Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

Nikki’s head popped up. “Really? What’s the secret?”

“My hoard,” Gunter said simply.

Nikki might have squealed. They might have squealed at such a high pitch only dogs could hear it. Though, judging by Gunter’s wince, dragons could hear it too. Excitement was a super-bouncy ball ricocheting through their body.

“Your hoard? You’re going to show me your hoard?” Nikki lunged up on their tiptoes, gripping Gunter’s shoulders. “I’ll get to see it.”

“Of course. You’re my mate. My hoard belongs to you now. I trust you completely with it.”

Shit. That got Nikki right in the feels. Nikki wrapped their arms around Gunter’s neck and pressed their face into his shoulder. There were all kinds of whispers among the mages about the dragons and their hoards. Few people knew what was in them, and the only people to ever see them were the dragon owner and their mate.

Once Nikki had learned hoards were real and didn’t necessarily contain gold and gems like in the silly fairytales, they’d wondered endlessly about what was in Gunter’s. Maybe books? But Gunter had books all over the apartment, and he spent his day surrounded by books.

Tie pins?

Shoes? One look around the closet proved the man was a total shoe whore.

A collection of furs? His dragon did like soft things.

“Can we see it now?” Nikki begged, releasing him at last.

“That was my plan.”

Threading their fingers together, Gunter led them out of the closet and through the main living space into a smaller room that served as Gunter’s personal library. The walls were covered in books. A comfortable couch and chair along with a couple of end tables filled the room. It was a perfect reading spot Nikki had enjoyed on more than one occasion.

Gunter took them to the far wall where he stopped and hooked his index finger on a thick tome titled The Complete History of the Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 1 in worn gold letters. Gunter grinned as he pulled on the book, tilting it forward as if he meant to pull it down from the shelf.

Not this. This dusty old book couldn’t be Gunter’s hoard.

The thought had barely formed in Nikki head when they heard a soft, mechanical click in the wall.

No!

The shelf swung a few inches out from the wall, and Nikki gasped.

“You have a secret room with a secret door!”

Gunter’s grin was smug now. “A dragon has to protect his hoard somehow.”

They stepped back so Gunter could swing the door open the rest of the way. He waved for Nikki to precede him into the room.

Nikki practically skipped as they went through the secret door into the hidden room. It was a little bigger than they were expecting, almost the size of their bedroom. Three of the walls were covered in floor-to-ceiling shelves. The shelves were covered in models of every size and time period. One wall was all planes. A second wall was covered in cars and other wheeled vehicles. And the third wall was all ships. Even some in gleaming bottles.

The fourth wall had been painted to look like a sky at sunset. A long, narrow table sat in front of it and was covered in little buildings filled with hundreds of intricate details.

The center of the room held a comfortable looking couch as well as a table and chair covered in various tools and paints.

Nikki spun to face Gunter, who watched them with a cautious expression. “You’ve made all of these? You collect models?”

“I do. I started with the ships and then moved on to planes and cars. More recently, I’ve found myself getting lost in miniature houses and buildings. Putting all the pieces together and getting everything just so helps me relax and clear my mind after a long day.”

“It’s amazing.” Nikki slowly walked past the cars, moving toward the ships. The craftsmanship and details were astounding.

“Really? You don’t think it’s too nerdy?”

Nikki wasn’t sure if there had been a small waver in Gunter’s voice or something of an anxious tremor in their connection, but his dragon was honestly worried about what Nikki thought. The idea was absurd. He loved everything about Gunter. Everything.

“No! Why are you saying nerdy like it’s a bad thing? I love it. I could spend all day in here looking at what you’ve created. It’s amazing.”

Gunter’s shoulders relaxed a little, and his smile became a less tense. “I was afraid you were expecting stacks of gold coins and strings of pearls. Dragons tended to get away from that after the invention of the stock market.”

“Nope, this is way more interesting.” Nikki grabbed Gunter’s hand. “Show me the latest thing you’ve made.”

Gunter showed them over to the long table and pointed to a tiny little coffee shop complete with a chalkboard sign with daily specials and a little glass case filled with pastries.

Nikki leaned close to inspect all the details while Gunter stepped behind them, rubbing his hand up and down their spine in the most distracting caress. Nikki really did want to take an interest in Gunter’s hobby hoard, but it was hard when Gunter was touching them like this. They’d been running all day and had enjoyed no more than a few stolen kisses at the beginning and end of meals. Nikki needed their mate, but it was wrong not to properly appreciate Gunter’s hoard first. They didn’t want Gunter to think they didn’t love it all.