Page 37 of Legends and Longing

He was what Toman had called a pain in the ass.

Somehow it made Shiloh feisty, though. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared adorably at Zorin. “I changed my mind. Lie to me.”

“No.” Zorin seemed to be enjoying whatever they were doing. “You made a rule. The appropriate Earth response is for me to tell you no takebacks.”

He was using the strangest words.

When did he have the time for processing those?

Had he stayed up late just searching his mind for new English words and phrases?

Shiloh could not seem to decide if he wanted to keep pouting or laugh. I could feel his delight and the urge to still be dramatic through our bond, but I wasn’t sure if he knew how much he was projecting. “I’m cute. You have to give me my way.”

No.

That was not how rules worked, but Zorin knew that as well.

“Only certain submissive types need to be indulged that way.” Our ridiculous mate attempted to shrug and look innocent. “Without enough information to go on, I have to say we must stick with the original rule.”

Shiloh’s lower lip poked out and he whined softly. “I don’t like that. You’re a meanie.”

Meanie?

That was not a word typically used by submissives with an adult mindset.

If Zorin thought the word choice was odd, he did not give any indication. “You still have not given me any reason to change the rule.”

Even I could hear the tempt me tone in his voice but I wasn’t sure what our Earth mate would do. When had Zorin practiced that? He was entirely too good at projecting Earth mannerisms and expressions.

Shiloh didn’t seem to notice that aspect, but he did respond to the signals by whining at Zorin. “But…”

That was not a reasonable response, so Zorin’s shrug made sense. It also made Shiloh wiggle and make additional dramatic sounds. He was not reacting in his usual way but this peek into the intimate side of his personality was beautiful.

And the way he scrunched up his face to show he was thinking was very cute…which may have been his goal?

As I tried to decide what was part of his role and what was manipulation, he huffed and then pretended to smile and look very sweet. It was definitely designed to get his way, so I waited to see what he would do.

Oh.

He widened his eyes and slowly leaned in to brush his lips against Zorin’s cheek. “Being right makes me happy. You like making me happy.”

Well, our Earth mate was not wrong and his behavior was successfully devious because Zorin let out a long, Earth-style sigh. “When you are very sweet like this, I will consider lying to you in situations where safety and long-term happiness are not in jeopardy.”

I was fairly certain I knew what the best English response would be…sucker.

Shiloh knew it too but it earned Zorin another kiss that the people of Earth called a peck. “Thank you, D—um, yes. Thank you.”

A title…he had wanted to apply the Daddy title to Zorin.

Our confused mate blinked like an Earth person and I knew he needed help, so it was my turn to sigh and be dramatic to keep Shiloh in what I thought was his little headspace. “If you are going to be allowed to manipulate Zorin like that, he needs a title to match. I’m not going to agree to that silliness, so you have to differentiate us.”

More practice was needed but Shiloh giggled. “You guys don’t do titles.”

But he did.

I shrugged and kept my gaze too serious for the situation which made Shiloh try to hide more giggles. “I have an Earth mate and I have learned that your matings sometimes require titles and nicknames. I want one. And if I want one then Zorin will demand one as well.”

He could not help huffing. “Of course I need one.”