Want,it grumbled.Want now.
“Very good, Walter. Now you can watch the next episode.”
The next one was similar enough to the first that Grimbold only placed a small amount of his attention to watching it. His eyes kept straying to the plate of éclairs. Walter fiddled with them, his finger trailing along the edge of the pastry in an unconsciously sensual way that made Grimbold want to moan out loud.
When the episode was over, this time it was Walter who paused it.
“I think I could impress him. Giles, I mean.”
Grimbold turned to him. “Indeed?”
“I know things. They taught me things. A lot of things. And I was a very good student. I had to be. For the dragons. Always for the dragons. But I would do it all for him.”
“He’s not real, sweet boy.”
“I know he's not!” Walter exclaimed. “But Giles is all I have left. Don't take that away from me.”
Grimbold sighed. “Maybe you need something else to focus on.”
Someone else. Someone real.
Me.
Grimbold's dragon ached to burst forth and take what it wanted, but he stayed in human shape by dint of will. The last thing he wanted was to frighten Walter.
“Sir, I—”
“I can keep you safe, Walter. I can keep you and protect you for your entire life. No one will ever hurt you again. I'd give you your freedom, but you clearly don't want that. You want—”
“I'm an omega Disgrace. What I want doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me,” Grimbold insisted, and to his surprise, he genuinely meant it. The boy might have been given to him as an obligation, but even after so short a time, Grimbold would fight anyone who dared harm him. “It matters to me.”
“Why? You're just an Amethyst dragon who got stuck with me. Why would you care?”
“Because I should. Because someone must.”
“Oh.” Walter looked bewildered and lost. “I see.”
“And because you're mine. My little lost lamb. Mine to save and bring home.”
Walter gave him a skeptical look. “And yours to roast later for dinner?”
“If I eat you, little lamb, you’ll survive the process, I assure you.” Grimbold took hold of Walter's hand and brought the boy's index finger up to his lips and licked it clean of chocolate ganache. “But for the moment, I'd prefer something sweeter even than you.”
A shiver ran through Walter's body. “Sir?”
“Feed me an éclair of your choosing.”
The boy blinked. “Feed you?”
“Yes, Walter. Am I not your dragon?”
Walter scrunched his nose. “Are you?”
Grimbold further deepened his voice into its most commanding. “Yes. For as long as you need me, I'm your dragon.”
The omega quivered, looking like he wasn't sure what to do. Then he glanced at the finger Grimbold had licked clean of chocolate and seemed to make up his mind. Walter picked up the éclair and held it to Grimbold's lips. Instead of biting, Grimbold licked it, rather like he'd licked Walter's finger. The boy gasped, but held the pastry steady.
