Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Oh my god! Do you have no shame?”
When it came to his mate, not a single drop.
Groaning loudly, Salem stepped back and released the door. “One night. That’s it. Tomorrow, you find a hotel to stay in or a B&B or something. I don’t really care.”
Gregori immediately perked up and marched into the apartment, ready to explore all of Salem’s private domain so he could squirrel away every nugget of information he could about his mate. Except there was so little to explore.
It was a square.
Just standing at the door, he could see the entirety of this apartment in a single sweep of his eyes. Well, no, a bedroom lurked behind a door to the very far right, along with presumably a bathroom. But the kitchen, dining table, and living area shared one room—and it wasn’t a big room.
“This is all there is?” The words tumbled from his tongue before he could stop them. He winced, knowing he shouldn’t have said those words.
“That’s it!” Salem shouted. “Out! Out! Out!” He placed both of his hands on Gregori’s chest and pushed. The poor man put all of his weight behind it, but Gregori didn’t budge a single centimeter. Why would he? He was finally inside of Salem’s house. He was never leaving again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. It was rude of me,” he said over Salem’s grunting and pushing.
“It was rude!” Salem snapped, looking as if he was just one more explosion away from a stomped foot. He stopped trying to push Gregori out the door and crossed to the center of the room to stand in front of a small, well-worn blue love seat. “It’s not like I want to live this way. But medical school is damn expensive in the US. Not to mention all the loans I had to take out to pay for school and books and just living. It’s not like I could hold down other jobs while doing my residency. And now, if I don’t want to spend the rest of my life paying off those loans, I have to live very simply.” He waved his hands at the shoebox apartment with its very simple furnishing.
Gregori bit his tongue. The entire apartment could fit inside his parlor back in Brazil and he’d still have room left over. Not to mention his bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet, private library, and even his secret hoard room. It bothered him his mate had worked so hard to become a successful doctor and now had to live so plainly. He should at least have some comfort to come home to after spending the day saving young lives.
But Gregori didn’t say any of this because he didn’t want to belittle the sacrifices Salem had made to attain his dream.
“Your home may be small, but you have done a wonderful job of making it feel cozy and inviting. Even for unwanted guests.”
Salem’s shoulders slumped and he moaned as he rubbed his eyes. “How can you be annoying and charming at the same time? It’s against the laws of nature.”
It took all of Gregori’s control to hide his smile. Charming was a step in the right direction.
“Fine.” Salem dropped his hands down to his sides and glared at Gregori. “You can stay. One. Night. That’s it. You’ll leave in the morning. Find a hotel or something. I don’t care.”
Gregori had won this battle.
Now on to the next one—convincing Salem they had to share a bed. For warmth, of course.
This dragon!
Sam had told him all about his Dimitri. How Dimitri was thoughtful, passionate, tender, and funny.
He’d said absolutely nothing about how tenacious, stubborn, annoying, and sneaky dragons were.
Salem thought he’d left Gregori behind in Brazil, but the dragon had shown up on the plane.
He’d thought he would leave him behind at the airport, but now Gregori would be sleeping in Salem’s apartment.
If the overgrown lizard thought he could get into Salem’s bed, he had another thing coming.
This was a whole lotta bullshit.
Dinner turned out to be nothing more than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a handful of stale chips. Not that he thought a lack of hospitality would actually scare Gregori off. It was simply all the energy he had when it came to making a meal. The hours of travel had exhausted him, his body didn’t know what season it was—let alone time zone—and tomorrow he had to go back to work.
And Gregori would be out on the street.
Salem wouldn’t worry about the dragon at all. He came from a rich clan. No doubt Gregori would find a posh hotel to cater to all his whims and provide him with the level of comfort he was accustomed to.
After brushing his teeth and pulling on a pair of soft cotton sleep pants and a T-shirt, Salem grabbed a spare blanket out of the closet and tossed it on his tiny love seat. “You’ll sleep there.”