Gunner had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at the fact that after all the sex they already had, the man still could barely say the word. It was just too adorable. However, Gunner wasn’t stupid. He knew that Gordy would not appreciate the humor of the situation.
The smell of lavender filled the bathroom. Jamil stepped back, saying, “It’s the perfect temperature and I put some relaxing salts into the bath.”
Gunner and Jamil both helped Gordy into the bath. Gunner climbed in behind him and sat so that Gordy was sitting between his legs with Gordy’s back to Gunner’s front. Jamil stepped back, saying, “I’m going to step out for a while. You two enjoy.”
“You’re not going to join us?” Gordy asked.
Shaking his head, Gordy replied, “I need to speak with Taco. Just enjoy your bath.”
* * * *
Jamil made his way outside. Seeing Taco sitting by the pool with his large clawed feet dangling in the water, he went and joined his fellow maharishi. “Do you mind if I join you?”
Taco looked up, “Not at all. How is bonded life?”
Smiling, Jamil said, “It is everything I dreamed of and more. I’ve never felt more complete. Hell, I didn’t know I’d been missing so much until Gunner and I bonded with Gordy. I feel as if my magic is more powerful than I was born with.”
“I know our soul bond original feels the connection. Cobra is so attentive in ways he has never been before to Gio, but to me as well. That being said, I don’t know if they feel it as greatly as we do. Maybe it’s because bonding and soul binding is so highly spiritual, and we, as dragons, are mostly of the spirit we are more sensitive to it, but I know I feel full all the time.” Taco stated.
Jamil could only nod. They sat there for a few moments in silence. Finally, Taco turned to him, asking, “So, what do I owe the honor of your presence?”
With a snort, Jamil said, “I don’t tend to interact much with you do I?”
“Jamil, you rarely interact with anyone other than your soul bond. We don’t always understand, but we do try and respect your need for separation. You are a good dragon to have at our side and you have never let us down in a fight. I guess we just wish you would join us in more than patrol or battle.” Taco stated with a firm look.
Jamil looked away, then back to Taco. “I play poker with Azul and some of the others once in a while.”
Taco immediately said, “You only started doing that a couple of months ago when you made a deal with your soul bond. I heard Gunner talking to Pit about it one day. It seemed Gunner was as saddened by your constant need to be alone as we were. We all hope that your bonding with your sentience will help with whatever has held you back from being a part of us all.”
“I never knew any of you cared about me like that.” Jamil quietly said.
“Of course we care about you, Jamil.” Taco said in astonishment. “You are one of us. You always have been.”
Jamil felt his eyes misting, “Thank you, Taco. I’ve never really felt as if I was a part of anything other than soul bonds with Gunner. When Heck came to me and asked for me to be a part of the D.O.A. and what it would mean, I was surprised. My people were not one most other dragons looked at as one of them. The fact that we don’t really look like a dragon, but more a mutant wasp… I don’t have many memories of that time, but for some reason that one has stuck with me. The feeling of being an outcast of my own kind has run deep inside, and it was hard for me to try and connect with all of you as a result of my past.”
Sighing, Taco replied, “My memories are also lacking, but the one thing I do remember is how snobbish our lot was. What you need to remember is that those days are over. Our clutches we once came from are no more and all we have left are each other. We are now a new clutch—at least that’s how I see it—but instead of just dragons of the same families it includes humans, shifters, and other paranormals of all types. As for how your clutch was treated, I can only say that it was the fear of the unknown. Everyone is leery of those we do not understand. Your people stayed hidden from all dragons and rarely ever got involved in political interactions. We cannot trust those that refuse to share even a hello.”
“I understand what you’re saying and I’m not trying to insinuate you are wrong. I was just trying to help you understand why I was more a loner than a true team member” Jamil replied.
“Understood. Now that we have that out of the way, I know I speak for us all when I say I hope to see you joining us more from this day forward.” Taco stated with a raised brow.
Nodding, Jamil replied, “You have my word as a dragon.”
“Good, now tell me the real reason you came to see me. Somehow I doubt it was to discuss our family problems.” Taco said with a smile.
Sighing, Jamil replied, “I think I fucked up and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Okay, what did you do?” Taco asked.
Jamil looked down, unwilling to see the censure in his clutch mate’s eyes. “When Gunner and I went in search of Gordy we found him in our room talking to Bren. He sounded so sad and Gunner told me to wait until he returned. I don’t know what he was doing, but I did as he said and I overheard Gordy talking about how he had always wanted a real family.”
Taco scoffed. “Well with a dickhead father like he has and apparently his mother isn’t much better I can see why.”
Shaking his head, Jamil quickly replied, “As true as that is, that isn’t what he was talking about. He was talking about how he had always wanted a large family. He wants kids to run around and play with… he wants an honest to goodness family. He said he only gave that idea up because he was gay and men can’t get pregnant.”
“And this makes you worried because you don’t want this or you never thought about it?” Taco asked.
“Neither. I mean, no I never really gave it much thought since my rebirth, but I’m not against the idea.” Jamil responded.
Taco looked at Jamil curiously, “Then, I’m not sure I understand. Did you tell Gordy that it’s possible to have children now? That being soul bonded to a dragon makes having children possible... No! You didn’t!” Taco gasped.
Nodding, Jamil rasped, “I did.”
“The bearing heat? You gave off the dragon bearing heat?” Taco said, in complete shock.
Nodding once again, Jamil whispered, “Yes, and the moment Gordy swallowed Gunner’s seed… it took.” Slowly, Jamil looked at Taco, asking, “How do I tell my bond mates that we are going to have a child in the next three months without them hating me?”
