Page 8

8

Az’zael

L ast night was a rousing success. She’d come to my home, taken my gifts—the most valuable piece of jewelry. Not the most expensive, but the one I’d put the greatest combination of time and money into securing. A little flush of pleasure that it was the one I’d kept out of Udar’s grasping hold hit me each time I thought of it.

I’d been in such a good mood this morning, I’d even grabbed that handful of gold doubloons and other decorations for City Hall’s treasure room.

As I hung a few paintings, I cursed myself for my blunder in my embarrassingly small library. How could I not know the contents of my own books? Though they were beautifully illustrated and decorated, I’d never bothered to learn Latin. Instead, I’d been fascinated by the workmanship that went into decorating leather with gold and jewels. It was so precise and detailed that I’d been shocked to learn that humans had come up with such a dragon-like idea.

I erected a pedestal next to Diego’s desk as I replayed the night in my mind.

Elle had let me pleasure her. I hadn’t expected that so soon, or for her to want to touch me in return. With her mouth . I’d heard the rumors about humans, of course, but I hadn’t believed them .

Next time, I’d make sure we weren’t interrupted. Then she’d be too well-pleasured to consider anyone else.

Once I’d improved the reception area’s decor to my satisfaction, I returned to my office and left the door cracked, waiting for Diego to come in so I could see his no-doubt pleased reaction.

He entered the office at five minutes to nine. I frowned. He shouldn’t show up early . His contract specified his start and end time.

He paused at his desk. “Az’zael?”

“Yes?”

“Why is there a fortune in gold coins next to my desk?” He eyed the doubloons as if they might pop out of their case and bite him.

I stuck my head out of my office. “For decoration. Since you said we ‘couldn’t afford’ other things.”

“But gold doubloons ?”

“It’s a loan from my personal collection.” I frowned. “They’re pretty. They liven the place up.” A nice patina had settled into the fine lines of the Spanish cross stamped in the center.

Diego’s dark eyebrows drew together. “They’re incredibly expensive. What if someone steals them?”

“Only someone with a death wish would steal from me. Don’t you like them?” It had occurred to me, after watching that terrible show with Elle, that I was Diego’s boss. I didn’t want him to find that show “relatable.”

Thank goodness Elle would never have to deal with one of those again. With me around, she had no more need for a job, and definitely no more need for a boss.

Diego glanced between me and the doubloons. “Um, I suppose they’re very nice. You did make them a pedestal. And the paintings?”

“Well, I had some extra at home. So I brought them in as well.” I frowned. Why was he asking so many questions? “I told you I planned to bring some things from my personal collection to decorate, didn’t I?”

“You did. But, uh, that man is being decapitated.”

“Yes, it’s very artistic.” It was a reproduction of a famous engraving.

Diego scrubbed a palm over his face. “We can’t display decapitation in a public building. It’s gruesome.”

I tilted my head. “Your highest-grossing movies show violence all the time.”

Diego dragged in a breath. “That’s entertainment , and it doesn’t appeal to everyone. This is a public building where everyone has to feel welcome.” He squinted at the painting. “Also, I’m pretty sure that’s Robespierre getting decapitated. You know, the politician? So maybe it’s not wise to have something like that in a political office.”

I huffed. “No violence, no art. What can I have?” Perhaps Elle would have ideas?

Snuggling up on the couch last night and discussing television had been pleasant. I understood now why “Netflix and chill” was such a popular date night activity. Dragons didn’t snuggle unless it was related to sex, but she’d happily tucked her smaller body against mine. The sensation was addictive, sending both desire and a dreamy sort of contentment through me.

“Do you have any landscapes or still lifes? I think those would work better.”

“Yes. Fine. I’ll bring something in tomorrow.” I unhooked the offending painting from the wall. “Why are you here so early, anyway?”

“Early? It’s nine-oh-three.”

“But you got here at eight fifty-five.”

“Yes, right on time.”

“Your contract says nine. Is this…unpaid overtime?” The words tasted terrible in my mouth .

“I like a few minutes to get settled in before I start work.” He studied me for a long moment, as if trying to decide something. “You know, you’re a lot more obsessive about this than I expected, and not in the way I’d assumed.”

The tips of my wings twitched in confusion. “What?”

He sighed. “My friend works for the City of Sutton, and he says the dragons in charge there do whatever they want, no matter what she or anyone else says. Apparently, they dissolved City Council in a fit of anger shortly after claiming the city, and they refuse to reform it. I can’t quite picture you doing that.”

Yeah, that sounded like my parents. They’d claimed Sutton when I was on the cusp of adulthood, too busy counting down the days until I moved out of their house to pay attention to much else. Only when I’d claimed a city for myself had I learned that their reputation among humans wasn’t as pristine as it was among dragons.

“I would never dissolve City Council. And I would never ask you to go outside of your contract. Anything you must do to ‘prepare for work’ is included in that.” I frowned. “Contracts are sacred.” How did none of these humans understand that? They had a whole profession—lawmen? legalizairs? lawyers!—devoted to drafting them.

Niemrin and I had met a host of lawyers when we were negotiating to claim Kilinis, several of whom were very bold. However, none of them had ever caught my eye like Elle did .

He squinted. “Yeah. Okay. Gotcha.”

I retreated to my office and stared at the proposals Councilor Jasmine had given me earlier this week. None of them had magically transformed into the perfect solution.

I shuffled through them.

She’d be here in a few hours, expecting an answer, but the suggestions she’d given me looked like the opposite of everything I wanted.

One amounted to funding the project entirely by myself. I was a rich dragon, and I planned to fund a large portion, but the entire project was fifty million dollars. I wanted to parcel out my funding wisely, not spend it all at once.

The second was to scale back the project, but that wouldn’t really solve the problem, would it?

The third mentioned the possibility of outside investors but didn’t suggest anyone specific.

Wait, no, at the bottom of the page was a list of potential partners, but all of them were from outside Kilinis. Wasn’t there anyone local?

Yes , that seemed like the perfect idea. Something that would give Kilinis’s residents a real investment and stake in the project. I dove into researching local businesses with enough capital to help with funding. This part, I knew how to do. Sniff out a rich enough investor, negotiate a deal, and ensure everyone followed through.

When Jasmine entered my office, I had most of a plan ready. “We have an offer from Accutrust Bank to partner with us and provide additional funding.”

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. “In exchange for what?”

“Partial ownership in the buildings and some personal concessions from me.”

“Personal concessions?”

“They want me to go to their next member event. And likely all their member events while the project is active.” They’d also made it clear that a personal investment from me in Accutrust would be welcome but not required. If I liked what I saw at their party, I’d consider it.

“Why? You aren’t invested in them.”

A bank seemed like a useless investment for a dragon, but they should have enough to fund the other half of the project, and they were a respected institution in Kilinis. “They believe they’ll benefit from the clout of having one of the local dragons show up.”

Jasmine’s shoulders tensed. “I see. Did you agree to their proposal?”

“I told Max Anderson, their manager, that I’d need to run it by City Council. But they want an answer by Friday.” Their next party was set for Saturday. The only drawback was that Elle had only agreed to a date every other day, and the party didn’t fall on one of those days.

The tense set of Jasmine’s mouth relaxed. “Send us the full proposal. I’ll call a quick meeting, and we can vote on it.”

I nodded.

She studied me for a long moment. “You could have closed this deal before I even walked in. Presented me with a fait accompli .”

I blinked. “ You are the one who’s always pointing out that there are many stakeholders in these kinds of decisions.” A hastily negotiated contract could bind us to conditions we’d later regret.

“Your contract allows you wide latitude to negotiate on behalf of the City.” Her expression was neutral, her words flat and uninflected.

I sensed a hidden barb—I knew the shape of those well—but not its exact nature. “As long as I’m acting in Kilinis’s best interests,” I said carefully.

She shook her head, and her expression warmed again. “You aren’t quite what I expected.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I grunted, my wings held tightly to my back.

After writing up a formal proposal and sending it to Jasmine, I couldn’t stop myself any longer. I reached for my phone.

Will you come over early tomorrow? I’ll take you shopping.

I grinned, wondering how much Elle might want, imagining each item she selected as a silent acknowledgement that I’d be a suitable, secure mate. My cock thickened in my pants.

How early?

Two o’clock.

She was supposed to come over at five, but that seemed an impossibly long time away. And I wanted to see how open she would be to negotiating extra time, since I needed her to come to the Accutrust party on Saturday.

I could offer to trade a day, but that felt like giving up time with her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

Long moments passed before she responded.

I can do three, just tell me where to meet you

I can pick you up.

That would give me a chance to see her home. Should I ask her to move in with me? Dragons would consider that the same as full-on mating, but for some reason humans didn’t.

But I’d read something about moving in “too soon” being a “red flag.” I don’t know why humans hated red so much. I thought I was an excellent color, but it was somehow a bad sign.

I’d bought a few buildings outright early on, so they were part of my personal hoard; I could move her into one of those. Then I could take care of her without “moving too fast.”

I’ll meet you there

I’ll come get you. Just send me your address.

I’ll meet you anywhere you want after three tomorrow

Fuck. I’d thought I could use the apartment offer to negotiate for Elle’s time on Saturday, but if she needed more generous compensation for letting me pick her up, and therefore spending more of her limited time with me, I’d give her whatever she felt she deserved.

I’ll move you to a new apartment if you’d prefer.

Three dots appeared and disappeared multiple times.

Please don’t. You can pick me up.

Followed by an address.

My stomach dropped. She’d ended the negotiation instead of demanding or accepting a higher price. Where had I gone wrong?

When I looked up her address, I rubbed my eyes, hoping I was seeing things. As I usually did when I couldn’t figure something out, I called Niemrin.

“What?” Niemrin demanded when he picked up.

“Look up the address I just sent you.”

A short pause, followed by, “What the fuck? I thought we got rid of all the slums.”

“That’s Elle’s apartment.”

He made a low humming noise. “Why isn’t she in one of yours?”

“That’s what I can’t figure out. I offered one, and she rejected it. ”

“What did she ask for instead?”

“Nothing!”

I could almost hear him wince. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know! Our first date went great. She took a complete set of jewelry, and she agreed to see me early tomorrow.” I frowned. “But she didn’t want to let me pick her up, so I offered her a new apartment in exchange, and instead she declined and sent me her address. Is this some human thing? A hint I’m not getting?” Hints often flew over my head. “Should I surprise her with the apartment?” That sounded like a great idea, every instinct in my body demanding I care for my future mate.

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried to date a human.”

“What about that librarian you’re always going on about? You should just court her already.” If I had to listen to one more rambling speech about how smart and perfect she was, I would puke.

“Tiffany has a suitor,” Niemrin gritted out.

It was my turn to wince. If Elle had already had a suitor, I’m not sure what I would have done. Instead, I worried about what might happen if Udar saw her and tried to take her before she mated me. Niemrin would never act with such little integrity.

“Is it serious?” I asked. Dragons tended to take either casual lovers or a mate, no in-between. My stomach dipped again. Did Elle see me as some kind of in-between? I’ll get her the apartment. Somewhere safe and secure without rent hikes while she evaluated me.

“She’s engaged. He has shit taste in jewelry. Her ‘engagement’ ring has only one diamond, and it’s barely four carats.” Niemrin’s voice forced my attention back to his own troubles.

“Only four?” Forcing a mate to wear the same piece of jewelry their entire life seemed barbaric enough. For the permanent jewelry to be four tiny carats on top of that? This librarian ignoring Niemrin for such a poor human must have stung his considerable pride. Gold-sniffing may not have been his strong suit, but even he could afford something more suitable than that.

“At least without a mate, I have time to pursue my research.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you think about anything else?”

“Of course I do.”

“Sure.” My computer dinged with an incoming message from Councilor Jasmine. The council had approved my proposal. My wings flared out with the taste of victory. “Want to do something more interesting than stare at moldy old books all day?”

“There’s nothing more interesting than staring at ‘moldy old books.’”

“I have to go to some party to raise funds for Kilinis on Saturday. Come with me.”

“I wouldn’t go to some stuffy, fancy party for all the clouds in the sky.”

“It might be fun.” More importantly, it might provide Niemrin an opportunity to meet humans. Available humans who were potentially interested in a dragon. We’d both hoped to find a mate in Kilinis, but Niemrin couldn’t do that if he was hiding in his office, pining over someone else’s mate.

“You’re supposed to be the public face,” he said.

When we’d claimed Kilinis, we’d agreed to play to our strengths. I was more outgoing, and Niemrin was better at coming up with long-term plans, so I was supposed to do most of the social events while he worked behind the scenes.

We hadn’t accounted for how fearful humans were. While discussing the initial proposal over the phone—a medium I had quickly learned was less fear-inducing than in-person conversations—Max’s voice had relaxed when I’d mentioned bringing a human date .

Most humans were still wary of me, so I assumed at some point I’d end up bored and hanging out at the bar by myself. Perhaps showing up with a human on my arm might make people less afraid of me? I hadn’t considered that before.

“This is important.”

“Important enough for two dragons?” he asked.

“I’m going to invite Elle. I think she’ll be more comfortable if there’s another familiar face.”

“Familiar? She barely knows me.”

“Please?” It was a thin justification, but picturing Niemrin staying later and later at his office every day, while I got to enjoy everything a social life and a mate offered, made my stomach churn with guilt.

“Where’s this party?”

“Accutrust Bank.”

Niemrin was silent for a long moment. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll go.”

“Thank you.”

“Even though she’s barely met me,” Niemrin said.

“She’s never met anyone else there. She’ll appreciate seeing you again.” I hoped.

We exchanged a few more words before hanging up. I’d take a short flight around the city to work off some of my nervous energy, then I needed to find Elle an apartment.

Elle’s neighborhood was worse in person than it had looked online. No one had maintained her building in years. There were overgrown shrubs, broken sidewalks, and the whole thing desperately needed a coat of paint. I shuddered, thinking about the inside. She couldn’t spend another night here .

Shockingly, the crumbling concrete stairs to her second-floor apartment held my weight. When I knocked on her door, it flew open, and, just like every time, the sight of Elle stole my breath. She was perfect, sparkling and fierce, even in this wholly unsuitable place.

She stepped outside and shut the door quickly behind her.

“You choose to live here ?” I blurted out.

Her face flushed crimson. “Everywhere else is too expensive.”

Ah. So my idea to give her a better apartment in exchange for tomorrow would go over well. And the changes I’d made to increase affordable housing options would help Elle’s neighbors, who didn’t have a dragon mate.

Well, a prospective mate. I was trying not to get ahead of myself.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Elle cut me off. “Let’s go.”

“You don’t want to show me inside?”

“No! I mean—” She licked her lips. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Fine. If she accepted my offer, I’d see her apartment when my staff helped her move tonight. My wings came up to circle us. “If you say so.”

She tucked her small hand in my arm. It was so small and delicate and soft under my scales, I almost lost my breath as I led us to the waiting car.

“You brought a town car to this neighborhood?” she asked.

“Should I have brought the limo?”

“No. Nope. Let’s go.” She seemed eager to leave, so I handed her inside, savoring the extra few seconds of contact. Already, I was hard, but I wouldn’t ravish her in the back seat like a horny teenager while Bryan drove us around. I’d let her set the pace for sex.

Elle glanced at the driver, then back at me before settling gingerly into the seat. During the short drive to the nearest decent shopping district, she relaxed, chatting with me about my day. She seemed to share Diego’s concerns about the artistic merits of the painting I’d brought into City Hall this morning, and she suggested a suitable replacement.

Once we arrived at the store, she exited the town car, plucking at her top. “You said we were going shopping.”

“My sister, Tika, loves this boutique.” The few times I’d allowed Tika to visit me, she’d spent considerable time here, so not only did I know they’d have high-quality goods, but I also knew they’d have somewhere comfortable for me to sit while Elle shopped.

She wore a V-neck top and the same jeans she’d worn to coffee. I couldn’t wait to buy her something to replace her cheap, ill-fitting clothing.

She peered through the window, evaluating the goods. I tensed, waiting for her judgment.

Elle twisted her fingers together, her eyes bouncing from mannequin to mannequin before resting on me. “I’m not sure…”

My gut tightened. “There are other shops along this street, if you don’t like this one.”

Something like understanding lit her eyes from within, her hands relaxing by her side. “No, this place looks good.” She shot me a wink, then swept inside, once more in command.

She meandered over to the purses, glancing at me over her shoulder. I’d been shopping with Tika several times. I knew the drill: sit somewhere unobtrusive and offer opinions only when asked.

Elle ran her fingers over a hand-stitched leather purse. She checked the tag, shot me a look, then touched the back of her neck and smoothed her clothes down. Then she moved on to the next purse.

Tikalass loved purses. If Elle and Tika had a common interest, things would go much smoother when I introduced them .

One of the shop assistants, a short white woman, approached her and said something that made her tense up. Elle responded in a low voice. I couldn’t hear them, but I didn’t like Elle’s defensiveness, or the assistant’s insolent gestures.

When I walked over, the assistant’s mouth shut with an almost audible snap.

“Is there a problem?” I’d never seen employees treat my sister like this.

The assistant, whose name tag read Marissa, glanced between Elle and me.

I stepped closer to Elle.

Marissa shook her head. “No problem. Please let me know if you need anything specific.” Before either of us could answer, she flounced off.

Elle’s eyes bounced from Marissa’s retreating back, the clothes on the rack, and me. “ Should I get anything specific?”

My neck grew warm. “A nice dress or three? I have an event tomorrow night. I know it’s not one of your scheduled days, but I have to go, and I hate going to these things alone.”

“Tomorrow?” She chewed her lip.

“Yes.” My wingtips twitched as I prepared to make my pitch. How to present the apartment in the most appealing light? Its size? Its location?

“Yeah, I can go to your thing.”

My brain froze. She hadn’t requested anything in exchange. Did she think I couldn’t provide for her? Was she rethinking our courtship? Telling someone you’d only pay a dollar for an hour of their time was a grave insult in the dragon world. To demand no compensation was unthinkable .

While I was still reeling from Elle’s easy agreement, she found the salesperson and started giving directions.

I’d only barely recovered some semblance of my equilibrium when Marissa returned with an armload of dresses and I took a comfortable seat outside of Elle’s dressing room, my eyes fixed on the back of her head. I wished I could see through her skull and understand what she was thinking.

Instead, she looked back at me with a flirtatious grin that both inflamed and confused me before entering the dressing room.

The first dress she modeled was adequate. Simple, black, with detailed stitching around the neckline and waist, but otherwise boring. She twirled, smoothed her hand over the fabric, twisted in the mirror to see the back. She liked this dress, but I couldn’t figure out why my fiery future mate wanted something so dull.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Isn’t there something more exciting?” Something more befitting her? What had happened to the demanding woman from coffee? I liked the flirtatiousness, but the demure dress, the failure to negotiate…it was throwing me off.

She frowned. “Okay. I’ll find something more suitable.”

“If they don’t have anything you like, we’ll try somewhere else.” Maybe I’d chosen the wrong store?

She ducked back inside the dressing room, and I tracked the sway of her slim hips encased in black fabric as she disappeared, then returned wearing another dress.

A shimmering green one with a modest neckline. She twirled around, and I almost swallowed my tongue. Though the back was open, a few thin, crisscrossed straps kept everything in place.

In one bite, I could snap those straps and have her naked from the waist up, all her creamy, delicate skin at my mercy .

I wanted to show her off in that dress, my blood heating at the thought. “Perfect.”