Chapter 1

S alem loved his brother dearly, but international travel just took it out of him. Salem was ever so glad to go back home. Especially since he seemed to have picked up a…complication.

Yeah, he wasn't going to think about Gregori.

Salem had somehow managed to get someone other than Gregori to take him to the airport in time for his flight. Gregori had been insistent, so Salem had had to play a very elaborate game of hide-and-seek, using Sam as cover, until he'd managed to sneak out while Gregori was occupied with something else. It was an early flight, which Salem disliked, but it meant he'd get home at a decent time tonight. Which was necessary. Salem had work tomorrow. He'd taken off as many days as he had dared and now had to pay the piper for it tomorrow. Them's the breaks.

He was still glad he'd come down here, complication notwithstanding. It had been worth the very long trip down to see his brother with a working magical core and married to a man who adored him. Sam had glowed like Salem had never seen him before. It had almost sparked envy within him. But, well, Sam had always been the one who was good at long-term relationships, unlike yours truly, so it stood to reason Sam was the one to get married. Salem would stick to the hit and runs, thank you muchly.

Salem queued up with everyone else to board the plane, a small carry-on bag hanging off his shoulder and memories of last night flitting through his head. He'd been a bit surprised when Gregori first approached him and flirted. A hookup with a dragon hadn't been anywhere on his radar. But he'd liked the look of Gregori, his lean, powerful build sparking interest. Then those dark eyes had snared his, hinting at lust and mischief, and Salem had folded like a cheap sheet. The sex had been amazing. Off the charts. Quite probably the best sex of his life, if Salem was honest. If it was like this with Dimitri, Salem didn't blame Sam for latching on to his man.

All that said, it had kind of been ruined when Gregori had insisted they were mates.

Now, Salem knew the stories. Knew dragons could apparently sense when they'd found the right person. But they were mortal, right? Even they could make mistakes. It was far more likely Gregori had weddings on the brain and had jumped to conclusions. If there was anyone who should not be married, it was Salem.

Salem didn't really believe there was only "the one" to marry. Frankly, he had seen too many relationships end in disaster. Not everyone made it. Hell, even the majority didn't seem to make it these days. Salem was aware dragons were the exception to the rule there, too, but he also knew he wasn't the exception.

Anyway. Not thinking about it.

Salem shuffled up to the door and greeted the stewardess, who was immaculately made up with a pencil skirt and low heels.

For some reason, she looked him over closely before asking in accented English, "Are you Salem Hunter?"

"Uhh…yes, I am." The hell?

"Your seat has been upgraded to first class."

Salem stared at her for a full second, not quite registering. First class? Salem had settled for economy, not willing to spend the extra money. Oh, maybe Sam had done this for him. He'd married into a filthy rich family, after all; a few hundred dollars wouldn't faze him much. That was sweet of him.

"Sounds great." It honestly did. Not having his kneecaps pressed up against the seat in front of him for hours sounded lovely. Salem would take first class any day.

She escorted him to the second row, window seat, which was his preference. Salem stowed his bag overhead, only taking his Kindle out, and settled in with a sigh of decadent pleasure. He could stretch his legs. He had actual elbow room. Oh my god, this was awesome . Also terrible, because with this knowledge, how was Salem ever supposed to convince himself back into economy seats? Salem didn't see it going over well with future him.

He really owed Sam a hearty thank-you for upgrading him.

Someone plopped into the seat next to him. Salem looked up automatically to track who it was and just about came out of his chair.

"Gregori!" Salem hissed, shock crashing through him in waves. "The hell are you doing?!"

The rat bastard grinned at him like his reaction was funny. "I was going to fly myself up, but I thought it might scare the pilot, so I did this instead. This is better, right?"

Salem knew Gregori was speaking English, but he still wasn't making any sense. "What do you mean you were going to fly up?"

Gregori's brows twitched into an almost frown. Like he was confused by Salem's confusion. "You didn't think I had just let you go?"

"Uhhh…I said no. An emphatic no. So yes?"

"I'm all for consent. For the record. But I finally found you after waiting for centuries. I can't accept a no."

Salem slumped in his chair. First class no longer appealed. Its appeal had flown right out the still-open door, in fact. "You're the one who upgraded my seat, aren't you?"

"I am, yes. I wanted you to be comfortable on the flight. Besides, I don't fit in economy."

Salem could believe it. Gregori had the stereotypical build of a dragon with long legs. Trying to cram him into an economy seat would be akin to squeezing more sardines into a can.

"Gregori. What can I say to get it through to you? I am absolutely not going to be your mate."

Gregori smiled—the boyish grin he'd used to charm Salem into taking him to bed to begin with—like Salem had said something funny. "Not a blessed thing."

Kinda figured.

The captain spoke in Portuguese over the speakers, and while Salem didn't speak anything of the language, he could decipher it well enough. Everyone had boarded, please fasten your seat belt, yadda yadda. Salem glumly buckled up. This flight was going to be awkward as hell.

Gregori also buckled up, but his attention was on Salem. "Explain to me why you fight this idea."

Salem side-eyed him. It didn't sound like he was trying to provoke him. More like he wanted to honestly understand. All right, fine, he'd play along.

"I've already told you, I'm not going to throw my life topsy-turvy for a guy." Salem made his tone firm. Unwavering. No arguments allowed here, bucko.

The confused frown was back on Gregori's face. "I already told you, as well, I would not demand you do so. Has someone tried to before?"

"Eh…once. It was a disaster, and I'm not going into it. My point is, I have a life. I'm not throwing it all aside to move to Brazil."

"That's fine, it's why I'm coming with you."

Salem looked at this man and, for the first time in a long while, felt the urge to violence. Gregori really wasn't backing down an inch. "You seriously think it's a good idea to live with me?"

Gregori blinked like he'd said something so far out of left field, he actually had to think about it. "You're my mate, so where else would I be?"

"Ha, you've clearly never lived with me, so you don't know better. I'm horrible to live with. The only people who have put up with me long term are family, and even they don't choose to do it now I'm an adult."

"I think you are making yourself out to be a villain, and you are not."

"I promise you, this is reality. Especially with my career and its demanding hours, I do not make for a pleasant roommate."

"You are a doctor, yes?"

"Yeah. Pediatric surgeon. Which means I also have crazy student loans to somehow pay off. My schedule's insane, I work long hours, and I'm often deadbeat tired the second I get home. I'm really not great dating material."

Gregori still looked like he was earnestly listening, as if he absorbed every word Salem said. "How long are your surgeries?"

"Depends on the surgery. Longest haul I've ever had was thirty-two hours, but it wasn't expected. They had some bad complications. Usually, surgeries are anywhere between three and six hours."

"Wow. That is a long time to be focused on a task. No wonder you're exhausted by the time you're done."

"Exactly. And when I'm tired, I'm mean. No one wants to be around me until I've gotten at least eight hours of sleep. Not even me. Plus, I'm beyond klutzy. I do some really stupid shit. Things people get pissed off about."

"I'll remember. If you have such a long day, I'll make sure to promptly tuck you in. Wait, do you eat properly on those days?"

Oh my fucking god. He was taking notes . Mental notes, but still. Salem slumped in the seat, groaning. "Gregori. Seriously?"

"What?"

"Don't use that innocent tone with me. You're over there taking notes on how to take care of me, aren't you?"

He grinned and leaned in to kiss Salem's cheek. Which startled him all over again, as no one had ever kissed his cheek. And why the hell was he cute doing it?

"Your work is very important. You're saving children's lives. I want to support you."

Salem would have hit Gregori by now if he wasn't so earnest and sincere. He still might.

All right, time to turn these tables. "Don't you have a life of your own?"

"Of course. But my mate is my priority. We'll have to learn how to blend our lives together to live in harmony. Every couple has to learn this."

He wasn't budging. Try again. "Is it really okay for you to live so far away from your clan?"

"Hmm, truthfully? I don't know." Gregori scratched his chin, looking pensive and thoughtful. "In the memory of our clan, no one has ever lived separate from it. Not for any length of time, anyway."

"Length of time being…?"

"A week or so. Even if they do leave clan territory, they're usually visiting another dragon clan, and they're not alone. We have some of our clanmates with us. Dragons are kind of homebodies, in a sense."

So a self-declared homebody was willing to drop everything and follow Salem to America even though he had absolutely no experience being away from his clan? Wow. Salem wasn't sure whether Gregori was determined or pigheaded.

The conversation stalled while the plane taxied out onto the runway and then quickly lifted into the air. The flight steadied out gradually, becoming smooth. Looked like they weren't going to have much turbulence. Well, externally. Plenty of turbulence for Salem.

It was clearly too late to convince Gregori to disembark and go home—he was stuck with him on the flight—but Salem could at least try to convince him once they landed.

"Gregori. Hasn't it occurred to you that you might be wrong?"

"About us being mates?"

"Yeah."

Salem could see amusement play over his features in the dim lighting of the plane, like Salem had just asked something silly.

Gregori pointed to the tray table still folded up. "What color is the table?"

"Answer my question."

"I am. Answer mine."

Salem rolled his eyes and played along. "Grey."

"And what color is your Kindle?"

"Blue. What are you doing?"

"Proving the point. You are absolutely sure on those two colors, correct?"

Ah, Salem saw now what he was getting at. "It's that clear-cut for you?"

"That clear-cut. The dragon within me knows. There's no room for error or mistake." Gregori leaned in a little, tone soft. "It's why Kaiser Jaeggi couldn't convince his dragon lover to throw the true mate aside. Despite everything that happened afterward. Rejecting our mate, once we've found them, is worse than cutting off a limb. We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves."

Salem looked into those deep, dark brown eyes and realized there was not a single word, in any language in the world, to convince Gregori to give up. He was as sure of them as he was of gravity keeping people on this planet. Salem had no idea how to respond.

"It's all right," Gregori assured him, tone gentle. "Our mages always take a little longer to come to terms with it. A relationship isn't built in a single moment. I don't mind courting you for a while, learning about you. I don't want you to give up your vocation, everything you've worked for. It would be a disservice to both you and the ones you can help. We'll find a middle ground, I promise you."

How did you argue in the face of such absolute conviction? Salem was asking for himself because he sure didn't know what to say.

Gregori kissed him on the forehead this time, lips soft and gentle, before undoing his seat belt. "Be back in a moment."

Salem watched him go toward the bathroom, still speechless. Seriously, what was Salem supposed to do with him?

The woman sitting on the same row leaned in, her expression suggesting she found him to be incredibly stupid.

"A dragon is proposing to you," she said in a very condescending tone. "Lock that shit down."

Why, this nosy bitch. Salem pinned a smile on his face and gritted out, "Not a fucking chance."