Wish (Scales 'n' Spells 3)

“Seriously? You don’t mind?” North gasped.

“Really, Warin?” Gunter echoed, though there was a hint of teasing in his voice.

Warin cleared his throat a second time and directed his dark look on his friend. “Yes, North may keep the scale. It’s safe within his hands.”

North nearly started bouncing in his seat. He didn’t know what was going to happen next, but at least he got to hold onto the one thing that had brought him this far in his amazing journey. And Warin was right. He’d protect this scale with his life. With a goofy grin, he shifted and tucked the scale back into his pocket.

“What about the rest of your family? Or your clan? Are there other mages in your family?” Gunter quickly asked, seeming content to redirect his attention away from the scale.

North felt his own mood droop a little. He hoped his lack of a prestigious mage heritage didn’t turn the dragons away. “Actually, it’s just Gramps and me. He’s the one who taught me magic, and I only know a few things. He’s the same way. What we learned came from my great-great-grandma’s diary. I don’t think anyone else in my family is a mage.”

The dragons didn’t seem disappointed, though. Gunter nodded on North’s left and starting furiously texting someone as they continued to the hotel.

“Do most mages come from big mage families?” he asked, looking up at Warin. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Gunter snap a quick picture of him and send it off to whoever he was texting, but North’s attention was on the sad look that crossed through Warin’s eyes.

“They did, before the war. Now, mages are very few. We’ve been searching a long time for you.”

Him?

No, mages in general.

Which would explain why Warin looked at him with a kind of wonder.

And that was the real reason for all of North’s blushes. No one ever looked at him like that. Disgust? Sure. Annoyance? All the time. Disappointment? Definitely. But not wonder.

So, it was only natural for North to snuggle just a tiny bit closer to Warin. It wasn’t that Gunter was threatening or unfriendly in anyway. He was a bit stiff and very confusing since most of the things out of his mouth didn’t make any sense. Oh, and it didn’t hurt that Warin was sexy hot and looking at him like he wanted to gather North close while growling at the other dragon.

But all the taxi closeness came to a quick end when they reached the hotel and North was briskly ushered up to his room with the two dragons acting as his own personal security team.

When they reached his room, North shed his coat and tossed it over the desk chair before flopping down on the bed. “Okay.” He pointed at Warin. “You’re a dragon.” His finger shot over to point at Gunter’s chest. “And you’re a dragon, right?”

“Indeed,” Gunter replied with a stiff smile.

“We’re both fire dragons from the Burkhard clan. We live in Burkhard Castle near Sonthofen, Germany, which is where we are taking you. It will be safest for you there.”

“I’ve got lots of questions about that, but first, can you do something, I don’t know, dragon-y, to prove that you’re dragons?” North practically bounced on the bed in his excitement while Warin and Gunter exchanged looks.

“A smoke ring?” Warin offered.

Gunter shook his head. “You risk setting off the smoke alarms.”

“Plus, it’s a nonsmoking room,” North added, earning a roll of the eyes from Warin.

Warin crossed to North’s side and crouched down a little while shoving his sweater sleeve to his elbow. “How about this?” From his fingertips to his elbow, his pale skin shifted to a leathery, deep red pebbled with shiny scales. His fingers elongated just slightly, showing the tiniest hint of what would be long, black talons, but Warin seemed to stop the shift from going any further.

Reaching out with a trembling hand, North lightly touched his arm, taking in the surprising warmth, the buttery smoothness of the skin, and the silkiness of the scales. Dragon. He was touching a dragon. A real live, fire-breathing dragon. They were real. And alive!

North’s mouth fell open, and a squeal flew out. The dragon arm disappeared in a flash, and Warin slapped his hand over North’s mouth.

“What are you doing?” Gunter demanded.

“He was going to scream. We can’t have him drawing attention to us,” Warin countered.

“He’s merely excited. Alric said Cameron made similar noises when he saw Ravi in his dragon form for the first time. He’s fine.”

When Warin narrowed his gaze, North had to admit he had the worst urge to lick the man’s hand. What did dragons taste like? Grinning against Warin’s hand, North parted his lips and licked across the man’s palm. He tasted of salty sweat and something all Warin.

The dragon yelped softly and ripped his hand away. His eyes flared again, and North swore he didn’t see disgust or anger there. Maybe interest. Desire. Oh, could Warin be gay? No way! He couldn’t possibly be lucky enough to have found a gay dragon.