Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,158

show the world he belonged to Alric, and to mark his station in the clan, but this permanent physical change could never be removed or stolen away.

“Is that it? Are we officially mated now?” Cameron inquired with a cheeky grin.

“We are mated now and forever. No power in all the world could rip us apart.” Alric placed a kiss to Cameron’s neck and then another to his jaw. “Ich liebe dich. Ich liebe dich,” he repeated after every kiss.

Cameron turned his head and captured Alric’s mouth in a wonderful kiss he could feel all the way down to his toes. Releasing his hands, Alric pulled at Cameron’s shirt. The bonding ceremony and all the general formalities of making Cameron his were finally over. Now he could claim his mate the old-fashioned way—hot, sweaty sex.

“I love you too,” Cameron growled into his mouth. He kissed Alric hard for a second before pushing away. He ripped his shirt off and twirled it over his head a few times before tossing it somewhere behind Alric. The dragon didn’t bother looking. He was too busy inspecting every inch of Cameron’s chest, looking for any signs of bruising or scratches created by the Jaeggi. He was determined to kiss every tender spot on his lover’s body. The red marks on Cameron’s wrists from the damn duct tape still enraged him.

“Oh, this mate stuff is going to be fun,” Cameron practically purred. “You won’t be able to get away with lying about what you’re feeling.”

“What—” Alric started to say, ripping his eyes back up to Cameron’s face, but realization dawned on him that Cameron could now feel the ripple of anger still coursing through him. He huffed, settling into a less than dignified pout. “They hurt you and you belong to me. Dragons aren’t good at dealing with others harming those they care for.”

“It was just a few scratches and maybe a bruise on my ass.”

“And still my dragon wants to melt them with his fire.”

Cameron chuckled. He started working on the buttons to Alric’s shirt. “Not just set them on fire but melt them.”

“I want to incinerate them to ash.”

“I think it’s my duty as your mate to distract my little fire bug.” As he revealed some bare skin, Cameron leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alric’s chest.

“If you think you can,” Alric teased.

Cameron gazed up at Alric, that wicked smile back on his plump lips. “Oh, I think I can.” He revealed even more of his chest, parting his shirt so that he could swipe one of Alric’s nipples with his tongue. A gasp erupted from Alric’s throat, and his body jerked at the rush of delicious sensations through his body. Yes, his mate most definitely could distract him.

Alric refused to be passive, rubbing his hands down Cameron’s back, reveling in all the smooth, warm skin under his hands. Cameron murmured and hummed his pleasure as he removed Alric’s shirt from his body and pressed kisses across his chest. His lips returned to Alric’s, the kiss deeper and hungry as they attacked each other’s pants at the same time. The hunger and desperation were back, consuming Alric with a different kind of fire. He needed to feel and taste Cameron.

“Dammit! We forgot something,” his lover suddenly announced. He dropped his head to Alric’s shoulder and nibbled on a tendon there in his frustration.

“What’s that?”

“The jar of cream. I guess we can just move to the bedroom.”

“Nope,” Alric said. He turned Cameron to face the chairs and the table separating them in particular. In the center of the dark wood table sat the infamous jar of cream, as if it were an innocent container for candy or a decorative knickknack.

“You devious man!” Cameron gasped. “Were you planning this all along? When did you move that in here? Or do you just have Lisette supplying you with multiple jars?”

“Same jar. Though, now that you mention it, maybe I should have more jars made for around our suite of rooms. I moved it in here the last morning you woke in my arms. I just didn’t realize so much chaos would occur between then and now.”

“First thing tomorrow, I’m going to have Lisette teach me how to make the cream. I do not want her knowing how much of that stuff we’re using. And second, yes, we need many, many more jars.”

With a playful growl, Alric pulled Cameron back into his arms and shoved both hands down the back of his lover’s now open pants, kneading