Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
The woman sitting on the same row leaned in, her expression suggesting she found him to be incredibly stupid.
“A dragon is proposing to you,” she said in a very condescending tone. “Lock that shit down.”
Why, this nosy bitch. Salem pinned a smile on his face and gritted out, “Not a fucking chance.”
His mate was stubborn.
Incredibly stubborn.
Though, maybe Gregori should have anticipated this considering Sam’s track record. Salem’s twin brother had been incredibly stubborn when it came to Dimitri and just about anything that wasn’t his ultimate goal of fixing his core.
Sam was still stubborn at times, but Dimitri had learned many useful tricks for softening up his mate.
Gregori was hopeful he would be able to do the same thing with Salem. It was just going to take time.
But before he got down to wooing and convincing Salem they were meant to spend their very long lifetimes together, he needed to care for his mate. Salem wasn’t anywhere near as pampered or cared for as he needed to be, which only succeeded in locking up Gregori’s brain. He feared Salem’s stubbornness would interfere with his plans. Salem utterly refused to give Gregori an inch. He’d have to somehow worm his way past the man’s defenses if he was to care for Salem the way he wanted to.
It was ingrained in all dragons to treasure and cherish mates. The dragon’s first duties were to protect and care for their mage, but Salem wasn’t letting him.
Salem wouldn’t allow Gregori to hold his carry-on bag during the walk from the plane to baggage claim. He wouldn’t allow Gregori to handle his additional roller bag when it came off the carousel. When it was time to go into the city, Salem wouldn’t even allow Gregori to hire him a proper town car to take them to his home. Salem insisted on summoning a rideshare—a very boring sedan with a driver who smiled a little too much at Salem.
While Gregori was contemplating ways to scare the driver into diverting his attention away from Salem, his mate even closed the door in his face and threatened to not allow him to ride in the car with him. Honestly, it smarted. Both dragon and man didn’t like the outright rejection. Gregori soldiered through the emotion because he couldn’t let it stop him now. Salem would be a hard man to win over—Gregori suspected a lot of relationship trauma lurked in his past, but he wasn’t sure—and he couldn’t let it deter him now.
Before Salem could lean across to lock the other rear passenger door, Gregori launched over the trunk, hit the ground, rolled back to his feet, and grabbed the door away from Salem’s fingertips. Applause broke out around them at his little performance, and he offered a small wave to his audience. At least someone was appreciative of his efforts.
He slipped into the back seat directly behind the driver. Yes, this was better. He could glare at the driver in the rearview mirror without Salem noticing.
“I can’t believe you!” Salem groused as Gregori finally settled in the seat next to him. “You’re not coming back to my place. I won’t allow it.”
“I’m only accompanying you to make sure you arrive safely. You’ve traveled a long distance, and you didn’t seem to sleep well on the plane. If something were to happen to you—”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. And I didn’t sleep well on the plane because someone decided to join me on my flight home rather than stay in Brazil where he belongs.”
“I belong with my mate, no matter where he travels,” Gregori stated, and he believed it with his whole heart. Yes, he would much rather be in Brazil, surrounded by his entire clan and the dragons he’d known most of his life, but his mate came first. He’d waited a very long lifetime to find his, and he wasn’t about to squander this chance to win Salem’s heart.
“Sir?” the driver interjected from behind the wheel. “Is this man bothering you? I see a police officer at the other end of the platform. I can go get him for you.”
Salem didn’t answer right away, leaving Gregori to stare slack-jawed at his mate. Would he really hand him over to the police with claims of harassment? Ouch, it was like another slap to the face. His heart stung with the rejection, and this time it was a little harder to dismiss it.
Finally, Salem let out a long sigh and sank a little lower in his seat, his arms folded tightly over his chest. “No, it’s fine. He’s just annoying. No point in dragging the cops into this. Just take me home, please. It has been a really long trip.”
The driver didn’t ask any more questions and focused on getting them safely out of the twisted insanity of Logan International Airport.