Page 4

FOUR

MAC

Dinner was legit. I want to know why and how the food in the underworld is so damn good.

Who’s the chef? Where did they get it? So many unanswered questions.

I lean back in my chair, rubbing my full belly and eyeing the men around the table.

The others are obviously more familiar with each other as they chat comfortably, but I don’t feel ignored.

There’s a strange air of acceptance, like I’ve always been one of them, and even though I wouldn’t call any of them friendly, no one rattles my dragon either.

Then there’s Drax. Gorgeously naked, gazing at me with curious eyes, he seems to have a sweet nature.

He’s attached himself to me, which is probably a good thing since I have no idea what the literal hell I’m doing or what it’s going to take to get out of this situation.

Making a deal with a demon isn’t one of my better ideas, but I shudder to think what would’ve happened to me if I hadn’t.

A flurry of shadows descend on the table, startling me, and as I watch with wide eyes, they make quick work of cleaning up the remains of our dinner. Obviously, everyone else is used to this, but I turn to Drax for an explanation.

“What are those?”

“Servants.” He smiles. “The lowest level of demons who have signed on to be part of Auri’s household for the perks.”

“Perks?”

“Wouldn’t you rather manage the household of a demon than stir the fiery lakes for eternity?”

I shudder. “I guess so.”

“Would you like to go home now for your things?”

I nod, even as my eyes drift to the gleaming ring twisting between his solid pecs. “That would be good.”

He pops up, dragging his hand through his hair. During dinner his glamour slowly faded, and he returned to all his demony glory.

“You might want to put clothes on.”

He crinkles his nose. “I hate them. So confining, but the human world insists.” A grin spreads across his face. “Or are we going to a magnificent dragon’s lair far away from the prying eyes of mere mortals?”

I wish I had a magnificent lair, but all I’ve got is a shitty apartment in a shitty city and a cave containing the dragon world’s strangest hoard.

“Human realm, I’m afraid.”

Drax does a little shimmy, making the air thicken around us, and right before my eyes, the horns retreat, his hair shortens, and his features humanize.

He snaps his fingers and he’s suddenly wearing a pair of tight skinny jeans that do nothing to hide his finer assets, and black tank top that reveals the lower part of his belly.

My dragon actually purrs, pushing to the surface for a closer peek. I know, boy. He’s hot.

“Ready?” he asks.

“I am.”

Drax closes the distance between us, wrapping his arm around my waist and placing his now human hand on my chest. “Just think of home and we’ll be there.”

I glance over my shoulder at the guys who are effectively ignoring us. “We don’t have to tell anybody we’re leaving?”

Drax shakes his head, his crystal eyes roaming across my features. “Auri always knows where we are. He knows we’ll be back. We have no choice.” He taps my nose with his fingertip. “Now close your eyes, pretty dragon.”

I do as he says, bracing myself for the jarring effects of traveling the demon way. It’s only seconds before the air cools and thins and my feet touch normal ground again. Police sirens and a cacophony of voices ring in my ears, telling me I am most definitely back at home.

Drax continues to hold tight to me and when I peel my eyes open, he’s gazing around like a kid at Christmas.

“Oh my. It’s very different from the last time I came up here.”

“What do you mean?”

“What century is it now?”

“Century? Uh, the twenty-first.”

“Twenty-first,” he repeats in a whisper. “It was the nineteenth century last time I visited the human realm.”

“Wow.”

“A mixed-up summoning. They meant to get their hands on an incubus, but our names are similar, and they got me instead. Fortunately, I do have an appetite for carnal delights.” Drax smirks.

A shiver moves down my back and straight between my legs. “That must have been interesting.”

“Humans always are. Where do you live?”

I point behind him. “That building. Second floor, unit four. It’s not much. Not like Auri’s place at all.”

“No one’s place is like Auri’s. I imagine only Hades himself has a better compound.” He looks at the building. “Shall we?”

“Yes.”

He makes no move to release me, and as I gaze into his eyes, I sway slightly, suddenly curious about the taste of his lips. The moment is shattered when two people drunkenly bump into us on the sidewalk. Drax growls in their direction, smoothing my hair like he’s comforting a child.

“Rude,” he says.

“People tend to be around here. Come on.”

He removes his arm from around my waist but grips my wrist instead. I wonder if he’s nervous, but his mood seems light as we trudge up the crumbling concrete steps. The constant shame of my lackluster existence wafts around me, but at least I’m not trying to impress Drax for any reason.

I’ve always reasoned that my dragon doesn’t care about the things other dragons do because we don’t have a mate.

Maybe we never will since all I hoard are stolen demon artifacts.

What kind of dragon mate would want that?

Sure, I have some gold and jewels, but nothing like I should have given how long I’ve been alive.

I would die if any of my brothers ever caught on to how paltry my hoard is.

“Something bothers you?” Drax asks. “Your energy shifted.”

“Oh, uh, no. I’m fine. Just thinking about…” I gesture vaguely. “Everything, I guess.”

I stop in front of my door and open it. I never bother to lock it since there’s nothing valuable in here. If someone wants to steal my ratty clothes and beat up furniture, let them.

Drax glances around while I grab a few piles of clothes from the floor. “Sorry. I wasn’t planning on having anyone over.”

He smiles with a slightly clueless expression, like he has no idea what I’m apologizing for. Maybe he doesn’t.

“Just gonna get some clothes together. Make yourself comfortable.”

“I’ll do that.” He settles on my couch, adjusting himself around the tears in the fabric.

My dragon huffs, releasing a tendril of smoke, and I know what that means.

He’s displeased that Drax is seeing the squalor we live in, but why would he care?

We’ve had plenty of hookups come in and out of here and he’s never so much as blinked.

He does seem kind of fond of the demon. Maybe he’s hoping for a hookup, but that sounds like a super bad idea, even for me. When I glance back at Drax, his eyes are half-closed and his head has lolled back on the couch. He looks drugged.

“You okay, Drax?”

“Mmm.” His eyelids flutter. “It’s the human realm. It makes me so sleepy.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, rest. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”

“Mm. Good, dragon.”

My dragon weirdly chuffs at the praise, but I brush it off, hurrying to my bedroom to pack a bag of clothes and toiletries. I’d like to swing by my hoard just to check things out, but I’m not sure if Drax is okay humanside for that long. I’ll have to ask him.

I wait for a reaction from my dragon about the idea of bringing someone anywhere near our hoard, but get nothing but a calm vibration—almost like a purr, but less dramatic.

That makes sense, actually. Why would my dragon be protective of demon items if a demon was around?

There’s no way Drax would want any of it.

After packing my bag, I return to the living room where Drax is sprawled out on my sofa. I start to wake him, but the lure of that pretty ring entrances me, calling to me to touch it. Own it.

He’s so vulnerable right now. I could take it, and he wouldn’t even know until it was too late. But then what? It’s not like I can avoid him. I don’t even know how to get back to Auri’s without him.

Hey, maybe that’s the key out of this. I snatch the ring, take to the skies, hide out in my hoard room for a while, and wait for Auri to forget I ever existed. I can lie low for a few centuries. That’s a good plan.

I lean over the back of the couch, hovering above the conked-out demon. A prickle of guilt tugs at my chest. He’s so nice, but I can’t control what my dragon wants, and right now, he’d burn this whole place down to get our hands on the shimmering piece of gold and emerald in Drax’s possession.

As usual, my base instincts take over and before I can think it through, I’m delicately removing the ring from around Drax’s neck and slipping it onto my finger. It’s tight, but in the best way, like a comforting hug.

I gotta go. If he wakes up and sees what I did, there’s no telling what he’ll do.

I pause to scrawl a note, then change my mind and tear off through the front door, heading straight for the abandoned alleyway I use to shift.

No one ever wanders down this way, and after peeling out of my clothes and tucking them into my bag, I take one look back at my apartment, then take flight, leaving a new list of bad decisions in the dust.

It doesn’t take long for me to land safely on the wooded grounds near my cave, and after shifting back to my human form, I dart inside, calming my nerves with the homey scent of my hoard. My entire mood instantly brightens with the feeling of security that washes over me.

Home at last .

No, not the little stone house in the French countryside where my parents raised a dozen fire-breathing whelps over several centuries.

Not the opulent compound where my older brothers live with their mates.

And definitely not any of the temporary places I’ve laid my head over the years in between chaos and adventure.