Page 78 of Burned

Throughout the meal I can feel waves of emotion coming through my bond with Alrick. Shock, guilt, sadness for the life they could have lived if their father hadn’t been poisoned before any of them were even born. And, as the meal wears on, there are surges of peace, contentment, and hope for the future they still have ahead of them, even if it means Alrick and Viggo will have to keep some secrets.

Lake has entirely too much fun feeding them a backstory about their lives as a family of barley farmers and Njord’s enthusiastic acceptance of his three gay sons while we eat the hodgepodge of food we threw together on short notice.

“What’s going to happen when they try to go home to this fictional barley farm in Trondheim?” Alrick asks me under his breath as I eye the dwindling food on everyone’s plates, silently urging them to eat faster so I can whisk my mate up to my hoard room and enjoy a proper honeymoon now everything is settled.

“They can stay in the safe house at the back of the compound for a few days while I purchase a farm for them. Actually, Lake can have the honor of doing the legwork and filling out the paperwork since he’s the one running his mouth.” I smile and put my hand on his leg under the table, squeezing his thigh and leaning close to nuzzle his ear. “I’ll be too busy to sort out all the details.”

I twirl a strand of Alrick’s silky hair around my index finger, ignoring the muffled snickers and knowing looks from my brothers. I swear Arson is eating his peas one at a damn time just to drag dinner out.

“Busy doing what?” my mate whispers breathlessly.

I nip at his earlobe. “Help me get everyone out of here and I’ll show you.”

Heat surges through our bond. Alrick pushes his chair back from the table, scraping it noisily against the marble floor, and stands up in a flash.

“Wow, what a long day. I’m sure everyone here is exhausted and wants to get some rest.” His cheeks are slightly flushed and it’s all I can do to stay in my seat.

His father frowns and looks at his watch. “It’s six o’clock.”

“That late already?” He starts stacking half-empty serving dishes. “Lord says there’s a guest house on the property. I’m sure one of his brothers would be happy to show you and help you get settled in.”

“Sure, we’d love to,” Arson says sagely. “But why the rush? Draydon and I were talking about making ice cream sundaes and watchingThe Dark Knight. Wouldn’t that be fun to all do together?”

Draydon’s face twitches as he fights back a shit-eating grin that looks more and more like his mate’s every damn day. “Excellent movie. Two hours and forty-five minutes isn’t nearly long enough. You know what? Why stop there? We should hunker down and watch the whole trilogy.”

I narrow my eyes and glare. Centuries of practice controlling the flames that tickle the back of my throat is the only thing that keeps me from outing us to Alrick’s family all over again.

“Out,” I growl. Njord and Digby look a little startled, so I give them an apologetic smile.

Lake finally takes mercy on us, standing up with an air of authority that’s downright impressive considering his petite stature.

“Come on, you heathens. Let’s leave Alrick and Lord to get somesleep. Movie night at our house.”

He herds everyone out of the dining room, and I make a mental note to buy him something shiny to thank him. And then my mate and I are blessedly alone.

No secrets hanging between us, no imminent threat of death or separation, just me and my Viking and the rest of forever ahead of us.

He continues to stack dishes, apparently preparing to clear the table and possibly even go as far as cleaning the kitchen too. That won’t do. I’m out of my chair at lightning speed, as silent as a breeze. My mate may be larger and broader than I am, but that doesn’t mean much in the face of my dragon strength.

Alrick yelps in surprise as I sweep him off his feet and into my arms in a bridal carry. The dishes in his hands clatter to the floor, some of them shattering around my feet, others simply making a lot of noise as they fall.

“Lord.” He laughs, looping his arms around my neck and wiggling in my grip. “Someone’s going to have to clean up that mess later, you know.”

“Arson and Draydon can do it as penance for being such shits,” I say, and Alrick throws back his head with laughter. I’m mesmerized by the beautiful freedom of the sound, the way his throat bobs and his body vibrates in my arms. A feeling too large and wild to be contained inside of me swells in my chest until I feel like I might crack open with the force of it.

Alrick stops laughing and sobers quickly, stilling in my arms and looking at me with his expression full of wonder and softness. He puts one hand right on the center of my chest. His palm covers the warm, pulsing spot where I can feel our bond. It’s so easy to get lost in the depths of his gaze, the beating of his heart, and the staggering glow of all of the emotions flowing freely between us. I’ve spent countless centuries imagining what it would feel like to be connected to someone this way, to know their heart as plainly as I know my own, and now I can see my imagination was woefully inadequate.

I could stand here, lost in Alrick’s eyes all night, but my dragon nudges at me, anxious and impatient with the delay. I swallow hard and tighten my hold on my mate.

“I want to show you something.”

ALRICK

I never thoughtI would feel safe in the arms of a man sprinting up a winding staircase, but I never thought I’d be the mate of a dragon either, so here we are. I laugh and hang on tightly as Lord whisks me through the house, not slowing until we reach a locked room down the hallway from his bedroom.

“The key,” he says, tilting his head back to show the silver chain around his neck.

My curiosity is piqued and I’m about to ask why he keeps this particular room locked, but then it hits me. This is his hoard. My heart beats faster and my hands shake a little as I reach out to tug the key from under the collar of his shirt. A hint of guilt writhes in my stomach. Am I even worthy of whatever is on the other side of this door when my family’s legacy has been to rob dragons of their treasures?

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