When Jory made it back to his room, he was surprised to see Val waiting for him in his bed. Despite the note he'd sent Jory, Val must have hoped he'd return to his own room for the night. Jory sighed at the vision; the man looked even more gorgeous asleep.
Smelling the smoke and mustiness from the club on his skin, Jory set the dragon on a side chair.
"You be good and don't wake up Val," he whispered.
The dragon gave a little chirp. Jory took the sound as agreement.
"That's right, be good."
Stripping quickly, Jory removed all his clothes and headed for the bathroom. A strong stream of hot water poured out of the spigot. Pleased that it wasn't a particle beam shower, Jory stepped into the stream, moaning as muscles bunched from tension relaxed beneath the hot, steamy water. Once he'd left the bakery, he hadn't seen his brother's man again. He didn't know if he found that more reassuring or scary. If Father was right, Jory was in danger of assassination. The fact that Brill could've taken him in the streets without any witnesses, and yet hadn't, stood out in his mind.
What could he be up to?
The bigger question was whether his big brother truly wanted him dead. He still couldn't quite believe his father's story. Not that his father would intentionally lie to him, but his brother had never shown any animosity before, and to go from friendly to fanatical was a bit of a leap.
"Can anyone join?"
Jory gave a startled scream.
"Sorry," Val laughed. He stepped inside the shower, and his big body took most of the space, but Jory didn't care as long as those large hands continued to stroke his skin and send soothing touches down his spine. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Jory's heartbeat settled down as he leaned against Val, his larger body cradling Jory like a protective wall against the world. He sighed as Val stroked him with warm hands. "I thought you were still asleep," he said in quiet voice. That sounded better than "you could've been an assassin". One got you sexy scrubs in the shower, the other a trip to the nut house. "Oh, right there." Val dug in his fingers, massaging the tension from Jory's back.
"I was waiting for you." Val's voice was low and hot, making Jory tingle in all the right places, until his lover sniffed his neck. "You've been with another man."
"Yes." Jory felt overcome with shame, making him lose his erection. How could he cheat on this wonderful man? An apology stuck in his throat. Before he could force it past his lips, Val tilted his head back and gave him a hot kiss.
"Good. Then you've fulfilled your requirements. Was there intercourse?"
"No." Jory couldn't face Val. He hid his face against the other man's chest. Visions of Rai's handsome face flashed in his mind, but he ruthlessly pushed it away.
Val tilted up his chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "But you climaxed, right? It doesn't count unless you climax." Val's eyes were wild. For the first time, Jory spied the dragon lurking inside.
"Yes."
The tension building in his lover vanished. "Good." He received a soft kiss, a mere brush of lips against lips. "Did you get his registration number?"
Jory nodded. "He put it in my communicator."
Val nodded. "Good. You can register him tomorrow, and then I'm not letting you leave my side. What was his name?"
"Rai."
Val's fingers bit into his arms.
"Ouch."
Val jerked his hands away. "Sorry." He stepped forward and wrapped Jory back in his arms.
Jory let the rest of his stress drain away beneath Val's expert touch. Wrapped in the Val's arms, he felt everything settle in his world. Gone were the worries about mating. The only thing that mattered was the kind man with the hot body pressed against his. Maybe Father was right; maybe he just needed to get away to find his forever mate.
"Turn and face the wall. I have to reclaim you."
Jory knew it was Val's dragon needing to reclaim his mate. He could see it lurking behind those sparkling green eyes.
Val licked the water off Jory's neck, sending shivers down his spine.
"Who else are you going to have sex with?" Jory couldn't stop the stab of jealousy no matter how unfair it might be.
