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)
“Because he’s afraid you’ll break things off and force him home.”
Salem shrugged, the thought bitter. “Yeah. Probably. What am I supposed to do? I don’t want him to go back, I’m selfish enough to like having him with me. But I don’t want to commit to something that’s going to take me to a whole other continent. I don’t feel like I have a choice, either, which grates.”
“Knowing how independent you are? I bet.” Alexis shifted in her chair, still frowning. “Okay, I see the problem. Problems, really. Still, it looks to me as if you really like him.”
It felt like a concession to say the words out loud, for some reason, even if Gregori wasn’t around to hear them. “I do really like him.”
“Then the two of you have got to get on the same page. All advice you’ll get boils down to this point.”
Salem couldn’t disagree. It was the main issue here.
He felt horrible about hurting Gregori, too. Maybe this called for some of Gregori’s favorite takeout and make-up sex before they had a conversation. As much as the man drove him nuts, Salem still didn’t want to call it quits.
But if there was an easy answer to this, Salem sure didn’t see it.
The cold wind rushed along his scales, lifting him high above the clouds. The moonlight glided along his long white body as he flew kilometers in a matter of seconds. He rushed away from the hospital, needing to put some distance between himself and the source of his pain.
Naturally, he headed east, buzzing past the bright lights and skyscrapers of Boston and then into the bay. His dragon felt a little better now that he was flying. But only a smidgeon. Which didn’t bode well for the near future.
Flying cleared his head and the bitter cold wind cooled his temper. His rage and frustration with Salem calmed, but it was only replaced with anger with himself.
Why couldn’t he have kept his head? A few witty, cutting remarks could have diffused the situation and easily reminded Salem which of them was the better choice.
But was he the better choice?
Maybe the doctor with the million-dollar smile was the better choice for him. They were both doctors, which meant they had plenty in common. He was handsome and amused Salem with his somewhat witty remarks.
Meanwhile, all Gregori had managed to do since he’d left Brazil was annoy the fuck out of Salem. They had made progress, or at least he thought they had with the agreement Salem had hammered out with him, but for all Gregori saw progress, it felt like he was fighting his way uphill. He slid back far more than he gained ground. He’d tried so hard, but today he’d hurt Salem. After promising he wouldn’t, no less.
He felt like either crying or raging. Even he wasn’t sure which.
Lifting his head, Gregori stared straight ahead at the distant horizon. He was already pointed south. In a matter of hours, he could be basking in the warmth of his clan. No longer alone in a place where he wasn’t welcome or wanted.
As tempting as it was to simply fly straight home to the Valerii, what would be the point? His every thought would be about Salem. He wouldn’t be able to close his eyes for a second without worrying about what Salem was wearing or eating or if he was getting enough sleep.
Tomorrow, he had surgery on a case that had been bothering him for days. After they’d had sex last night, Salem had lain in his arms talking about the little boy who had next to no hope of getting better.
Who was going to hold Salem if the surgery didn’t go as well as he hoped?
Who was going to help him laugh at the end of the long, bad days?
Who was going to celebrate with him on the good days?
He couldn’t leave. Even if Salem didn’t want him to stay.
Gregori didn’t know how long he flew. His mind was a twisted mess, and he needed to talk to someone to get his head screwed on straight before he attempted to see Salem again. Maybe Sam would be able to help him salvage this disaster he’d created by losing his temper.
He landed in the middle of a park lit by a handful of bright streetlamps and shifted into his human form. A sort of low-grade exhaustion pulled at his muscles, and he felt weirdly cool. Perhaps because he’d worked up a sweat. With a mental shrug, he set the feelings aside. He pulled his phone from his pocket and initiated a video call with Sam, while silently praying he wasn’t catching the archaeologist at a bad time—something prone to happen more times than not when dealing with newly mated mages and dragons.
“Gregori!” Sam’s excited voice filled the empty park. “I was just thinking of texting you. How are things going?”