Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Dimitri managed to hold on to his stern look for all of two seconds before a grin split his face. He chuckled, his arms dropping down to his sides. “Not really. I don’t know if Dr. Samuel Hunter is my mate. My dragon likes him, but then my dragon might just be horny. At the end of the day, he’s cute and fun to rile up.”
Not to mention, he was so fucking enticing in bed, but he wasn’t telling that to Gregori since he wasn’t officially staking a claim. That meant that any of the other three dragons traveling within their party could make a pass at Sam-I-Am. That idea upset both his stomach and his dragon. Dimitri didn’t want anyone else touching Sam, but that didn’t mean they were mates. Nope. It simply meant Dimitri wasn’t done with Sam and he wasn’t in the mood to share.
“So…just fun, then?” Gregori drawled out.
“Yep. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that. He’s got his Sousa Mage Clan to find. Rodrigo is hoping we’ll find something about the Tupã Dragon Clan that was supposed to be with them. He doesn’t want to deal with his own mageness, and I doubt we’re actually mates.” Dimitri ignored the derisive snort that rose in his mind from his dragon. There was no getting through to the dragon that Sam didn’t see himself as a mage and quite possibly didn’t see them as mate material even if Sam could admit that he was a mage. What dragon wanted to be rejected by their mate?
Gregori opened his mouth to say something, but the words never came out as Sam suddenly stomped past them, his face flushed and brow deeply furrowed. He didn’t just look pissed. He was fucking furious. What the hell had Vasily and Luka said?
“Are we ready to go now? We’re wasting daylight,” Sam jerked open the passenger-side door, climbed inside, and slammed it shut behind him.
At least he didn’t have to worry about Sam wanting to ride in the other vehicle. Though, in the current mood the man was in, Dimitri couldn’t say that he was exactly enthusiastic about being alone in the car with him.
He turned his head to Gregori to invite the dragon to switch cars and ride in the backseat while Vasily and Luka took over the other two Jeeps, but the little bastard already had his hands raised to ward off Dimitri’s offer as he edged away from him.
“You’re on your own,” Gregori silently mouthed. Dimitri flipped him off before shutting the tailgate. It was probably for the best. If the other dragons had upset Sam, Gregori probably needed to stay away too.
After a final glance over their campsite to make sure they’d collected all their gear and trash, Dimitri started the engine and led their small caravan back onto the road. For the first hour, he debated two dozen different ways to begin a conversation, ranging from direct to perverse to silly. Anything to get the man talking or at least lighten the mood in the Jeep.
In the end, he didn’t need to say anything at all. Sam broke first.
“Are mates and mages the only things you dragons think about?” he demanded in a thoroughly irritated tone.
Dimitri let a lazy smile crawl out and rest on his lips. “No, not the only things. Misha thinks about food all the time. Gregori is in search of the best ways to make things explode.” He tipped his head toward Sam, his grin turning into more of a leer. “I happen to think about sex…a lot.”
Sam continued to glare out the front windshield, not even cracking the tiniest of smirks. That was a shame.
“What did Luka and Vasily say to you?” Dimitri asked, dropping all teasing and playfulness from his tone. This felt like more than being annoyed. Sam was hurting, and there was no way Luka and Vasily had intended for that to happen.
“It was more of this mage bullshit. Why don’t I think I’m a mage? And do I think you’re my fucking mate? Am I excited about finding a mate? It’s just bullshit. I’m not a mage. I’m thirty-one years old, and I grew up in a mage family. Do you seriously think I don’t know whether or not I’m a mage? Why would I think you’re my mate, anyway?” Sam suddenly halted in his diatribe and winced. His expression softened a little when he looked at Dimitri. “No offense.”
Dimitri chuckled. “None taken. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.” He paused and watched the mage out of the corner of his eye, his mind turning over another possible thought for Sam’s cold walls.
“Everyone wants to settle down with that special someone at different speeds. Sofi was telling us when she arrived in our clan that she had friends who turned twenty-one and were already searching for a mate so they could settle down. She told us that with the most horrified expression. She said she wanted to study and focus on expanding her mage skills prior to finding her mate.”