"I don't suppose you can tell mewhyhe's fighting it? I would rather cut my arm off than hurt him."
Valentine drained his wine. "It's complicated being a magician and a dragon. Apollo's head is in chaos at the best of times. It can take him a little longer than others to know what to do and to see what's best for him."
Lachlan leaned back on the couch. "I've waited this long, haven't I? I'm not going anywhere until he tells me to."
"Good. As for me, I'm going to bed. Wake me up if something exciting happens," Valentine said and went upstairs.
Lachlan was still too wired to sleep, so he emailed Layla that they needed a sneaky way into the Sanguis Vitae building, then he messaged Ciara.
I got him back without a hitch, but I am staying to take them down. They won't stop.
Ciara got back to him instantly.Let me know if you need Tor and me, and we can be there in a few hours.
Lachlan smiled. His sister would always have his back, and he got Tor into the bargain. He might need more than them, depending on the size of the Sanguis Vitae's operation. Lachlan spent another hour getting into the building's CCTV system and finding it woefully inadequate, so he set up a few tiny cameras of his own. He even put one in the central area of the apartment so they would know if anyone broke in to set a trap when they were out. With the amount of money the alchemists had, anything was possible.
Lachlan was finally tired enough to try to sleep when the bedroom door opened, and Apollo came out. He was in a pair of loose pajama pants with no shirt on.
Lachlan tried not to look at him, but he was only human. And Apollo was...beautiful. He had a dusting of rose gold hair on his chest and the sweetest treasure trail Lachlan had ever seen. His eyes fixated on the sigil tattooed there, and his mouth watered. Apollo's usual gray eyes were glowing gold and hot.
"I need you to come sleep with me," Apollo said in a slightly deeper voice than normal.
"Are you his dragon?" Lachlan asked.
"Yes. He won't rest if he doesn't feel safe, and you make him feel safe. He needs you."
Lachlan got off the couch and walked over to him. "Are you sure Apollo will be okay with this?" he asked.
"IamApollo," the dragon said and took Lachlan's hand, drawing him into the dark room and closing the door. Lachlan's heart was racing as he got into the bed. Apollo climbed in beside him, grabbed Lachlan's arm, and pulled it over him like a blanket.
"I need to be the little spoon," he said, now sounding more magician than dragon.
Lachlan grinned in the dark and pulled him into the cradle of his body. "Better?"
Apollo made a happy humming sound. "So warm. Pet me."
"Go to sleep, bossy boots," Lachlan replied but still took the opportunity to lightly run his fingertips over Apollo's soft as silk skin. He was fit from training and had long, lean muscles that all the Greatdrakes boys had.
Lachlan was a head taller than Apollo, so they fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. The adrenaline-fuelled anxiety that had been driving Lachlan for days finally relinquished its grip on him. Apollo's breaths went slow and deep. Lachlan wriggled so he could press his face into the back of Apollo's neck and let the sound of his breathing pull him into sleep.
15
Apollo woke the following morning, warm and content. He didn't think he was going to sleep without nightmares, but nothing had woken him. He snuggled into his pillow and felt something hard pressing into his butt. He must have fallen asleep on his phone again. He reached behind him, but instead of his phone, he found a person.
"Oh, fuck me!" he gasped in shock. Lachlan Ironwood grumbled sleepily and pulled Apollo back up against him. "Hey, let me go. What are you doing in here?"
Lachlan opened his eyes. "You told me to come and sleep with you."
"I did not," Apollo huffed. He would remember something like that.
Lachlan rubbed at his eyes and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his pants. He tapped the screen and pulled up a video recording. "This is from the security camera I installed in the lounge room. Trust me, I'd never climb into anyone's bed uninvited."
He gave the phone to Apollo, who still hadn't moved from his spot on the bed. He held the phone up with narrowed eyes. Sureenough, there he was, eyes glowing and inviting Lachlan to come and sleep with him.
"That sneaky fucking bastard dragon," he cursed and passed the phone back.
Lachlan put the phone on the bedside table. "Told you. Now, go back to sleep."
"Um, so this is awkward," Apollo whispered.
