Dragons Under the Mistletoe

or at least never on this planet.”
Finding another piece of blue, Lilly turned it around and around trying to find its match. “They are a little strange some days. But at least he cares.”
Maddie chewed her lower lip. “Honestly, I’m still not too excited about being here. I can’t wait to leave. I don’t know if my ex survived. We aren’t sure if your dad died or not in whatever it was you did. I really don’t mind not being out of this ship. Although, I have been asking for a cheeseburger for a few days now. I could really go for that.”
Lilly looked up. “What is a cheeseburger and why haven’t we had that yet? So far they seem to really enjoy Pizza and spaghetti. Maybe we can get the guys to bring burgers.”
Smiling at Maddie, Lilly realized that she’d never known how sad her life really was until now. If she would have known this was an option, happiness, she probably would have tried to escape a little more. Well, probably not. Eadric wasn’t here yet. But seriously.
She’d gained at least twenty pounds since he rescued her, and it wasn’t for lack of exercise. The food. Holy crap the food. One of the dragons cooked, but Eadric was determined to help her experience everything she’d missed out for her entire life. None of the brothers complained.
Lilly’s taste buds didn’t complain. She loved every second and Eadric seemed to enjoy the added curves. Her body was filling out and she actually rather enjoyed it. Lilly still sometimes had flashes of her father, or the lab. She still sometimes had to talk herself out of panicking, but Eadric knew how to calm her.
Being Eadric’s wasn’t like being a captive. Maybe he was big, and tough and overprotective, but she was in control. Most of the time, anyway. Heat pooled in her belly. Yeah, there were times she was more than happy to let him do whatever he wanted.
“Lilly, what are you thinking about?” Maddie giggled.
Lilly’s neck and face heated.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” Maddie said. “I’m so glad that Eadric found you. You two are perfect for each other. And I don’t say that lightly. I seriously hated the idea of being tied down, but now I know that what I thought love was was all wrong.”
Lilly giggled. “I know. I really don’t think there is or was anything that would have prepared me or taught me love was real. I knew aliens were real. I mean, I grew up with some weird crap. I still swear that my best friend was a ghost. Or maybe it was a demon. I don’t even know. She disappeared when I was little. All that I believed in. Love? No.”
Maddie fit another piece of the puzzle in place. “Well, I know ghosts exist and my dad was apparently some Lord of hell or something. My mom didn’t talk about him much. So, really, what the heck isn’t possible?”
Lilly never thought of it that way. Here she was mated to a dragon. Really, what wasn’t possible?
“What is taking them so long?” Lilly said, tossing a piece down.
Maddie shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Where did Cy go? Maybe we should go find him. Think he’ll fly us to town for shopping?”
Neither woman actually wanted to go. A chill ran up Lilly’s spine.
Maddie’s skin paled.
“Yeah. Not yet,” Lilly said.
“Right. So now what? Movie?”
Lilly nibbled the inside of her cheek. “Sure. Why not?”
Lilly cleaned up the puzzle, and Maddie grabbed something called popcorn. Lilly realized that she didn’t know much about the world outside of the lab or what her sister could sneak in. Popcorn was not something that could be snuck in, not with the way it smelled. The aroma made her mouth water.
“Hey, Maddie? What do you suppose it will be like on their planet?”
Lilly hugged the puzzle box to her chest.
“Haven’t you seen glimpses of it from Eadric?” she asked, cradling two sodas in one arm and the popcorn bowl in the other.
Lilly nodded, but honestly most of the time Eadric was too centered on her. Always worried about her, and she supposed he had reason to. She had years and years of things to get over, and sadly most came in the form of nightmares. She’d only ever once seen Eadric’s dreams of home.
“Well, yes, and no. We haven’t gotten far on it yet. And anyway, even when he does talk about it, he just says that I’ll be doted upon. That basically we are considered royalty, almost. Not that I really get that phrase. But, I think maybe it would be a little like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.”
Maddie’s eyes lit up. “That’s the perfect way to look at it. Yes. I mean, with a little more dragons and probably like a lot more sex and some alien planet stuff. But yeah. These guys are pretty much the Mr. Darcys of the planet. Rich, revered, handsome, and all around good guys in a badass package.”
Lilly liked this more and more. She could be Elizabeth. Or, well, Eadric’s Elizabeth. They started to walk down the hall to what the guys had called something fancy, but Lilly just called it a meeting room. It had lots of screens and the men had figured out how to hook up something called Netflix. Maddie and Lilly dragged pillows in and had made a small nest, which none of the men minded. If the mates were safe, the dragons seemed to be content.
“There you two are,” said Cy, coming up behind them.
Maddie and Lilly kept walking.
“Here we are. Want to come watch a movie with us big guy?” said Maddie.
Cy shrugged. “Yes. Fine. But please, no more romance movies. Is there anything with dragons?”
Both women looked at each other. Lilly honestly had no idea.
Maddie laughed. “Have you ever heard of How to Train Your Dragons?”
They both turned to see Cy. His eyes were slitted. “We do not need to be trained, but I suppose this is better than yesterday’s choice. What was it?