Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Samuel felt his ire retreat a step and give way to something else. Something warmer, something he didn’t want to define in that moment. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. It melted some of the guard he had up around his heart and, despite him realizing that, Samuel couldn’t find it in him to raise it again. Not when standing in Dimitri’s arms like this reminded him of how the man had protected him, caressed him, and watched out for him.
Dammit, he’d had boyfriends less attentive than Dimitri, and he’d known Dimitri for less than a week.
Dragons and their damn sex appeal. Couple that with their protectiveness of mages and it was no wonder mages since the dawn of time couldn’t resist them. It was too tempting of a package.
Dimitri trailed a kiss down Samuel’s cheek. Samuel turned his face, just a little, intending to end this. They weren’t alone, there were three dragons ready to tease them right over there and—
Soft lips took his in a sweet, consuming kiss. Whatever words Samuel had intended to say got swallowed and lost as his lips parted under Dimitri’s. Without conscious thought, Samuel’s hands trailed up the man’s chest and around his neck, latching together behind the nape. He had to hold on to something as the kiss grew deeper.
“If you two need a second round before we get on the road, we don’t mind!” Vasily called.
Fucking hell. Samuel ripped himself free from the kiss and took two steps back, cheeks burning. How on god’s green earth had Dimitri sucked him into his space again? Even when Samuel was on guard against him, it didn’t seem to make any sort of difference!
Dimitri didn’t seem bothered by the interruption. He waggled his eyebrows outrageously at Samuel. “See? They don’t mind.”
Samuel smacked him on the arm and pivoted on his heel, marching for the tent bag. “Just pack the damn Jeep.”
“Awww.”
“Shut it, asshole!”
That only made Dimitri chuckle. This man would be the death of him yet.
Dimitri tossed the bag holding his tent into the trunk of the Jeep when Gregori jogged up with a crate of various foodstuffs and a wide grin across his face.
“I thought that was going in the other vehicle. What are you doing?” Dimitri demanded.
“You’ve got room here,” Gregori countered. The idiot’s smile grew even wider, and laughter danced in his eyes.
Dimitri nearly groaned aloud. They’d clearly not had enough fun already and were determined to poke at him some more. He couldn’t decide if Gregori had just drawn the short stick or if he had a death wish by coming to tease him.
“Where’s Samuel? I thought he was bringing his stuff to this Jeep?”
“He’s helping Vasily and Luka.”
Dimitri squeezed his eyes shut. Divide and conquer. Luka was sweeter and easier to talk to, hence the decision to send the lunatic Gregori to him while Luka buttered up prickly Sam.
“So, it sounds like you had a good start to the morning,” Gregori prodded when Dimitri didn’t immediately gush with details.
Turning to rest his ass on the bumper, Dimitri folded his arms across his chest and lifted one eyebrow at the dragon. There were moments when he honestly thought Gregori had a death wish. It wasn’t so much his obsession with finding new and better ways to make things explode, it was his utter lack of a filter on his mouth. There was no one within the clan who could make him watch his tongue.
No. Wait. Evora.
The head mage had a way of glaring at Gregori that made a dragon believe he was better off severing his own tongue rather than allowing her to handle the situation.
“What? Is that really the best you’ve got?” Dimitri said blandly.
“Come on.” Gregori gave a small, frustrated whine. “You slept with a freaking mage. Even if he says he’s not a mage, we can all smell it. He’s a mage and you slept with him. Is he your mate? Are you claiming him? Does he think you’re his dragon? Does he even realize he could have a mate out there?”
Dimitri was now wishing he hadn’t prodded. Once the spigot was turned on, there was no stopping the flood of questions. Most of them didn’t have a satisfactory answer, and the others…he didn’t want to think about those.
This was not a conversation he wanted to have with the grumpy mage. Sam didn’t want to discuss the fact that he was a mage. Dimitri couldn’t imagine a mate conversation with them as the focus was going to be any smoother.
“Well?” Gregori nudged when he’d been silent for too long.
“As Sam has made abundantly clear, this was just sex. We’re not dating or anything else. Simply adults having a little fun,” Dimitri repeated the speech still ringing in his ears.
Gregori shot him a skeptical look. “Uh-huh. Do you buy any of that?”