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)
His Sammy was an incredibly independent person. He’d ventured off to a foreign country with little knowledge of the language and no knowledge of the area, because he refused to be stopped by a flaky boyfriend.
“I understand your concerns and feelings, but I want you to understand that it also makes me feel like you’re trying to control me, and that’s not good either,” Sam replied in a tone that made it clear he was trying very hard to remain calm and rational.
Dimitri lifted the hand he was holding to his lips and gently pressed a series of kisses along the knuckles. “I don’t want to control you, Samuel—”
“Don’t call me that,” he cut him off in a snappish voice.
Dimitri’s words froze in his throat, and he blinked at Sam, shocked by his comment. Sam had spent days complaining that he didn’t like all his nicknames and now he didn’t want him using his name as he’d requested.
“It…it sounds weird when you say it now. Cold. Everyone calls me Samuel, except for you.” Sam dropped his eyes to their joined hands, his brow furrowing. “When you call me your silly, goofy nicknames, it feels special. I don’t hear you using any weird nicknames with anyone else.”
Every day. Every fucking day, this man was finding new and strange ways to send his heart soaring.
“That’s because no one else is my mate. You are my Sammy, Sam-a-lam, Sammy cakes, Sam-I-am, Sam. You are my everything. My mate. My heart. My life. I love you.”
Sam’s eyes snapped back to his face, so wide behind his glasses they looked as if they’d roll from his skull. His lips parted, but no sound came out for several seconds. Dimitri didn’t expect to hear the words in return. Not yet. Not so fast. But he was a dragon who’d spent hundreds of years in this world. He was content to slowly woo and win the heart of this man.
“Dimitri,” he whispered brokenly.
“You don’t have to say it. I’m a patient dragon. I know we’re mates. The feelings will come eventually.”
Sam pulled his hand free and lurched to his feet. He paced away from the sofa, bare feet moving from cool tile to thick rugs over and over again while he shoved his fingers through his hair. “It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you, or that I don’t think we’re mates. I know we’re mates. I believe it.”
Dimitri rose to his feet as well and moved to cut Sam off from another circuit of the room. He lightly held his slender shoulders. “Then what? What’s bothering you?”
“I’m scared to commit to anything with you. I can’t stand the idea of making promises and locking you to me while my core is still broken like this.” Sam lifted sad eyes to peer deep into his soul. “You keep saying a dragon is born to protect and serve his mage, but don’t I have a responsibility as well? As a mage, am I not supposed to create magic that uses the gifts you give me to help protect the lives of my clan and to make the world a better place? How am I supposed to be worthy of your power and protection if I can’t even use magic?”
Leaning his head down, Dimitri pressed a lingering kiss to the center of Sam’s forehead. “You are worthy. Even if you never cast a single spell in your entire life, you are worthy. To my clan, you bring strength, wisdom, and an unwavering determination. You have a deep knowledge of spell theory that can help all of our mages. And for my dragon brothers and sisters, you are a beacon of hope that one day we can all find our other half and experience a love that will last centuries.”
“Dimitri—” Sam choked out.
“Even if you never fix your core, it will have no effect on how much I love you,” he continued, not willing to let Sam drown in his worries one second longer. “Nothing in this world can change that. But because it is important to you, I will stand by you and help you any way I can to make that happen. You’re my mate. The only one I will ever have. And yes, I wish to bond with you, but it’s not necessary. You’re mine and I am yours. Those two facts are all that matter to me.”
His lover blinked, sending two fat tears rolling down his flushed cheeks as he grabbed Dimitri’s face with both hands and pulled him in for a bruising kiss. He thought he heard a snarled “Mine” just before their lips met.
Dimitri’s eyes fell shut and he lost himself in that kiss as Sam clung to him. He wrapped his arms around his mate’s slender frame, pulling him tight against his body. He was never letting this man go. If he needed to tell Sam every day for the rest of their lives together that he was worthy, then he was only too happy to do that.