Chapter 24
After consulting with Prince Hyax, Chris had spent several days locked away in a potion workroom.
Hyax had been called back for a final opinion, and the concoctions had been left to stand for another day.
Alex was willing to try being more positive, but life had taught him that things could go wrong even with the most meticulous planning, and from what Chris had told him, what they were going to try was based on a leap of faith rather than a scientific hypothesis.
Chris held up a conical flask, and it glowed bright green, the colour reminding Alex of toad bile.
Dorian stared at the flask. “You want me to drink that?”
“Yes, I know it looks awful, but it shouldn’t taste of much.”
“You said that last time.”
The mushroom belch had been foul, and Alex hoped this one would be gentler on Dorian’s digestive system. “I took that into consideration,” Chris said.
Dorian’s ears drooped, which meant he wasn’t happy. “Okay. If you think it’s worth a shot.”
“Like last time, I used some of the sample Trevir sent, and the ones contaminated by the rogue fae’s spell, only Hyax was able to pre-treat them to tune more to fae magic. I used the methodology of antivenom development to create this version. Hyax tuned it again before we let it seep.”
Alex doubted Dorian would have a clue what Chris was on about. “Chris knows what he’s doing, Dorian. Do you want me to pour it into your mouth?”
Dorian nodded and opened his mouth. For a dragon who ate coal and large lumps of raw meat, Dorian’s breath wasn’t too noxious. “I’ll try to pour it straight down to limit the amount you have to taste.”
Chris’s potion smelled far worse than Dorian’s breath. Alex tried to be as quick as he could. Dorian made a retching noise as he swallowed, and Alex couldn’t blame him.
“How long before we get a response?” Alex asked as Dorian retreated into his nest and curled up, sorry for himself.
“A few minutes, should be quick if it works.”
They waited, Chris’s hopeful expression dwindling the longer there was no reaction.
Ten minutes later, Chris huffed. “We should have seen something by now, back to the drawing board. Perhaps you could hang around a little while, Alex, just in case? I’m going to contact Hyax again and review my notes with him. ”
Chris left, and Alex grabbed the bottle of lotion from the shelf and went to sit next to Dorian. “Sorry, it didn’t work again. We’ll keep trying. Want me to do your dry spot?”
Dorian placed his head on Alex’s thigh. “Please.”
“It’s okay to be upset. You’re going to be disappointed.
” He massaged some of the lotion into the patch behind Dorian’s right horn, which was improving but still a bit flaky.
There was another spot down the side of his neck, but Dorian would need to move for him to reach up. “Sit up so I can get to another patch.”
Dorian rumbled under his breath but did as requested. As he did so, his scales began to shimmer. “Did you see that?” Dorian asked.
A wave of light washed over Dorian, and then there was a loud crack and Dorian, in his full human naked glory, appeared next to Alex.
“Oh my god, it worked!” Dorian cried.
His voice was higher than his dragon tone, and he was fucking stunning. If Alex had thought Dorian looked good in his suit, he looked ten times hotter out of it. Broad shoulders, muscled chest, and a six-pack he’d pay money to lick.
Dorian stared at his hands. “Look, they’re back to normal.”
Alex was about to say something when Dorian grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him into a hug, toppling them both into his nest of blankets. “Alex, I can’t believe I’m me again.”
“Brilliant, Dorian. I’m so pleased, but you should let me go.”
His attachment to Dorian wasn’t making it easy to pull away, and Dorian stared into his eyes. “I don’t want to. You’ve been so kind, so understanding. And you’re so beautiful.”
“I…”
Dorian cradled his jaw with his hand, leant in, and kissed him.
He shouldn’t let this happen; they’d been thrown together in a ridiculous way, and no good would come of getting further entangled, but he couldn’t deny he wanted Dorian’s touch, and his kisses were divine.
It had been so long since someone had felt this right, not for years, not since Kagin.
Dorian was pulling at his clothes, trying to get to his skin, while Alex was all too aware of how he had full access to Dorian’s warm and soft skin.
His frame was muscular and strong, and he could lift Alex with ease.
Another mind-bending kiss had Alex panting; he was rock-hard, and so was Dorian. A fizzle of static electricity made him yelp, followed by another loud crack, and he was now not in the arms of human Dorian, but the dragon’s.
Dorian howled with anguish and clung tighter to Alex. “No!” he cried. “It can’t be.”
Alex couldn’t think straight. One second, he was in the hottest clinch of the year, and now he was tucked under a scaly wing. “We’ll figure it out. If you turned back once, it could happen again.”
Chris raced into the room, Jack on his heels. “What’s wrong? We heard Dorian’s howl. He is in pain?”
Alex managed to release himself from Dorian’s hold. Dorian let out a sob and curled into a ball, putting his wings over his head. “Dorian turned back into a human for a few minutes,” Alex said, flustered.
He quickly tucked his shirt back in. Jack smirked, fucker had guessed what they’d been doing.
“The new potion worked,” Chris said, delighted.
“Only temporarily. As you can see, he’s very upset he’s a dragon again.”
“Good job you were here to comfort him,” Chris said. Then his eyes went wide, and he grinned. “Oh, he was in the nuddy. And your hair’s all over the place.”
“Not the immediate issue, Chris,” Alex snapped. “Can you figure out why your potion didn’t stick?”
Chris tried to suppress his grin as he waved his hand over Dorian. “I’m not sure, but from what I can pick up, I have a couple of ideas. I’ll increase the strength and fine-tune the ingredients. I’ll start brewing immediately and ask Hyax.”
Alex would liked Chris and Jack to fuck off so he could talk to Dorian. Jack grabbed Chris’s hand and pulled him away. “Come on, Chris. Let’s leave them to their awkward conversation.”
Arsehole. But Jack wasn’t wrong, and once again alone, he knelt next to Dorian and stroked his wing. Dorian whimpered.
“Will you come out for me? I know you’re upset, but please don’t hide.”
Dorian lifted his wing. “How can you be so calm? We were kissing. It was wonderful. How can I kiss you like this?”
“I’m used to dealing with things not going to plan. Don’t take my reaction of being able to adapt under pressure, for me not being upset too.” He stroked Dorian’s muzzle. “We’ll find a way to get you back to your human form, and then I’m going to do a lot more than kiss you.”
“Promise?”
Alex nodded. “As magnificent as a dragon you are, you are a very fine figure of a man.”
Dorian nuzzled his hand. “It’s more than sex, Alex. I really like you.”
He rested his head on Dorian’s muzzle. “I feel the same. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a connection to someone like this.”
Dorian pulled Alex into his arms and wrapped his wings around him.
He wasn’t used to feeling less safe with another, and while it was very different from the position they’d been in when Dorian had been temporarily human, it was more real, more important.
They had to find a way to help Dorian. He’d spent so much of his life doing things for others; now he wanted to be selfish.
They would find a way to fix Dorian and see what might build between them.