Page 14 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
He rolled his eyes at that. “You’re lucky it sounds more like a flaw in the wards than a true illegal act. Do me a favor and keep yourself out of trouble at least until the end of the year. I’ve got enough on my plate without having to come rescue you. Again.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, but she was grinning as always and he let it go. The holidays weren’t the time to chastise his sister for her behavior. She was a free spirit. Reining her in was impossible.
He returned to Isaac’s side, where he sat with his grandmother and several other members of Maverick’s family, talking about magical theory. He stood automatically when Maverick approached, sitting in his lap like a habit when Maverick took his place. Maverick hid his smile in the back of that bubblegum pink hair, breathing in the scent of strawberries and Isaac to settle his annoyance at his sister’s recklessness.
“Hey, Mav? Can I ask a question?”
Maverick’s gaze shifted to the man hovering near his elbow. He nearly groaned when he noticed who it was. Tommy. He swore his cousin’s questions got more and more ridiculous every year. He was toying with one of Maverick’s business cards, though, so it seemed like legal advice was needed. Why did that make him more uneasy?
“What?”
Tommy beamed, pulling up a short stool to sit beside him. “So, I’ve got this friend. He told me about this investment opportunity and is wanting me to get in on the ground floor.”
Oh, gods. This already sounded bad.
“I’ve already given him my information, but he says he needs access to my bank for direct deposits. Are there legal implications for coming into a lot of money fast?”
He felt a muscle in his jaw twitch as he attempted to maintain his composure. His mother would be cross with him if he lost his temper at his cousin so soon after they arrived. “Please tell me you didn’t give them your bank information.”
Tommy cocked his head with a frown. “Well, no, not yet. I wanted to know if I needed some kind of secondary account or something. Is there a specific bank I need to use for high-yield investments? I don't want to get arrested or anything when I come into a lot of money without winning the lottery or something. The government might think I’m doing something illegal, and I don’t want that.”
He hugged Isaac a little tighter. Perhaps he would need his own break sometime tonight. If the way things were going was any indication, his ability to manage his temper would definitely be tested.
Chapter Four
It started small. Maverick seemed calm enough sitting with Isaac and speaking with his family. But the third time his cousin approached with questions that Isaac only heard half of, the growling started. When his sister came to join them and started telling stories about her latest adventures traveling with a group that might be considered modern day pirates, his grip around Isaac’s waist became uncomfortably tight, and no amount of steady reassurance along their bond seemed to help. His breaking point came when someone started asking Isaac about school and somehow the topic of his old professor came up. Just the reminder of the attempted attack set Maverick off and smoke started filling the room as his temper held on by a thread.
Not wanting Maverick to blow up at his family, he stood and ushered his mate toward the front door. “I think we’re going to take a walk. I didn’t get to see everything the last time Maverick gave me a tour.”
Since they were all dragons or mated to dragons, no one commented on the lie. It wasn’t technically a lie, it would take days to see the whole city, but it wasn’t why he was taking a break from the festivities, and they all knew it. No onecomplained about their leaving, not even Maverick’s mother, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod before distracting everyone else with more snacks.
Stepping outside, he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. With their bond fully formed, he could sometimes settle Maverick with his own meditation and deep breathing like he had when they first started the bonding process. As long as people didn’t continue to pull the dragon’s tail, that is.
Maverick let out a grumble, wrapping himself around Isaac’s back and pressing his face into his hair again. His grumpy dragon was at his limit with his family, and they hadn’t even served dinner yet.
He considered his options carefully. In the office, if Maverick got to this point, he distracted him with sex. It was his favorite way to settle his mate, and Maverick had even made noises about making the office soundproof while they were away on holiday so they wouldn’t be overheard in the future. He obviously had no intention of changing the way Isaac settled him. But he found it hard to imagine they could disappear into a back room somewhere for a quickie with the house filled to the brim with Maverick’s family. Dragon shifters had good hearing. He wasn’t sure the house was big enough for them to get away with it without being overheard.
The whole city was full of dragons, though. Even if they found a hotel, his possessive mate would take issue with anyone being able to overhear them. And he wasn’t interested in going all the way home just to settle the dragon.
He scanned the city with a frown, his eyes skipping back to the waterfall after glossing over it. That might work.
The door to the house opened and Ferina stuck her head out, making a face at her brother. “Mav, stop being such a grump and get back in here. You’d think at your age, you would have learned to control your temper!”
Maverick’s responding growl was threatening, but Ferina either didn’t hear it for what it was, or didn’t care. She turned her attention to Isaac instead.
“Come on, Isaac. You shouldn’t have to miss the party to baby him. We’re bringing out board games, and I’ve heard of your scrabble skills. Ditch the grump and get in here.”
Oh. Oh no. Ferina was off her rocker if she thought it was a good idea to try to lure Isaac away when Maverick was already close to losing his temper. His head whipped up, and he bared his teeth at his sister, the snarl he let out enough to make her hesitate. It was enough to make Isaac stiffen, and he wasn’t in any danger. If he was on the receiving end of that snarl, he might have actually been worried.
“Ferina, maybe you should go back inside,” Isaac suggested cautiously. “Maverick needs a break.”
She studied her brother a little closer, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “You know, I’d probably lose my mind if my mate was that possessive and annoying. How can you stand it?”
Wrong thing to say. She was basically waving a big red flag in front of a bull who looked ready to tear his little sister to pieces. As a member of the younger siblings club, Isaac knew when a fellow younger sibling had gone too far. Time to get the dragon’s focus back on him.
Twisting out of Maverick’s grasp, he took a few big steps back, eyes locked on his mate when he swung around with another snarl. Isaac felt his heart rate kick up, a delicious trill of excitement zipping up his spine. The last time they played this game, he’d been too reckless. This time, he had better control. And there were no tall buildings to make things scary.
“Come on, baby. You want your mate so bad, you need to catch me first.”
