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Raxius blinked several times as his hand continued to grip Shiloh’s shoulder to steady him. “I…I do not know.”
A startled sound had been the only indication of imminent danger.
That was. He was. The tub.
Raxius ran his free hand over my head and down my back as he lowered himself to sit beside me. “I know. But he is fine. We were watching him closely and the tub is not deep. You noticed as soon as something went wrong.”
He took a deep breath I knew I was supposed to mirror, and as I did that, Shiloh reached out and stroked my cheek with one wet hand. His bond was giving me a confusing mix of emotions, so I focused on just showing him we were fine. “You startled me. Little dinosaurs aren’t supposed to do that.”
Ha.
I made him laugh.
My heart was still beating too fast, but I thought I was doing a good job of not showing that to my little mate. “Let’s see what…what I can do to keep you safe.”
As a child I’d been required to learn a spell to keep me from falling off ladders to reach the higher shelves in the archives, so I used that to keep Shiloh stationary in the tub. “There.”
He looked down at himself and tried to wiggle his lower body.
Nothing.
He tried again, and when his legs would not move and he could not fall backward, he scrunched up his face and pouted around his binkie.
“Your bottom is…stuck. Yes, that is the word. I will release the spell once you have played and are safely on…dry land. Yes. That is an English word that fits.” I had seen that one in a book, so it was the first to my mind even if it was not perfect. Shiloh was too distracted to worry about accuracy, though. “I will keep you safe.”
“He is fine.” Raxius tried to project calm as he smiled at Shiloh and released his hold on our now safe mate. “He is going to play and then we will get him…clean.”
His frown was surprising. “Is unsticky a word adults use in English or is that a little word that has been added due to Wren? It does not feel right but it is an option.”
“I…” I would have to think about that. “They…they use variations of words to…to indicate their type of submission. We…we will have to see if the different styles of English can be indicated somehow? Separated possibly?”
When Raxius sighed, I knew he was trying to distract Shiloh but it was still silly to watch. “What if we go to the Earth store Walmart and use the wrong English? I would indicate being little without meaning to. That would confuse the people of Earth.”
“Especially the Earth people of Walmart. Did you hear the stories Klynn told?” He was difficult, but he had done a good job of collecting stories that needed to be documented. “He met a vast array of people there.”
Shiloh’s enthusiastic nod and his attempt at a wiggle was a physical expression of excitement, so I knew he wanted the stories as well. “Klynn met a costumed human who was what is called a mascot. It is different than Wren doing his playing squirrel activity.”
Humans were odd but their stories would distract both my mates so we could get through this trying time.
Bathtubs were very dangerous.
Chapter 17
Raxius
“He is hiding again.” Zorin’s head popped up from the other side of the bed as soon as he sensed I was awake. “Our mate pulled the covers over his head so I could not see him.”
It was entirely too early to take either of them seriously, so I pushed up on one arm and looked at both my mates. “Well, part of him is speaking very loudly.”
Our shy mate was erect and possibly embarrassed about that based on his squeak and the way his knees immediately lifted.
My frustrated mate sighed. “I was enjoying that. Why did you point it out? Now he will insist on sleeping with underwear going forward.”
Why wouldn’t I?
“To make him squirm and react.” My answer had Zorin going still and blinking like a confused human at me. “I was also making sure he knew I was not shocked by his arousal response. It is perfectly normal for mates to wake up that way.”
Every time I thought I was the one that did not understand mate behaviors they made me question that worry.
