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His groan was adorably dramatic, but my favorite part was the way his arms flailed making him look even more like a grumpy dinosaur, as the Earthlings called all of the reptile-like species that had originally come from Earth.
It was obvious he was telling me very politely that I was wrong, so I frowned and gave him a thinking expression. “Are you trying to ask if you can borrow my shirt?”
Raxius had to have been doing his best not to send his humor through his bond with Shiloh, but I got a clear impression of how funny he thought we were. He moved so carefully since his goal was to be unobtrusive as he added a soap that would form bubbles that we were assured were necessary for Earth-style bathing.
“No?” Tilting my head to the side, I frowned again. “Oh, was this still about my books?”
As the tub started to fill, Shiloh bounced and nodded, completely ignoring everything else. “Well, even though I have set up these quarters very nicely, it is not technically what you would consider my home. I have just spent several weeks here waiting for your arrival.”
As Shiloh seemed to understand, having my possessions around was relaxing.
Giving him another thoughtful expression, I sighed. “Well, I did not know you would come but I was waiting for the people of Earth. I would have been even more excited if I had known you were coming.”
That got giggles and happy feelings coming through the bond but he quickly moved to look out the bathroom door before coming over to me again. So as I reached for his shirt, I started to speak again in the manner they called rambling. “At home I have what you would describe as a library which contains…magical copies of our ancient documents.”
Shiloh was too fascinated by our discussion to notice his Earth-style shirt coming off or my slight hesitation on the wording. “The originals are held in special archives to prevent them from decaying, but my copies are accurate.”
Stronger feelings of curiosity flooded through our bonds as I knelt down to remove his socks. “I have what you would call diaries. They were more common in our ancient past but we also have accounting records that can show much about what life was like.”
Balancing himself with his hands on my shoulders, Shiloh made an excited squeak as he sucked on his binkie. “There is one long-ago record of a household and the notes in the margins are all complaints about how much meat they were consuming.”
Shiloh thought that was hilarious, so I did my best to find stories he would enjoy. “I also have a diary from a young man that has nothing but complaints about how he was being made to keep a diary. His mother seemed to have insisted and it is pages upon pages of the young dragon complaining.”
It was at once the most interesting thing I’d ever read and the most boring.
As I reached for the button on his Earth pants, Shiloh giggled, so I continued the story. “There are only two or three lines in all of it that are not him repeating he is being forced to write. Those are grumpy demands for food because he could not get dinner until he had done his writing.”
If diaries were still common, I could see my family having done something similar. “We don’t know anything else about him or his family other than his age and that his mother was very bossy.”
In some areas we had countless records that had been preserved and in others very little. It was beyond frustrating and inspired Earth-level emotions in me and others who researched and documented the archives.
That seemed like it would entertain Shiloh, though, so I did my best to sound frustrated as I removed his pants and underwear. “Can you imagine a thousand years from now and all anyone knows about you was that you had the mental strength to do nothing but complain?”
Shiloh blinked and then shook his head as he stepped out of his clothing.
Since he did not give any indication that he noticed he was naked, I ignored his lean body and thick penis, even though it looked curious. “We know two meals he wanted to eat and that he wasn’t going to let her win. That was a line at the beginning of the diary.”
Some individuals were very interesting.
Some penises were interesting as well, but luckily for me, Wren had explained the changes most dragon males had made to their bodies.
“Do you think she ever knew what he was doing?” Raxius frowned thoughtfully as he took Shiloh’s hand and led our naked boy over to the tub. He must have received the same lecture because he did not react to Shiloh’s body. “My mother would have checked and then would have been…disappointed I think is the English word.”
Hmm.
“Mine would have walked away and not talked to me for days to show her disapproval.” She had done that a lot when I pushed back against her requirements. “I don’t know what I would have written, though.”
As Shiloh stepped into the hot water and made a sound that seemed half giggle and half moan, Raxius shook his head and guided our submissive lower. “That is not a way we will caretake a child if we become parents.”
Oh.
“Catch him.” My words were fast but Raxius’ hands were faster. He caught our mate right before he slipped backward and almost went under the water. “He. That.”
His head.
He would have broken his head.
I somehow ended up on the floor beside the tub, heart beating faster than I’d ever experienced, even when the shelf had fallen on me. Shiloh was now sitting, but he had come too close to harm. “How are these so dangerous? Did no one think to put safety spells on these quarters?”