wanted to demonstrate the depth of your gratitude, you could agree to take my cats as patients again.”
I grin at him. Of course, he had an ulterior motive for helping out. “You adopted another one after all?”
He nods. “Name’s Goblin. He’s diabetic, but his condition is well-managed already. I don’t think we’ll be in your office too much.” He says it like I’ve already taken him back as a client. I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty forgiving right now.
“Zed and I are mates. That’s not going to change no matter how many cute cats you adopt,” I warn him, just to be sure he doesn’t get the wrong idea.
He ducks his handsome head. “I know. And I know it was wrong to use Impy to get close to you. I was desperate, though. I’ve never had so much trouble seducing someone. The funny thing is that instead of getting you to fall in love with me, I fell in love with Impy along the way. There are no cats in Hell, you know. They all go to heaven.” Tristan looks very put out by this fact.
“Guess you’re stuck in San Drogo with us,” I tell him, nuzzling Radar’s fur. I add, “I’ll let Cynthia know to put you back on the books.”
“You beautiful, merciful creature! I could kiss you,” Tristan exclaims.
“Better not,” Zed growls behind him. He’s a mess. Hair tangled around his horns, clothes hanging off him in shreds, a silver emergency blanket wrapped around his hips like a space-sarong. He’s the most handsome guy I’ve ever seen.
I fling myself (and Radar) into his arms.
“Sunflower,” he murmurs, lifting us up. Overwhelmed by the strong, protective circle of his hug, I’m barely conscious of Tristan and the cops filtering out, leaving us alone. “I’m so sorry for wrecking your kitchen. Shit, I have so many things to apologize for. What you saw in that spreadsheet —”
I’m so happy to be back in his arms, I don’t care about anything else. “I know it was all lies. I knew instantly when I saw it that it wasn’t you.”
“Itwasme,” he says quietly as he carries me to the sofa that will always be the place where he made me his mate. “I did all those things. I’m no better than Gabe. And I completely understand if you need some time to process everything that’s happened. I swear, I’ll still be here when you’re done working it out. We can do therapy together or apart or both. Just please, don’t say it’s over.”
Radar wriggles out of my lap and hops down from the sofa with Zed’s help, trundling on his short little legs to his bed in the corner. I guess he’s worn out, too.
“First of all, I don’t think you saw the same spreadsheet I saw. It had all kinds of stuff on there that you definitely didn’t do. Secondly, the fact that you would give me time to process and suggest therapy is exactly why you’re better than Gabe. You respect my boundaries, and you care about how I’m feeling. Third, you’re my mate, so you’re allowed to stalk me. You’re the only one allowed.”
Zed chuckles, giving me an extra squeeze. “That’s what my feral form says.”
“He and I get along.”
He growls playfully under his breath. “Don’t give him any ideas, Cari. He’s already way too pleased with himself today.”
“He should be. He saved me. You both did. You’re always in the right place at the right time.” My heart races a little, thinking of what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up.
“Tristan helped, too,” Zed says grudgingly. “He’s not a bad guy for a demon. Offered to take Gabe on a one-way trip downstairs.”
“Should’ve let him,” I joke. “Or you should’ve chewed more before you swallowed him.”
Zed cracks a wide, sharp-toothed grin. “My bloodthirsty little mate. If the justice system doesn’t take care of Gabe, we’ll let Tristan do the dirty work. I have no interest in eating him. I think I still have Sasquatch fur stuck in my teeth.”
“Eww,” I groan. “That’s almost enough to do away with my appetite.”
“That’s right, I need to feed you, don’t I? My sunflower must be starving.”
I nod. “It’s been way more than an hour since you went out for food. It’s almost lunchtime.”
