Chapter Fifteen #2
Griff said nothing, just continued to cry, body jerking with the force of his sobs. He drenched Jimryr’s chest with tears but needed more time to let out his feelings. Jimryr handed him a discarded shirt to wipe his face, and simply held on, letting physical contact soothe the grieving man.
Jimryr had cried like this upon seeing his brother fall and rushing to his broken body. Then, finding his parents, attacked before they could shift.
If anyone could understand, he could. Jimryr might’ve let out a tear or two of his own, on his family’s behalf.
Sobbing faded to sniffles and hiccups after a time. Griff pulled back, wiping his eyes with the shirt. “I’m sorry. You didn’t come here for me to lose my shit and cry all over you.”
Jimryr locked his gaze with Griff’s, speaking softly but deliberately. “I beg to differ. That’s exactly why I came. I wanted to see you again and went to the bar, but when the bartender told me about your friend, I thought you might need the comfort of another dragon.”
Griff relaxed against Jimryr’s chest once more. “Thanks,” he said, the word muffled.
“Anytime.” What surprised Jimryr the most was how much he meant the words.
Griff burrowed into the cuddling but eventually pushed away. “I’ll be right back.” He trudged out of the room, the bedroom light accentuating his muscular ass flexing away.
He returned holding two open beers by their necks in one hand, and a damp washcloth in the other.
Jimryr reached for the cloth, but Griff shook his head, handing over the beers instead before gently wiping them both down.
He threw the cloth across the room and flopped back onto the bed.
Taking one beer, he shoved a pillow against the headboard and settled back, his pecs bunching enticingly.
Jimryr’s cock tried to rise to the occasion. A valiant effort, but he’d need more recovery time. He grabbed another pillow and mirrored Griff’s pose. They drank. Eventually, they’d have to talk, but right now, they merely existed in silence.
Finally, Jimryr said, “Want to tell me about the friend you lost?”
Griff took a long pull from his beer, throat bobbing provocatively with his swallow. “Dr. Anton Titus. More than a friend.”
“A lover?” What was Jimryr doing in the bed of a man whose lover recently died?
“No. A mentor. A second father.” Griff gave Jimryr an appraising once-over.
“I came to the human realm seriously injured. In fact, I’m not sure how I survived.
Doc and I met soon after I arrived. He knew about us dragons and tended me himself to keep the hospital staff from asking too many questions.
We’ve been friends ever since. He helped me recover and put me through physical therapy, in both forms.”
A human who knew of dragons? “He knew about us? How?”
“He met a dragon who’d come into the human realm years ago, and they fell in love. The dragon stayed. They were about to build a home together when Nate died. The humans say he had a heart attack.”
Had anyone back home mentioned a dragon named Nate? Or a dragon suffering a heart attack, for that matter? “Do you know his dragon name?”
“No.” The intensity in Griff’s golden eyes deepened, a furrow forming between his brows. “I bet yours isn’t Jim.”
Jimryr inclined his head. “Jimryr.”
“Nice to meet ‘cha, Jimryr. What court?”
Jimryr braced himself for judgment. “Unaffiliated.”
Griff took another drink of beer. “Me too, since I got here. Damned greedy dragons, wiping out entire courts in their lust for power.”
“Who did you lose, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“My father, for sure. My best friend, Ywain. Sakaris, the mage who brought me here, assured me my brothers are fine, but I haven't seen them since I got here. I’ve looked every chance I could for the past three years. The internet is a wonderful invention, but not infallible. Who’d you lose?”
Jimryr’s hard swallow didn’t dislodge the boulder stuck in his throat. “Everyone. Every. Single. One. Family, friends, acquaintances.”
“How’d you get here?”
“First, answer me this. Griff or Griffin isn’t a dragon name I’ve ever heard before. Do you mind telling me who you are?”
Griff sucked in a long breath, then exhaled slowly, his body seeming to deflate, the stiff set of his shoulders falling. “I’m Daire Thorne, second son of Locryn Thorne, King of High Reaches Court. Or rather, until my asshole of an uncle killed him.”
The pain in Griff’s, or rather, Daire’s voice brought out Jimryr’s protective beta instincts. “Daire Thorne?” So, the kid in Biloxi told the truth.
Daire gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Yeah, once upon a time.”
“The dragons I found after I lost my court joined the battle the night your father died. Your court took in our leader’s brother, Teron.”
Daire nodded. “I know Teron. Or knew him. He and my older brother, Elouan, were inseparable.”
“You said ‘brothers.’”
“Right. Three of us. An alpha, a beta, and an omega. Elouan, me, and my younger brother, Anrai.”
Jimryr let out a low whistle. “The Goddess must have thought highly of your family to gift them three eggs.” People considered Jimryr's parents lucky to have gotten two. Some were envious.