Chapter 2

H is mate was stubborn.

Incredibly stubborn.

Though, maybe Gregori should have anticipated this considering Sam's track record. Salem's twin brother had been incredibly stubborn when it came to Dimitri and just about anything that wasn't his ultimate goal of fixing his core.

Sam was still stubborn at times, but Dimitri had learned many useful tricks for softening up his mate.

Gregori was hopeful he would be able to do the same thing with Salem. It was just going to take time.

But before he got down to wooing and convincing Salem they were meant to spend their very long lifetimes together, he needed to care for his mate. Salem wasn't anywhere near as pampered or cared for as he needed to be, which only succeeded in locking up Gregori's brain. He feared Salem's stubbornness would interfere with his plans. Salem utterly refused to give Gregori an inch. He'd have to somehow worm his way past the man's defenses if he was to care for Salem the way he wanted to.

It was ingrained in all dragons to treasure and cherish mates. The dragon's first duties were to protect and care for their mage, but Salem wasn't letting him.

Salem wouldn't allow Gregori to hold his carry-on bag during the walk from the plane to baggage claim. He wouldn't allow Gregori to handle his additional roller bag when it came off the carousel. When it was time to go into the city, Salem wouldn't even allow Gregori to hire him a proper town car to take them to his home. Salem insisted on summoning a rideshare—a very boring sedan with a driver who smiled a little too much at Salem.

While Gregori was contemplating ways to scare the driver into diverting his attention away from Salem, his mate even closed the door in his face and threatened to not allow him to ride in the car with him. Honestly, it smarted. Both dragon and man didn't like the outright rejection. Gregori soldiered through the emotion because he couldn't let it stop him now. Salem would be a hard man to win over—Gregori suspected a lot of relationship trauma lurked in his past, but he wasn't sure—and he couldn't let it deter him now.

Before Salem could lean across to lock the other rear passenger door, Gregori launched over the trunk, hit the ground, rolled back to his feet, and grabbed the door away from Salem's fingertips. Applause broke out around them at his little performance, and he offered a small wave to his audience. At least someone was appreciative of his efforts.

He slipped into the back seat directly behind the driver. Yes, this was better. He could glare at the driver in the rearview mirror without Salem noticing.

"I can't believe you!" Salem groused as Gregori finally settled in the seat next to him. "You're not coming back to my place. I won't allow it."

"I'm only accompanying you to make sure you arrive safely. You've traveled a long distance, and you didn't seem to sleep well on the plane. If something were to happen to you?—"

"Nothing is going to happen to me. And I didn't sleep well on the plane because someone decided to join me on my flight home rather than stay in Brazil where he belongs."

"I belong with my mate, no matter where he travels," Gregori stated, and he believed it with his whole heart. Yes, he would much rather be in Brazil, surrounded by his entire clan and the dragons he'd known most of his life, but his mate came first. He'd waited a very long lifetime to find his, and he wasn't about to squander this chance to win Salem's heart.

"Sir?" the driver interjected from behind the wheel. "Is this man bothering you? I see a police officer at the other end of the platform. I can go get him for you."

Salem didn't answer right away, leaving Gregori to stare slack-jawed at his mate. Would he really hand him over to the police with claims of harassment? Ouch, it was like another slap to the face. His heart stung with the rejection, and this time it was a little harder to dismiss it.

Finally, Salem let out a long sigh and sank a little lower in his seat, his arms folded tightly over his chest. "No, it's fine. He's just annoying. No point in dragging the cops into this. Just take me home, please. It has been a really long trip."

The driver didn't ask any more questions and focused on getting them safely out of the twisted insanity of Logan International Airport.

It had been several decades since Gregori had last visited the United States, and he had no memory of being in Boston. While the most important thing was remaining near his mate, a small part of him was excited at the prospect of exploring a new city with such a long and interesting history.

The sun was only beginning to set when they came into view of the downtown area, skyscrapers poking at a sky that was steadily turning shades of orange and purple. The lights grew more brilliant against the growing darkness, and the pleasant crispness to the air reminded him January was a bitter winter month this far north. His dragon made happy little growly noises at the prospect of seeing snow falling from the sky again.

Brazil's temperate winters, warm beaches, and crashing waves were wonderful, but sparkling snow and long icicles called to distant memories of his birthplace in Russia—a place he hadn't called home in a very long time.

He looked over at Salem to ask how often Boston saw snowfall, but he bit back the words when he noticed Salem had closed his eyes and his breathing had evened out with sleep as his head rested against the window on his right.

Yes, once he got Salem to his home, he would see about procuring his mate a healthy meal and then tuck him into bed. He'd mentioned something about returning to work the next day, and he needed to catch up on his sleep. Gregori would have to step up his game after this, too, and pull some kind of plan together. His usual tactics in flirting might not work here. He'd have to try different ones.

After close to an hour of annoying traffic, the driver finally pulled over in front of a building that didn't look very impressive. Gregori had seen plenty of pictures of the neat and refined brownstone townhomes in Boston and had expected something more like that for Salem, considering he was a talented surgeon. Maybe it was more impressive on the inside.

He nudged Salem awake. In a heartbeat, the doctor opened the door and stood—probably an occupational hazard of his medical training, to be ready to go even before his brain fully kicked in. While the driver jumped out to help with their bags, Gregori paused long enough to tap the top of the driver's unopened soda sitting in the holder next to his seat, freezing the contents solid. That would teach him not to look at Gregori's mate for too long.

A bitter wind smacked him in the face as he climbed out of the car and walked around the trunk on the slightly slushy road to grab his suitcase, even as Salem told him to leave it there.

"You're not coming in!" Salem argued as Gregori stepped onto the curb.

Wisely, the driver got the fuck out of there. Since Salem had already confirmed he didn't want to involve the cops, the man darted for the driver's seat and sped away, leaving them to handle their disagreement on their own.

"You said you were only accompanying me back to my place to make sure I made it here safely."

"Yes, but you're not inside." Gregori tried to take the hand currently pointing a finger at his chest, but Salem batted his hands away. "You're standing outside where it is very cold, putting you in danger of catching a cold. We should get inside."

Salem opened his mouth to argue further, but some god took pity on Gregori and sent a fierce winter wind winding through the tall buildings to blast them, stealing away Salem's breath. Salem had just spent several days in the balmy, luxurious heat of Brazil. Just enough time for his body to forget what winter felt like.

He shivered and snarled under his breath as he grabbed his bag. It thunked against the stone steps as Salem climbed up to his door, Gregori patiently following behind him. After several attempts to get his key in the lock, Salem opened the front door to reveal a long hallway with many doors.

Was this an apartment building? Did he not live in the entire thing?

Salem hurried down the hall—his roller bag bouncing along the ugly brown carpet with its strange, uneven bumps—to another door. Salem darted inside the second he unlocked it, but Gregori caught it before Salem could close it in his face.

"No!" Salem snapped.

Gregori fluttered his eyelashes and worked up his best sad puppy look, complete with pouty bottom lip. "But…I have no place to stay."

"I don't care."

"But…I've never been to Boston. How am I going to find a safe place to stay? You're the only person I know, Salem."

The mage growled and pushed on the door, but even Gregori could feel he did so half-heartedly.

"Please, don't leave me alone," he continued, fully willing to lay it on as thick as necessary. There was no way he was letting Salem out of his sight. Not when he'd just found his mate. Nope. Not happening. "I just got here. I don't know where to go," he whimpered.

"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.