Chapter 30

E scaping a horde of mages determined to examine every freaking scale and beat of his heart was not an easy task. But when his health steadily improved with every second he stood within the halls of the Valerii compound, there really wasn't much for the mages to see any longer.

With a promise to stop by to be poked, prodded, and inspected again the next day, Gregori snagged Salem's hand and dragged him out of the room.

"I know you want to start studying everything you can about medicine and magic, but you look like you could use some sleep," Gregori said the moment they were alone in the hall.

Salem held up one finger and affected a stern expression. "Normally, I would argue with you." That finger wilted along with his shoulders and stern expression. "But I'm not as young as I used to be. In college and throughout my residency, I lived on caffeine and ramen. Who needed sleep when I had so many things to learn? Now…fuck…I can't remember the last time I felt so tired."

It was understandable. While he'd slept on the roof, Salem had remained awake, waiting for Dimitri and the others to show up. And then, while they were waiting for Thiago, Salem had stayed up most of the time, swapping stories with Sora and soaking up as much magical knowledge as he could. Of course, he hadn't slept on the flight down to Brazil. At this point, Salem had probably grabbed only a couple of hours of sleep over fifty-two hours. The good doctor had to be running on pure adrenaline, which was running out fast.

"Um…I can let you crash in my apartment. I don't know if your rooms are ready yet. If you want to wait at my place, I can track down someone who might know," Gregori offered.

Salem snorted and wearily shook his head. "After weeks of squatting in my place, refusing to move, you're just going to toss me aside now? Nope. I think I'll crash in your room tonight. When I've had some sleep, we can figure out sleeping arrangements." Salem swayed a little on his feet and bumped his shoulder into Gregori's arm. "Besides, it's not like I haven't been in your room, right?"

Very true. Their first time together after Sam and Dimitri's bonding ceremony, they'd fucked on his bed.

Not like it was going to happen right now. No, he was going to be lucky if Salem didn't fall asleep on his feet.

A few more turns and down the long corridor finally brought them to his apartment. He opened the door and waved for Salem to precede him inside, but the mage didn't get more than a couple of steps before stopping shortly.

"I don't remember this place being so big."

Gregori chuckled and closed the door behind him. "That's because you didn't see any of the rooms. Your mouth was attached to mine when we entered, and it stayed that way. I doubt you saw much of it when you stormed out after sex."

Salem threw him a look. "I wasn't exactly in the mood to hear how my life was being turned upside down by a stranger I'd just had sex with. It was supposed to be a fling, but you made it serious."

"It hadn't been my intent."

His mate waved a hand at him. "I know, I know. Not your fault. Dragon instincts and all that."

"Would you like a quick tour now?" It seemed safer to divert their conversation away from their first argument and the subject that remained a giant, tender purple bruise between them.

"Sure. I can already see your living room is bigger than my entire apartment." Salem gestured with both hands at the room they were standing in, which had a dark brown leather sofa and chairs set around a big coffee table. When they entered, a couple of tall lamps had flicked on, and the air smelled sweetly of tropical flowers. It was nice to know all the spells on his place to keep it clean and tidy were still working, despite his extended absence.

"I actually don't spend a lot of time in this room anymore. Before we discovered Amaru, Luka and Vasily would pop by in the evenings for a chat or we'd play cards if we could get Ilya or Dimitri to join us."

From the living room, he led Salem to his private office and library—a large room with walls covered in bookshelves loaded with books.

"Whoa. This is…whoa. I never really took you to be much of a reader." Salem slapped his hand over his mouth and turned to face Gregori. "Not that I think you can't read or aren't intelligent. I mean, I know you're incredibly smart. I?—"

Gregori took pity on a very sleepy Salem and stopped his stammers with a kiss to the tip of his nose. "I know what you mean. I also think it's adorable when you forget exactly how old I am. Most of my life stretched in those long years before the invention of television, movies, and video games. The most common form of entertainment and gaining knowledge was books."

"Yeah. Duh. Sorry."

"No apologies necessary. The clan has a large central library. Though, I hear it's not nearly as big as the library in Burkhard Castle with the fire dragons. However, most dragons will also have a large personal library." Gregori walked over to a set of shelves, his eyes skimming over the familiar spines. "Old favorites you can't bring yourself to get rid of."

"It's a beautiful library."

Gregori turned back to his mate, his heart skipping to see him standing in this room, looking as if he'd always belonged there. Currently, he appeared sleepy and mussed, his dark brown hair in a freefall around his forehead, those ocean blue eyes intent on him. Gregori would never tire of seeing him like this, so casual and comfortable. "Thank you. When you start your studies with Sora and the other mages, feel free to use this room if you like."

Salem made a noncommittal noise and Gregori wisely chose to continue the tour. There was no kitchen since there was a central kitchen and dining hall used by all the dragons and mages. He did have a small cupboard for snacks and a table and chairs for when his fellow trackers stopped by with beer and junk food.

"Okay, I definitely remember this room," Salem announced as they stepped into the bedroom. A king-sized bed with an elaborately carved headboard dominated it. On the opposite wall was a large TV and a low dresser covered in random knickknacks Gregori had collected on his travels. The extra thick area rug squished under their feet and a happy hum escaped Salem as he squeezed his toes in it. The man had shed his shoes while they were on the beach.

In fact, Gregori wasn't entirely sure where the bag Salem had packed, his winter clothes, or his shoes were. He mentally shook his head at himself. He'd track down Salem's possessions after the mage fell asleep, as well as try to figure out what he would still need while he stayed in Brazil.

"I like this carpet," Salem murmured, his words slightly slurred.

And that had to be the end of the tour. He was about to pass out.

"Through there is the bathroom," Gregori said, pointing toward one of the open doors. "Off the bathroom is my closet."

Salem snorted. "That's it? This giant apartment doesn't have a billiards room or a conservatory? Or a ballroom?" He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. "No wonder you were so horrified by my apartment."

Gregori hurried to his side and wrapped his arms around Salem's waist while standing behind him. "I wasn't horrified. It was just smaller than I was expecting. Like most people, I live under the notion all doctors are rich and have enormous homes."

"Yeah, the rich part happens after you manage to pay off all your student loans. If you can pay them off."

It rested on the tip of Gregori's tongue to say he would personally see to it all of Salem's debts were paid off. If not him, then definitely Rodrigo. The king was not going to pass off a chance to have a skilled surgeon in their ranks. Add in a few years of magic training, and Salem would be a priceless gem within the mage community.

But he didn't want to push Salem right now. Not while he was exhausted.

However…

"There is one more room I haven't shown you yet."

Salem groaned again, his head dropping back to rest on Gregori's shoulder. "Oh my gawd, it better not be a ballroom or some kind of crazy game room with a half-court basketball setup."

Gregori chortled, trying to cover up the sudden racing of his heart. "No, the room is actually much smaller. Would you like to see it?"

"What is it?"

"My hoard."

Salem stood upright and spun around so fast he nearly fell over. Gregori grabbed Salem's elbow to steady him, but the mage didn't seem to notice. The heavy exhaustion clinging to every fiber of his being had evaporated in an instant.

"Seriously? You've got a hoard? A real dragon hoard? A room just filled with gold and precious gems?"

Gregori winced. Maybe this was a very bad idea. "Um…dragon hoards are rarely gold and riches. They're filled with the things that are most precious to us. Most dragons collect completely different things. And no one is ever permitted to go into our hoard, except…"

"Your mate," Salem finished for him in a tense whisper.

"Exactly. Would you still like to see it?"

Salem chewed on his bottom lip for only a moment before he straightened his shoulders and faced Gregori squarely. "I would be honored to see your hoard."

The heart that had sunk in his chest now flipped and twirled like an Olympic gymnast reaching for the gold. He grabbed Salem's hand and pulled him back to the library. At the back of the room, he paused in front of the center bookcase and grinned at Salem as he pressed his fingers to the underside of the middle shelf.

"No fucking way!"

"Yep," Gregori replied as the lock clicked and the door swung soundlessly open to reveal a room about half the size of his living room, but it appeared to be even smaller thanks to his enormous collection.

"Holy shit," Salem exclaimed very slowly as he stepped inside, his eyes skimming over the walls covered in framed posters for Broadway plays, old playbills, tickets. But not just any plays. No, Gregori's heart belonged to musicals.

Along with the framed art, there were several glass cases displaying different bits of costumes and collectibles he'd managed to get his hands on over the years.

Salem turned toward him, his face bright. "You like musicals?"

"I love musicals," Gregori admitted as he joined Salem beside a glass container protecting an elaborate woman's hat. "I have loved plays and musicals for as long as I can remember, and I've seen them in every major city throughout Europe and South America. Even caught a few on Broadway." He tapped on the glass. "I bought this hat in an auction in London from one of their productions of My Fair Lady . And this over here." He grabbed Salem's hand and pulled him over to another shelf, where he opened a wooden box to reveal a shiny silver straight razor that might have been used by a barber. Or better yet, a murderous barber. "This came from a production of Sweeny Todd in Berlin."

"This is incredible."

"I've tried to collect something used in a performance from all of my favorites, but as you can tell, I have too many favorites and not a big enough room for my hoard." Gregori carefully closed the box and tilted his head to look at Salem. "Are you disappointed my hoard isn't full of gold and priceless gems?"

"What? No! This is amazing. I could spend hours in this room."

"Really?"

Salem scrubbed a hand over his face as a low laugh rattled up his throat. "I can't believe we have this in common. I would never have guessed."

"You like musicals too?"

He dropped his hand and smiled. " Love them. When I was in college, I tried to catch every performance I could because tickets for student performances were way cheaper than tickets for a Broadway performance. Colleges did smaller productions. I got to see a great performance of The Fantasticks . But I've also caught Phantom, Les Mis, and West Side Story. "

Gregori hummed. " West Side Story is an old favorite of mine."

Salem grabbed his hand with both of his, eyes shining bright. "Have you seen Wicked yet?"

Gregori shook his head. "I haven't seen any of the newer plays that have been popular in the past couple of decades. It's been hard to get away."

"Then we have to go together. I haven't had a chance to either, and I've been dying to see it. Particularly with someone who hasn't seen it yet."

Salem was going to give him a heart attack if he didn't stop with all these wonderful moments and surprises. Gregori swallowed hard, trying to force his exuberant heart out of his throat. "Okay. It's a date. We'll go see it together."

The mage closed his eyes and smiled, resting his head against Gregori's shoulder. Salem looked like he was drunk with exhaustion. It was time for bed.

Gregori ushered Salem back out of his hoard, but only after he made several promises to show Salem his collection again. He helped him get undressed down to his briefs and slipped him under the blankets. The poor man was snoring before Gregori could even turn out the lights.