He couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have found not only his mate but such an amazing, strong man. That he’d done something in this life to be worthy of such a creature.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Tori they were mates. That this was just the beginning of a long, wonderful life together that would be filled with laughter and cuddling like this.
But he swallowed the words back. Tori had been through a lot over the past month. He’d escaped an abusive clan, discovered new truths, fallen in with dragons, been attacked, and now had a new clan who cherished him completely. It had to be overwhelming. He didn’t want to rush Tori into mates and bonding yet. Let him simply enjoy what he had now.
It was bad enough that he had to wake the sweet mage and get them started on their day. There were too many things that needed to be done before the arrival of the Ice Clan.
“Are you…are you purring?” Tori’s question came with a bubble of laughter later at breakfast, pulling Baldewin from his musings.
He blinked and looked down at where Tori sat next to him in the dining hall. It was still early, and they’d managed to claim a table for just the two of them as dragons and mages stumbled in for coffee, tea, and something hearty to start the day.
Tori leaned in close, placing his ear lightly against Baldewin’s chest. “I swear it sounds like purring.”
Baldewin cleared his throat. “Dragons don’t purr, but they do make happy rumbling noises, and you make my dragon very happy.”
Lifting his head, Tori stared at him, eyes wide with wonder and surprise. “Do I?”
He couldn’t help himself. Not when Tori was looking at him with such open joy. He dipped his head and captured his sweet lips in a tender kiss. “You make me and my dragon very happy simply by being you.”
A crooked grin spread across Tori’s lips. “You’re easy to make happy, but your dragon? I never imagined I’d make a dragon happy.”
“You make him very happy. In fact, he would like to show you his hoard.”
Tori’s eyes widened again, and his mouth fell open. “A hoard? That’s real? Dragons really have a hoard? I always thought that was some silly myth.”
“Yes, dragons have hoards, but they’ve changed over the years. Once we started gathering together in clans and thinking as a community, we stopped hoarding riches.”
A low chuckle lifted from Tori’s lips, and the mage shook his head. “So, I’m not going to find your dragon curled up on a pile of gold coins?”
Baldewin wrinkled his nose, his lip curling at the idea. Why would his dragon want to lie on an uncomfortable pile of cold, dirty coins when he could have a nice, soft bed? Even better, a nice, soft bed and a Tori waiting for him with open, welcoming arms.
Tori laughed even harder at Baldewin’s expression, to the point he had to wipe tears from the corner of his eyes. “Okay, gold is out.”
“Every dragon has a hoard that reflects what is most important to them. They collect something that reflects their soul. At least, I’d say that for most dragons.” He narrowed his eyes a bit as Ravi stepped into the dining hall and looked around. Something in the dragon’s posture screamed that he was already up to trouble, and the sun had barely climbed above the horizon. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ravi was more magpie than dragon. He likely collects whatever shiny thing catches his eye.”
“You don’t know what’s in his hoard?”
Baldewin tore his gaze away from the young dragon and smiled at Tori. “Hoards are incredibly private. We are territorial about our hoards and our mates. We don’t like other dragons sniffing around either.”
“Oh yeah?” he said in teasing tones. “Afraid another dragon is going to fly off with your treasure?”
Leaning in close, Baldewin bumped his nose against Tori’s. “No one is going to steal from me what I treasure,” he growled, causing Tori to shiver and his eyes to light wickedly. If they both didn’t have important meetings that morning, Baldewin was pretty sure he’d be tossing Tori over his shoulder and marching back to either his or Tori’s chambers.
“So, Mr. Mysterious, are you going to give me a hint at what’s in your hoard?” Tori teased.
Baldewin hesitated for only a second, biting the inside of his lip. Sharing a hoard, even such a little fact, was a monumental moment, but he found himself wanting to gather Tori up and show him everything. “Musical instruments.”
Tori’s mouth fell open and his eyes became brilliantly wide. “Seriously?” he asked with an almost quiet reverence.
“Yes, if you want, I—"
Someone close to them cleared their throat, and Baldewin barely swallowed back a sigh as he straightened to find a smug looking Ravi standing on the other side of the table.