“So? Have you rocked that dragon’s world?” Cassie demanded.
Cameron groaned and stepped backward, waving for his twin and grandmother to enter. “I’m working on it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cassie grumbled back at him. Her grumpiness was short lived as a smile spread across her face a second before she darted across the room and launched herself at Cameron’s bed. She landed with a bounce and sighed, settling against the heavy blankets and thick pillows.
“It means I’m working on it,” Cameron repeated.
Halmeoni’s hand gently patted Cameron’s cheek, drawing his attention down to her. “Seriously, child, what’s the hold up? That man looks like he needs a little nookie.”
“Halmeoni!” Cameron choked on a laugh, though he wasn’t really surprised. His grandmother had always been rather blunt and outspoken. She just chuckled at him as she crossed the room and dropped into a heavily cushioned chair in front of the empty fireplace and placed her feet up on the matching ottoman.
Closing the door, Cameron turned back to his family, arms folded over his chest. For as exhausting as they were, Cameron didn’t hesitate to admit he was glad they were here. Not only were they safe from the threats from this secret mage group, but they could give him some much-needed insight into a certain tight-lipped dragon.
“It’s complicated.”
Cassie snorted from her blanket nest. “Sex is not complicated. You only make it complicated.”
“Is that what you told your new girlfriend?”
Cassie’s head immediately popped up and she glared at her twin. “Sasha isn’t just sex. She…” Cassie paused and let out the dreamiest sigh he’d ever heard. Cameron expected little red hearts to dance around her head and blue birds to start singing in his room. What the hell! “Sasha is just amazing. She’s fierce and brilliant and so protective. She looks at me like I’m the most precious thing she’s ever seen. And she’s not intimidated or overwhelmed by me. She’s…she’s perfect and I adore her.”
“Are you telling me you’ve met your mate already? Are you kidding me?”
“Yeah. Why not? I just look at her and know.” Cassie fisted her hands in the bedding. “She’s mine.” His sister looked ready to go to war to defend that statement.
“Does Sasha feel the same way?”
“I think so.” Cassie shrugged and looked away. “It’s not like we’ve had that conversation, but I can see it when she looks at me. She’s mine and I’m hers.”
Cameron wandered over and flopped down on the comfy sofa in front of the fireplace next to his grandmother’s chair. “Yeah, well… things aren’t so obvious with Alric. He’s complicated.”
“Men like to think they’re complicated, but they’re not,” Halmeoni said sagely, earning a glare from Cameron before he dropped his arm over his eyes.
“It’s not a matter of whether he’s interested. We’re definitely attracted to each other.”
“That’s a good start in terms of nookie,” Cassie interjected.
Cameron ignored her. “But I don’t know if he’s my mate, and I don’t get the feeling Alric is sure I’m his mate. We’re both being cautious, and I understand. Alric survived this whole war that decimated his family, his people, and our people because some asshole wanted a dragon who wasn’t his mate. I don’t want to be that next asshole who destroys more dragons, and Alric doesn’t want to hurt me.”
And then there was the entire issue with Alric’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth thanks to his old war injury. But Cameron wasn’t comfortable talking about that just yet. The urge to protect the dragon was damn near suffocating.
A scoffing noise came from Halmeoni, and Cameron lowered his arm to see his grandmother looking at him with an expression of disbelief. “Do you really think you’re going to start a war over Alric?”
A little voice in Cameron’s heart immediately shouted, “YES!” Alric was his. Cameron wanted to lay claim to all his smiles and even his frowns. He wanted to be the person Alric talked to when he was worried or upset. He wanted to be the one who took his cares away and made him feel lighter. He wanted to teach him that his damn scars didn’t matter, that he was beautiful, strong, and powerful even with the scars.
He blinked. Um. Emotions, where did those come from? Shit, had that possessiveness really been hiding under the surface all this time? How had Cameron not realized it before? And what should he do about it because obviously this was so much more than attraction or a crush. Cameron’s heart was going into some pretty serious territory.
Cameron’s eyes focused on his grandmother to find a knowing smile on her face, as if she could read his thoughts. Magic or no magic, Halmeoni was a dangerous woman. God help the world when she did know magic. Yeah, okay, he’d better think about his feelings on Alric later. When he had the privacy to really turn it over in his head.