Chapter 22
A lric called out an absent, “Enter!” at the knock at the door before scent told him who it was. Cameron. His dragon instantly stirred, head raising and clawing at him to rise and cross to the man. To touch him. Hold him. Good grief, it was as if he needed to put a leash on his dragon.
He put the report in his hands down immediately, turning in his chair toward the door. This was the first time Cameron had come to his private chambers on his own. It probably accounted for some of his dragon’s restlessness. The mage was finally in his domain of his own accord.
With a light tread, Cameron waltzed in, shutting the door behind him. There was a smug set to his mouth. “Why hello there, handsome. Are you busy?”
“Hello yourself. I’m free for you. Are you done settling everyone in?” Alric set the report on the side table, extending his right hand in invitation.
Cameron took it, swinging himself into Alric’s lap as if he had a standing invitation.
(He did.) Alric’s good arm came around his waist to hold him in place as Cameron leaned in for a hello kiss.
His left hand rested on Cameron’s thigh, stroking a bit because he couldn’t seem to still that impulse.
He loved this new development between them.
It had been only a day since Cameron declared they should try dating, and Alric was enjoying these stolen private moments.
They possessed an unexpected touch of familiarity, where the moment was as much about re-connecting with the man as anything else. A sweet, happy hello.
With a sigh, Cameron pulled back a few inches. “They are as settled as I can make them. Halmeoni is beside herself, she’s so excited to work magic. There will be absolutely no living with her for the next decade. Cassie’s admittedly not much better.”
“I can’t say that I’m surprised. Not after meeting them. And there’s a joy to finding what you were meant to do, what truly calls to you.”
“Yeah, I know. First time I did magic, that hit home with me. It’s why I didn’t argue when they wanted a magic lesson with Lisette. I think she went along with it for the same reason.”
Alric carefully lifted his left hand and brushed a lock of Cameron’s hair from his eyes, smiling. “She’s just as excited, in her own way. To have so many students at once is something we’ve all dreamed about.”
“Even if one of them is a grandmother?” Cameron asked with a light laugh.
“I don’t think she expected that, no. But still, another mage is a blessing no matter the age.
” And Alric personally laid odds that when Noh Ha Na was fully trained, she’d be a considerable force to be reckoned with.
For the simple fact that she was so enthusiastic about magic, she would learn every nook and cranny of it.
Knowledge applied was often more powerful than raw talent.
“Will you invite them into the clan too?”
“Of course. But I want to give them more time to learn about us first. Asking at this juncture would be irresponsible.”
“I figured you’d say that.” Cameron lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
“Well, for the moment they’re fine. A little too excited, to be honest. I’m not sure if they’re going to sleep at all tonight.
They’re literally bouncing about magic, drooling over the many, many attractive dragons in the clan—seriously, is that some kind of a rule? Dragons must be attractive?”
“We try,” Alric responded with false modesty.
“Ha! You’re one to talk, you sexy beast.” Cameron leaned in to kiss him.
Alric turned his face up, kissing back. This time, Cameron kissed him deeply. His passion was a drug racing through Alric’s veins, and he was becoming addicted. He could feel his body rising to the occasion and mentally swore at it. This wasn’t the right moment for anything more.
At least, he thought so until a slim hand slipped under the hem of his shirt and trailed upwards, fingers soothing along his skin in a sensual caress.
Those fingers found a nipple and tweaked it, first gently, then with strength.
Alric arched a little into it, gasping into Cameron’s mouth.
Damn, he’d forgotten how good that felt.
There might have been a smirk on Cameron’s mouth as he swallowed that sound, his fingers doing it again. This was heading in one direction, and he shifted uncomfortably. His young lover clearly wanted sex, but was he actually ready for this?
Okay, so maybe his body and dragon were both shouting for more. For all of it. To explore every delectable inch of Cameron until the man trembled and panted beneath him.
But his mind was not exactly on board with this plan.
On one level, he understood that Cameron had already seen him.
Touched those scars, knew the damage. There wasn’t anything to fear.
But the rest of his mind rebelled at the mental image of him laying exposed next to all of Cameron’s perfection.
He recoiled from it and his hand snapped up, catching Cameron’s wrist and removing it from under his shirt.
Cameron pulled back, his eyes searching Alric’s face. “If you’re not in the mood for sex, I’ll stop.”
Alric’s mouth opened and closed, no words emerging.
Expression hardening, Cameron sat further up. “But if you’re afraid to have sex with me because of your scars, then that’s a different matter. Which is it, Alric?”
Shit. Alric looked away from him, trying to regain his composure. Cameron read him far too well.
“Okay, no. This stops now.”
What did that mean? Alarmed, Alric’s head jerked back around. Cameron left his lap abruptly and he scrambled for him, trying to catch Cameron and draw him back in. “Wait—”
“Nope. I thought after I put the potion on your scars, you’d be okay with me. But you’re clearly not, so let’s put this into perspective.” Cameron faced him, arms akimbo, a dark frown on his face. “I’m not perfect either, Alric. I have scars too.”
Alric stared back at him, thrown for a mental loop. “You do?”
“Hell yeah, man. It’s not like I was wrapped in silk my entire life.
I’ve got quite a few. Let me show you. Most are small, I grant you, but this one” —Cameron pulled at the sleeve of his shirt to expose an elbow—“I had three warts there that I had removed, and they got infected so they didn’t heal clean.
” He toed off his shoes and then yanked off socks, leaving them carelessly aside.
“And then there’s this scar here, right next to my big toe.
Mom accidentally dropped her sewing scissors when I was about three, nearly took my toe off. She still feels guilty about it.”
Alric looked at the scar on Cameron’s bare foot, barely able to see the thin white line, it was so old. Where was he going with this?
Cameron stripped his shirt off and Alric’s question died unspoken at seeing all of that lovely skin exposed.
His libido was desperately trying to turn off his brain.
Why were they talking about scars again?
He just wanted to get his hands on the man.
Cameron didn’t have the perfect of a gym rat, but he was perfect to Alric’s eyes.
Not too slim, the muscles smooth without being ultra-defined.
His hands twitched with the need to caress every inch of that olive-toned skin.
“—three dots here where they took out my appendix,” Cameron was saying, pointing to them before turning and exposing his back to Alric.
“And see that round, puckered looking scar? My neighbor as a kid was practicing with his bow and arrow, and he shot over the fence by mistake and hit me. It went in like a quarter of an inch, not bad, but it left the scar behind. I screamed bloody murder when it happened. I understand he’s still banned for life from picking up a bow. Oh, and here—”
The words flowed over Alric, none of them sinking in past the surface.
He watched like a man spellbound as Cameron casually took off his pants and kicked them to the side, revealing a pair of bright red boxer briefs beautifully molded to his body.
It actually took Alric a moment to drag his eyes to where Cameron pointed to an oddly shaped scar just above his knee.
He couldn’t focus on it, his gaze wandering up over every inch of him.
All he could see was this man, this beautiful, enchanting man who had stripped in front of Alric, leaving him in boxers.
He saw golden skin right there, within reach to touch and caress.
Alric felt like whimpering.
“Are you listening? Alric, hello?”
Alric’s eyes came back up to Cameron’s through sheer willpower. His mouth was dry, his breath coming a bit quick in his lungs. “What?”
Cameron watched him as if he knew very well what sort of perverted thoughts were going through Alric’s mind and seemed amused by it. “What do you think?”
“I’m afraid I lost the thread,” Alric admitted hoarsely. If Cameron didn’t put clothes back on, immediately, he was going to be flat on his back with a dragon on top of him.
“See!” Cameron exclaimed as if he’d just validated some point Cameron had been trying to make. “You don’t care about my scars at all! You still want me. I feel the same about you, okay?”
Those words penetrated the fog of lust. Alric blinked, clearing his vision, and looked Cameron over from head to foot once more.
This time, he did focus on the imperfections but…
well, what did they matter? Cameron was right, they had no bearing whatsoever on how Alric felt for him.
All of that was skin deep and had nothing to do with the amazing man standing in front of him. The man he wanted rather desperately.
If Cameron felt the same way about it that he did, then indeed, what was there to be afraid of? Alric had always compared himself to what he had been, what he had lost. But Cameron didn’t know the Alric of five hundred years ago. He knew only the man he saw today. He saw him precisely as he was.
And wanted him, just like this.