Page 9 of Soar

Gregori had won this battle.

Now on to the next one—convincing Salem they had to share a bed. For warmth, of course.

This dragon!

Sam had told him all about his Dimitri. How Dimitri was thoughtful, passionate, tender, and funny.

He’d said absolutely nothing about how tenacious, stubborn, annoying, and sneaky dragons were.

Salem thought he’d left Gregori behind in Brazil, but the dragon had shown up on the plane.

He’d thought he would leave him behind at the airport, but now Gregori would be sleeping in Salem’s apartment.

If the overgrown lizard thought he could get into Salem’s bed, he had another thing coming.

This was a whole lotta bullshit.

Dinner turned out to be nothing more than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a handful of stale chips. Not that he thought a lack of hospitality would actually scare Gregori off. It was simply all the energy he had when it came to making a meal. The hours of travel had exhausted him, his body didn’t know what season it was—let alone time zone—and tomorrow he had to go back to work.

And Gregori would be out on the street.

Salem wouldn’t worry about the dragon at all. He came from a rich clan. No doubt Gregori would find a posh hotel to cater toall his whims and provide him with the level of comfort he was accustomed to.

After brushing his teeth and pulling on a pair of soft cotton sleep pants and a T-shirt, Salem grabbed a spare blanket out of the closet and tossed it on his tiny love seat. “You’ll sleep there.”

Gregori’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he stared at Salem like he’d lost his mind. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope.” Salem jerked the blankets back on his bed, preparing to slide in and sleep the sleep of the dead.

“But I won’t fit. This sofa is tiny. What if I fall off it in the middle of the night?”

“Then I guess you’ll continue sleeping on the floor.” Salem stretched out on the soft mattress. It seemed to embrace him, welcoming him home at last. He pulled the blankets up and over his head. “Turn off the light when you’re done getting changed.”

Gregori said nothing. Salem lay frozen in bed, listening to the sounds of his unwanted houseguest sifting around in his bag, getting changed, brushing his teeth, and finally the click of the light, sending the entire apartment into darkness.

Was that really it? No more arguments from Gregori? The stubborn dragon had fought him on everything else since they’d left Brazil. Was he giving up so easily? He’d been positive Gregori would fight him tooth and nail to sleep with him. Especially after they’d already shared a bed once—quite spectacularly too.

More to the point, why hadn’t he really gotten rid of Gregori yet? All Salem had to do was call his brother, get someone to issue orders, and Gregori would have no choice but to leave. He knew this. He had the power to make it happen. And yet he found himself unwilling to pick the phone up and make the call. He didn’t understand why he hesitated. It was like some part of him wanted Gregori here. Which was ludicrous. Every time he’dlet a man in, it had gone nuclear bad. Hadn’t he learned his lesson by now?

Grumbling at himself, he scooched farther into his pillow. Some days, he wondered just how smart he really was, as when it came to men, he sure couldn’t seem to learn from his mistakes.

The mattress shifted as if a new weight pressed on it near his feet. He shoved the blanket off his head and squinted, willing his eyes to adjust more quickly to the overwhelming darkness. A large shape poised like a tiger at the foot of his bed, ready to strike.

“What are you doing?” he snapped.

“Your bed is more than big enough to fit both of us,” Gregori replied, inching farther up the mattress.

“No. You go sleep on the couch.”

“But I won’t fit.” He inched closer. Salem was sure most of Gregori was now on the bed. “Plus, I need to think of you.”

“Me?” he squawked. The dragon had lost his damn mind.

“Mmm.” He moved up, but he didn’t settle on the other half of the full-sized mattress. Instead, Gregori had crawled up to loom over him. Salem pushed backward into his pillow to put more distance between them. When Gregori spoke again, his voice had dipped into a low, rough whisper that caressed his entire body. “I need to make sure you’re properly relaxed so you can sleep. You know I can help you relax.”

Salem’s traitorous mind instantly conjured up images. Gregori’s hands moving over him, stroking him, while his thick cock?—

“No!” Salem burst out. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was talking to himself or Gregori. Or both. Yes, both Gregori and his stupid libido needed to hear it.

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