Page 249 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

Tonight was going to be their first real night of just staying in and enjoying some time alone since the Jaeggi battle nearly a week ago. With the Jaeggi defeated, there were new mages to be settled, wounds to be healed, and critical information to be gathered before many of the dragons from both the Ice Dragon Clan and the Sodalicium returned home. Nikki had also started therapy this past week. Well, Gunter and Nikki, really. Gunter wanted to be supportive and part of the process, and Nikki really appreciated that. Some of this was so hard to talk about, and if not for Gunter solidly at their side, Nikki wasn’t sure if they would have managed it.

Their days had been filled with constant work. Gunter was interviewing every mage and dragon he could lay his hands on so that the information could be properly entered into books and databases. Their dragon was determined to record as much of the lost information as he could from before the Dragon War.

At the same time, Nikki had been bouncing between all the little mage groups. Each of the different clans were holding special classes and seminars to teach what they knew. Most days Nikki felt like their head was going to explode. And that was when they weren’t helping Sora with his patients and Tori in the greenhouses.

Then, after dinner each night, there were parties. It was like the different dragon clans were trying to outdo each other with their insanity. Though, Nikki was still saying Ravi had won with his version of dragon Twister that had the added bonus of being a drinking game for mages. They had to do a shot every time a dragon fell over. Nikki didn’t remember a lot of that night.

But after days of hard work and nights of boisterous revelry, Nikki was looking forward to snuggling with their dragon. Maybe watching a movie. And then, sex. Yes, definitely sex.

As soon as they reached their apartment and Gunter closed the door behind them, Nikki spun on their heel, arms crossed over their chest and eyes narrowed.

“Alright, out with it. What are you plotting?” Nikki demanded.

A slow smile curled Gunter’s lips, and he closed the distance between them, placing a kiss on the center of their forehead. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to be coy with me, Mr. Dragon. I know you. I’m your mate, officially, now. I can feel you plotting something. I thought we were just going to have a quiet night in, just the two of us.”

“We are,” Gunter agreed lightly. He started toward the walk-in closet, pulling at his tie as he went.

Nikki huffed and grumbled about sneaky dragons as they followed on his heels. Some of the huffiness might have left as they watched Gunter slide off his tie and carefully hang it up in its very specific place on the tie rack. He then shed his suit jacket and hung it up before unbuttoning the top couple of buttons on his shirt.

There was something about watching Gunter undress that made them feel warm and fuzzy. Determined not to get sidetracked by his striptease, Nikki forced their eyes away from Gunter’s long, dexterous fingers.

“You’re not off the hook. What are you scheming? Do I need to call Ravi for help dragging it out of you?”

Gunter threw them a dark, warning look. “That’s just mean.”

“And you’re keeping secrets.” Nikki walked into the closet and wrapped their arms around Gunter’s waist, snuggling their face into his chest. In their best pouty voice, Nikki said, “I’m your mate. You’re not supposed to keep secrets from me.”

Gunter chuckled and hugged them. “That’s just it, little one. I realized tonight that in all the chaos of our bonding and the battle with the Jaeggi, I’m still keeping a very big secret from you, and it’s time I shared it.”

Nikki’s head popped up. “Really? What’s the secret?”

“My hoard,” Gunter said simply.

Nikki might have squealed. They might have squealed at such a high pitch only dogs could hear it. Though, judging by Gunter’s wince, dragons could hear it too. Excitement was a super-bouncy ball ricocheting through their body.

“Your hoard? You’re going to show me your hoard?” Nikki lunged up on their tiptoes, gripping Gunter’s shoulders. “I’ll get to see it.”

“Of course. You’re my mate. My hoard belongs to you now. I trust you completely with it.”

Shit. That got Nikki right in the feels. Nikki wrapped their arms around Gunter’s neck and pressed their face into his shoulder. There were all kinds of whispers among the mages about the dragons and their hoards. Few people knew what was in them, and the only people to ever see them were the dragon owner and their mate.

Once Nikki had learned hoards were real and didn’t necessarily contain gold and gems like in the silly fairytales, they’d wondered endlessly about what was in Gunter’s. Maybe books? But Gunter had books all over the apartment, and he spent his day surrounded by books.

Tie pins?

Shoes? One look around the closet proved the man was a total shoe whore.

A collection of furs? His dragon did like soft things.

“Can we see it now?” Nikki begged, releasing him at last.

“That was my plan.”

Threading their fingers together, Gunter led them out of the closet and through the main living space into a smaller room that served as Gunter’s personal library. The walls were covered in books. A comfortable couch and chair along with a couple of end tables filled the room. It was a perfect reading spot Nikki had enjoyed on more than one occasion.

Gunter took them to the far wall where he stopped and hooked his index finger on a thick tome titled The Complete History of the Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 1 in worn gold letters. Gunter grinned as he pulled on the book, tilting it forward as if he meant to pull it down from the shelf.