Their mingled scents filled the air, and Alric smiled at the feeling of sated peace coming from his dragon at last. His other half had been endlessly restless when it came to Cameron since the very first day, but now, at long last, it was happy. There was still a whisper of possessiveness, a need to claim Cameron officially, but this had at least bought Alric some time and a little peace and quiet. The happy sigh that escaped Cameron was proof enough to the dragon that the man in his arms wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Can I do that more often?” Cameron asked against his skin.
Alric closed his eyes against his own feelings of peace and contentment. He had zero desire to move ever again. “You can do that whenever you’d like.”
“Awesome,” Cameron whispered. He sounded so relaxed that he was practically half asleep. “Because you, sir, are incredibly fun to have sex with. And I feel like sex needs to happen as often as possible in the future.”
Alric’s body shook lightly with a soundless chuckle. “I’m certainly not arguing against it.”
Cameron lifted his head and kissed him, a gentle, sweet exchange. “This position is good for you?”
“It is. Most of them are.” Alric felt touched Cameron had obviously thought about it. Tried to arrange them to put the least amount of stress on his body as possible. “Anything that demands strength on my left side is not possible. I also can’t lay on it for any length of time. I go numb.”
“Gotcha.”
“When you sleep over, I need to be on my right side or flat on my back,” Alric continued and then held his breath. He didn’t know how Cameron’s generation handled dating, or sex, or sleeping over. He could only ask for what he wanted and see how Cameron took it.
Cameron came up to rest on one elbow, his thumb caressing Alric’s cheekbone. “If that’s your way of inviting me to stay the night, I’d love to. I should warn you I’m a heat-seeker. So if you’re not much of a cuddler, I will steal all of your blankets.”
Alric relaxed, the uncertainty fading. “I like to cuddle. I run hot anyway; you can have the blankets if you’d like.”
“I’d much prefer to be wrapped around you.” Cameron grimaced, looking down between their bodies. “And as much as I’m enjoying this, we are starting to stick together. Let me get us cleaned up. Then we can cuddle and talk.”
Alric didn’t want to lose the feeling of Cameron inside of him or wrapped around him, but the young man was right. The sooner they were clean, the sooner they could be tucked into bed and cuddled again.
They cleaned up with a soft, wet cloth before returning to the bed. Alric propped up on a pillow and invited Cameron into his right side, where the younger man happily snuggled in. It was lovely, laying like this with Cameron, skin to skin and not a worry intruding.
They stayed like that for an indefinite time, Cameron’s fingers lightly ghosting over his skin in a wonderful caress. The young mage seemed relaxed, but he could almost hear the wheels turning in his brain. He wasn’t surprised when he finally spoke up.
“Alric?”
He hummed, tucking Cameron a little tighter against him.
“Can I ask you some personal questions?”
“You can ask me anything you like,” he replied, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. Cameron’s hesitance seemed odd considering they were snuggled naked in bed together.
“I’ve seen a gold flash sometimes in your eyes. What is it?”
“Hmm, you can think of it as a hint of my dragon side. When I’m excited, or my blood is pumping, fire leaks through.”
“Ohhh, that’s cool. I did wonder, as I couldn’t figure out a rhyme or reason to it.” Cameron ruminated on that for a moment, and when he opened his mouth again, his tone was far more tentative. “Second question. It’s about your scars. How did you get them?”
Alric tensed. He couldn’t stop himself, and he knew Cameron felt it. The damn things had been a sore subject for him since he’d first gotten them. Of course, he’d never had to speak of them because until recently, everyone in the castle knew exactly how he’d gotten his scars. What they cost him.
Cameron’s head popped up as he pushed away from Alric. Even in the darkness of the room, Alric could read the worry on his lover’s face. He didn’t want that. His mage should never hesitate to ask him questions.
With his right arm, Alric pulled Cameron close again, tucking him against his chest. It seemed easier to speak about the past with his lover pressed close, as if holding Cameron in his arm made the memories a little less painful.
“They happened near the end of the Great Dragon War. We were marshalling forces in what would become Algeria. A group of mages and a number of dragons were working together on a new defensive strategy. The Jaeggi staged a surprise attack. We were outflanked and outmatched.” Alric paused and licked his lips against the inevitable tightness in his throat that formed when he thought of that battle.