Epilogue
Six Months Later…
“ I said block, not blink.”
Itri’s voice dripped with exasperation, but Arlo could hear the laughter bubbling under it.
“Well, maybe if you didn’t lunge at me like a rabid panther, I wouldn’t flinch!” Arlo took a step back and folded his arms across his chest.
“You’re not taking this seriously,” Itri accused, his eyes narrowed.
Well, the guy had him there. In his defense, no one had asked him if he wanted to learn how to fight. His overprotective mate had simply decided it would be a good idea.
Now, instead of sipping tea on the balcony of their London penthouse, he spent three days a week in the sun-washed home gym, training to be a gladiator.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t that intense, but he still hated every second of it. Muscles hurt that he hadn’t even known existed. Sweat dripped into places it definitely shouldn’t. He had the coordination of a baby giraffe, and to top it all off, he was fighting a literal dragon.
It could have been sexy, especially with both of them dressed in nothing but black spandex shorts. Too bad his mate hated fun.
No laughing. No flirting. No grabbing his dick.
Seriously, what was even the point?
“Come on, dove,” Itri said, his voice soft and coaxing. “Try again.”
“No.” He had fallen for that handsome smile too many times. He wouldn’t be roped in just to embarrass himself again. “Can’t we just have breakfast? Normal couples eat breakfast.”
Itri straightened and tilted his head. “Since when have you ever wanted normal ?”
Arlo wrinkled his nose. “Eww. Gross.”
“That’s what I thought. Now, get over here. One more time.” He crouched low and held his hand up, bending his fingers in the universal gesture for bring it on . “I know you can do it.”
The worst part of the whole thing was that he kind of got it. Even if Itri wouldn’t admit it, his mate had been scared when he’d gone missing. While everything had turned out okay in the end, it could have been much worse.
Hell, he had even silently agreed when Itri had first brought up the idea of self-defense lessons. Learning to take care of himself not only kept him safe, but it gave Itri peace of mind. Win-win, right?
Only, he had been anticipating the normal stuff. Foot stomps. Breaking free of a hold. Maybe shoving someone’s nose into their brain. He had not expected hardcore dragon bootcamp, complete with push-ups and crunches.
With a deep, dramatic sigh, he dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back onto the mat. “Fine. One more time.”
“That’s the spirit. Remember what I told you?”
He bent slightly at the knees and lifted his hands in front of him in a defensive posture. “Yeah, yeah, just come on.”
This time, instead of trying to remember all the ridiculous moves he was supposed to perform, he cleared his mind completely and rolled his shoulders to relax them. When his mate lunged at him again, he didn’t go for the throat. He didn’t try to dodge. As a bonus, he didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he grabbed Itri’s face and delivered a devastating kiss to his parted lips.
The dragon’s eyes flared with shock for a brief moment before his own momentum carried them forward. Wrapping his arms around Arlo’s waist, he twisted at the last second, hitting the mat on his back with Arlo sprawled across his chest.
“Cheater,” he panted, his chest vibrating with laughter.
“Yeah, well now you know how it feels.” Chuckling along with him, Arlo rolled to the side. As much as he liked their current position, it was just too damn hot for cuddles. “I won, though.”
“Technically, I suppose you did.”
He’d take it. “Technically still counts. That means we’re done, right?”
“We’re done.” A strange silence stretched between them, and when Itri spoke again, a touch of possessiveness laced his voice. “Do not ever do that in a fight with someone else.”
Still laughing, he reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “How many people do you know who get kidnapped twice? Seriously, who else am I going to fight?”
“Just because Jude—”
“Is in Egypt getting cursed by some ancient mummy magic,” he cut in. “For a damn trinket he could buy at the market.”
Unbothered, Itri shrugged. “It’s character building.”
To his complete surprise, Jude had held up his end of the bargain. Itri, on the other hand, had been enjoying their arrangement a little too much. He had paid off the loan sharks, and for the past several months, he’d been finding new and creative ways to torture his newest employee. Like sending him to face real magic to retrieve a fake artifact.
And Arlo had already found a buyer for the amulet.
Since Itri had a reputation to uphold, Arlo had made the status of the object quite clear. The vampire, however, hadn’t cared. As long as it came from some mummy tomb, he wanted it.
Rich people were weird.
One of his biggest concerns about moving to London had been finding a job. He didn’t have a degree, and all of his work experience had been in customer service positions. While he had enjoyed his time at Blackhaven Manor, he didn’t necessarily want to work at another hotel.
He had been trying to decide between a cafe on the corner and the deli around the block when Itri had brought up the idea of them working together. At first, he’d brushed it off. He didn’t know the first thing about magic, artifacts, or conducting negotiations.
As usual, though, Itri had convinced him to give it a try. If he hated it, no harm, no foul. So, he’d agreed, and he hadn’t looked back since. While he might not know much about business, he knew people.
Abruptly, Itri shoved to his feet and started for the door without a word. Arlo frowned at his back, unsure what the damn hurry was.
“Where are you going?”
At the door, Itri glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “To take a shower.”
Then he just…left. Pretty damn rude of him not to issue an invitation.
Arlo laid there on the mat, silently fuming until it dawned on him that he didn’t need an invitation. They were mated. They loved each other. Itri always wanted to see him naked, and wet, soapy dragon was his favorite kind.
“Hey!” Scrambling up from the floor, he hurried after his mate. “Wait for me!”
Just past the threshold of the French doors, Itri caught him up and spun him in a circle with a deep belly laugh.
“I wondered how long it would take you.”
Arlo scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out. “You know, I can think of a lot better things you could be doing with your mouth right now.”
“Hmm,” Itri purred, backing him against the wall. “Such as?”
He didn’t even try to resist. Unlike the gym, this time, he was exactly where he wanted to be.
“Kiss me.”
A low, sexy growl vibrated his mate’s chest as he lowered his head. Their mouths met in a slow, sensual dance filled with love and devotion. As the kiss deepened, a quiet understanding passed between them, a promise that they would always be each other’s person. A safe place where they could exist without expectations or judgment.
The world outside—artifacts, meetings, and negotiations—could wait.
In that simple, perfect moment, he already had everything he needed.