Page 49 of Burned

Chuckling, I kiss the back of his neck. “I’ll keep your spot warm.”

He hums happily. “Deal. Be right back.”

I watch him slide out of bed and cross the large hotel room to the bathroom, admiring his muscular physique and miles of smooth skin. He scratches the back of his head, tossing his gorgeous hair around as he disappears from my view.

My dragon purrs with contentment neither of us have experienced until now. I’d try to reason with him, but I refuse tobreak the fantasy. We have a few more days of solace and I plan to take full advantage of them.

The toilet flushes and water runs for minute before Alrick reappears, smiling as he saunters over to me. He presents a warm, soapy cloth and proceeds to wash my torso and cock. As I hold his gaze, I see visions of a future I never thought possible. Gods of fire, I want to keep him.

His breath catches as his gaze softens. “I do too.”

“What?”

“Want this. I felt…” He blows out a breath with a smile. “I felt you.”

I nod, forcing a smile that threatens to break under the knowledge that it’s impossible to keep what we have.

“Or is it your dragon I feel?”

“Both.” I lift his hand and kiss his palm. “You must be hungry.”

“Starving.”

“Let’s order food. We could both use a good meal.”

Alrick nods, climbing back into bed with me while I lift the phone receiver and proceed to order everything they have on the menu. Alrick laughs.

“You’re going to spoil me.”

“I’d love to. Has anyone ever taken care of you?”

His smile fades as he shakes his head. “Not in the way you mean. My dad provided for our basic needs, but creature comforts are for the weak. That’s what he always said. Vikings are tough. He raised us in the tradition of our ancestors.”

I reach up and stroke a lock of his hair. “Does he show affection?”

Alrick scoffs. “I doubt he even knows what that means. I think he loves us on some level. Maybe. Mostly he sees us as an army. If my mother hadn’t died, I’m sure he would’ve had more kids.”

“He never remarried?”

“No. If he ever knew love it was all for my mother. He shifted his focus to the war, as he calls it. I spent years of my youth wondering how different our family could’ve been if she’d lived. Would she have hugged us and told us bedtime stories? Would she have baked us cookies and mussed our hair as we told her about our day? Would she have given me the love and affection I so desperately needed?”

My dragon huffs with displeasure at our mate’s sadness.

“Eventually I stopped torturing myself with fantasies that could never be. I had to accept the reality of my life.”

“I’m sorry.”

Alrick nods. “It’s okay. I’ve learned to deal with it. Are your parents alive?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about them. Tell me about your family.”

I stroke my thumb across the back of his hand. “We visit our parents at least once a year. Given our long lives, dragon parents tend to produce many clutches. Mine is the third of four. We have a set of younger siblings and two older, but the age differences are vast, so we don’t see each other often. Clutches tend to stay in close proximity to each other throughout their lives, and mine is particularly close. We’ve always lived and worked together.”

“What kind of work?”

“Whatever is suitable for the time period. We’ve been everything from blacksmiths to pub owners to the security firm we now run. It keeps us busy and provides a solid income.”

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