Page 21 of Soar

Why did Salem feel like there was a high-speed armchair analysis going on over there? The way Gregori stared unnerved him. Like he could see right through to the back of Salem’s head and hear things Salem didn’t say.

Fuck. He wasn’t playing along with that.

Turning back toward the counter, he set his coffee down. “Okay, if we’re agreed, then no more arguments about this. I hate arguing more than anything. Is breakfast almost ready?”

“It is. Just waiting for biscuits to be done, which should be another two minutes. Pour me a cup of coffee?”

Surprised by the question, Salem took a second longer than necessary to respond. “Uh, sure.”

He’d just laid down the law with Gregori, but the man had rolled with it surprisingly well. Almost too well.

Why did Salem get the instinctual feeling he’d won the skirmish but he hadn’t won the war?

Gregori had no idea what had made Salem suddenly change his mind and let him stay. Something clearly had happened between their last argument and this morning. And while it wasn’t what Gregori wanted, he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had the opportunity to stay with his mate without it turning into a fight. He’d take full advantage of the situation.

For a few days, he let the status quo be. He stocked up the kitchen with groceries so he could cook for Salem. His very busy pediatric surgeon needed more home-cooked meals.

In between housework and cooking, he tried to make more of a life for himself here as well. He went to the police first, introducing himself, and offered help as they needed it. They in turn introduced him to the fire department, who were delighted to see him. Fires were very prevalent in winter, as people’s heating systems misfired and caused house fires on a fairly regular basis. Gregori, with his flying speed and ice magic, could smother those flames faster than conventional methods. He was very welcome with them.

Pleased he’d found a good way to spend his time—and made friends in the process—Gregori returned to the apartment in a very good mood. He hadn’t had time to cook today, so he picked up pizza on the way in, along with a bottle of wine, with thehopes of tricking Salem into a home date. Should be easy; the man liked to eat.

He found the apartment door unlocked, and he could hear what sounded like Salem talking to someone.

Stepping inside, Gregori found the cutest sight ever. There was a little girl, no more than six, with flaming red hair lying in loose curls around her shoulders. She looked very distressed, her hands on Salem’s knee, watching the proceedings with full attention.

Salem sat on the couch with thread, scissors, and a stuffed animal of some sort all laid out on the coffee table in front of him.

What the hell was going on?

Salem glanced up as he entered, shooting him a fleeting smile. “We’re in surgery over here. Is that pizza?”

“Yeah, I picked up some on the way in. Surgery?” Gregori put the pizza on the table so he could come in closer and see this for himself.

Ah, it was a stuffed bunny. With its head completely detached. “Who guillotined the bunny?”

Salem snorted a laugh—the first one Gregori had heard from him. Aww, look at how cute he was.

The little girl was the one who answered. “Grammy washed Bun Bun ’cause she was sticky, but her head came off.”

“Ohhh.” This was no surprise, considering how well-loved Bun Bun looked.

“Grammy had me bring Bun Bun to Mister Doctor ’cause he knows how to sew.”

Salem shrugged. “Comes with the territory. All right, I think we’re ready to get Bun Bun’s head back on.”

Why did this look like an ongoing relationship? Gregori had met the neighbors on this floor already, and everyone had been very welcoming to him. Surprised he was with Salem, too, asthey had assumed him to be a confirmed bachelor at this point. No one had mentioned Salem was the resident fixer of stuffed bunnies, but Gregori could tell she had been here before based on her easy body language. She’d made this request and gotten her stuffed animal fixed.

The way Salem deftly stitched the material, slowly reattaching head to body, also told its own story. He’d clearly done this before too, as he wasn’t fumbling or hesitant.

Gregori studied his bowed head and marveled at his mate anew. Every day he spent with Salem, he saw some part of this man’s heart. He’d already known Salem must have a big heart to be a pediatric surgeon. Watching his tired mate patiently fix the bunny for his neighbor’s grandchild only highlighted how big.

Gregori suspected Salem kept him at arm’s length because he had been burned by too many bad relationships in the past. If he could just get it through his mate’s head that he’d never, ever hurt him, half the battle would be won. Gregori recognized a trauma response when he saw one. Not that Salem trusted him enough to talk about it openly.

Well, he had time. Really, they had all the time in the world. Gregori wasn’t giving up on him. Salem’s walls would come down on their own eventually, and Gregori would be able to love him properly. Right now, he just had to be patient.

“There!” Salem finished off the last knot and snipped the threads. “All done. Tell Grammy no more washing it in the washing machine, okay?”

“Okay!” She hugged her bunny to her chest, beaming. “Thanks, Mister Doctor!”

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