by Stormy Glenn
“I took a shower this morning.” Sebastian knew he didn’t smell bad.
“You were aroused.”
Sebastian gaped. “And you could smell it?”
“Rabbits have a very good sense of smell.”
The corners of Sebastian’s mouth started to curve up then a small chuckle escaped his lips. In a matter of moments, the amusement of the situation struck him harder, and his small chuckle turned into an all out belly laugh.
“Bunny, you are a true delight.”
“I’m also good at sucking cock.”
“Yes, you are.” Sebastian chuckled.
Beauregard beamed and wiggled back and forth. “I liked sucking your cock.”
A sudden blinding anger filled Sebastian. He growled deep in his throat and lifted Beauregard up by his arms until their faces were mere inches apart. “I have no wish to hear about the men in your past. I am your present and your future. There will be no other men.”
Beauregard’s eyes widened as he blinked. “Um, what other men?”
Sebastian’s eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. “You said—”
“I didn’t say a thing,” Beauregard protested. “You’re the one that brought up other men.”
Sebastian was confused, and he didn’t like feeling confused. He lowered Beauregard to the floor then pushed his hand through his hair in an aggravated gesture. “There haven’t been other men?”
“No, I told you that last night. I was a virgin until you claimed me.”
“Then how did you—” Sebastian snapped his mouth closed. He really had no idea how to ask Beauregard how he had given such an expert blowjob without making the man sound like a complete slut.
“How did I what?”
“Never mind.”
“No, I’d really like to know wha—”
The door swung open. Beauregard squeaked and shifted, all in the blink of an eye. Sebastian’s mouth dropped open as he watched a pure white rabbit race across the hardwood floor and into the bedroom. When he looked up, Galan was standing there, staring just as intently.
“Was that Beauregard?” Galan asked.
“Yes.”
Galan’s eyebrows shot up. “He really is a bunny?”
Sebastian smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes, my mate really is a bunny.”
Chapter 4
Beauregard raced under the bed and hid, his heart beating a million beats a minute. He ran up and pressed his body against the wall under the head of the bed. He didn’t know who had been coming through the door, but he didn’t want anyone seeing him naked except Sebastian.
The myths were true. Rabbit shifters were a horny lot. They liked to have sex and as often as possible. However, they only liked having sex with their mates. Once claimed, no one else would ever do.
In that one thing, rabbits were more loyal than any other shifter kind. They never even had sex before they were claimed by their mates. It was not only considered bad taste. It was tradition.
Beauregard doubted Sebastian understood the commitment he made when they mated. Beauregard would never have a desire to be with another living person as long as he lived. All of his sexual interest was now firmly fixated on his mate.
Beauregard couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian would feel the same. The man seemed possessive enough, but what did Beauregard know of dragon shifters? Maybe Sebastian didn’t care about being mates, but he didn’t like sharing his toys?
The more Beauregard sat huddled against the wall, the more depressed he became. He wasn’t supposed to be mated to a dragon. He was supposed to be mated to another rabbit. That’s how things worked.
The elders had really screwed them all over when they decided to play their little game. Beauregard couldn’t help but hope that karma came back around and bit the elders in the butt. It would serve them right.
“Bunny?”
Beauregard hesitated for about one second then scrambled across the floor to reach the safety of Sebastian’s arms. Sebastian leaned down and picked him up, cradling Beauregard in his arms and close to his chest. Beauregard’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head when Sebastian started petting him. Rabbits were very tactile creatures. They craved touch.
“Hey, bunny, what has you so upset?” Sebastian asked as he carried the bunny over to the bed and sat down. He stretched out on the bed and placed Beauregard next to him. “Galan won’t hurt you, bunny, I promise.”
Beauregard shifted back to his human form and stretched his body out along Sebastian’s, pressing into him. He liked the closeness he felt when he was pushed up against Sebastian’s larger body, the safety.
“I’m not afraid of Galan,” Beauregard said as he plucked at the buttons of Sebastian’s shirt. “Although he might want to reconsider being afraid of me. I may be just a rabbit, but I can still do some serious damage.”
“If you’re not afraid of Galan, then why did you run?”
“I was naked.”
Duh!
“Bunny, Galan’s seen naked men before. Besides, you’re gorgeous. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I wasn’t ashamed.” Beauregard growled and shoved away from Sebastian. “I was being loyal, but I guess you dragons don’t know anything about that.”
Beauregard was working himself into a royal snit, and he knew it. He just couldn’t seem to stop it. Sebastian, as his mate, should have been as concerned as he was, but the man didn’t even seem fazed.
“Excuse me?”
Beauregard’s eyes narrowed when he detected the barely controlled violence in Sebastian’s voice. Maybe he had crossed the line just a little bit with that dragon comment, but he was pissed.
“You heard me!” Beauregard snapped. “You should have been as concerned as I was with someone else seeing me naked, but apparently it doesn’t matter to you. Maybe I should just parade naked through the entire castle?”
“You’ll do not such thing!”
“Try and stop me,” Beauregard growled as he jumped off the bed and raced for the door. He had just grabbed the door handle when Sebastian’s arms wrapped around him from behind. Beauregard squealed as he was swung up off the floor.
His arms and legs flailed wildly as he was tossed through the air. He landed on the bed, bouncing several times before he came to a stop on his back. Beauregard leaned up on his elbows and stared up at the menacing man standing at the end of the bed, his arms crossed and his eyebrows pulled down in a deep frown.
“Now, do you want to explain that statement or do I need to spank your little cottontail ass?”
Beauregard’s eyebrows shot up when his cock jerked at Sebastian’s words. Apparently he liked the idea of having his ass spanked. Now, wasn’t that a surprise. Sebastian must have thought so, too, because he suddenly started chuckling.
“Oh, bunny, what am I going to do with you?”
“Um…” Beauregard glanced down as his stiff cock. “I may have a few ideas.”
Sebastian laughed and shook his head. “Not this time, bunny. I want to know what you meant by what you said. And this time, if you don’t tell me, I won’t spank you.”
Beauregard groaned and dropped back onto the mattress. This mating thing was going to take some time to get used to. Sebastian seemed to think he had a right to Beauregard’s every little thought. It kind of reminded him of the leader of his colony—only, Sebastian was much sexier.
“It’s wrong for anyone but my mate to see me naked.”
“I agree, but what does that have to do with the way you’re behaving?”
“Me?” Beauregard sputtered as he sat up. “What about you? You didn’t even blink an eye when Galan saw me. It was like you had no problem at all with him seeing me naked.”
Sebastian sighed deeply and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. He was frowning, and Beauregard didn’t think that was a good thing. But hell, what did he know? He thought his mate wouldn’t want anyone to see him naked, either.
“Beauregard, it’s wrong to parade
yourself around in front of others, but we’re shifters,” Sebastian finally said. “Someone is bound to see you naked at some point.”
“No, that’s wrong.” Why didn’t Sebastian understand that? “We never shift back in front of others. Only our mate can see us naked. It’s a point of honor with rabbit shifters.”
Sebastian suddenly smiled, his frown slipping away. He gestured with his hands for Beauregard to come closer. Beauregard didn’t even have to think about it. He loved being in Sebastian’s arms. He climbed across the mattress and into Sebastian’s lap.
“Okay, listen to me, Beauregard. I will give you that I am used to seeing other shifters in the all together. It’s kind of hard not to when you’re as big as we are when we shift. However, that being said, I’d prefer if no one saw you naked.” Sebastian tapped his finger on the end of Beauregard’s nose. “And I appreciate the fact that it’s a point of honor for you not to let anyone see you naked. But, in the future, I’d also appreciate it if you kept from disparaging dragons, as I am one.”
“Sorry,” Beauregard mumbled as he glanced down at his fingers, twisting them together nervously. Sebastian was right. He shouldn’t have taken his anger and confusion out on dragons as a whole. His beef was with Sebastian. “You just seemed to not care at all and that made me angry.”
“Bunny, we’ve had less than twenty-four hours together. It’s going to take some time for both of us to get used to each other. Just because I didn’t have time to react to Galan walking into the room does not in any way mean I wouldn’t have thrown a temper tantrum of epic proportions if he had seen you naked.”
Beauregard started to smile at Sebastian’s words. A temper tantrum of epic proportions? He liked the sound of that. “Really?”
“Really.” Sebastian cupped Beauregard’s chin and tilted his head up. “You are my mate, and no one should see you naked except me if it is at all possible. I would appreciate it if you continued to keep this gorgeous little body for my eyes alone.”
“I can do that.” Beauregard grinned. He could do as his mate requested and keep his honor. Could there be a better compromise? “I am sorry about what I said. I don’t know anything about dragons other than the fact that you’re huge and you breathe fire.”
“Technically, bunny, we don’t breathe fire. There’s a gland in my throat that carries a gas that ignites when I release it. We call it the fire pouch. When we use it, we can either push fire out of our mouths or smoke out of our nose.”
“That’s how you made those smoke rings.”
“Yes.”
Beauregard laughed. “That is so cool.”
“It’s also the way we mark our mates. When I mated you, I blew out a special smoke that is reserved just for our mates. It marked you here.” Sebastian’s fingers grazed Beauregard’s back from the top of his spine, down to the bottom. “Any other dragon that sees you will know that you belong to me.”
Beauregard tugged on the braid of pure white hair at Sebastian’s temple. “This is a rabbit’s way of marking their mates.”
Sebastian frowned. “I suspected as much when I saw it.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I didn’t expect it, that’s all.” Sebastian’s frowned turned up into a smile. “It was a little surprising when I woke up this morning and went into the bathroom only to find a streak of white hair on my head.”
“I like what you’ve done with it.” Beauregard rubbed the braid between his fingers until he reached the end. He eyed Sebastian cautiously, unsure of the man’s reaction to his words. “This would look really cool with some beads on it.”
Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up just a little. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”
“I have some beads that you might like.”
“Would you mind putting them in for me?”
Beauregard grinned. “I need my purse.”
“Purse?”
Beauregard rolled his eyes when Sebastian got a stricken look on his face. “Yes, purse. It’s a little neon green bunny-shaped bag attached to the belt in my pants. I keep everything in there.”
“Well, Galan brought your clothes in.” Sebastian lifted Beauregard up and sat him down on the bed before standing up. “I’ll go get them real quick.”
Beauregard could hardly contain his eagerness as Sebastian walked out of the bedroom. He loved his little purse. Granted, it was strange for a full grown man to carry one, and he’d received lots of ribbing for doing just that, but his mother gave it to him, and he loved the little green bag.
Sebastian walked back into the room a moment later, a large pile of stuff in his hands. He set them down on the bed next to Beauregard. There was another frown on his face. Beauregard was beginning to wonder if it was a permanent look on his face.
“What?”
“Where’s the rest of your stuff?”
“Oh, I have a small bag in the rabbit dorm.”
“The rabbit dorm?”
Beauregard laughed as he reached for his neon green rabbit purse. “Yeah, unless you’re rabbit royalty, you stay in the dorm when you come to the council castle. Only the head rabbits get their own rooms. The rest of us share one big room.”
“Well, not anymore. I’ll send Galan down for your stuff. You stay with me from now on.”
Beauregard beamed.
“You do want to stay with me, don’t you?”
Beauregard suddenly realized that his head was bent down and Sebastian couldn’t see his grin. He quickly glanced up and grinned even wider. “I’m your mate. I have to stay with you now. Besides, I don’t think you’d fit in the dorm beds unless you turned into a pretzel.”
“I would prefer not to try that.” Sebastian chuckled.
Beauregard laughed and then started digging through his purse. He pulled out three different flavors of ChapStick, because you can never have too many. He also pulled out an iPod, paperclip, two metal bottle tops, a package of watermelon-flavored bubble gum, a hair clip, two white polished rocks, a bottle of sparkly neon green nail polish, three small glass beads, and a silver spoon.
“That’s quite the collection you have there, bunny.”
“Oh yeah, I like collecting things.” Beauregard held up the three small beads. “These are all I have right now, but I have a whole jar of beads at home, some really nice ones, too.”
Sebastian sat down on the edge of the bed and bent his head to the side. “Well, go ahead, bunny, put them in my hair.”
Beauregard was practically giddy as he pulled the tie off of Sebastian’s braid. He carefully worked first one, then two, and finally three beads onto the end of Sebastian’s braid before putting the tie back in place.
“There.” Beauregard dropped the braid back into place and gently patted it. “This should work pretty well. When I get home, I’ll find some more beads for you. I have some really pretty ones that would go great with your hair.” Beauregard tilted his head a little as he stared at Sebastian. “Is there any particular color you like?”
“I’m sure whatever you find will be perfect, bunny.” Sebastian reached over and tugged on Beauregard’s hair. “What about you, are you going to put beads in your hair?”
“I don’t have any more with me. The rest of my beads are at home.”
“I’d be willing to share.”
“Oh, no.” Beauregard quickly shook his head. “I gave these beads to you. I can find something else to put in my hair when I get home.”
“Bunny, you’re not going home, remember?”
“Oh yeah, right.” Beauregard frowned. “We’re going to your home, aren’t we?”
“It’s your home now, too.”
“Yeah?” Beauregard started to smile again. He liked the sound of that, sharing a home with Sebastian. “What’s it like, our home?”
“We live in a big castle carved out of the side of a rock cliff. It’s huge, maybe even bigger than the council castle, and it can house hundreds of people.”
Beauregard’s mouth dropped open. “Hundr
eds of people live there?”
“Oh no, bunny, there are several people that live there, mostly my inner circle and those that work on my estate, but other dragons come and go all the time. I am the in line to be the next leader of my dragon clan. I have a lot of duties.”
“Anything I can help you with?”
“Oh, I suspect you will be able to help me with a great many things.”
Beauregard beamed again when Sebastian grinned. It made him feel warm all over inside. It was a strange feeling, being so pleased that Sebastian was happy. Beauregard couldn’t help but wonder if it was all part of the whole mating thing.
He didn’t really know that much about mating. As the only pure white bunny in his colony, he was kind of on the outside looking in. Most of his colony avoided him. He was considered an anomaly.
It hadn’t bothered him while his mother was alive. She adored him. But now that she was gone, Beauregard missed having a family to turn to when others made fun of him or avoided him. He just hoped he wouldn’t experience too much of that when he reached Sebastian’s home.
Of course, being a bunny in a castle full of dragons was sure to be an experience. Beauregard frowned at that thought. “Sebastian, are there any other rabbits at your home?”
“Nope, you’ll be the only one.”
“No one will eat me, will they?”
“No.” Sebastian chuckled. “Rabbits are definitely off the menu.”
“You actually eat rabbits?” Beauregard was shocked and a tad bit scared, not to mention disgusted. “Ewwww.”
“Bunny, I’m a carnivore. I eat meat and lots of it, but I can honestly say I can’t ever remember eating rabbit. I prefer something a little bigger, like a side of cow.”
“I’m a vegetarian.”
Sebastian chuckled again. “Then I’ll make sure you get plenty of fruit and vegetables.”
“And bubble gum.”
Sebastian’s left eyebrow shot up. “Bubble gum?”
Beauregard reached into the pile of stuff from his purse and grabbed the package of bubble gum, holding it out to Sebastian. “I love bubblegum. Watermelon is the best, but cherry will do in a pinch. And I can blow the biggest bubbles. Watch.”
