Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

Alric didn’t particularly think of himself as either. He relied far too much on people like Dieter, Gunter, and Baldewin to keep things progressing within the clan. But he did like that Cameron viewed him as such.

“I don’t know much about you,” Cameron admitted, and he frowned at the words. “There’s too much I don’t know about you.”

“I can say the same for you but…well, would you like to learn something about me today?”

Cameron blinked at him hopefully. “Yes? What would that be?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, young mage,” Alric mock-scolded him. In truth, he was a little too pleased by how obvious Cameron’s desire for him was. “I meant my hoard.”

That derailed Cameron’s lecherous thoughts completely. “Wait, dragons seriously have hoards? That wasn’t just myth?”

“Oh, we have hoards,” Alric assured him. “We have many rules about our hoards, too, as otherwise, with this many dragons in one place, the hoards would take over the castle.”

“I can totally see that. Dragons who can age hundreds of years would have too much time on their hands to collect stuff. I mean, I’m twenty-three, and the amount of stuff I have is just ridiculous. So, what’s your hoard?”

“Come and see,” Alric said in a low voice.

“Said the spider to the fly.” Cameron slid off his lap, reaching for his glasses. “It’s ridiculous how much I trust you. I always seem to be following you somewhere.”

Alric knew that. And reveled in it.

They left the bedroom, Alric reaching for Cameron’s hand. He could remember each time he’d held Cameron’s hand, and no matter the number, it always felt special. Cameron’s hand wasn’t entirely soft—it had some calluses here and there—although it was a little cool. He looked down at their linked hands in concern as they reached the hallway. “You’re chilled?”

“I always am,” Cameron answered ruefully. “I have no blood, or at least that’s the running joke in the family. I’m always colder than everyone else.”

Alric frowned at him in concern. “But the castle interior is never particularly warm.”

“Trust me, I know,” Cameron responded dryly. “And I really didn’t pack anything for cooler climes. That wool blanket that you bought me has become my best buddy.”

“Really?” Alric’s heart skipped at the thought.

“Mmhmm,” Cameron hummed. “I curl up under it each night.”

Alric let that wonderful image warm him, but he didn’t like the idea of Cameron being cold. Not only was that uncomfortable, but wouldn’t it make him susceptible to illness? Humans and mages were fragile beings that way. At least until a mage was mated.

His first instinct was to wrap his much warmer body around the mage and just hold him, but while desirable, it wasn’t a practical solution. “Perhaps we need to take you shopping.” Alric didn’t like the idea of him being constantly chilled.

“I mean, that likely needs to happen. I planned on a two-week vacation, not an extended stay. And now that I know you want me, I need to arrange to have my stuff packed up and sent here. Which will take a couple of months, probably.”

Alric had no idea how long it would take, as he’d not moved in modern times. But he trusted Cameron’s judgement on this. “We’ll need to do paperwork for you as well.”

“Oh yeah. Visas and stuff.” Cameron sighed, shoulders slumping for a moment. “Yeah, that won’t be fun.” He bounced back up with a smile and a lecherous waggle of the brows aimed at Alric. “Worth it, though.”

Alric matched him look for look, amused at him. “Oh, it’ll be worth it.”

“Feel free to capitalize on that promise. Anytime. Literally anytime.”

Alric planned to. Once he got a little more comfortable with the idea of having a lover. For now, though, he had another piece of himself that he wanted to introduce Cameron to. His hoard room was connected to his own suite, so it was an easy matter to enter via his sitting room and then go left. He released Cameron’s hand to slide open the engraved wood door, gesturing him in. “Welcome.”

Cameron stepped through and gasped, eyes as wide as saucers. His head turned as he took in the floor-to-ceiling bookcases, filled with every book Alric had ever laid claim to. Alric thrilled at Cameron’s expression, at the wonder and excitement of what he was seeing. There was a comfortable set of chairs in the center of the room, a low polished wood table in between them, all for Alric’s comfort as he read. But other than that, there was no furniture aside from the plush window seat. There frankly wasn’t room for it.

This room was for books and reading and nothing else.

“I finally understand what Belle felt,” Cameron breathed, craning his neck to look at the second story of the shelves.

“Belle?” Alric had no idea who he might be referring to.

“Beauty and the Beast,” Cameron explained, eyes still trained on the books. “I could totally marry you for your book collection right now.”