A hundred bucks later is when he finally calls it. Curses and swears the shit is rigged – which it is – before admitting I’ve got a good arm.
I’ve got a great fucking arm.
Even if it is tattoo-less.
My victory with throwing leads to Abs demanding we swing the hammer at the strongman game.
Al issues a warning to his youngest brother as we arrive. “Don’t get cocky, Abs. You saw what happened to Alex.”
“Yeah, a fucking fluke.”
I look around for Minnie to say her catch phrase only to realize her and Min have wandered away.
“They went to get us candy apples,” my Fated Mate informs. “Or should I say, victory apples because Abs is about to get his ass handed to him.”
“You’re supposed to take your family’s side,” Abs scolds at the same time he takes the mallet from the worker.
“A.D. is family to me,” Ana sweetly defends in such a way it momentarily becomes hard to breathe. “He’s not going anywhere, so the sooner you and everyone else gets on board with it the better.”
Bond.
Not in front of her brothers!
Abs growls his unhappiness and swings the tool down.
The little pellet shoots to the top but just barely misses the bell. He shrugs off the shortcoming with an arrogant grin, “Beat that, Ken doll.”
Money transfers from my hand to the employee’s in exchange for the hammer. I give my shoulders a small roll to loosen the muscles the Roy brothers prove they can’t stop tensing and swing down on the machine. There’s no victory ding for me either. Not because I too came in short but because the force of my strike sent the chiming object high into the night sky.
Jaws from five out of her six brothers plummet to the ground, while Al merely releases a deep, defeated sigh, “I tried to tell you.”
Min, Lainey, and their children arrive back with the sticky treats already in their mouths.
Minnie warmly offers me the one she’s been pressing against her stuffed toy during her best efforts to carry more than she can really handle. “Apple?”
I take the treat and tap her playfully on the nose. “Thanks, Minnie Mouse.”
She giggles at the phrase that has Ana slowly shaking her head as if pondering if that’s why she has the nickname.
Crunching through back-to-back bites of the toffee coated apple soothes me and my ancient half in familiar ways. Afterwards, I look at the remaining brothers who need attitude adjustments. “Who’s next?”
To no surprise, the other Roy brothers don’t surrender without a fight. The very thing I love about their sister, just so happens to be the very thing I don’t care for about them. Having proven myself twice already then going through it three more times is tedious, even if it is necessary.
Beating the twins at the balloon pop results in the twin two-year-olds getting to go home with soft stuffed toys as well.
Destroying Abacus at Skeeball causes the women to collectively giggle at the defeated men’s childlike pouting.
Another wave of pride pumps through my system when Ana winds her arm around me in a wordlessly taunting fashion. “What do you say, gentlemen? Have I earned the right to take your sister on her favorite ride, or should we keep this ish up a little longer?”
They grumble under their breaths while waving us away.
“Grab a round on me,” I insist, removing a hundred from my pocket to hand to Alex. “No hard feelings?”
A glare is twitched my direction before he snatches the bill. “Not yet, Zoolander.”
“Hansel was the blond.”
His scowl deepens, getting a grump out of my ancient side.
Burn.
I already did…it was just in the Sleeper variety. Twice now.
I flash a polite grin and guide her away to the Ferris Wheel that thankfully isn’t busy.
It takes quite a bit of slouching from me to avoid hitting the top of the area and some embarrassing folding of my legs to ensure Ana has enough room on her side. The unbecoming sight has me quietly thanking The Great Ones her brothers can’t see what I currently look like. Something tells me the pretzel quips would resume or much worse jokes that would have me bargaining buffet tables worth of Kohlrabi with my dragon to keep his composure.
“You look like Stretch Armstrong stuck in a Polly Pocket house.”
She’s thrown a cheerless glare.
“But you’re my Stretch Armstrong,” she saucily states, “and I definitely want you in my Polly Pocket house.”
Regardless of the lack of space, my cock begins to stir as does Gold.
Consummate.
Are you fucking kidding me? I can barely sit in here. I damn sure can’t fuck in this Rubik's cube.
“You have been so…amazing,” Ana coos, tiny toes slipping out of her sandals to stroke the side of my leg. “The way you cared for my nieces. The way you destroyed my brothers. The way you tried to make amends after said ass whooping…”
Consummate.
Fuckin’ D, stop ruining the moment.
“You are everything I want, and I want you in every way.”
Frustrated groans leak from me and shake the unstable contraption. “Tiny Toes, believe me when I say, I wanna fuck you more than I’ve ever wanted to fuck any being in my entire life.”
Another sexy smirk slides into place.
“But-”
“Fuck that,” she interrupts, rapidly shaking her head. “No chick wants to hear the word but after that shit.”
“However?”
“The nose in the air version of but.”
Rather than repeat the word, I simply sigh, “I can’t fuck you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t trust myself to be balls deep in you and not bond.”
“Then let’s bond.”
The headshake I deliver is slow and painful. “I…I don’t think you’re ready for that shit.”
“You know I hate being told what to do.”
“With a passion, yeah, I’m fucking aware, but as your Fated Mate…as the being that’s fucking dragon shit crazy about you, I’m gonna go ahead and risk my balls being stomped on and say, you’re not ready for that yet.”
Ana folds her arms in a challenging fashion. “Am I not ready or are you not ready?”
“Both?” The honest answer is followed by me giving my scruff-covered jaw a minor scratch. “It’s not as easy as just busting inside you and boom we’re bonded. Let me start the list with the fact that there’s no ending us. There’s no breaking up. No options for separation or divorce. Once we’re bonded, Tiny Toes, we’re fucking bonded. Our souls become literally tied together. Misery, joy, fear, all become something we can both physically feel when the other one is experiencing them to bigger extents.”