Witty Banter & the Strong, Silent Hero

I have a confession to make. My husband can be hard to read when it comes to emotions. I mean, he’ll tell me if I ask. But in general, he tends to be a “keep it to myself” kind of guy. Now, luckily, he’s also super easy going. Very little bothers him. But when he is bothered I have to be a bit of an emotional sleuth to figure it out. After almost 15 years of marriage, I’ve gotten pretty good. 😊

Meanwhile, when I started to write The Enforcer, I had on my hands a silent, broody hero who wasn’t much of a talker. This is the first time we see him on page…

Levi grinned, though in dragon form, with massive spiked teeth, it came off more disturbing than fun. “You always wanted a roommate. Right, Drake?”

Drake grunted, and the guys laughed. The guy didn’t share anything—rooms, food, supplies, jokes. Nothing.

Drake is a hero I’ve been waiting to get to because I just had to know his story. Basing his interactions a tiny bit on my husband’s conversations with me, I learned something. Witty banter can be one sided, with the other side mainly one liner shut downs and grunts. And boy is it fun to write (and read!).

Just as an example, and a sneak peek, here are a few of his grunt interactions with Cami…

Cami sighed. “Just…try not to glare at them all the time. You might even have to talk…and stuff.”

Drake grunted, and she figured that was the best she was going to get.

***

“I’m fine,” he said on a growl.

Cami scowled, not remotely intimidated. “Then speak up and say so.” She backed off, but not much and muttered a word that sounded suspiciously like pendejo.

“I am not an idiot,” he muttered.

“Yeah?” The word burned with her scorn. “Do you have any idea how long you’ve been out? Two days.”

That explained why he had to piss so damn bad.

“Or is your default setting asshole?” she continued. “I’m trying to help you, and I don’t scare as easy as the others.”

Apparently, she already had him pegged. Drake grunted.

***

“Yelena is Goret’s mate,” she murmured. As though she’d heard his internal question. “The only mated female dragon in this place.”

“Ask her then.” Except the way Cami twisted her lips told Drake that she’d rather not.

Her disappointment tugged at him, similar to how Lyndi, as a child, used to take his hand and tug at him to get him to play with her.

Drake released a sound halfway between a sigh and a grunt.

***

Cami twisted a piece of hair around her finger. Drake’s gaze dropped to follow the action, so she released the strand. “It’s almost like the love makes it worse when you’re mad at them.” Like tinder to a fire, the anger turning brighter, sharper. “Because you love them.”

He grunted what might’ve been an agreement, or even the closest thing to a laugh she’d heard from the man yet.

***

“In the mountain.”

So why are we in here? She wanted to ask but figured Drake would just show her rather than talk. Strangely, his system of silence and grunts was becoming comfortingly familiar. He might not be a talker, but he communicated everything if you listened and watched hard enough.

That gives you an idea of Drake and Cami. Do you have as much fun interpreting him as she does? And they only get funnier as they go. Because while Drake is silent and grumpy (for good reason, you’ll see), Cami is cheerful and talkative.

I don’t know what it is about this kind of alpha male who is silent, but personally, they fall under my favorite heroes, along with antiheroes. Something about seeing them find the one woman who brings light into their lives, I think, is what does it for me.

What about you? Do you love the strong silent types, too?