Page 17 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
That got his mate a poke in the side, but he did sneak off to the kitchen to corner the woman while she was getting out more snacks.
“Can I help?” he offered.
She smiled warmly at him, handing him an empty bowl and pointing at the bags of snacks on the counter. “Pick your favorite and fill it up. How have you been enjoying your holiday? Maverick seems much happier with you here. Normally, he’d have left the party by now.”
Isaac felt his cheeks flame, and he gave all his focus on filling the bowl as he replied, “Yeah, we’ve got a system, I guess.” He cleared his throat, using the subject change to ask a question of his own. “You, uh… You calmed down Mr. Van Buren really fast. Can I ask how you did that?”
He was totally going to take notes. He liked how they dealt with Maverick’s moods for now, but sometimes, they weren’t in a place where they could do what they usually did. It would be nice to have a backup plan.
“Probably the same way you do, dear. We’ve just been doing this song and dance long enough that he’s learned to be patient to earn his reward.”
Did he think he was blushing before? It was so much worse now. He might very well burst into flames at this point.
“What is she saying to you?”Maverick demanded along their bond.
“You really don’t want to know,”Isaac replied.
He could practically feel Maverick’s conflicted emotions. He wanted to come to settle Isaac like he normally would, but he also wasn’t in the least bit interested in hearing whatever his mother had to say.
“All mates learn tricks along the way,” she continued, putting the bowls of snacks on a tray like she wasn’t talking to her son-in-law about sex. “You’ve only just mated, dear. From what I can tell, you’re doing fine. I’m sure after several thousand years, you’ll have him right where you want him.”
Oh, gods. He was going to melt into the floor. Maybe it was a bad idea fishing for advice.
“Thanks. I’ll, uh… keep that in mind,” he squeaked.
She chuckled, patting his cheek in that sweet motherly way that was the exact opposite of someone who was just whispering sexual promises into her mate’s ear to settle him.
“From what I overheard when Ferina and Agatha were talking earlier, your grandmother used to do the same thing to your grandfather. She might have some ideas for you if you’re interested.”
His eyes widened in horror, and he whipped his head up to gape at the woman standing next to him. When he saw the twinkle in her eye, he suddenly realized where Ferina got her penchant for trouble from.
“Oh gods, I love this family so much,” he cackled.
Story Three - Holiday Healing
CHAPTER ONE
Their Tony was sad. Taron wasn’t sure why, but as the weather changed and the year came closer to an end, he felt more and more that something was wrong with their mate. He was more quiet than usual, and he sighed a lot, and sometimes when he thought no one was looking, he kept checking his phone. But no matter how many times Taron pestered him, Tony only said he was okay. Which he clearly was not.
“You’re seeing this, right?” Taron demanded of Zephyr.
“Let it be, T,” Zephyr replied calmly, his focus on prepping dinner. They took turns, and Taron definitely looked forward to Zephyr’s nights when he made recipes from home, but it was hard to enjoy it when he was so concerned for his Tony.
“Are you saying you’re not worried?”
Zephyr sighed, putting down the knife to look over his shoulder at where Tony was sitting outside on a kitchen chair he’d dragged outside to enjoy the nice weather. Taron had read online that humans were like plants. They needed plenty of sunlight to be happy. But even the sun and the view of the ocean wasn’t making a difference anymore. Tony still looked unhappy.
“I am worried, but we can’t force him to talk to us before he’s ready. You know that.”
True, he did know that. He also knew he couldn’t just sit there and let Tony be so unhappy. He couldn’t take it. It hurt his heart to see his mate so sad.
Pulling out his phone, he shot off a text to the two people he knew could help him. If anyone could figure out what was wrong and how to fix it, it was them.
“I’ve gota meeting with Ozen this morning,” Taron said airily as he came out of his office.
Tony looked up from his computer, considering him. “I don’t have a meeting on the schedule. Did it come up last minute?”
There was no judgement in his tone, only patience and affection. Taron loved him so much. Not even Alanna was as understanding as Tony was. She’d at least give him a look of annoyance if he didn’t inform her of a meeting beforehand. Tony just pulled up the schedule on his computer and inputted the information.
