“Wow.”
“And I will reply with sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae, which means I claim you as my mate and give my soul to you.”
Cameron winked at him. “Sounds simple enough.” Cameron rolled his shoulders and shook his arms a little, getting himself loose before closing his eyes. After a couple of centering breaths, Alric could feel Cameron’s gentle touch. It was like those long, nimble fingers were caressing his soul. So sweet, so perfect.
When Cameron opened his eyes and met Alric’s gaze, he let out a little gasp. He knew what his lover was seeing. The gold ring around his eyes had expanded, briefly flaring and filling in the deep blue of his irises. There was a smile of wonder on his face as he said, “Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi.”
For a moment, Alric just relished the feel of his powers flowing into Cameron, filling and strengthening his mate. Making Cameron his forever.
“Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae,” Alric said in a low, firm voice. And for the first time, the gold flared in Cameron’s eyes, washing over the brown so that Cameron’s glowed with a golden light. The magic power flowed out of Alric through his right arm and rushed back from Cameron’s body through his left. The circle was complete.
With the flow of energy came an explosion of emotions. Alric could clearly feel Cameron’s joy, excitement, and love. The world just seemed sharper, bigger, more than it had been before finding his mate. As if every one of his senses had been dialed up to eleven. Or maybe blinders had been ripped away by his mate, and he could finally see the world for what it truly was. His dragon roared with approval, the vibrations running through Alric’s body.
After a few seconds, the energy flowing between them slowed to just a trickle and the brown flowed back into Cameron’s eyes. Alric stepped close again, admiring the little flecks of gold now embedded in his irises, giving them an added sparkle. Later, he would give Cameron things to show the world he belonged to Alric, and to mark his station in the clan, but this permanent physical change could never be removed or stolen away.
“Is that it? Are we officially mated now?” Cameron inquired with a cheeky grin.
“We are mated now and forever. No power in all the world could rip us apart.” Alric placed a kiss to Cameron’s neck and then another to his jaw. “Ich liebe dich. Ich liebe dich,” he repeated after every kiss.
Cameron turned his head and captured Alric’s mouth in a wonderful kiss he could feel all the way down to his toes. Releasing his hands, Alric pulled at Cameron’s shirt. The bonding ceremony and all the general formalities of making Cameron his were finally over. Now he could claim his mate the old-fashioned way—hot, sweaty sex.
“I love you too,” Cameron growled into his mouth. He kissed Alric hard for a second before pushing away. He ripped his shirt off and twirled it over his head a few times before tossing it somewhere behind Alric. The dragon didn’t bother looking. He was too busy inspecting every inch of Cameron’s chest, looking for any signs of bruising or scratches created by the Jaeggi. He was determined to kiss every tender spot on his lover’s body. The red marks on Cameron’s wrists from the damn duct tape still enraged him.
“Oh, this mate stuff is going to be fun,” Cameron practically purred. “You won’t be able to get away with lying about what you’re feeling.”
“What—” Alric started to say, ripping his eyes back up to Cameron’s face, but realization dawned on him that Cameron could now feel the ripple of anger still coursing through him. He huffed, settling into a less than dignified pout. “They hurt you and you belong to me. Dragons aren’t good at dealing with others harming those they care for.”
“It was just a few scratches and maybe a bruise on my ass.”
“And still my dragon wants to melt them with his fire.”
Cameron chuckled. He started working on the buttons to Alric’s shirt. “Not just set them on fire but melt them.”
“I want to incinerate them to ash.”
“I think it’s my duty as your mate to distract my little fire bug.” As he revealed some bare skin, Cameron leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alric’s chest.
“If you think you can,” Alric teased.
Cameron gazed up at Alric, that wicked smile back on his plump lips. “Oh, I think I can.” He revealed even more of his chest, parting his shirt so that he could swipe one of Alric’s nipples with his tongue. A gasp erupted from Alric’s throat, and his body jerked at the rush of delicious sensations through his body. Yes, his mate most definitely could distract him.
Alric refused to be passive, rubbing his hands down Cameron’s back, reveling in all the smooth, warm skin under his hands. Cameron murmured and hummed his pleasure as he removed Alric’s shirt from his body and pressed kisses across his chest. His lips returned to Alric’s, the kiss deeper and hungry as they attacked each other’s pants at the same time. The hunger and desperation were back, consuming Alric with a different kind of fire. He needed to feel and taste Cameron.