Chapter 13

S alem slammed Gregori into the wall as soon as they stepped into the shoebox apartment. He opened his mouth to ask what the rush was, but Salem's cold lips covered his in the next heartbeat, wiping the thought away completely. A moan rattled up his throat as Salem's tongue plunged into his mouth in a hot, greedy kiss.

Fuck. His mate was horny.

What kind of dragon would he be if he didn't give his mate exactly what he wanted?

Cold fingers brushed his skin as Salem's wandering hands found their way under his clothes.

Okay, so sex, and Salem needed to warm up. And he knew just the place to tackle both needs at the same time.

Gregori tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss and taking control as he shoved Salem's coat to the floor with a thud. He broke off the kiss and Salem tried to blindly chase after him, but he was stopped when Gregori jerked his sweater over his head.

"Shower," he ordered as he tossed Salem's sweater to the floor with his coat.

"Shower? There's barely enough room for one person. Although, damn, I do like the idea of you wet, but I doubt you can manhandle me in this damn shower," Salem whined, hitting just the right whiny, bratty button inside of Gregori. Yes, he was happy to follow his mate's lead in the day-to-day things, but he so loved getting to be bossy in the bedroom. And judging by the way Salem lost all control, it was the right button to push with him too.

"You don't think I can handle you in such a tight space?" Gregori asked, his low voice nearly a growl in Salem's ear.

A shiver ran through Salem's entire body and his eyes rolled up into his head. That was all the answer he needed.

Grabbing Salem by the shoulders, he turned the man toward the bathroom and marched him while toeing out of his own shoes.

"Get undressed," he ordered as he reached past Salem to turn on the water for the shower.

Clothes flew about the room as Salem stripped and then attacked Gregori's jeans. The little devil's nimble fingers brushed his bare cock as he managed to get the water to the right temperature.

"Gonna let me suck a dragon cock this time?" Salem teased. He leaned in and opened his mouth over one of Gregori's nipples, lightly biting down while fondling his dick.

"Nope."

"What?" Salem squawked.

"Next time," Gregori promised as he shoved Salem under the hot spray. There. That would take care of warming him up, as well as erase the lingering smoke smell from being near the accident.

Salem stepped into the spray and turned to face him. He lifted his hands to his head, pushing the water and wet hair from his face. Rivers of water poured down his chest, coursing over the decadent hills and valleys of his body. For a moment, Gregori could only stand and admire the perfection.

"See? There's not enough room for you," Salem complained, breaking Gregori's paralysis.

"You're not thinking creatively enough."

Not giving Salem a chance to argue, Gregori squeezed inside the tiny cubicle and slid the door closed behind him. Salem gasped, probably preparing his argument, when Gregori dropped to his knees. He grabbed both of Salem's legs and tossed them over his shoulders while nuzzling the rock-hard cock right in front of his face.

"What? I—we can't—this—" Salem was reduced to fractured sentences and incoherent noises as Gregori slipped his mate's dick into his mouth. The sound drove Gregori like nothing else could. He loved it, how Salem relinquished complete control to him, the trust and need like a live wire connecting them. He felt the love he harbored for this man surge to the fore. He basked and indulged in Salem as he never had before. As he slowly bobbed on the thickening member, he sneaked two fingers between Salem's cheeks, teasing his hole. The warm water combined with the blow job and frequent sex made Salem's ass all too willing to let him inside—just some token resistance to keep up appearances.

Salem's loud groan echoed off the walls. Because of the awkward position, Salem couldn't move, leaving him at Gregori's mercy and the pace he set. He gleefully sucked Salem's cock, loving the feel and weight of it sliding across his tongue.

He shoved his fingers deep, stretching his ass while searching for the magic button to make his mate lose control.

Salem cried out, muscles clenching in his ass and trembling thighs. "Gregori! Fuck! Coming!"

There was the spot. He stroked it once more while sucking Salem. His cock jumped and pulsed, sending cum straight down Gregori's throat as Salem shouted above him.

As soon as Salem was finished, Gregori pulled his fingers free and wrapped them around his own aching dick. He needed only a few hard, fast strokes to send him over the edge while he licked his lover's cock clean.

Bed. Tiny shower. Didn't matter.

Sex with his mate was always perfect.

"Don't look at me like that," Salem griped as he squirted some mustard onto his sandwich. "This is fine for dinner."

Gregori couldn't stop his frown as he stared at Salem's plate, which contained a simple deli meat sandwich, some baby carrots, and a handful of pretzels. He'd wanted their date to be special, with a fun evening of sliding around on the ice before slipping off to a tiny restaurant for some yummy food.

Well, at least the night had been memorable, though maybe not for the reasons he wanted.

Salem stuck his tongue out at Gregori as he slapped the other piece of wheat bread on his sandwich and carried his plate over to the tiny dining room table. Gregori wordlessly finished making his own sandwich and joined him after setting down two glasses of water.

"This wasn't what I'd planned for the night," Gregori muttered.

Salem grunted as he chewed a bite of his sandwich. "What part are you complaining about? The ice sliding in the park? Rescuing a bunch of people? No, wait! I got it! You're complaining about the sex."

Gregori lifted his eyes from his untouched sandwich and couldn't help smiling at the cheeky grin Salem was sending in his direction. Okay, so maybe the night wasn't the most romantic thing ever, but they'd had fun on the ice and saved a lot of lives at the crash site. And yes, the sex had been pretty fucking awesome too.

"Fine. Not complaining," Gregori grudgingly replied as he picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He watched Salem as the sneaky bastard ate and hummed to himself. It had to be the happiest he'd seen the man since they'd first met. Even his post-orgasm glow after their first time in Brazil hadn't lasted this long. "But I've got to ask—what brought on the sudden horniness?"

Salem shrugged one shoulder and suddenly refused to meet his eyes. "What? I thought you enjoyed it."

"I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. I think it was pretty clear I did."

Salem continued to eat his sandwich and pick at his carrots for a couple of minutes. Just long enough for Gregori to be convinced he wasn't going to answer.

"I don't know. I guess it was a few things." Salem picked up a carrot and pointed it at Gregori. "Of course, there was the crazy dragon strength thing. Who wouldn't get hot and bothered watching a dragon rip doors off cars and then gently help someone climb free? It was sexy as fuck and you know it."

Gregori leaned forward and bit the tip of the carrot in Salem's hand. "I didn't know it, and it's definitely nice to hear. Was that the only reason?"

"No. I guess it was also a turn-on to be treated as an equal."

Gregori jerked backward, instantly straightening up and blinking at the man opposite him. "I don't understand. Why would I not treat you as an equal?"

Salem shrugged again and glared at his mostly empty plate. "I don't think you'd mean to do it. Sam has told me how overprotective dragons can be around mages, especially the ones they identify as their mates. It's like you all think we don't have a lick of common sense and we need a babysitter to make sure we don't get into danger." Salem's head snapped up and he narrowed his gaze on Gregori. "But you didn't tonight. You focused on getting all the trapped people out of danger, while trusting me to do my job and help those I could."

"Ahhh…" Gregori murmured, sitting back in his chair. Salem wasn't wrong. Dragons were notoriously overprotective when it came to mages. Next to impossible with their own mage mates. But had that worry been nagging in Salem's head this whole time? About not being treated as an equal? Gregori would have to watch himself if that was the case.

"What does ahhh mean?"

Gregori smirked at him. "It means, ah, I understand what you're talking about. My dragon was worried about you while we were dealing with the crash, but I took care of the fires, removing the worst of the danger from you. While I wasn't keen on letting you out of my sight, I knew you could handle the medical issues better without me underfoot, and my strengths were needed elsewhere to help other people."

"Why do I get the feeling Sam had a slightly different experience when he was with Dimitri?"

Gregori almost choked on his laugh. "Because he did. I was there. When Dimitri wasn't trying to win over your stubborn brother, he was practically pulling his hair out with fear."

"Sounds about right."

Shifting in his chair, Gregori stretched out his legs and rested his hands on his stomach. "Sam is a brilliant guy, but he spends most of his time with books or in a lab studying ancient relics. He went from the lab to a Brazilian jungle with caiman, snakes, and mythical creatures like stompers. All of them out to make him a snack. Dimitri did everything he could to protect Sam while giving him the space he needed to work. You"—he paused to point at Salem—"have so far not wandered off to be eaten by anything other than me, so my protective instincts haven't been triggered."

"Smooth."

Gregori winked at him. "But don't misunderstand Dimitri's actions. He definitely respects your brother. He views him as an equal. Sam has just learned to adapt to a dragon's instincts. We have one drive in our lives—protect our mate. It defines us and gives us joy."

"And these same instincts are screaming to you I'm your one and only mate in the world?" Salem countered, and for once he didn't sound combative. Just very curious. "How can you even be sure?"

"Hundreds of years of personal experience."

Salem sat back in his chair with his arms folded. His expression shouted Convince me .

Was it wrong to take some hope from this? It was the first time Salem had brought it up on his own, and he wasn't being mean or sarcastic about it. Rather the reverse, like he was curious and wanted to understand. Gregori felt hope soar in his chest and he mentally scrambled, trying to pull together the right words. Maybe this time, he could get through to Salem.

"Do you think I fell in love with you when we first had sex in Brazil?" Salem's expression fell a little and growing redness started at the tips of his ears. Gregori threw his head back and laughed. "Recognizing your mate has nothing to do with emotions. Well, at least not love."

"So, you're saying there are dragon and mage mates out there who don't love each other?"

"Nope. I've never met mates who didn't love each other." Gregori shook his head. The idea of two mates not falling head over heels in love was just ridiculous. "But it's not love at first sight. Lust, maybe. Not love. There are plenty of mates who meet and can't stand each other at first, but it doesn't change the fact that mates are meant to be together. It's written in our DNA, and the first one to recognize it is always our dragon."

"It was your dragon who told you I was your mate?"

Gregori nodded. "Yep. It knew immediately and passed the knowledge on to me. A dragon always recognizes its mate. They have to in order to fulfill their drive to ultimately protect their mate."

"Instincts," Salem said, skepticism tinging his tone.

"You don't believe in instincts? The same drive directing birds flawlessly across thousands of kilometers twice a year. Or driving a salmon back to the same stream it was born in. You haven't had a gut feeling when you were treating a patient, where test results were telling you one thing, but your instincts told you something else?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, I get it. Sometimes our subconscious processes something the rest of our mind hasn't caught on to yet. But it's a little hard to believe we could even find each other. Millions of people around the world and you just happen to find your one person."

"I've waited centuries to find my mate. There are plenty of dragons who wait even longer, and others who never find their mate. I'm lucky."

Salem snorted. "Trust me, no one is lucky to have me as a mate. I have the world's worst record when it comes to dating."

"Everyone does until they meet the right one."

"If I could bottle and sell your optimism, I'd be out of debt completely right now."

Gregori grinned at him. That wasn't at all on his usual snark levels. Perhaps he was getting through to Salem after all. He almost didn't want to keep talking about it, fearing they'd end up in a fight again.

"I'm still not convinced."

"You will be. Since my dragon realized who you are, it hasn't wavered. Not for one second. You are my mate."

"Whatever." Salem rose and picked up his empty plate. He scooped up Gregori's on his way to the kitchen. "It's late. We should turn in. Tomorrow is a busy day."

Salem was clearly uncomfortable talking about this further, hence his abrupt escape. But that was fine. He had asked and hadn't gotten mad at Gregori's answer. Uncomfortable was better than mad and was good progress. Salem just needed more time to think about what he'd said. More time to get to know him.

So why did Salem walking away hurt?