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RUNE DID HIS BEST NOTto pace as he waited for Palmer in front of the library.He didn’t want Palmer to realize that he was nervous, even though he was.He was going to spend a lot of time with Palmer.That didn’t mean anything, but it wasn’t going to help Rune remember that there was nothing going on between the two of them and nothing probably ever would happen.
So maybe he had a crush on the human doctor.How could he not?He’d never talked to Palmer before the meeting, but he’d seen him around.In fact, one could say that he’d been watching him from afar.He knew that Palmer was beautiful, of course, but he’d also seen him when he was with his brother, Taylor.Initially, Rune had wondered why the two of them were always together, but someone had told him that they were brothers, and the relationship reminded him of everything he hadn’t had when he was growing up.He was doing his best to fix that, but it was slow going, even with the siblings he got along with.
Palmer was also caring.Rune had heard from a few dragons he’d helped that he really didn’t seem to care that they weren’t human.He did what he could for them, and he never hesitated to admit when he didn’t know something and to call a healer who could help.He was willing to learn, and when it came to humans, he definitely knew what he was doing.Rune liked that Palmer was competent and didn’t hesitate to show that.Knowledge was sexy.
“Good morning,” Palmer said, startling Rune.He’d been so busy waxing poetic about Palmer in his mind that he hadn’t even realized the man was approaching him.
Rune plastered a smile on his face.He tried to look nonchalant, but he was pretty sure that the nervousness was coming through.“Good morning.I hope you slept well?”
Palmer blinked but nodded.“I did.”
“I had dinner with my brother yesterday.He kept me up way too late,” Rune offered.He didn’t think that Palmer actually wanted to hear that, but he wasn’t sure how else to reach out.
To his surprise, Palmer smiled.“Brothers, right?”
Rune nodded.“Your brother lives here, too.”
“He does.I love him, but he can be infuriating sometimes.”
“I’m sure he thinks the same of you.”
Palmer laughed, the sound echoing in the hallway.“Oh, definitely.”He paused and glanced at the doors.“Shall we go in?”
Right.They were here to work, not to have a nice chat, as much as Rune wished they could continue talking about their private lives so he could get to know Palmer better.
He gestured at the door.“After you.”
Palmer seemed familiar with the place when he opened the door and slipped in.From what Rune knew, it wasn’t a surprise.Palmer was here to learn, and he was clearly eager to do so.
“I know that the medical books are on the left,” he said, gesturing in that direction.“I’ve been learning about dragon pregnancies.”
“I’ve heard that you’ve been treating Curran,” Rune told him.
“I am.Everything’s been going well, but I have a few questions.”
“Well, I can help you find a book about that because I don’t know much about medicine or pregnancy.”
Palmer looked Rune up and down.“Have you ever been pregnant?”His eyes widened.“I apologize for that question.You don’t have to answer, of course.”
“I’m not offended, and no, I haven’t been.I don’t have children.”
Palmer nodded.“I see.”
Did he?Because Rune had no idea what was going on.“I’m sure you’ve heard about my father and his rules before he died.He never forced me to have children because I was his son, but I know that eventually, I would have had to find a partner and give him grandchildren.”
“And you didn’t want that?”
“I do want children one day.I just want to have them with a partner that I love, not with someone who’s been forced on me because my father believed they were the best person.Usually, it was some of his friends’ children, which meant that I wanted nothing to do with it.”
“That’s understandable.I just had a few questions about pregnancy, but you clearly can’t answer them.”
“I can’t, but I can help you research.It would probably be easier to ask a healer, but I know they’re all quite busy.”
“They are, but I also need a base of knowledge before I can work with them.I want to know what I’m doing so I won’t hurt anyone.”
They reached the library section that housed the medical texts.Palmer looked around intently, but it took Rune a moment to find the books he was looking for.“There.The pregnancy textbooks seem to be on that shelf.”
