Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

This was not what Cameron had in mind when he thought of a date with Alric.

Yes, maybe his daydreams of crawling into Alric’s lap after they’d parked in some secluded spot and kissing the damn wings off the dragon weren’t exactly realistic. If the man could murmur such sweet things to him, then Cameron was dying to know what else he could do with that talented tongue.

Okay, and maybe he’d conveniently forgotten they needed to have a bodyguard with them when they left the castle.

But he was not expecting to have grandpa dragon and grandma mage along as freaking chaperones.

Not that he didn’t love Lisette.

Lisette was amazing. He adored her no-nonsense attitude and the wonderful way she explained magic. She was quickly becoming both a second mother and a beloved mentor for him. And while he hadn’t spent a great deal of time with Dieter, Lisette always spoke of her mate with such love. Cameron was certain he was a wonderful person.

But he did not want to feel their watchful eyes on them during their one escape from the castle.

Cameron’s dreams of a romantic evening filled with long looks, little touches, and blistering hot kisses went up in smoke before they even climbed into the car.

But hey, the man had said yes. No more mixed signals that he had to deal with. And Alric had been very happy while saying yes, so he clearly wasn’t going along for the hell of it. Cameron was so ridiculously relieved, it wasn’t even funny. Having the chaperones along was a pain, sure, but it wasn’t a total loss if it meant seeing Alric in jeans. Yes, honest-to-god jeans. At one point, Cameron reached over and ran one finger down Alric’s leg, drawing the dragon’s heated gazed up to him while a confused smile lifted one corner of his mouth.

“What?” Alric inquired. He was seated behind Dieter, who drove them down to the town.

“I was just checking to make sure they were real jeans,” Cameron teased.

“Real jeans? Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Because I’ve never seen you in anything but a three-piece suit and tie. I wondered if you were allergic to jeans.”

Alric shifted a little in his seat, running his right hand down the front of his v-neck cashmere sweater. The air was still warm, and he’d pushed the sleeves up to reveal strong forearms. The fact he was daring to show off the scars on his left arm a little made Cameron’s heart skip with the hope that Alric was becoming comfortable with him.

“Since you’re on vacation, I thought it might be wise to dress a little more casually this evening.”

“Does this mean his majesty just might possess a pair of shorts?”

Alric smirked at him. “Is this your way of asking to see my wardrobe in my private chambers?” He’d pitched his voice soft and low, like he was proposing the most indecent of actions.

Cameron licked his bottom lip and opened his mouth to reply—

“Oh Cameron! I wish you’d arrived in the spring,” Lisette began.

Cameron had to press his lips tightly together to keep from laughing for a moment. The same amusement twinkled in Alric’s deep blue eyes.

“Why’s that?” Cameron asked, winking at Alric.

“This whole hillside fills with bright white snowdrop windflowers in the spring. They are one of my favorite flowers. Such happy little things,” she exclaimed, waving her hand over to the hillside rising up along the driver’s side of the car that was mostly just green and yellow grasses now.

Alric’s right hand sneaked across the leather bench seat until just the tips of his fingers brushed against the side of Cameron’s hand. With a smile, Cameron turned his hand palm up. A second later, Alric’s larger hand rubbed against his as their fingers intertwined. There was just something so unexpectedly wonderful about holding Alric’s hand. As if two passing comets suddenly fell into the same orbit. Closing his eyes, he softly sighed and Alric tightened his hand in his.

“That sounds wonderful, Lisette,” Cameron murmured.

Dieter drove them into town and found a parking spot on a quiet street not far from the town’s center. The sun was setting behind the mountains, painting the sky soft shades of orange, pink, and purple. The streets were less crowded now without the festival, but here and there Cameron spotted banners and pennants emblazoned with dragons.

They all slid free of the vehicle, and Alric came around to where Cameron stood and slid his hand back into Cameron’s. Despite being hungry, a part of him just wanted to stroll through the town with Alric, talking about a lot of nothing. There was something so calming when they were together that Cameron didn’t want to let it go.

“Look at that,” Cameron said, pointing toward a bright red banner waving in the light breeze. A black dragon with its wings spread wide was splashed across the middle, as if the artist had caught it mid-flight. “They’re still celebrating you even after the festival.”