Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“Thank you,” Alric’s voice floated toward her, sounding relieved. “There wasn’t much left in this jar. And I’m due for a—oh.”

Cameron rounded the open door leading into the king’s bedroom, and he could tell Alric was flustered and embarrassed to have him in there. The king was half-dressed, black slacks on and a shirt hanging on the tri-standing mirror nearby. Alric was expecting the salve, yes, and had stayed in this half-dressed state. But he did not want Cameron to see him shirtless, that was clear. The man couldn’t meet his eyes and he sat stiffly, head turning away.

Oh yes. Cameron saw the problem. He wished Alric would look at him because then he’d see that Cameron absolutely wasn’t disappointed. The damage on the left side was extensive, yes. The lines of injury were red in parts, puckered where things hadn’t healed right. The white lines of scars wrapped around his arm like a lightning strike across his skin. They didn’t detract from him—they enhanced the rest of his taut body. Alric clearly exercised on a regular basis, and it left him toned in a perfectly yummy way.

Was Cameron drooling? He might be drooling. Also, he really wanted to lick a nipple.

But Alric was getting stiffer and more uncomfortable by the nanosecond, and that had to stop. Cameron put on a cheerful tone and strode right in as if he were oblivious to Alric’s unease. “I hope you don’t mind if I practice on you. I mixed this one up myself.”

That brought Alric’s head up a notch. “You did? You’re learning potions already?”

“Yeah, Lisette said this one wasn’t complicated, and she wanted to introduce potion making to me.” He screwed off the lid and knelt just off to Alric’s side, dipping his fingers generously into the jar. How did he ease Alric’s tension? How did he communicate that he liked the look of this man and the scars were absolutely not a deterrent?

First order of business, activate the salve. “Fekats gev adi.”

The salve sparked briefly, the magic mixing in like glitter. He scooped a generous amount onto his fingers. Fortunately, Cameron’s mouth had never had a problem supplying words. He touched three fingers to the top of the shoulder and then jumped. “Damn, you’re hot! I mean, you’re hot in that sense too, but I didn’t realize dragons ran this warm all the time. I find the inside of the castle a little cold, and you’re sitting here shirtless like it’s nothing and you’re still warm. This is unfair.”

Alric’s attention was on him now, and was that a blush heating the man’s cheeks? Making the King of the Fire Dragons blush was kind of fun and very adorable. Cameron would so be doing that more often. “It’s common for the fire dragons to be warm generally, yes. We carry a great deal of heat with us.”

“Makes sense.” Cameron smoothed oil over Alric’s shoulder, dipped his hand in for more oil, and kept going, keeping a weather eye on Alric’s expression as he did so. He didn’t want to cause pain, but wasn’t sure how much pressure to apply, either. He didn’t see any hint of discomfort on his face, so he figured he’d gotten it correct.

Lisette cleared her throat. “It seems that Cameron has this well in hand. I’ll leave it to you, Cameron.”

“Sure.” Yes! The chaperone had left the room. Now Cameron had a chance to get some game on. He waited until he heard her high heels on the wooden floor in the hallway outside before speaking again. “I imagine your right side is trying to compensate for the left, so I’ll oil up that side too, okay?”

Alric was back to shifting uncomfortably. “No, that’s fine. I’m taking away time you should be spending with the rest of the clan and your studies. If you’ll leave the jar with me, I can—”

Cameron needed a clue by four. So he could hit Alric over the head with it. Right, time to change tactics. He shouldn’t try to come on as nurturing. Make this sexy. “Alric. You ever have this fantasy you think will never come true?”

Alric paused, studying him as if Cameron was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. “I think we all have those.”

“Well, mine involves a sexy man—older men are my preference, by the way—and oil, and a little privacy.” He dipped his fingers in again, this time soothing the oil directly over Alric’s chest with both hands, looking the man dead in the eye as he rubbed the oil into his skin with a firm sweep of his palms. Alric’s breath audibly hitched in his throat, and he stared back as if mesmerized. Cameron murmured in a low voice, “Let me indulge, okay?”

Alric’s voice was husky as he breathed, “As you will.”

Alric’s body burned. Every seductive pass of Cameron’s amazing hands left Alric aching to pull Cameron closer. He wanted to claim his mouth in a deep, drugging kiss that would finally wipe away his knowing little smirk. The man massaging tense muscles was well aware of how he was driving Alric crazy. It was all Alric could do to hold back the moan rising in his throat.