8
Gabriel
“So how’s the training going?”Dante asked as he emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Part of me wished it would slip andfalloff.
A week had passed since my lessons with Ryu began, and once I got over the initial uneasiness of the whole thing, I found myself having agreattime.
“Great,” I replied with a stretch. “Although it’s pretty basic stuff right now. Learning how to sense magic and know when other people are using it against you… That type ofthing.”
Dante nodded. “That’s an important place to start. That’s the first thing we learned in college, if we didn’t already learn itgrowingup.”
“You mentioned a magic college when you introduced me to Ryu,” I said, sitting up on the edge of the bed. I watched as Dante removed his shirt and gave me a sexy show of allhisabs.
“Yep. Everyone who grows up in Cinderhollow attends it, and a lot of the newcomers do, too. Can’t have dragons without magic,right?”
I cocked my head. “You’ve seemed to be pretty interested in me learning magic ever since I got here. Does it have something to do with thebarrier?”
Dante paused. Immediately I sensed that I’d hit a nerve. I didn’t know if that was a good thingornot.
“The most important part about magic is protecting yourself,” Dante said. “Think of it like basic self-defense.”
“What do I need to protect myself from?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Cinderhollow seems like just about the safest place on theplanet.”
Dante gave me a strained smile as he sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. “It is safe. I guess I’m just being aworrywart.”
“You struck me as the completely opposite of one of those when we first met,” I saidplayfully.
“Yeah,” Dante said, sighing. Then said with a small laugh, “You ruined my damn life, GabrielBrooks.”
“What’dIdo?” Iasked.
Dante grinned. “You made me care about you, you dumbomega.”
I rolled my eyes with a smirk. “You’re the one who swooped down to save me from humans. You could’ve just letmedie.”
Dante frowned now. “C’mon, that’s not funny. I don’t want to ever thinkaboutthat.”
He pulled me closer so that my head rested on his collarbone. He smelled sweet and musky at the same time, a combination of soap and his naturalscent.
“Sorry,” I murmured, knowing that I’d upset him. “I didn’t mean it. Obviously, I’m glad you saved methatday.”
“Me too.” He kissed my hair. “You know, it’s funny. Before I laid eyes on you, I never wanted an omega. Not at that moment,anyway.”
“Really?” Iasked.
“Really. I always thought of it as some far-off thing in my future, likeone dayI’d have an omega and start a family.” He shook his head gently. “But then I saw you, and… I knew Ihadto have you. Like I’d die if I wasn’t close to you. It was like I was on fire and you were the only one who could put out theflames.”
“Oh, Dante…” I sighed contentedly against his skin. “Wait, can dragons evencatchfire?”
He chuckled. “No. It was just ametaphor.”
“I think it was asimile.”
He knocked his head gently against mine. “Hey, I’m the one who reads booksaroundhere.”
I crossed my arms, raising a brow. “I’ve readbooks,too!”
We both laughed. The room went quiet, but it was comfortable. I leaned affectionately against Dante, just enjoying hispresence.
