Page 3 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

H igh King Aleksander D’Vairedraconis rested his hand on the small of his other half’s back as Rafe led him and their wolves out of the elevator.

They were in the luxurious new resort, Deck of Cards, owned by the Emperors.

Aleksander loved that they’d themed it. The theme suited Las Vegas perfectly.

Properties owned by Court Draconis were traditionally black, white, and gold in honor of the two men who ruled the dragons and oversaw the Council.

Aleksander liked the addition of red for the hearts and diamonds found in French-suited decks.

It made him wonder if a crimson dragon had ever been born.

As far as Aleksander knew, there were no modern European dragons in a rich ruby shade, but little was known about the rest of the world.

Other dragon types existed or had flourished at some point in history.

But they wanted nothing to do with the Council.

Perhaps those types of dragons had scarlet beasts.

Or maybe a cherry beast had existed among Aleksander’s kind but had died prior to his birth.

“You’re thinking hard,” Rafe commented as they walked through the lobby where Brogan had lectured everyone about safety before allowing them to go up to their rooms. Privacy would be at a premium for Aleksander and Rafe, since Brogan had insisted on sharing a suite with them.

In fact, there were many D’Vaires in the expansive penthouse.

While Aleksander loved his family, he treasured Rafe the most and wouldn’t have minded locking himself in a room with his mate for the weekend.

“ Where is food? ” Nox asked Aleksander through the mindlink they’d gained when Chander had resurrected the massive black-and-blue wolf.

“One question at a time,” Aleksander replied. “Let’s figure out which direction we need to go to find the restaurant.”

“Okay, I get it,” Rafe said to Mortis with a scowl.

That expression on the dragon shifter’s handsome face made a wave of desire roll pleasantly through Aleksander.

The same thing happened when Rafe smiled.

Or did pretty much anything. Aleksander’s mate was pure walking temptation.

“Nox asked Aleksander where to find food. You don’t have to repeat it to me three times. ”

“But it’s so much fun to annoy you,” Aleksander teased, pressing a quick kiss to Rafe’s temple.

“ Brogan ,” Nox commented in Aleksander’s head.

Aleksander opened his mouth to ask why Nox had mentioned the Grand Duke’s name, then he noticed Brogan jogging toward him with a scowl. Behind him was a harassed-looking Dra’Kaedan running twice as fast since his legs were considerably shorter than Brogan’s.

“Why the fuck did you leave without me?” Brogan asked, halting in front of Aleksander.

Dra’Kaedan bent over and rested his palms on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. “So much for subtlety,” he huffed.

“We left without you because Rafe and I are going on a date,” Aleksander stated succinctly. “You aren’t invited.”

“Of course not,” Brogan replied. “But Dra’Kaedan and I are also going on a date in the King of Clubs. We thought we could walk with you.”

“Terrible save,” Dra’Kaedan muttered.

“We don’t need a security escort,” Aleksander said. “The only people in the hotel are our large extended family.”

“Not true,” Brogan countered, gesturing at the employees trying not to overhear their conversation as they stood at their posts behind the reception desks in the lobby. “There are staff too.”

“None of them are here to murder me,” Aleksander drawled.

“ Nox and Mortis protect you and Rafe ,” Nox said.

“Plus, we have wolves,” Rafe remarked as he stepped closer and grabbed Aleksander’s hand.

Brogan leaned forward. “Are you feeling nervous or anything?”

Since Aleksander had no intention of advertising his agoraphobia to the hotel staff, he shook his head and kept his answer short and succinct. “No, and if you intend to walk with us to the restaurant, the least you could do is figure out which way we need to head to find it.”

“No worries, I have the entire resort map memorized. It’s through the casino. Let’s go,” Brogan instructed.

“You and Dra’Kaedan can walk ahead of us, and we’ll follow. We’re on a date, and I don’t want to make small talk with anyone but Rafe,” Aleksander responded.

“Hey, Tallosaur, what makes you think I want to talk to him?” Dra’Kaedan asked, finally standing up fully and glaring crossly at Brogan.

“Well, Squirt, you’re welcome to keep silent for the night,” Aleksander replied.

Brogan snorted. “I don’t think he has that power.”

Lifting his head to the ceiling, Dra’Kaedan sighed. “Why am I the one stuck with this man?”

“Are you asking Fate, or is your question academic?” Aleksander asked. “Because I have some theories about how you’re suited to such an annoying person.”

“Okay, I’ve already had enough of you, Lankenstein,” Dra’Kaedan retorted and tugged on Brogan’s hand. “Let’s go, mate.”

“I’m not annoying,” Brogan grumbled as he allowed himself to be led away by Dra’Kaedan.

“Yes, you are annoying, Mortis,” Rafe told his wolf. “So is Brogan.”

Aleksander reached out and easily laced his fingers with Rafe’s as they set into motion behind the Grand Duke. While Brogan had allowed several feet between them, he kept glancing back.

“If he keeps doing that, he’s going to walk into something,” Rafe said.

“Serves him right. I appreciate his dedication to his job, but he deserves to have a fun weekend too. I’m sure Dra’Kaedan would appreciate a couple of days without Brogan obsessing about where we are.”

“As High Kings, can we lock them up somewhere until Monday when we check out?”

“If Brogan bothers us during dinner, we’ll consider it,” Aleksander replied.

Thankfully, the walk to the restaurant wasn’t long, and Aleksander marveled at the dark interior. As a nod to the dragon Kings, there were silver crowns adorning the three-leaf clovers decorating the walls. Almost everything else was black, and it made the large space feel intimate.

Before Aleksander could take out his identification card, the host greeted him and Rafe.

They were led to a secluded curved booth in the corner of the restaurant.

Unlike the rest of the room, there were accents of gold on the crown above their table.

It matched the double circles Aleksander was given by Fate the day he was made a King in 1369.

Aleksander grinned at Rafe. As the only High Kings, Rafe and Aleksander were the sole beasts granted the use of both silver and the gilt of Emperors.

“Your Highnesses, give me a moment,” the host said after handing them menus.

He bent and yanked on the base of the raised booth.

It slid out to reveal a large doggy bed that the two wolves immediately hopped into.

Mortis’s tongue lolled out, which amused Aleksander.

He loved the goofiness of Rafe’s wolf as much as he admired Nox’s more dignified approach to life.

“We have bowls for your wolf sentinels. I can bring them now or have your server take care of that later.”

“No need to make an extra trip,” Rafe replied. “Our server can bring them out at his or her convenience. Thanks so much.”

“My pleasure, your server should be with you shortly.”

With that, the host left them alone.

“This is so cool,” Rafe said. “They created a table for us and our wolves.”

“ Comfy ,” Nox remarked.

“Elf and Chrys never miss a detail,” Aleksander commented. “I hope they allow this to be used when we aren’t in town or it’s going to sit empty way too often.”

“I’m sure it’ll get used. Probably for VIPs or some shit.”

Aleksander took a single glance at the menu and immediately decided on a thick steak and potatoes. “I know what I’m getting.”

“The chef went to great lengths to put this together, and you didn’t even read it,” Rafe muttered.

“It’s okay because I’m not a food critic.”

“I want so badly to try some unique option, but my mouth started watering the second I saw the word steak .”

“So, get something fancy and we’ll share.”

Rafe smiled. “You promise I’ll get at least half of your steak?”

“I’ll let you cut it so you don’t get shortchanged.”

“And some people don’t think love is real,” Rafe teased as he set his menu aside. “You okay with chicken? Because there is also some seafood that looks good.”

“Babe, order what you want. I can’t imagine there is anything on the menu that isn’t delicious.”

“Maybe we can come back before we go home so we can try more of the menu.”

“Another date with you?” Aleksander asked. “Count me in.”

“What were you thinking so hard about downstairs, Sander? You never answered my question.”

“That’s because our Grand Duke is annoying and made me lose my train of thought. I was thinking about how cool this resort is with the addition of red to a place owned by Court Draconis. It made me wonder if there are any crimson dragons or have ever been any.”

“Your brother is pink, so I don’t see why we couldn’t have a red one.”

“Yeah, but he’s the lone pink one.”

“So, maybe red is a rare color too, but I count nothing out. You’re a bicolor one, and once, no one thought that was a possibility.”

“True. Elf is white. That was another thing we thought was impossible.”

Their server arrived, and Aleksander and Rafe surprised the woman by having both their drink and meal options already selected. After she left them alone again, Aleksander grinned at Rafe.

“Do you know what my favorite part of this restaurant is?” Aleksander asked.

“Mine is that you’re in it.”

“Why are you so much better at romance than me?”

“I’m not. You’re always doing sweet-ass shit for me. But tell me what you like about this place besides all those great options on the menu.”

“Wait, did they have dessert on that menu?” Aleksander asked.

“I didn’t see any, maybe it’s a separate menu?”

“It better be, we need dessert.”

“But you digress…”

Aleksander chuckled. “Right. I was going to say that I love that Brogan can’t stare at us creepily while we eat.”

“Yeah, Dra’Kaedan must have paid off the host to get a table not in the direct line of sight of ours.”

“We’ll have to find a way to repay him for his kindness,” Aleksander said.

“Don’t worry, I’m way ahead of you. I snuck a peek at the website and looked at what shops are available. There are so many, and one is full of sweets.”

“Like coconut cake?” Aleksander teased. That was Rafe’s favorite dessert, and Aleksander hoped they would find something that his mate loved that weekend.

“I don’t know, but that’d be nice. Maybe they’ll have blue velvet for Dra’Kaedan. He deserves it for keeping Brogan from inviting himself on our date. I fully expected to find him at the table with us.”

“He was losing his job or accepting gracefully that he wasn’t eating with us tonight,” Aleksander said. “I wanted a date with you. Not him.”

Happiness filled Rafe’s black scaly eyes. “Keep sweet-talking me like that and I’ll invite you back to my hotel room tonight.”

“Oh, you already have an open invitation to join me.”

“The wolves are sleeping in the living room, right?”

“I have plans for you, so yes.”

Rafe shifted on the smooth fabric of the booth, and his smile was wicked. “I was hoping you did.”

“We have eternity, Rafe, and that still doesn’t seem like long enough to spend with you.”

“I know what you mean. Someday I’ll get used to being with you. Or perhaps I won’t. Maybe I’ll spend forever marveling that Fate brought me to you. Either way, as long as I’m at your side, I have no complaints.”

Aleksander swallowed to keep his happy tears from falling and cupped Rafe’s nape to bring their mouths together. Their date was a glorious way to start a weekend, and while it was selfish, Aleksander hoped most of it would be spent privately in bed with the man he adored.