An Aces Christmas (The Aces' Sons)

I was pretty sure the only reason he’d asked me to pick them for him was because he was trying to get me out of the bathroom. It wasn’t as if he had a variety to choose from. For as long as I’d known the man, he’d worn the same thing. Jeans in various states of disrepair, white t-shirts that I bought in a multipack wrapped in plastic, and in the colder months, either a quilted flannel or a hoodie—dark colors only. I’d once bought him a red flannel that sat unworn in the closet for ten years before I’d finally given it to charity. Even that had been too flashy for his tastes.

After I’d gathered his clothes and stacked them on the bed, I went to the closet to get my own clothes. We were just having dinner with family, nothing fancy, but it was almost Christmas, so I wanted to be a little festive.

I’d already pulled on a pair of jeans and a camisole when Dragon came into the room.

“You got dressed?” he asked, scowling.

“Well, I’m not going to our daughter’s house in a towel,” I replied reasonably.

He shot me a look.

“We don’t have time for that,” I said with a laugh.

“There’s always time,” he replied mutinously. “You were sleepin’ when I left this mornin’.”

“Sorry, baby,” I said, pulling a dark green sweater over my head. “I don’t want to be late tonight.”

“Not like anyone would notice,” he said as he started to dress.

“I would notice,” I said in exasperation. “You’ve already had your reunion. I spent all day at the clubhouse getting ready for tomorrow. I’d like to see my grandson, alright? If I wasn’t trying to give Trix and Cam some space, I would’ve been camped out at their house already.”

Dragon paused. “Shit,” he said, his eyes soft on mine. “Sorry, baby. I wasn’t thinkin’.”

I smiled at him. “I don’t mind that you still want to fuck me after all these years,” I said dryly. “We just don’t have time right now.”

“Listenin’ to you say the word fuck will never get old,” he said, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled at me.

I turned to grab some socks out of the dresser and heard him hum in happiness behind me.

“You got me new socks,” he said quietly.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, moving to sit next to him as we both put on our socks.

As soon as both my feet were on the floor again, I sat with my hands on my lap and took a deep breath. “It’s finally over,” I said, staring at my hands. “Jesus.”

I wasn’t surprised as Dragon’s hand burrowed into the hair at the nape of my neck. “And we got through it, just like I said we would,” he replied, turning my face toward him. “Just like everything else.”

“He was so young,” I whispered, my throat tight.

“And he’s a man, now,” Dragon reminded me. “One that doesn’t want his grandma cryin’ all over him.”

“I know,” I said, swallowing hard.

“You gonna be able to keep it together?” he asked, leaning forward to kiss me softly.

“I’ll try,” I replied, making him laugh.

“That ain’t good enough.”

“Yes, I’ll keep it together,” I said grudgingly. I looked at my watch again.

“They’re five minutes away,” Dragon said. “We ain’t gonna be late.”

“He was so sensitive as a kid—”

Dragon made a sound of amusement in his throat.

“What?” I snapped. “He was.”

“Alright,” Dragon agreed unconvincingly, fighting back a smile.

“You disagree?” I said, raising one eyebrow.

“I think he was in love with the same girl most of his life,” Dragon replied. “And he had no idea how to deal with that shit. Sensitive? No. Confused as fuck and tryin’ to figure it out? Yeah. He had a soft spot for her.”

I glared at him.

“You think anyone would call me sensitive?” he asked, tightening his hand in my hair.

“No,” I scoffed.

“You think they’d say I was in love with my woman?”

I didn’t respond.

“Exactly,” he said in satisfaction. “I got one soft spot and that’s you—and the kids are an extension of it.”

“He was just a kid.”

My man just shrugged.

“I just—” I said, shaking my head as I got to my feet. “It’s been four years. He had to be there for four years, and god only knows what happened or how he’s changed.”

“Hey,” Dragon said, pulling me toward him. He didn’t stop tugging until I was in his lap, my legs straddling his thighs. “You know he was protected in there. We made sure of that.”

“I know,” I said, running my fingers through the hair at his temples. “Physically, he was protected.”

“Can’t protect the kids from everythin’,” Dragon replied reasonably. “In there or out here. But from what I’ve seen, he’s fine, baby.”

“But what if he’s different?” I asked quietly.

“He’d a been different no matter what,” he reminded me. “He’s not a seventeen year old kid anymore.”