Page 49 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

Alric flopped down onto his stool. Oh god. How the hell was he supposed to keep his hands to himself if Cameron took it upon himself to massage Alric with the oil every morning?

Dieter cleared his throat, reminding Alric that he was still waiting for an answer.

“Ten minutes, Dieter. I’ll meet you in my office in ten minutes,” Alric said as evenly as he could manage.

“Very good, Hoheit.”

The second the door closed behind Dieter, Alric was back on his feet, marching straight into his private bathroom. As he crossed into the luxurious room, he had his pants torn open and his straining cock in his right fist. There was no getting rid of this on its own.

Sitting on the edge of the counter, Alric groaned as he stroked himself. It didn’t take much. His mind was a blur of images. His own fantasies. Cameron on his knees in front of him. Cameron’s hand wrapped around him while he leaned in and whispered dirty desires in his ears. Cameron stretched out on his bed, arms reaching for him, begging for Alric to take him.

Just a few strokes, and his orgasm barreled through him. Nerve-endings tingled and he gasped, coming so fucking hard blackness crept into the edges of his vision.

For a moment, he sat gasping on the edge of the sink, his left hand gripping the counter, trying to steady him.

And Cameron was supposed to massage the oil on him each morning?

He was so fucked.

“Cam!”

Cameron turned at the hail. He had been crossing the courtyard but paused, waving back as Ravi jogged to him. “Hey.”

“You’re going out?” Ravi asked in worry.

“Well, I’m kind of running low on a few essentials,” Cameron explained to him with spread hands. “I packed for a two-week vacation, not an extended stay. I thought I’d ask someone to drive me into town and guard me.” Well, he wasn’t too low thanks to the castle having nearly everything, but after being in the castle eight days, Cameron needed to just get out and stretch his legs.

“Ohhh. I can do that.” Ravi bounced a bit on his toes as he admitted frankly, “Alric’s given firm orders that we’re to protect you. You have priority if you want to go anywhere.”

“Um, thanks?” Cameron felt like that should be flattering but really, it was weird. Having a bodyguard available to him who was also a dragon was just really, really weird. He felt like an imposition, and it wasn’t a comfortable feeling. “I only need about two hours or so.”

“You can take as long as you’d like,” Ravi assured him cheerfully. “I’m tired of being stuck in the castle.”

“Oh. Well in that case, let’s definitely get some fresh air.”

“Wait right there. I’ll grab one of the cars.” Ravi darted off to the garage. He returned in under a minute with a Jeep, one of the more modern versions with an enclosed hard top.

Cameron hopped in, still buckling as Ravi headed for the main gates. “Do we need to alert anyone?”

“I texted Baldewin as I grabbed the keys, no worries.”

Ravi darted him a quick, hopeful look as they passed through the gates. “So, you really intend to stay? You don’t want to return to your home?”

“Eh, not really. I mean, I have friends I’ll miss in the States, and of course, I’ll want to visit family too, but…I don’t know how to explain this and have it make sense.”

Ravi made an encouraging noise.

Heartened by it, Cameron wet his lips and tried. “I went to Berkley for my master’s and when I did that, the world changed on me. I visited my hometown during the summers to find that most of my friends were gone and had no intention of coming back. My sister went to school in Massachusetts. I felt uprooted after that. There’s not anything pulling me back to the US. But here—god, Ravi. It’s like I finally found where I was supposed to be all along. It’s this incredible feeling of belonging, like I’m rooted to the ground. I didn’t realize how disconnected I was in the US until I came here and met all of you.”

Ravi nodded as if this made perfect sense and Cameron wasn’t waxing poetic. “Yes, I understand that. I felt the same before Alric invited me into his clan. It was such a relief to find a home truly my own and not one I was trying to fit into.”

“Yes,” Cameron said with relief. “That’s it exactly. So I want to stay, but so much has been thrown at me that I’m also kind of overwhelmed on where to start. I’m trying to take this one thing at a time.”

“Perfectly understandable.” Ravi slowed to take a curve, his eyes on the road but his head cocked as if he were thinking about something. “I think shopping and getting a few things is a good step. Alric wants you to be comfortable here, and I think he’s giving you some space to work through it all before formally inviting you in.”

That was one of the questions lurking in Cameron’s head, and he was glad someone had finally voiced it. “So, there is a formal invitation to be issued?”

“Absolutely, yes. And Alric will be happy to issue it to you when he feels you want it. He’s not pushy, our king. Not unless the situation calls for it.”