Looking at the tattoo-like figure on his forearm, Gunner murmured, “I think you and Spirit are full of shit. I don’t know what you guys are up to, but if this is a wild-ass goose chase I’m gonna have Smoky burn both your asses.”
Spirit swallowed hard. “It wasn’t me. I mean it was, but it wasn’t. Ry said if I didn’t help them he wouldn’t have sex with Taj for a week. Do you have any idea how grumpy that man gets when he goes without for a day, let alone a week? Well, I do. I’m the one out on assignments with him, and trust me, an undersexed Taj is a grumpy Taj, and… and…”
“Spirit, slow the fuck down and tell me what’s going on. Is there a threat at the Beer and Brats or not?” Gunner snapped.
Spirit looked at Gunner’s forearm and then to Gunner’s eyes, then back to his forearm once more, shaking his head left and right.
“Then, what the fuck are we doing here, and why would you say there is a problem when there isn’t? Have you ever heard of the boy that cried wolf? It isn’t smart or good to lie to one of your own team members. How the hell am I supposed to trust…?”
“It isn’t Spirit’s fault or any of the mates’ fault either. This is all my fault,” his maharishi said in an exasperated tone.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Gunner snarled.
Gunner’s dragon lifted off his arm and grew to Gunner’s height. “Can you go circle the area, Spirit? We need to make sure the mates are safe.”
“The mates? Are you telling me there are mates in the bar?” Gunner gasped in horror.
Spirit took off into the air and Gunner’s maharishi explained. “Gordy is in there, and Jude, Gio, and Bren are at another table watching out for him.”
“What the fuck?” Gunner snarled.
Holding up his large paw with even larger claws, the dragon explained. “I don’t know what it is, Gunner. I feel a draw to Gordy and I really think he might be our sentience. Now I know we haven’t gone into the dragon heat and neither has Gordy, but I’ve talked to Smoky about it and he said that sometimes the heat doesn’t come on right away. It took some time to hit Pit. He thought his heat had come on the same day he went to interview Bren about that serial killer. The thing is, after giving it some thought he remembered it had been like almost a full week when they had crossed paths at the post office. It took weeks for it to hit Smoky’s sentience, but instead of Casper going through the heat, Jude was the one that went through it, and it was much later then Pit’s. And remember, Taco’s sentience, Gio… well, because he’s a multiplex elemental, his body controlled his heat for a really long time and…”
“I get it, I get it… it can take a long time.So,I ask you again, if we don’t have the dragon heat to go by, then we can’t do anything about how we feel. Pit would kick our asses and maybe even call in Heck to take us out of D.O.A. We can’t risk it.” Gunner insisted.
Once more his dragon held up his large scaly paw, “Just hear me out. Spirit said even though none of them had gone into dragon heat right away, in his pairing, Spirit felt a deep need to protect and care for Rylee. Smoky agreed with him as did Taco and Azul. I feel that need, Gunner. I don’t want to leave Drago because the thought of doing that means I’d have to leave Gordy, and if I’m not there, how can I protect him if he needs it? Why do I even care? Why is it I can’t stop looking out for him, and why is it you can’t stop thinking or dreaming about him?”
Shaking his head, Gunner replied, “We have no way of knowing if Gordy is ours or not without the dragon heat to guide us.”
“That isn’t true, Gunner. We have instinct. Come on, when was the last time you went without sleep because you couldn’t stop thinking about someone? When was the last time you jacked off two, even three times a day, because all you wanted to do was join with a man?”
“How the hell…?”
“Please, we’ve been soul connected for centuries. I know every time you get off, and trust me, never have you been so damn horny.” His dragon snorted.
Sighing heavily, Gunner said, “Fine. I get what you’re saying, but Pit already warned us off. If you’re wrong about this, we could lose everything.”
“I don’t think I am wrong, Gunner. Even if I am, I really doubt Pit would kick us out of D.O.A., but if he does, we still have each other, Gunner. You and I have always been connected more than the other maharishi. Hell, even your eyes turned into the same as my own.”
Gunner must have taken too long to say anything to his maharishi, because the dragon quickly said, “Please Gunner. I really think I’m right. Besides, you can’t keep going on like you have been. With so little sleep and your mind on nothing but Gordy, if we’re called out on a mission you could be too distracted to do your job, and someone could get hurt or killed… including you.”
Sighing heavily, Gunner finally said, “Okay, I’ll see what happens. So, tell me what plan you all concocted.”
When his maharishi smiled, Gunner knew anyone else would have run screaming like a loon. His sharp teeth made it look like more of a call to eat him instead of what it was… joy. His dragon was happy and excited. “It’s simple. We set you up on a blind date.”
“Say again.” Gunner said in shock.
“A blind date. Gio was talking with Macy and she wanted to start a dating company. Anyway, it got Gio thinking about Gordy and how lonely he seems to be since coming to Drago. Yes, he has his little Yorkie and such, which is kind of funny when you think about it since he’s a Yorkie-shifter himself.”
“Gordy’s a shifter? A dog shifter?” Gunner asked in surprise.
Nodding, his maharishi got a wistful expression on his face, saying, “Oh yes. I told you that already. He is the most adorable little puppy. Every time I see him shift I just want to cuddle him up and take a nap. I bet you his fur is so soft. It looks it at least. I just want to run my cheek all over that little Yorkie and bask in the soft furry body.”
“I know you talked about the Yorkie, but I always thought you were talking about Gordy’s dog, not him.” Gunner replied.
Sighing and sounding a little frustrated, his dragon said, “You see, you never listen to me when I talk anymore, Gunner. I specifically said I got to watch him shift and he made the most adorable shifter and all I wanted to do was cuddle him.”
“He isn’t a teddy bear.” Gunner growled.
