25. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tan

I couldn't believe the dragon who'd attacked me was Oakley. The Oakley. Garrick's son. It was just… crazy.

Like, how the heck did he even get here? Why had he come?

Had his mother really sent him here to kill his father? Or was it only to kill me? Why had he wanted to kill me anyway?

Had the other side realized I was Garrick's viramore before I even admitted it to myself? How was that possible when I'd only so recently realized it myself?

I stared at the dragon in question, who was just sitting on the bench, staring at the wall or something. He was the spitting image of Garrick.

Garrick didn't look old or anything, probably looking like he was in his mid-thirties by human standards, but this guy looked like a teenager or something, even though he was twenty-five. He could be Garrick's twin if their ages matched up. Although, this one had green eyes, which was strange since his dragonscale sword was gold, which meant in his dragon form, he was gold. I'd kind of thought their eyes were the same color as their dragon, but I guess not.

With one last push of my magic to ensure the ward was strong and true, I gave Oakley another glance before walking down the hall to Garrick and Roman. One look at my viramore told me he wanted to rush back down the hall and stare at his son again, but I wasn't sure that would do him any good. Oakley was clearly not happy with Garrick, so giving him a little time would be a good thing. At least I thought it would.

Plus, we had a lot of work that needed to get done in the condo. Well, that and actual work too. I wasn't sure sitting there, staring at his kid would necessarily be good for Gar right now either, especially if said kid continued flipping him off, scowling at him, and spitting in his face.

If I hadn't believed Garrick was my viramore before, I sure did now after feeling all of the hurt around his heart and how badly each of those digs had stung.

I put my arm through Gar's elbow and tugged him toward the elevators. "Come on, dragon face. Let's go pick out a condo for him and figure out everything we need to do for it."

He sighed but let me pull him ahead. His reluctance was fierce, but when I added, "And I need to lie down for a little while," he immediately hurried to help me. I figured that would do it since I knew he cared how hurt I'd been. And it wasn't like it was a lie. I was dragging pretty badly and desperately needed sleep.

I kept hold of him the whole way up to the two-hundred-twentieth floor, two floors beneath Roman's condo since the one below his condo was the one with the pool and gym and everything. I'd never been in this part of the tower, and from the stale air here, I didn't think anyone had in a long time.

Roman led the way to the condo farthest from the elevator and to the right, saying, "I think we should put him in this one. They're all the same size, but I'd rather have him farther from the elevator and stairs in case someone comes for him."

"I'm going to put wards up, and if Gar okays it, I'm going to ask you guys, Remi, and Bel to all add their magic in. The more species' magic we have mixed into the wards, the stronger they'll be."

Garrick finally shook himself out of wherever his head had been. "Yes, that's a good plan."

"Oh, I'll ask Anton to come too. I'm sure Remi can teach him how to add his magic to the wards if he doesn't already know how."

Some species, like wolf shifters and vampires, weren't magic users, so the way they added to wards was completely different than how Garrick or I would do it. Dragon shifters seemed to be somewhere in the middle. They seemed to use magic more often than a typical wolf shifter, including setting wards, but they didn't seem to really do spells, so to speak. I didn't know, I was still figuring it out. But Gar and Rome's magic was a lot different from mine, but also very different from other shifters. They were an anomaly.

"Okay. I'm sure he'll help," Roman said. "I'd still like to keep Oakley as far from the elevators as possible."

"Anything to help keep him safe," I said, eyeing Garrick.

He was unusually quiet, and I didn't like it. Was he in shock? Probably. Maybe I should take him to his condo and make him rest. I could cook him some food, maybe. That might help. Maybe do a few normal things around the condo or something.

"I'm alright." Garrick sighed, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

I stared at him. "Did you hear my thoughts or something?"

"A little bit, I think, but your thoughts are also written all over your face."

I rolled my eyes and patted his hand. "That's enough outta you, Sir Sky Serpent."

He sent me a small smile, and although it looked a little strained, it was still a genuine one.

"Do you want to go lie down?"

"No."

"Eat something? I can cook."

"No, sweetheart, I'm fine."

I sighed because that was obviously not true, but I didn't push. I wasn't sure what I could possibly do to make this situation any better or easier for him.

This time, he patted my hand. "You're already helping. Figuring out the condo is a good start. I don't want Oakley staying in the dungeon any longer than he has to. My… my son deserves more than that."

I nodded in agreement. The kid may've attacked me, but it was clear that his mother had filled his head with lies and hatred for years—for his entire life. It wasn't truly his fault, and I knew that Garrick, Roman, and I would do everything in our power to help him see the truth.

I could only hope that hearing the nastiness that was sure to come out of his mouth wouldn't hurt Garrick more than it already was. My poor dragon didn't deserve that pain. He was as much a victim here as Oakley.

Roman let us into the condo—apparently he had a master key, but we would be changing that lock. Not that I didn't trust Roman, of course I did. But there were too many other people that could have access with a master key, including some cleaning people. So yeah, that would be the first thing on the list.

The condo was a much smaller version of Garrick's with a kitchen with an island, a space for a dining room right in front of that, and off to the side was a living room. Smaller than Garrick's, yes, but still a very nice size. There were three bedrooms instead of four, the primary bedroom was probably as big as my own bedroom at my house, and there was a bathroom in the hallway and an en suite off the primary bedroom.

All in all, it was a nice as hell condo.

On my phone, I started making a list of furniture and supplies that we'd need to buy, then made a list of things we needed to do, including asking Oakley what kind of foods he liked so I could be sure to get him the things he needed. Although…

"So are we allowing him to cook? Like… are we going to let him have access to knives and the stove and everything like that?" I asked after I added cutlery to my list.

Roman and Garrick exchanged a look before facing me, and Roman said, "Honestly, do you think it really matters when he can simply shift his hand into claws? And breathe fire."

"Can he breathe fire in his human form?"

I knew fully mature dragons could, but I wasn't sure about young adults. Oakley might've been twenty-five and an adult in the eyes of most species, but apparently, dragon shifters aged super slowly, so he wasn't considered a fully matured dragon yet.

"Yes," they both said, then Garrick added, "I can still do that, even with my dragon locked away."

I frowned at that reminder, then sighed and added knives to the list. They were right. If Oakley wanted to maim or kill someone, he didn't need a kitchen knife to do it. It still made me uncomfortable, but I could simply put a shield around myself when I came to visit. Without his dragonscale sword, he couldn't get through it. He could stab at my shield with a regular knife for hours, and I'd still be fine.

I mean, he could still shift and use his claws to burst it, but there was nothing I could do to stop that from happening. I wasn't about to spell the kid so he couldn't shift. That was just cruel.

My frown deepened at yet another unpleasant reminder—Garrick had been locked away from his dragon for twenty-five years.

We finished up with the list, then I said, "We need to rest and eat." Before either of them could continue, I added, "We can start ordering stuff while we relax, but that's all we're doing today. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

Garrick frowned at me, then gently tipped my chin up with his fingers. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired."

He grimaced. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be walking around after what happened. And you certainly shouldn't be putting up wards left and right. Healing makes you tired and hungry. I should've insisted you stay in bed for the rest of the day."

I waved him off. "I'm fine. I'm going to do a basic ward on this condo before we leave—no, don't protest. I'm doing it. I'll be okay, but that's why I'm only doing a basic one. It'll stop most people from getting through, but it will also tell me if someone tried, which I think is important. So I'll do that, then we can go rest and eat."

"Tan, you don't need to put a ward up."

"Yes, I do. We have too much going on, and I don't want to worry about this condo being compromised. It's obvious that these people are watching us, and if they know which condo we went into, they could come in and plant something. I'm not risking it."

"No one else is up here but us," Roman said with a frown. "I would've smelled or heard them."

I rolled my eyes at them. "You do realize my… uh, Delaro can make charms that conceal your scent and sounds, right? There are ways around everything, and I'm not willing to risk it. Gar, if you're that worried, you can help me lay the ward. Like I said, I just want to do a basic one. I'll come back first thing tomorrow to lay a more intricate one and get the others to meet me here."

Garrick sighed but nodded. "Fine. But this is the last thing you're doing before I take you up to my condo and force you to sit down."

I grinned at him. "Deal."

He gave a nod, and we got to work.

It had been two days since Oakley attacked me, and I hadn't left the tower once. I hadn't wanted to, to be honest, and Garrick had freaked out the one time I brought up going to my house to grab some of my things.

But I was running out of clothes, so I was going to have to run home.

"I'll just buy you new clothes," Garrick said as we ate breakfast together at the table.

"Gar, I need my own clothes—I want them. I don't want to have to buy a whole new wardrobe when I have perfectly good clothes at home."

He scowled. "It's too dangerous."

I stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "What if I have Remi or Bel drop some of my stuff off? They can bring it to the office or something."

His scowl deepened, but he said, "Fine."

I stared at him for a long moment. "Why are you so mad right now?"

He didn't answer right away, but I could tell he was just trying to figure things out in his head. "I wish I could take you there myself."

My heart sort of lurched, and I didn't know if it was from sympathy for the pain he'd been in for so long, the pain that kept him locked away inside the tower, or if it was from the fear that came with the thought of him leaving. "It's too dangerous."

He lifted a brow and pointed at me. "Exactly. If it's too dangerous for me, then it's too dangerous for you."

I sighed in defeat. "I know. I have no idea how you stayed here for so many years. I already feel like I'm going stir-crazy."

He scowled, and for once, I thought I'd actually pissed him off. It made me wince because I hadn't meant to sound so damn rude and inconsiderate.

He said, "So sorry for keeping you here like a prisoner. Mother forbid I want to keep you safe."

Everyone's emotions were high, and both of us were still feeling out of sorts, but I still sighed in annoyance. "You know that's not what I meant."

"No, actually, I don't know that. I'm very sorry I'm forcing you to put up with me and remain in my presence."

He stood and looked like he was going to walk away, so I jumped out of my seat and ran after him. I caught his arm right before he walked down the hallway, and I tugged on him until he turned to face me. But then my words failed me.

Me, of all people, wordless.

For fuck's sake .

He huffed out an angry breath of smoke and started to turn, and I panicked a little. I didn't want him to walk away from me angry. I didn't want him to walk away at all.

So I grabbed onto his shoulders, went up on my toes, and pressed my mouth to his. He was stony and unmovable for a beat, but then he moaned and grabbed onto me, yanking me closer to him. I was flush against his chest with his tongue down my throat, and all I could do was hold on for the ride and hum in pleasure.

My hands went into his hair for a moment, but then I felt his cock, already half hard, pressed into my stomach, and suddenly I just needed him naked. We hadn't done anything more than kiss before now, but I was dying to touch skin to skin.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up. Gar leaned back to help me yank it over his head before he went for my shirt. As soon as I was free of mine, I didn't waste even a second to grab his pants and yank them and his boxer briefs down. He did the same to me, and then we were pressed against each other, naked, panting, and kissing so hard I was dizzy.

I pushed him against the wall, and he spread his legs so he wasn't so hard for me to reach. My hands had minds of their own, exploring every inch of skin I could reach. His skin was soft but the muscles beneath were anything but. I hummed against his lips, then leaned back to take my fill of him. I couldn't decide if I wanted to look at him or kiss the hell out of him more. I wanted both, I wanted it all.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," I murmured, and Garrick grunted in response before capturing my lips again.

I reached behind him and grabbed the globes of his delectable ass and hummed in delight. I finally, finally got to touch this fine ass that I'd been checking out for weeks and weeks. Mother of All, he'd be lucky if he could pry my hands off of it after this.

He started kissing down my neck and sucked the skin into his mouth there, making me quiver. His hands went down to my ass and squeezed. Then he ran one finger up my crease. He tapped my hole with his finger and whispered into my ear, "Do you—"

"Yes. Yes, so much, yes."

He chortled, but it sounded deep and husky. So damn sexy.

He lifted his hand and stuck three fingers into my mouth, so I obliged and licked and sucked and got them wet as he nibbled on my neck and I ran my hands over his strong chest. Then he surprised me by lifting me in the air with one arm. I automatically wrapped my arms and legs around him, kissing him again, and he didn't hesitate to press one of his wet fingers into my hole.

I moaned loudly at the intrusion and pressed my ass back against him, already wanting to take him deeper. He quickly flipped us so I was pressed against the wall, and I gasped into his mouth. I really fucking liked being manhandled. Like, a lot.

"Fuck yes," I murmured into his mouth.

He grunted in response, and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth. Since we were kissing, I breathed it in, but it didn't affect me the way it had the first time. I'd inhaled his puffy smoke a few times now, and it just sort of… slid on in now.

I didn't know why, but I liked it.

And knowing that kissing and touching me made him lose control enough to blow out smoke sent a thrill through my body.

He added another finger, and my brain stopped working, only able to focus on the sexy man of my dreams touching me in ways I'd been wishing for since the day we met.

"Fuuuuuucckk," I groaned. "Soooo good, Gar. So fucking good."

He grunted again and murmured, "I want inside you."

"Yes. Please."

Before I could say anything else, he set me on my feet and flipped me so I was facing the wall. He grabbed my hands and pushed them against the wall so I could brace myself, and then he reached down with one hand and grabbed my dick.

"Oh fuck."

He slowly stroked me a few times, and the pleasure was so intense, I was afraid I'd burst before he even really got started.

With his other, he ran his finger over my hole, and I trembled in anticipation. I was loose enough. I was ready, but words had escaped me, so I couldn't tell him I didn't need more prep.

He put his mouth next to my ear, and I shivered as his breath brushed across my skin. "I'm going to fuck you against this wall, and you're going to keep your hands right where they are."

I moaned in response.

He kissed my neck, then gave it a small bite. "But first, I need to get the lube, so you're going to stay right here, you understand? Don't move a muscle."

I groaned and gave him a nod before I realized what he said.

"Good." He kissed the back of my neck, and then he was gone.

Shit. I could've used a spell for the lube, but he'd already turned my brain to mush and it was too late now. I let out a pathetic whimper that I couldn't hold in even though I knew he was coming back.

And, thank the Mother, he only took less than a minute before he was pressed up behind me again.

"Good, little pretty."

I heard the snick of the cap opening before I felt him pour the cold liquid on my ass. I jumped, startled, and he shushed me and nipped my ear as he scooped some lube off my ass cheek and pushed two fingers inside me again.

I pushed back against his hand, and he moaned as he kissed, licked, and nipped my shoulders and neck. He reached his other hand around and started a very light, very slow caress on my cock. His fingers in my ass were strong and unforgiving and the total opposite of the hand wrapped around my cock.

It was making me crazy.

"Fuck, Gar, what the hell are you doing to me?"

His chuckle was a little bit evil, and it made my cock twitch.

I kept my hands against the wall like he'd told me to, but I leaned back against him when he pushed a third finger inside of me. I wanted more of his skin on my skin. I wanted to reach back and touch him.

"Ah, ah, ah. Keep your hands where they are."

I groaned. "Why are you torturing me?"

He chuckled again and sped up his finger fucking, and I no longer cared about his answer. I rocked back against him as he pumped his fingers in and out. His mouth kept brushing against sensitive spots on my neck and right below my ear. If he wasn't careful, I'd explode at any second.

"If you don't get inside of me right now, I'm gonna come without you, and I really fucking want you inside of me."

"Don't worry, baby, I've got you." He slowly pulled his fingers out, and I whimpered again but didn't complain because I could hear him adding lube to his cock.

And then he had himself lined up against my entrance, and I didn't even wait for him. I just pressed back.

He murmured, "Holy shit," and held himself still while I slowly impaled myself on him.

Then he moved his hand out of the way, held my hips, and very slowly pressed the rest of the way inside. When his hips met my ass, we both groaned in pleasure. I was so damn full it was overwhelming, but he held still and allowed me time to adjust.

After I pushed my ass against him to silently tell him I was ready, he pulled almost all of the way out before pushing inside again. This time, he went so deep, I couldn't help but yell out.

"That's it, sweetheart. Let go," he murmured in my ear, his voice rough, growly, and breathy all at the same time. He was clearly just as affected by this as I was.

He pushed in deeply again, and I felt my magic flare out of me, out of my own control. I had one beat to panic before I felt Garrick's magic rush out of him to meet mine. They swirled together, dancing with each other and learning one another's souls as Gar kept up his deep thrusts.

Fuck, I'd never felt anything like this before. The pleasure he was giving my body was already out of this world, and now my magic, my heart, and my soul were connecting to his in a way that made it hard to breathe yet filled my entire being with so much delight and contentment that I wasn't even sure I was actually inside my body anymore.

I could feel Garrick everywhere. He was inside every part of me, becoming as crucial to my existence as my very cells were.

My eyes watered with happiness.

Mother of All, he really was my viramore. I could feel a silver and gold strand of connection solidifying between us as we connected. It was like I let myself go enough to allow my magic the freedom to find its match.

"Garrick," I breathed out.

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight to his chest, his nose buried in the side of my neck. "I feel it too," he whispered into my skin. "I feel you everywhere, Tan, my little pretty, my witch, my sweet viramore."

I breathed out, "My dragon." Our magics flared and blended together in one last sweep of bliss.

I gasped, and Garrick kept moving his hips. My head fell back on his shoulder, and even though he'd told me to keep my hands on the wall, I couldn't help but grab onto the muscular arms he had wrapped around me. I gripped him tightly, and he pressed a kiss to my skin as his hips pounded hard and fast.

I was so close I wanted to reach down and jerk myself off, but I didn't want to let go of him. I never wanted to let go of him.

He sped up even more, and I could tell by his breathing—and by our connection—that he was as close as I was.

"Oh fuck, Gar."

"That's right. Let go, sweetheart. I'm… right… there… with you."

And so I did. I let go completely, and pleasure unlike any I'd felt before rushed through my veins, making me quake with the euphoria of it. Wave after wave after wave raced through me, and I felt the same pleasure racing through Garrick.

Our bond made everything echo back and forth until we were riding the longest wave together to the end.

Our souls collided in a heady mix of bliss and affection, and it made our orgasms that much more intense.

As we finally came down from our highs, Garrick hugged me more firmly and kept pressing kisses to the skin along my shoulder and neck. It felt lovely and sweet, and I couldn't help but lean more of my body weight against him. He didn't even grunt from the position change. He just kept pressing those sweet kisses to my skin.

He kissed his way up my neck and gave my earlobe a small nip that made me laugh—it tickled now that we weren't in the heat of the moment—before he slowly pulled out of me. As soon as he did, I turned in his embrace, wrapped my arms around his waist, and lifted my head, silently asking for a kiss.

Our magics were still floating around us, but they were a lot slower now, calmer.

But when our lips met, I felt them speed up as if happy and wanting to show it off with a dance.

Since I was still catching my breath, I pulled back. Garrick smiled at me and rested his forehead against mine, making me smile back at him.

After a few seconds, I said, "Well, that was fun. Five stars. Highly recommend. Can we do it again soon?"

He burst out laughing and kissed my lips with a smile on his face. It made me smile too—hell yeah, I finally made him really laugh—and our kiss ended up being a lot of teeth and bumping around, which only made us laugh harder.

After a few minutes, he picked me up in his arms, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding on tight. He pressed his lips to mine, then headed for the bedroom.

Before we were too far down the hall, he said, "Oh crap. Our phones."

I patted his shoulder. "I'll get them."

He started to put me down, but I held on tighter and called on my magic, using the death energy of all the wood around me to power a small windstorm. I closed my eyes and used my magic to find the phones since I couldn't see them from where I was, although I knew both were sitting on the table.

It only took a few seconds before I was able to grab them with my wind and fly them around the corner, down the hall, and right into my hands.

"That was impressive," Garrick growled out.

I grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, babe."

He snorted and carried me the rest of the way to his bed.

I'd slept in his bed for the last two nights, but all we'd done was cuddle. I was hoping we could go for a round two tonight before we got to the cuddle part. Although I loved snuggling down with him probably more than anything else, so I wouldn't complain if all he wanted to do was hold me against him for the rest of the night.

He sat on his bed, keeping me in his lap, and murmured, "Give me a few minutes, and I'll be happy to go for a round two before I cuddle you to sleep."

I snorted. "You heard my thoughts?"

"Oh yeah. Loud and clear. It's only been a few days, but everything has been growing stronger since we talked about being viramores. And now that our magics have connected like that, I think it's going to be a hell of a lot stronger than it was before."

Hm . That made a lot of sense. I nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right."

He stared at me for a beat. "Does that bother you?"

I jerked back in surprise. "What? Of course not." I waited a beat. "Does it bother you?"

His eyes widened, and his hold tightened around my back. "No, little pretty. It makes me happy."

I poked his grumpy lips. "You don't look very happy."

He snorted, and his mouth softened, his eyes lighting up in amusement. "Looks can be deceiving."

That made me roll my eyes. "Whatever." I moved a little and realized I was already practically glued to him. Apparently, I'd had cum on my cock or something, and I'd gotten it on his belly. "Ugh. I need to clean up before we do anything else."

He glanced down and let out a chortling noise that made me smile. "We can take turns."

I pecked his lips, hopped off his lap, and rushed to the bathroom so I could go first. "Haha! Beat you!" I shut the door.

I heard him chortle again. "Didn't know it was a race since I was letting you go first anyway."

"Sure, sure. I believe you."

He let out a growl, and I wasn't sure how I knew, but I could tell it was a fake one.

"Oh, what a very scary dragon. Ahhh." I sounded so damn sarcastic it was ridiculous.

But I could feel Garrick's amusement in my chest, and that made me… giddy.

I finished up quickly, and when I opened the bathroom door, Garrick was standing right there. This time, my scream sounded real.

"Ahhhh! Fuck. What the hell, dragon face? Were you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He laughed. Hard. "S-sorry. Didn't think… I'd scare… you that bad." He kept chuckling, the asshat.

I glared and gave his chest a light smack. But I wasn't actually upset. How could I be when he was actually laughing? Mother of All, I loved making him laugh. "Move it or lose it, dragon."

He snorted and moved aside so I could pass him, then he headed in to clean up while I sat on the bed. I made myself comfortable, scooting up to rest my back against the headboard. My eyes landed on his closet door, and I couldn't help but think about his hoard back there.

I would love to go back into that room when we had time for me to really explore because there was so much in there. I didn't think I'd ever seen so many books in my life. Even Anton's store seemed small in comparison.

When Gar came out of the bathroom, he asked, "You okay?"

My brow furrowed. "Very okay. Why?"

He shook his head but patted his chest. "I felt something from you that I couldn't interpret."

"Oh. I was just thinking about exploring all the books you have in your hoard."

His eyebrows rose, but his lips twitched up into a small smile. "We can do that." He started to head for the closet, and I laughed.

"No! I didn't mean right now." I let out a strange giggle thing that was kind of embarrassing, so I just kept talking, pretending that sound hadn't actually come out of my mouth. "I'd rather explore on a day where we have a lot of free time. It's too late right now, and I kinda want my dragon in bed with me."

He grinned. "Your dragon, huh?"

"Yep. All mine."

He snorted and climbed into bed, but he kept crawling until his face was only inches from mine. "All yours."

I swallowed at the intensity, then leaned forward to kiss his lips softly.

He lingered on my lips for a long, wonderful moment, then plopped down beside me and let out a long sigh.

"What was that for? What are you thinking about?" That hadn't sounded like a happy sigh at all.

I felt a pulse of sadness with a dash of anxiety thrown in, which made my heart stagger. "I'm sorry, Tan. I never wanted to trap you here with me."

I reached over and grabbed hold of his hands. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think I was upset with you or that I didn't want to be here. Because I do. I love staying in your condo with you. In fact, before all of this happened, I was going to ask you if I could stay in your guest room for the next few weeks because I hated leaving you here on Roman's nights, even though I knew he was guarding you when I wasn't."

"You wanted to stay here?"

"Yes. I hated leaving every night. I kept getting these, like, chest pains, and sometimes I'd feel a little sick when I left. I thought I was having acid reflux issues, and that I only noticed it when I left here because you weren't around to distract me. Looking back, I know it was our viramore bond trying to tell me to stay close to you."

A small smile appeared on his face. "So you really have been able to feel it, feel our connection?"

"Yes." I hesitated. "Like I said before, I didn't think it'd ever happen to me, so I didn't really know what it was. But now that I've… accepted it, it feels so damn intense, and I freaking love it."

He reached up and cupped my cheek, then leaned in to press a small kiss there. "My sweet viramore."

That made me smile. "My grumpy viramore."

He barked out a laugh and pecked my lips. "I like the sound of that."

"You like me calling you grumpy?"

He snorted. "Shut up."

"Make me, my viramore."

"With pleasure." He captured my mouth, and I knew it'd be a long time before either of us came up for air.