Chapter 33

S alem bent his neck back, trying to loosen the knot forming right at the base of his shoulder blades. The sensation brought back memories of being in medical school, spending hours poring over books and trying to cram facts into his overheating brain.

Which, he basically was back in school, so it made sense.

The second he stopped focusing on words, his stomach made a petulant growl. Oh. Right. He hadn't eaten yet today and it was—he glanced at the clock on the desk—shit, it was already two in the afternoon. Salem's tunnel vision when studying was legendary, but dammit, hadn't he matured enough to remember to at least eat ?

Stomach gave another petulant growl.

Damn bodies. So needy and inconvenient. Ugh, fine, he'd get something. Oh wait, with it being this late, maybe Gregori had made something.

He turned in his chair as he spoke. "Hey, Gregori, did—fuuuuuck."

He'd just done it again.

Salem forehead-planted against the back of the chair. How could he have forgotten he and Gregori weren't currently living together again ? This was the third time he'd called for his dragon without remembering. Like it was natural for Gregori to be there and within range to hear his call. This was just embarrassing at this point. Since when did having Gregori nearby feel natural? Since when did his absence feel like missing a limb?

Granted, Salem was still coming to terms with the fact he apparently cared enough about Gregori to turn his whole world upside down just to keep the man safe and happy. Salem had honestly thought he'd die alone his entire life, so finding out a. that wasn't true, and b. he was apparently capable of this level of devotion still sent his head spinning. It was why, when Gregori had offered him some space to think, he'd taken him up on it. Too much had changed too fast; he'd needed time to process it.

However, it seemed only his brain had needed processing time. His heart did not. Clearly. Two days of being in this apartment had felt lonely. Especially after he'd turned to ask Gregori something, only to abruptly remember he wasn't here.

He'd hesitated to admit his feelings aloud to Gregori because doing so felt like a leap of faith he hadn't been ready for. Hell, he'd been too scared to even acknowledge to himself that he was in love with the man. But the dragon had damn near died to stay with him, and what further proof of devotion did he need? Really. Salem still thought Gregori was insane to pick him of all people, but apparently there was no accounting for tastes. Gregori had put it all on the line.

It was time for Salem to do the same.

Fuck, this was still emotionally scary. How had Gregori done this, over and over again, without having any assurance Salem felt the same? Here he sat, knowing Gregori loved him to hell and back, and he was still nervous as all get out. Why were emotions such messy things? And demanding, too.

Salem sucked in a breath, rooted about for courage, and found some. Hopefully a large enough supply to commit properly to Gregori because it was definitely necessary. And past due.

Argh, dammit. Why were dragons so charming? They worked their way under your skin before you knew it. Or at least, Gregori certainly had.

Salem's stomach grumbled again. It was now on the verge of threatening legal action.

He sighed and got up. "I clearly have been spoiled. I'm far too used to Gregori making sure I eat. How the hell did he even spoil me so fast?"

His analytical brain mocked him. Oh, that's easy, you never take care of yourself to begin with.

Damn you, analytical brain, for probably being correct.

Fortunately for all, there was an amazing mess hall here. The food was out of this world good. Then again, he was mostly surrounded by people who had literal centuries of experience in cooking, so it kinda figured. Salem was definitely reaping the benefits and had no problem doing so.

He grabbed his phone, threw on sandals—no one seemed to wear actual tennis shoes in Brazil, just sandals—and headed out. Salem walked while he thought, pensive.

Surely there was some way to undo the damage here. Salem knew how to date, dammit; just because he sucked at long-term relationships didn't mean he had no game. He had a very good idea of what Gregori liked, having seen his hoard, so it was kind of a no-brainer. The best lure was to find a play somewhere nearby and ask him out on a date. They'd barely had any actual dates, and now that Salem thought about it, it was rather a travesty. Gregori was marvelous fun on a date. He should be dragging the man out every weekend.

Right. Food, then time to look online for theaters and shows.

Also, he needed to say this right, not make it sound like a let's-hang-out thing. This was to mend fences and hopefully get back into Gregori's apartment, so he had to make it clear he was asking him out on a bona fide date.

Honestly, Salem wasn't sure how much longer he could survive a Gregori-less apartment. The silence was killing him slowly.

No one was in the mess hall when he arrived, as it was well past lunchtime for most. There were still some hot plates out with leftover food, so he grabbed what looked good and ended up with a mound of food somehow. Eyes bigger than his stomach? Screw it, he was hungry.

Then he sat and plowed through about half of it in one breath before slowing down enough to pull out his phone.

All right, theaters.

Fortunately, there were a number of them in this area. He wasn't too far from a city, after all, so it stood to reason. Some of them were community theaters, but Salem didn't think Gregori would care. Salem had seen playbills from very small productions in his hoard.

He'd have to borrow some kind of translator earring from Evora. His Portuguese was limited, to say the least. But that was easily done.

Okay, what was playing right now? Salem liked theater too, so he wanted to pick something they could both enjoy.

Hmm, wow, they were doing Hairspray down here? Huh. Guess some shows were rather universal. Oh, Roald Dahl's Matilda , too. Who'd have thought? Other showings were Kinky Boots (hard no), and oh-ho, they were doing West Side Story at the Teatro Riachuelo. It wouldn't even matter if the whole thing was in Portuguese, as Salem knew the story, so he could watch it and not be lost. Plus, he knew Gregori liked theatrical plays, so it would be something he'd like.

Perfect.

Salem searched, found VIP tickets, and paid for them without a single wince. Okay, he winced a little. They were damn expensive. But for this, he was pulling out all the stops. Oooh, there was a way to contact the theater for special requests? Hell yeah. Salem promptly did so, as he wanted a playbill autographed by the cast if he could at all manage it. All right, request sent in. If he didn't get a response, he'd enlist someone to help him message again in Portuguese. Just in case.

Tickets were for tomorrow, which meant Salem set three alarms on his phone, just in case, because he did not trust himself. He could forget to eat. That said it all.

Preparations made, he emailed himself the tickets so he could print them out later, then got up.

Time to hunt down his dragon.

Really, Gregori was so larger than life, he was easy to find. He'd be the type to anchor a group in a tourist country because of his sheer size. All Salem had to do was exit the mess hall, walk past the center courtyard, and down toward the beach.

Gregori was in dragon form, front legs crouched, rear end up in the air with his tail wagging. A clear come get me pose if there ever was one. Facing off with him were Ravi and Sora's twins, also in dragon mode, who seemed determined to conquer this much larger dragon.

The kids launched themselves upward with a war cry, but the attack didn't get very far. Gregori opened his gigantic mouth wide and caught them in a clean snap of the jaws. Salem's heart jumped into his throat seeing this, and instincts almost sent him running down to the beach. Then he realized there was a lot of happy squealing from the twins. Gregori was clearly not biting down at all because their tails were wagging, bodies wriggling.

Salem wasn't sure what the game was, but clearly all three were having a good time, so he wasn't about to stop them for long. He just needed a five-minute pause.

Gregori spotted him and waved a greeting. "Hah hoooon gaaaa sooo."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Salem deadpanned.

There was a deep chuckle before Gregori signaled with one hand—wait—and then spat both kids high up in the air. They immediately flapped wings, flying about, still laughing. Was this a wind dragon thing? Or something they'd learned from their mischievous father? Despite barely being in the clan for more than a few days, even Salem had heard stories about Ravi.

"Gimme a second, kids!" Gregori called up to them.

"Okay!"

Shifting back to human form, he loped up to where Salem stood on the bottom stone step—right as sand met staircase—then paused there, a smile on his face.

He looked so much better. The change in him in Boston had been so gradual, Salem hadn't quite realized just how much health and weight he'd lost until looking at Gregori now, who was nearly the picture of health. It made Salem's heart ache to see him vibrant and healthy again.

"Hi, babe. Pulled your head out of the books for a breather?"

"Well, yes, but I had a serious question I wanted to ask you."

Salem leaned in to kiss him, soft and slow, tasting Gregori's delight before drawing back.

"Whatever it is, yes."

Man was seriously bad about spoiling him.

"At least let me ask first. Go on a date with me?"

"You're correct," Gregori mused. "That's more of a hell yes question."

Salem had sort of expected this answer, but he was still relieved to hear it. "I've got reservations for tomorrow night. Be ready by five."

Gregori perked up. "Oh really? To what, dinner?"

"That is for me to know"—Salem stole another kiss—"and for you to find out. Five sharp, and dress up a little. I've got a full date planned."

"Ooooh. Yes, sir!"

Smartass. Still, Salem was smiling as he pulled back. The second he did, he saw two rascally blue dragons dive-bombing in their direction.

"Incoming," he warned.

And then promptly got out of the way.

Gregori turned, lightning quick, switching into dragon form smoothly and this time capturing the kids in his wings. They laughed and wiggled, trying to get free, but he had them closely tucked against his body.

"Dive-bombing?!" Gregori said with mock outrage. "Who taught you to dive-bomb your elders!"

"Daddy," the twins chorused.

"Now doesn't that just figure," Gregori groused.

Salem snapped a few pictures before going hunting for his brother. Right now, he needed more ideas on how to knock Gregori's socks off. Since he didn't know the area at all, it was time to pull in someone more "local." And if Sam couldn't help him, he knew some dragons who could.