Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Noooo, food first!”
“Take a nap,” Gregori ordered this time, lifting Salem’s legs up to encourage the whole lying-down thing. “I’ll get you food and wake you up once I’m back so you can eat it. Then put you to bed.”
“You’re putting me to bed and everything?”
“I am.”
Okay, if he had some adultier adult willing to do adult things like bedtime, then he could stop trying to function now. Salem was making a hash of it anyway—better for Gregori to take over. Salem yawned and yanked a couch pillow in closer. He felt a throw settle over him.
“No olives or mushrooms, okay?” he said as he drifted off.
A soft chuckle from Gregori before lips lightly touched his forehead.
“You got it. Sleep, Salem. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He settled into his nap with a smile on his face. This whole dragon roommate thing definitely came with perks. And you know what? If Gregori wanted to take over, Salem had no problem letting him. It’d be nice if Gregori never left. If, for once, someone stayed with Salem. That would be very, very nice indeed.
Date night! Date night!
It was freaking date night!
Salem didn’t know this, of course. Gregori was going off his own schedule for their dates. The last home date had worked out really well, but today he felt like pushing boundaries and taking Salem out. Salem had complained of being tired of only going to work and home, nowhere else, so Gregori had suggested a change of scenery would do them both good. Maybe have dinner out on the town. The grumpy surgeon had caved to Gregori’s proposal of going out to celebrate Salem’s much deserved night off.
It being Sunday, Gregori had checked in with Ha Na, and he’d done it early in the morning while Salem still slept. For the most part, Salem’s day off work was spent sleeping. Not that he blamed the man in the least. He put in some extremely long hours at the hospital, and when he came home, he spent more hours picking at Gregori, trying to convince the dragon they were a horrible match. It had to be draining.
Gregori had said as much to Ha Na, but he’d put it in terms of but improvements! And there were improvements. Salem didn’t argue with him on a daily basis anymore. In fact, he quite liked having Gregori living with him, even if he didn’t say it.
What Gregori did not mention were his body aches, especially along the spine, so as not to worry Ha Na. In truth, he wasn’t used to staying in human form like this for weeks on end. He clearly wasn’t flying enough. But that was a later him problem. He’d fly some after Salem went back to work tomorrow. His dragon was being rumbly and irritable, so a flight was definitely in order.
Tonight wasn’t about mates, bonding, or their eventual happily ever after.
It was about getting to know each other. Sure, they’d screwed like rabbits, and Gregori had a detailed catalogue in his brain of all the secret spots on Salem’s body where he could lick or suck and make Salem scream himself hoarse, but how much did he actually know about his mate that didn’t involve sex or Salem’s work?
Next to nothing.
He trusted his dragon’s instincts, which said they were mates. He could feel they were meant for each other deep down in his soul. It was just that the rest of him was waiting to understand what made them so perfect for each other.
“So, let’s get the most cliché question out of the way,” Gregori started as he carefully maneuvered Salem’s car on the somewhat busy street. The sun had set a little over an hour ago and the car headlights shone brightly on the wet streets. The temperature had warmed up just enough to melt some of the piles of snow around the city. Thankfully, the roads were well treated against ice, but Gregori had no intention of risking Salem’s life for a silly date.
The plan was a little fun and a quick, quiet dinner before whisking him back to the apartment for some under-the-covers snuggling. And yeah, probably sex. It was the one thing they were getting right at the moment.
Plus, his mate was ridiculously sexy. Why in the world would he pass that up?
“I’m afraid to find out what you’re thinking,” Salem muttered from the passenger seat.
“What made you decide to be a pediatric surgeon?”
“Oh, that. I was trying to one-up my brother.”
Gregori had been slowing down for a red light, but he might have tapped the brakes a little harder than he’d expected at Salem’s words. They both lurched forward, but he quickly recovered, smoothing out their deceleration with no problem.
“What?” he choked out. He glanced over when they were fully stopped to find Salem had the cheekiest grin. God, he wanted to lean over and kiss it right off.