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Refusing to continue arguing with Alastair while Gunnar was laughing so hard Creed thought the Healer might actually fall off of his chair, the Paladin Leader was just about to toss back a witty comeback when another of their Dragon Brethren appeared in the kitchen. “What the hell’s so funny and why wasn’t I invited to the party?” The Demi-God and Golden Dragon, Kayne grinned from ear-to-ear. “I thought we were going to Rodeo. You left Max and I sitting in the truck for nearly thirty minutes.
Patting Kayne on the shoulder, Creed apologized, “I’m really sorry, man. Gunnar came down and caught me sneaking out. Then he had to give me a speech about women, and well you know how much of a gasbag he is.”
“I do,” the Demi-God snickered. “There were times, when we were all younger and in training, I used to pray for Gunnar and Maddox to shut the hell up so I could get some sleep.” Pointing at the Healer who was already shaking his head, opening his mouth, and trying to object, Kayne kept right on going, “Those two could argue over the time of day in a room of clocks. It was never ending and got louder with every word they uttered.”
“Yeah, I know,” Creed nodded, loving that he finally had some backup, and that Gunnar was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish blowing bubbles. “I was there. I was the one ripping at the hem of my shirts to have something to stuff in my ears.”
“Y’all are so wrong,” Gunnar pouted, even as the twinkle in his eyes got brighter. “So, wrong. I was the life of the party. Now Maddox, well, that’s another story. But me, I was the best. Still am.”
“Okay, whatever you say,” Creed snickered. “As the resident life of the party, you wanna come with us?”
“Nope, I’m gonna enjoy my sandwich and catch-up on rugby. Owen’s youngest son… umm… umm….” Snapping his finger, the Healer whooped, “Heath. That’s his name, Heath. Anyway, he’s a tech guru. I said that since I’d been here in Valentine, I’d missed all the games and bingo-bango, he hooked me up.”
“That’s awesome,” Creed agreed. “Maybe I’ll just…”
“Oh, hell no,” Gunnar readily disagreed. “I’m not havin’ that crap. You need to get out there and find your lady love.”
“Lady love, huh?” Kayne slapped Creed on the back. “That’s great, I highly recommend Mated life. There’s nothing like it. Pearl and I are…”
“So happy, blissfully in love, and what was it you said?” the Healer teased, raising his eyebrows so high they were almost at his hairline. “Oh, yeah, you don’t even remember what life was like before you two met.” Opening his mouth and pointing at the back of his throat as he pretended to gag, he added, in between made-up retching sounds, “Goddess help us. Ain’t love grand.”
“Okay, okay, we’re outta here,” Kayne snickered, grabbing Creed by the arm and tugging him towards the back door. “I wouldn’t want to bore the consummate bachelor with anymore tales of my Mated bliss.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Gunnar laughed out loud. Walking the other way out of the kitchen with a sandwich big enough to feed an army, a huge bag of chipsandthree beers, he kept chuckling.
Outside and in the truck, Creed thought he’d escaped anymore conversations about his love life, when Max Prentice, the King of the Big Cats looked over his shoulder and asked, “You ready for some fun?”
“I guess, just thought we better go see Bonnie and Maggie’s new place while we’re here.”
“Oh, is that all it is?”
“Yeah, what else would it be?” Creed asked, immediately adding, “What do you two know that I don’t?”
“Nothing really,” Max automatically answered right before Kayne chuckled, “Just a feeling.”
Narrowing his eyes and looking between the King and the Demi-God, Creed shook his head and groaned, “You do know that I’m usually the one who knows what’s going to happen before it does, right?”
“Yes,mi amigo,” Max chuckled, his Latin accent getting deeper along with his laughter. “We are well aware of your mental acumen.”
“But this time, you need to buckle up, Buttercup. Things are about to get interesting.”
