“What does Christmas mean to you?” he asked, turning back to her.
Her mouth puckered in thought for a moment.
“Food. Lots and lots of food. My Henry can eat and eat at the holidays. He even has a pair of pants he called his holiday specials. Elastic waisted jeans I accidentally ordered online.” She laughed.
As they pushed through the shop door, the lady shouted at them, try the Christmas Shop down the street as well.
“Thank you,” he said, and headed out.
3
Maddie and Lilly sat in the common room doing a puzzle. Another puzzle. Lilly might despise puzzles after today. She hated surprises, mostly because the ones her dad gave her always sucked.
Surprise, blood draw. Surprise, new deadly power. Surprise, the chip in your head was designed to kill you.
“When do you think Kal will let you start living again? Not that I don’t love our daily puzzles.”
Maddie laughed. “We had this same talk before he left on the mystery errand. He said once he thinks I look healthy. I’m thinking that is never, or at least never on this planet.”
Finding another piece of blue, Lilly turned it around and around trying to find its match. “They are a little strange some days. But at least he cares.”
Maddie chewed her lower lip. “Honestly, I’m still not too excited about being here. I can’t wait to leave. I don’t know if my ex survived. We aren’t sure if your dad died or not in whatever it was you did. I really don’t mind not being out of this ship. Although, I have been asking for a cheeseburger for a few days now. I could really go for that.”
Lilly looked up. “What is a cheeseburger and why haven’t we had that yet? So far they seem to really enjoy Pizza and spaghetti. Maybe we can get the guys to bring burgers.”
Smiling at Maddie, Lilly realized that she’d never known how sad her life really was until now. If she would have known this was an option, happiness, she probably would have tried to escape a little more. Well, probably not. Eadric wasn’t here yet. But seriously.
She’d gained at least twenty pounds since he rescued her, and it wasn’t for lack of exercise. The food. Holy crap the food. One of the dragons cooked, but Eadric was determined to help her experience everything she’d missed out for her entire life. None of the brothers complained.
Lilly’s taste buds didn’t complain. She loved every second and Eadric seemed to enjoy the added curves. Her body was filling out and she actually rather enjoyed it. Lilly still sometimes had flashes of her father, or the lab. She still sometimes had to talk herself out of panicking, but Eadric knew how to calm her.
Being Eadric’s wasn’t like being a captive. Maybe he was big, and tough and overprotective, but she was in control. Most of the time, anyway. Heat pooled in her belly. Yeah, there were times she was more than happy to let him do whatever he wanted.
“Lilly, what are you thinking about?” Maddie giggled.
Lilly’s neck and face heated.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” Maddie said. “I’m so glad that Eadric found you. You two are perfect for each other. And I don’t say that lightly. I seriously hated the idea of being tied down, but now I know that what I thought love was was all wrong.”
Lilly giggled. “I know. I really don’t think there is or was anything that would have prepared me or taught me love was real. I knew aliens were real. I mean, I grew up with some weird crap. I still swear that my best friend was a ghost. Or maybe it was a demon. I don’t even know. She disappeared when I was little. All that I believed in. Love? No.”
Maddie fit another piece of the puzzle in place. “Well, I know ghosts exist and my dad was apparently some Lord of hell or something. My mom didn’t talk about him much. So, really, what the heck isn’t possible?”
Lilly never thought of it that way. Here she was mated to a dragon. Really, what wasn’t possible?
“What is taking them so long?” Lilly said, tossing a piece down.
Maddie shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Where did Cy go? Maybe we should go find him. Think he’ll fly us to town for shopping?”
Neither woman actually wanted to go. A chill ran up Lilly’s spine.
Maddie’s skin paled.
“Yeah. Not yet,” Lilly said.
“Right. So now what? Movie?”
Lilly nibbled the inside of her cheek. “Sure. Why not?”
Lilly cleaned up the puzzle, and Maddie grabbed something called popcorn. Lilly realized that she didn’t know much about the world outside of the lab or what her sister could sneak in. Popcorn was not something that could be snuck in, not with the way it smelled. The aroma made her mouth water.
“Hey, Maddie? What do you suppose it will be like on their planet?”
Lilly hugged the puzzle box to her chest.
“Haven’t you seen glimpses of it from Eadric?” she asked, cradling two sodas in one arm and the popcorn bowl in the other.
Lilly nodded, but honestly most of the time Eadric was too centered on her. Always worried about her, and she supposed he had reason to. She had years and years of things to get over, and sadly most came in the form of nightmares. She’d only ever once seen Eadric’s dreams of home.
“Well, yes, and no. We haven’t gotten far on it yet. And anyway, even when he does talk about it, he just says that I’ll be doted upon. That basically we are considered royalty, almost. Not that I really get that phrase. But, I think maybe it would be a little like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.”
Maddie’s eyes lit up. “That’s the perfect way to look at it. Yes. I mean, with a little more dragons and probably like a lot more sex and some alien planet stuff. But yeah. These guys are pretty much the Mr. Darcys of the planet. Rich, revered, handsome, and all around good guys in a badass package.”
Lilly liked this more and more. She could be Elizabeth. Or, well, Eadric’s Elizabeth. They started to walk down the hall to what the guys had called something fancy, but Lilly just called it a meeting room. It had lots of screens and the men had figured out how to hook up something called Netflix. Maddie and Lilly dragged pillows in and had made a small nest, which none of the men minded. If the mates were safe, the dragons seemed to be content.
“There you two are,” said Cy, coming up behind them.
Maddie and Lilly kept walking.
“Here we are. Want to come watch a movie with us big guy?” said Maddie.
Cy shrugged. “Yes. Fine. But please, no more romance movies. Is there anything with dragons?”
Both women looked at each other. Lilly honestly had no idea.
Maddie laughed. “Have you ever heard of How to Train Your Dragons?”
They both turned to see Cy. His eyes were slitted. “We do not need to be trained, but I suppose this is better than yesterday’s choice. What was it? How to lose a wimpy Man in a week?”
Maddie stopped and glared. “It was How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and right now you’re about to lose two women in thirty seconds if you don’t shut it, mister.”
Cy shook his head and Lilly realized that maybe, just maybe this is what family was like. Too bad her own sister wasn’t here.
4
“Eadric, are you sure that Nyke will wear the Santa suit?”
He chuckled. “No. But no one else would and he’s apparently too busy to answer, so he got nominated.”
As they neared the ship, bags and bags of decorations in their claws, Eadric reached out.
Are they distracted?
The last thing Eadric wanted was to walk into the females and ruin the fun. Or, well, he hoped it was fun.
All clear, Deo replied.
Dropping the boxes and bags, they shifted. Kal stretched his hands.
“Next time we look into the thing called a car,” Kal said.
Kal and Eadric carried in a few loads of decorations into the commons of the ship. Eadric might have gone a little overboard, but when did a dragon ever do anything halfway. He wasn’t about to be outdone. Ever.
One of th
e shiny furry garland things tickled his nose as it peaked out of a bag balanced on top of another. Yeah. This might have been overboard.
“Where do we put these?” asked Kal.
Looking around, Eadric didn’t suppose it mattered. In a few minutes this place would be full of life and decorations and this Christmas.
As they set boxes everywhere, each of his brothers grabbed one and went to work.
What is tinsel? asked one.
Look at the back of the package, get the tree.*
What tree?
Eadric brought in a box nearly as tall as the biggest of them.
This tree. He responded.
It’s in a box? came another response.
It’s all you can buy this time of year, we were told. Eadric ripped open the packaging and pulled out a green fuzzy stick.
They all looked at it.
Let me guess, there're instructions for that too? asked another.
What kind of tree is in a box? Is it alive?
Do they assemble all their trees?
The questions fired faster than the decorations went up, but they did it. Working on each assignment as any military trained warrior did.
One hour later they all stood back and marveled at their work.
“It looks like something threw up,” said Kal.
“Wasn’t there some creature that ate light up shit like this?” asked Barak.
They all stood in a line against a wall, careful to not touch anything breakable. They all shrugged.
“This is what humans do for a celebration? You’re sure?” asked Deo.
Eadric poked at a small device called an iPod and music played.
“The lady at the All Christmas All the Time store said that this is what every human does. Well, there can be something called snow, but I didn’t understand how to make that.”
Kal clapped his brother on the back. “I think Lilly will be surprised. Maddie has seen this before, I believe anyway. I’ve tried to pry a bit, but every time I brought up holidays she got suspicious so her memories weren’t very clear. I have seen this fancy tree though. This looks correct.”
Walking over to the tree, Kal and Eadric placed several packages underneath.
“What are those?” asked Deo.
Eadric stood a little taller. “Gifts. There is one for each of you from Kal and myself.”
Looks of confusion and surprise passed between the brothers. Surprising any of them was rather impossible. Kal shared a look with Eadric, this was going to be perfect.
“All right. One more thing. Nyke,” Eadric said, as he handed Nyke a bag. “This is supposedly the traditional outfit for an elder.
Nyke scowled. “I am not an elder.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Yeah, but you act like a grumpy old dragon most days, so,” said Kal.
Everyone burst into laughter and Nyke’s scowl turned to something of a pissed off hybrid between murder and maybe a little entertained.
“You’re lucky I like your mates, you assholes.” He headed out of the commons, strange costume in hand.
Eadric looked around. It did kind of resemble something rather obnoxious with twinkling little lights everywhere and sparkling wads of soft spike like material. The tree was pretty. Perhaps this is something they would bring back with them. Decorating trees in a gesture of thanks. The creepy jolly man though, that Nyke could burn, after.
“Shall we get them now? Cy is running out of distractions. Maddie was doing his hair last I heard from him while Lilly did something they called a gothic makeover. Perhaps we should remove this YouTube from their phones.”
Kal called Cy while Eadric checked the food. He hadn’t realized that cooking a turkey would be a tradition and he couldn’t find one fast enough, he’d tried. Kal and Eadric had spent close to half an hour trying to hunt a turkey. Their dragons enjoyed a few other delicacies, but none appeared to be what was a turkey. It had all worked out though.
He opened the oven, the scent of warm meat treated his nose. Stacks of burgers and fries piled together on platters waited to be served. He liked this food a lot as well, and Kal said his mate was craving one. Happiness filled him like a bubble. Anything to make their mates happy.
“Is this music necessary,” asked one of his brothers. Eadric swung around.
“Yes. It is absolutely necessary. The lady at the store said that no Christmas was complete without Christmas carols.”
He moved closer to the door, the pull of his mate's approach impossible to ignore. Kal joined him. They had been away from their mates for far too long in his opinion.
Eadric rubbed his chest. He had never felt like this before. Like a child. He couldn’t wait to give her gifts. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to chase her nightmares away and leave Earth with only the best of memories.
Shush, they are coming.
He got a few glares. Fine, he stated the obvious. But how did one stop the excitement from bursting? This Christmas was indeed magic.
First Lilly entered, her eyes the size of saucers. Next in, Maddie, who squealed so loud every warrior was covering their ears.
And then, in came Cy. Scowling and looking like he’d just lost a battle against some kind of dirt monster?
Every single male in the room burst into hysterics.
“What happened to you?”
Eadric’s eyes traced his hair from scalp to pointy end.
“Did someone punch you?” he asked, looking at the black around his eyes.
“Yeah. Laugh. Your mates happened. Would you please either find them another babysitter or get them pregnant soon so they can torture their own young?”
Eadric liked this last idea very much.
A flash of fear entered Lilly’s mind at this idea, though. Curious. He’d have to understand that fear next. Today was operation give Lilly Earth experiences.
He held Lilly in his arms, a growl rumbling in his chest. Yes, he wouldn’t mind taking her back to their quarters right now and trying, except for his surprise. That and he wasn’t entirely sure she was on board with having young.
Maddie’s voice kept him from wondering too much for now.
“What is all this? Christmas isn’t for like months,” said Maddie, as she turned and hugged Kal.
Eadric couldn’t hold in his excitement. He took Lilly’s hands in his own and started to guide her, stopping under a bit of green on the ceiling.
He bent down and kissed her.
“Why are we stopping? I want to see it all.”
He smiled.
“Look up.”
She did as asked.
“What is it?”
“Mistletoe. You apparently kiss under this odd little weed. Merry Christmas, my mate.”
Lilly looked around, a sense of pride running through him as her eyes sparkled and her smile reached her eyes. Her thoughts filled his own head as he tried to keep her next surprises a secret.
Joy, pure and right and everything his Lilly deserved.
“So this is what Christmas looks like?” she said.
Pulling her into him, wanting to feel her body against him. Feel her emotions running through him.
“You know of Christmas?” he asked.
She nodded. “Some of the magazines and books my sister would sneak me had references to Christmas. I always thought it was just to sell things.”
Sadness and awe and love filled her.
“Mate, why are you sad?”
She shrugged. “My sister, I guess. I’d love to have shown her this.”
He held her closer, feeling her heartbeat with his own.
“Well, as I said we will go find her soon. For now though, enjoy the moment.”
Laughter burst through the room as someone, rather Nyke, entered ringing a bell.
“Now this really is Christmas,” laughed Maddie.
Nyke rang the bell and carried in a sack that had little things Eadric found in small travel sizes. Something called stocking stuffers, but he did
n’t have a fireplace so the decision was made, Santa could indeed deliver these stockings. It was highly confusing as to why socks were a tradition.
Eadric couldn’t help but laugh with the rest of his brothers and his mate. The suit wasn’t made for a dragon shifter. Or maybe, perhaps, it wasn’t made for a man at all. The pants came mid calf, and the jacket, well, Nyke had ripped off the sleeves to fit his arms.
Maddie came over to Lilly. “Lilly, that isn’t really Santa. It might be a stripper, but definitely not Santa.”
Maddie hooted.
“Why are you making those noises to Nyke?” asked Kal.
She rolled her eyes and then winked at Lilly.
“Because babe, Santa’s a hottie. Also, because your brother looks like he might die right now and this is the most emotion I’ve seen out of Nyke, well ever.”
Kal grabbed Maddie and kissed her. “That was the wrong thing to say, mate.”
Eadric turned away, Santa maybe was backfiring. He looked down at his own mate, and she was beaming, but not at Santa. Her eyes danced over the lights to the sparkling garlands, over to the singing and dancing snowmen. No, nothing was wrong. Nothing was too much. His mate was happy.
A joy burst through him. Seeing her smile was far more fulfilling than seeing her under him, writhing in pleasure. He shook his head, no maybe not that much.
Either way, though, he wasn’t going to be able to wait for dinner. He wanted to see the entire picture of this dream for Lilly.
“Wait here.”
Taking a few steps away, he glanced back to make sure she was staying and caught Kal’s eyes and motioned to the tree.
Let’s do the gifts now and then food.
He grabbed the gifts they got for each of their brother’s first. Then he handed one to Kal, who looked at Eadric perplexed.
“When did you get me a gift?”
“Just open it, it’s nothing that exciting.”
Kal did as told and laughed as he held up a chicken ornament. “I really want to punch you right now, but I suppose this does help me remember what not to do ever.”
Dragons Under the Mistletoe Page 2