“What are you doing?” Jon blearily looked across at Dirk who was sitting up in bed, scratching at his chest. He wasn’t ashamed to admit he was exhausted. Once Dirk got over his earlier inhibitions he was an animal in bed. Jon’s ass was tender in that pleasant way that let him know he’d been ridden well and his lower back ached. There were bruises on his hip bones and hickeys littered his chest. Bright sunlight was poking through threadbare curtains; Jon had slept longer than he probably should have. “Has this bed got fleas or something?”
“No.” Dirk sounded distracted. “My dragon wanted you to have one of his scales. It’s an ancient dragon custom reserved strictly for fated mates.”
“Wouldn’t you need to shift for that?” Jon was capable of functioning on little sleep, but he needed a caffeine fix. “Here, don’t scratch at your skin, you’ll cut yourself.” He reached over to move Dirk’s hand away and the back of his hand hit something hard but silky. “Wow,” he said as he ran his fingers over a solid disc that filled his palm. “I was aware something was there, but I never thought to…what the fuck? Are you okay?”
Jon stared at the translucent disc in his hand, then up at Dirk’s chest. Nothing marred Dirk’s solid chest but a pale glowing mark where the scale had been. “I guess this is for me?” He said looking back at the scale again. Jon had never seen anything like it. It looked so fragile, yet Jon instinctively knew it would never break.
Dirk’s smile was brighter than the sun streaming through the curtains. “I wish I’d known it was that easy. I’ve been picking at it for the last hour. I think there was supposed to be some ceremony or something that went with a scale giving, but it wasn’t something my father ever mentioned.”
Dirk’s mention of his father reminded Jon of all the real world problems they still had to face. “I need coffee,” he said. “At least three cups. And a kiss, that’s more important, but then definitely coffee. Then I guess we’d better get out of here and work out what the hell we’re going to do now. Do I need to be thinking about moving my office to New York?”
Something dark and intangible flashed across Dirk’s face but was gone before Jon could make sense of it. “I wouldn’t be in a hurry to pack if I were you.” Jon’s heart sank. Surely, after the night they shared, his mate wasn’t going to leave him now? But Dirk’s next sentence quickly relieved his fears. “I was wondering if you had the need for a financial analyst on your team? After today, I’m likely to be out of a job.”
“Because of the thefts? Or….” Jon didn’t want to say it but he had to. “Me?”
“Father doesn’t know about the thefts, yet.” Dirk swung his legs over the side of the bed. “But every dragon remotely related to our clan, no matter where they are in the world, now knows my dragon has found and claimed his fated mate. As my dad’s a dragon…well, you can guess the rest. This might sound like a silly question, but how do you take your coffee?”
“Black and strong.” Jon was still pondering his mate’s position. He wasn’t going to regret a second of their night together; it was too perfect, something he felt he’d waited forever to enjoy. But the fact of the matter was, between them they had a lot of angry people to face and problems to solve. “Dirk,” he said as his mate stood and stretched. “Would it help if I could find who stole your money before we faced your father?” His use of “we” was deliberate.
Dirk turned and bent over and Jon found himself the recipient of a kiss that shattered his world and was far too short. “We’ll work it out,” he said, his voice terse. “So long as we’re together, that’s all that counts, right?”
But as Dirk hurriedly pulled on Jon’s clothes from the night before and went out in search of coffee, Jon was left with a sinking heart and a single scale in his hand. Somehow, he didn’t think Dirk believed having him as a mate was ever going to be enough to make up for what he was about to lose.
/~/~/~/~/
Stupid, stupid, stupid. And no, Dirk wasn’t thinking about the incongruous sight of him wearing suit pants and a shirt that barely closed around his middle in what was clearly a beach town. He couldn’t get the sad look on Jon’s face out of his mind.
Our precious mate believes the nonsense stemming from your horrid actions before – about him not being good enough for you. His dragon was being unusually helpful. We should take him on holiday and lavish lots of attention on him until he knows better; somewhere with lots of sun.
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a hot day now.
Bah, this is hardly the place our mate deserves. Dirk understood his dragon’s snotty attitude. The crowd of teens crowding around the shop’s entrance, clad in nothing more than ripped t-shirts and shorts that barely covered their asses, peering and giggling at their phones, did nothing to improve his mood.
“Excuse me.” Yes, he was growling. Every second Dirk was away from Jon with his sad face, the more every cell in his body urged him to go back. Ignoring the shocked looks on more than one of the faces barring his way, he pushed through, ignoring the rude comments behind him with the same level of skill.
Coffee. Coffee. Ew…doesn’t smell too good. Dirk hurriedly ordered three cups, not sure his stomach could handle trying one himself. He’d get Bryce to get him some once he got back to town. If he could find him. There was so much Dirk needed to do but first on his agenda, after making Jon smile, was finding his old friend and apologizing. Then he could face whatever came his way.
Pushing his way back out of the store, Dirk was barely aware of a large black limo that pulled up beside him until his dragon hissed at him. Frowning he watched as one of the tinted windows at the back slowly rolled down to reveal the face of his father. The older man was furious. So much for being worried about him, like Raoul claimed. But there was something off about his father. Usually his power flowed from him like a toxic cloud. Today, there was nothing.
“Get in the car, Dirk.” Even his voice lacked the power to compel Dirk was used to.
“As you can see, I’m on a coffee run.” Dirk waved the cardboard tray in his hand. “I’ll be back in San Jose later today and we can talk then.” He kept on walking. The car kept pace with him. He could see the motel about twenty yards in front of him and his need to be with Jon increased.
“Dirk, this is not the type of behavior I expect from my son. Get in the car.”
“And do what? Go where?” Dirk carefully put the coffee tray on the ground and then stood, flexing his fists. “You know I found my true mate or your dragon wouldn’t have told you where I was. What is it you want from me, Father?”
“I want you back in your office in New York, doing your job with the professionalism I trained into you since birth. I want you to stop upsetting your mother and turn up for your damn wedding. Now get in the car.”
Dirk’s father must be really upset if he’d resorted to what he considered gutter language. But Dirk was an adult; he had been for a very long time and now he was true mated. Something not his father, mother, cousins, brothers, or anyone else in his clan had been able to achieve. A sense of pride filled him; his dragon’s influence he was sure, but Dirk would not back down. Not when he had Jon waiting for him.
“There’s not going to be a wedding, father, and you know that already. As for returning to the position I earned through sheer hard work and sacrifice, I am not even sure I want it anymore. That is something I will discuss with my MATE.”
Dirk’s father flinched as though he’d been spat on. “I don’t know what spell you’ve been put under, or if your sickness has addled your brain, but you will get in this car right now, or everything you’ve claimed you’ve worked for will be gone. Your position, your chance of a decent marriage – everything. I’ll see you cut off from the entire clan.”
He can’t do that, his dragon whispered, he doesn’t have the power to banish you from the clan and his dragon is angry with him and refuses to help.
Dirk remembered what it’d been like to be without his dragon and felt a momentary pang for his father. However, the man was threatening his mating with his refusal to accept it and that was something he couldn’t allow. “Jon is waiting for me, Father. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to keep him waiting.” Dirk bent down and retrieved the coffee.
“Your mate’s a man?” From Dirk’s father’s mouth, the word sounded more like whore.
“Didn’t your dragon tell you?” Dirk managed a cocky grin. “Perhaps it was because the dragon souls were all busy partying last night as I claimed my true mate. They were certainly happy for me. Have a safe trip back to New York.”
He turned, ignoring his father’s yell for him to come back. He wasn’t about to run but it was a close thing. Opening the motel door, he saw Jon’s white face by the window. “Are you all right?”
Jon dashed to his side and Dirk’s dragon purred as Jon wrapped his arms around him. “I am now,” he said honestly, carefully putting the coffee on the table before returning Jon’s embrace. “I am now.”