20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Tan

H oly shit.

Holy. Shit.

Garrick was showing me his hoard?

Holy shit, he was really letting me see his hoard.

Ahhhhh !

I wanted to scream in excitement, but I didn't want to freak him out or make him regret it, so I held it in as best I could. Although, I did hang onto his hand super hard. Thank the Mother he was a dragon and probably couldn't even notice my, compared to his, weak hand.

"You okay?" he asked me at the edge of the doorway.

Okay, so I guess he had noticed my weirdo flag flying.

"Yep. I'm good. Excited."

His lips twitched, and I swore they tilted up on the ends a little bit. Holy shit, his hoard and an almost-there smile? I didn't know which one I loved more.

"Come on, little pretty." He pulled me through the door, and as soon as I set foot inside, I had to pause in order to take it all in.

Fuck me, this place was huge . Like, it wasn't just a room, it was a damn cavern. It was so tall, I had to squint to see the ceiling. And it was just as wide.

It was big enough for a full-sized dragon to shift and even move around a bit. How? How was this possible?

"What the fuck? How… I don't understand. When I was warding your condo, I just assumed you had a huge-ass closet off your bedroom or something. But this is…wow. Where even are we? And, like, how is it this tall when you have a flat roof right overhead? I… I don't understand. How is this possible?"

He leaned in close and said, "Magic."

I barked out a laugh and gave him a push. "Shut up."

This time when he looked at me, his lips tilted up on the ends in a very, very small smile. Holy crap on a cracker, I loved it. He was even sexier when he had happiness floating in his eyes. Sigh . I could just stand here, staring at him all day.

I blinked my way back to focus on his words since he'd started talking. Whoops.

"It's another part of dragon magic. We take a small space and turn it into our hoard, and the space sort of grows by itself. We don't have to do a spell or anything. From the outside, the space looks the same as it always did, but inside, it's big enough for us to shift and hang out with our hoard any time and in any form we want."

"Fucking hell."

"I suppose it's like a pocket dimension of sorts. As far as I know, it only works on our hoards and nurseries to keep our babies safe."

I was staring at him when he said it, so I noticed the slight hesitation and the grief that filled his eyes when he said nurseries and babies . It made my heart lurch and made me want to pull him into another hug. That magic hadn't kept his son safe from his own mother. Fuck, I wanted to hug him again. Hold him. Make him feel safe and cared for.

I wanted to hunt down that bitch who betrayed him, kick her ass, throw her in jail, and then bring Garrick's son back home.

Gar didn't know it, but I'd put my own feelers out, trying to find Oakley. The hardest part would be whether the bitch had kept the baby's name or changed it after she kidnapped him. I was planning on talking to Roman about it more this week since I hadn't found anything yet. I wanted to help.

No, more than that. I needed to.

I was going to find Oakley… somehow…

Garrick cleared his throat. "Feel free to look around."

I shook away the thoughts because I didn't want to mess up Gar's good mood. "Thanks." Free rein? Hell yeah.

I glanced around, unsure of where to even start in this ginormous space that was overfilled with… Garrick's hoard. Gah . I still couldn't believe he'd brought me in here.

Has Roman ever been in here?

Good grief, there was gold everywhere . But more than the gold, there were books. Like bookshelf after bookshelf after bookshelf, and each one was so tall I couldn't see the top. He had ladders all over the place, and I felt like I'd fallen into a book lover's dream library or something.

Not only were there books, there was also a bunch of comfy-looking chairs of all kinds all over the place. And all of it was surrounded by gold. I couldn't even comprehend the number of books he had in here, let alone the number of gold coins and just… other random things.

But the thing I found the most interesting was the fact that not everything in here was gold or a jewel or worth a monetary value. In fact, there were a lot of random items like playing cards, a few empty plant pots, some wood carvings, paintings, figurines, and a million other random things.

For some reason, when I'd thought of a dragon's hoard—which I hadn't even been one hundred percent sure was real in the first place—I'd pictured a sea of gold coins or something. And while there were certainly enough gold coins to make a mountain, that wasn't all this was.

I didn't realize there would be sentimental things in here, but I supposed it made sense. Of course this was where he'd keep his most treasured things, whether they were valuable to an outsider or not.

He walked over to a spot in the far left that looked like it had some childhood toys. He looked like he was on a mission, so I walked through the path the other way. I had to step over random gold coins or other items that had fallen into the path, but that wasn't a big deal.

I automatically made my way over to the closest very tall bookcase so I could see what books he held so dearly he kept them in here instead of in his condo. There were a few titles that he also had a copy of out in the living room, but there were also a lot of fantasy stories that I'd never even heard of before. Some of the books looked old and worn, obviously well loved, while others looked as if he'd never even opened them before, although I was sure he had.

But then I came across a title I recognized, and I couldn't help but reach out and touch its spine.

"That's my most treasured book in here." Garrick's voice was so close behind me that I jumped.

"Holy crapola, you scared me."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to."

I waved him off, then turned back and gestured to the book. "You put it with your hoard." It wasn't a question since the answer was right in front of me.

"I read it the night you gave it to me, and then I placed it in here for safe keeping because… because it was a gift from you, and therefore, it's very treasured indeed."

"Bull crap."

"I assure you, Tan, I'm being perfectly truthful."

And well, I could tell he really was.

I couldn't help myself. I had to give him another hug.

So I whipped back to him and wrapped my arms around his waist before he could protest—not that I thought he would. He didn't hesitate to hug me back, and I sighed into his chest in relief.

"I thought you got rid of it when I didn't see it on your shelf."

"Oh, Tan, I'm so sorry. I would never throw away something you gave me. That was the sweetest gift I've ever received, and the book itself was very good too. I intend to reread it often."

"Then I'll get you another copy to keep in the living room or your bedroom or wherever."

He let out that chortling noise that I was coming to love. "You don't need to do that, little pretty, but thank you." He kissed the top of my head, and it sent a tingle down my spine—and to my balls.

What the hell, balls? Why would a head kiss be the thing to get you going? For fuck's sake.

"Anytime," I whispered, sounding breathless.

Not knowing what he was doing to me, he gave my hair another kiss. "We should head back before the others miss us."

"Oh, Mother, I totally forgot about them." I didn't release him.

He chortled. "Come on, little pretty. I found one of my smaller crowns from when I was a kid, so I thought the girls could play with it."

"You really don't mind them messing with it?"

"Not at all."

I gave him a squeeze in response, then sighed dramatically and finally released him. As soon as I was out of his arms, I wanted back in them and was sort of wishing I could send everyone else home already so I could curl up next to Garrick on the couch.

I wasn't even supposed to stay the night here tonight, but if he was okay with it, I was going to. I glanced down at the small crown in his hand. It wasn't as fancy as the other one, but it was just as beautiful and clearly made from the same material. It was cute that he wanted to let the girls wear it.

"I don't want to go home tonight."

He froze on his way out the door. "You don't have to. You're welcome to stay here anytime you want."

I sagged in relief. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Tan. I mean it—anytime."

I shot him a smile, and after he locked everything up, we headed back to the party.

Before we walked out the door, I grimaced and silently prayed that no one on the roof had tried to murder each other in our absence.

Luckily, when we got up there, everyone seemed perfectly content.

Well, everyone but Remi. He looked kind of pissed and was shooting daggers at Garrick with his eyes.

I marched right over to him, sat on the armrest of the couch he and Bel were on, and whisper-yelled, "Stop it, Remington Deron Ellwood. Don't be an asshole."

He moved his glare over to me, and when I glared back, he blew out a breath. "Where were you?"

"Helping Garrick find his crown."

I gestured over to where Garrick was showing the girls his two crowns—even the two oldest were interested. He put the bigger one on, and I had to swallow all of the saliva that wanted to drip out of my mouth. He was so gorgeous.

Then he passed it and the smaller one over and told them they could wear them and play with them to their heart's content.

Keryth whispered something to him, and I could tell he was worried about the girls breaking them, and I imagined Gar-Bear was telling him the same thing he'd told me about the dragonscale.

"Your obsession with him has only grown since you started guarding him," Remi said, interrupting my Gar-Bear-viewing-session.

I turned my gaze to my best friend with a frown. "What's your problem?"

"I already told you what my problem is. I don't like him."

I ground my teeth together and tried to bite down my initial response of then you can fuck right off because that wasn't something I ever wanted to say to him. "He's made mistakes, and he's taking steps to fix them. I never said he was perfect, but… I like spending time with him here… I just… I like him."

Remi stared at me for a long few seconds before Bel nudged him with his elbow. Remi looked at his viramore for a few seconds, then sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Fine. I'll try being nicer."

I smiled. "That's all I ask. Don't be a dick."

He snorted and reached over to pat my leg. "I'll be civil ." Then the bastard poked me in the ribs, right where he knew I had a ticklish spot. I practically flew off the armrest to get away from him.

He laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach, so I flipped him off.

Bel laughed a little, shaking his head. "You two are absolutely ridiculous."

"Why thank you, Belryn, that's exactly what we're going for." I gave a dramatic bow, making him and Remi laugh a little longer.

When I turned around, I saw that Garrick had finished up with the kids—they were too busy playing with the crowns to notice him much now that he'd handed them over—and he headed straight for me. All I could do was smile at him.

The soft expression he shot me made me want to wrap him in another hug, but when he got close, I managed to contain the impulse.

I was pretty sure the man could use a lot more hugs in his life, so I was going to try giving them to him. But not when I finally just got Remi to agree to stop being an asshat. I'd have to ease him into it because, apparently, my bestie was a little crazy protector, just like both of his dads.

Sigh. Ellwoods .

Garrick surprised me by putting his arm around my back as soon as he stepped close. My eyebrows shot up at the move, but I didn't move away or push his hand off because I liked it right where it was.

I wasn't sure he even knew he'd done it because he started talking to Remi and Bel like normal.

I glanced at my best friend as he answered Garrick's question about the business, and I could tell he was trying. Grudgingly, but it still counted.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch—well, minus the moment when Anton tried to talk to Keryth, and Ker had ended up yelling at him and storming off to the other side of the roof. I winced even thinking about it.

After everyone went home, including Roman, and all of the food was put away, Garrick asked me, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

It was hella late already, but I quickly agreed because I figured if he was asking that, he wanted to spend more time with me as much as I did him.

Plus, maybe I'd get lucky and both of us would fall asleep on the couch together again.

Yeah, I'm definitely all for that option.