Talon sounded very sure.
“Do you have a television of your own?”
“I do. In fact, I have one in the bathroom.”
Mercury tilted his head so far that he almost tipped over the bathroom. “Why?”
“Because I like to have a bath. I like to take a long bath and watch television while I’m doing it.” Talon sounded so happy and deeply satisfied that it made him chuckle.
“All right.” Like he would argue. In fact, he was kind of desperate to see.
He almost said they could forget about the rest of the food, but then the soup came, and his mouth dried up. It smelled so good that he began to shake a little bit.
“It smells amazing, doesn’t it? It always makes me a little crazy, this soup.”
He thought Talon was incredibly kind to say it because he didn’t see Talon’s hand shaking. But it didn’t matter. He was going to eat every drop. “It smells wondrous.”
It was as if they were in their own little world now that the other man, the other dragon, Cain, had left them alone. Maybe Cain had spread the word somehow, but nobody came to bother them so he could shovel soup into his mouth and savor the truly perfect flavor of those potatoes, which were soft but still had texture, and the bacon and the cream and the chives. He’d never had anything so good.
Mercury blinked at his bowl when it was empty, and he felt like he should be upset in the stomach after not eating more than a can of beans for so long. But he wasn’t. It was like the food made his magic feel stronger, better, at least for a little while.
He sat there, head bowed over his bowl, and he didn’t realize he dozed off until Talon touched his arm.
“Are you ready to go up now and get some sleep? Once you’ve had a nice nap, we can get you a shower and some clean clothes.”Talon’s voice was a bass rumble, soft and gentle somehow, and yet still fully alpha.
He simply raised his arms and Talon picked him up, cradling him against that wide chest. He reached up to touch Talon’s scars, his fingers tracing the lines on that face which was becoming rapidly familiar and dear to him. “Thank you, braaken.”
“You’re very welcome, hailee. I promise. This is a good place, and I know you don’t fully understand how things happen here, but you will.”
Talon started walking, cutting through the small crowd of people who were just eating around him, and he laid his head on Talon’s shoulder, closing his eyes.
His braaken was correct. He really didn’t understand anything at this point. But it didn’t matter. He was warm, his belly was full, and all he wanted to do was sleep.
Chapter
Three
Talon sat in his front room in his apartment, waiting for Mercury to wake up. He was a little worried that his hailee wasn’t going to, because it had been almost a day and a half, and he hadn’t even stirred.
He wanted Mercury to wake and drink some water, and have some more food, and have a shower, and experience all the other creature comforts Talon could provide for him.
On the other hand, he knew why Mercury had slept as long as he had. Talon had been a prisoner once, and then a banished dragon, and then a warrior who rescued other dragons on daring missions. So he understood the value of having a safe place to lay one’s head and sleep, and he knew just exactly how hard someone could sleep once they found that safe place.
He got up and wandered to the kitchen where he poured himself some juice. He should probably order some food. His fridge was alarmingly bare. Talon tended to eat with his friends. His brother Triton, Kami, his long-time companion, and their mates. He even ate with Cain on occasion because Cain loved weird seafood, and often had it flown in just for him.
A small scuffing sound interrupted him, and he glanced around, finding Mercury standing in the kitchen doorwaywearing one of his robes, which swallowed the poor omega almost to death.
“Hello, I’m—Can I have some water please? Your bed is very soft and warm, too.”
“Of course you can. And thanks. I’m lazy at heart.” He loitered in the kitchen and beckoning Mercury to come be with him. “So I wallow in bed a lot.”
“Thank you for letting me borrow it.” Mercury’s gaze danced over everything.
“Come on, hailee. Don’t be shy. It’s going to be all right.” He grabbed a glass and ran water from the icemaker in the fridge. “Would you like tea? Juice? Milk?”
Mercury’s eyes went wide. “There’s milk? There’s really milk?”
“There is.” Gods, he wanted to beat someone. Not Mercury. But the ones who had abused him. Dragon culture could be so fucked up.
