Page 41 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars

Medea

Who was this dragon, and what had he done with Cal? I had almost convinced myself that our exchange at the bar had been a dream. There was no way that the grumpy dragonkin that glared at me across the office had had a decent conversation with me, let alone agreed to be my fake boyfriend.

But sure enough, there had been a message in the app from Igneous, thanking me for understanding, relieved that things had gone well between myself and Cal.

Then a courier droid showed up at my door with a dress box.

Inside was the most gorgeous blue gown. I had looked between it and the black dress I pulled out for these occasions, the decision no contest. No one had done something like this for me since… well, since Jason and I first started dating.

Maybe Cal is just like Jason.

I shook the thought away. This was a fake arrangement, just playing pretend. There were no real risks with a fake evening spent with a fake boyfriend.

Cal had been thoughtful to find this gorgeous dress for me; there were no strings attached to trying it on or enjoying the surprise.

The silk felt like butter as it slipped over my body, falling to just shy of the floor. I did a little dance of delight; no heels required.

The night had gone so well; everyone at the party seemed genuinely pleased to see me together with Cal. He didn’t speak much, except with me or a small number of people he seemed more comfortable with, like Jarrick and a colleague from Finance, but mostly Cal was a steady, constant source of support and care. He was either holding my hand or had a hand on the small of my back as we moved about the room. He made sure I had water or wine if needed and that I ate an hour or so into the night. He was so in tune with me, it was almost scary, pulling me out of the way of a waiter when I was nearly bumped by a tray, or finding me a chair the moment I started to feel fatigued. If I started to feel uncomfortable around a person, he would find a way to end the conversation—some more graceful than others—but always with the attention drawn to himself, not to me.

It wasn’t showboating or attention seeking like I had seen with Jason. This felt… protective, as if he would carry any reproach we garnered for cutting a conversation short.

Jason and I had been together for years and had never achieved this level of synergy. I hadn’t had this with anyone before, actually.

It was fascinating and swoon-worthy—and fake.

A fake date for a fake party.

I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face in the restroom. Hopefully, Camphor hadn’t eaten him alive. She was a protective one. Peering at myself in the mirror, I had to admit, the dragon had an eye for fashion. I had gotten so many compliments on my dress this evening, the color accentuating the shine of my black hair and the blue of my eyes. He had dressed himself with just as much style.

Cal wore black, as he always did, but this tailored tux fit him like a glove, accenting his broad shoulders and the cut of his waist. The dark colors made the gold of his throat scales and the golden accents on his other features stand out as well as his orange eyes.

Eyes I felt on me throughout the night, burning with heat and curiosity.

“ Every time I have to control myself around you, to stop myself from pulling you into my arms to kiss you, I look angry.”

The words replayed in my mind over and over, rewriting every moment I had experienced with the dragon. All the times he scowled at me, all the times I thought he resented my presence… was he fighting desire?

It couldn’t be. We’d barely spoken before the last two days, but the last two days had been surreal. It was far too short a time to know a person, but I was discovering Cal at rapid speed and loving the adventure.

That odd feeling in my chest tugged, interrupting my thoughts. I decided to heed it for once and moved to leave the bathroom and go find Camphor and Cal, hoping he was still in one piece, but as soon as I turned the corner I found someone else.

Jason.

‘Where are you headed in such a hurry, Medea?” His fingers gripped my elbow to steady me and hold me in place. It wasn’t a firm grip, I could easily pull away, but I still felt trapped by it.

“I need to get back to my date.”

For the barest of moments he looked surprised, but the expression was quickly replaced with another smile.

I was more sure that this one was fake, but one could never be truly assured.

“A date? I haven’t seen you with anyone since, well, since coming here.”

“You mean you haven’t seen anyone with me since you.”

The corners of his lips turned up. “I wasn’t going to put it that way, but yes.” His finger stroked along my arm. It was a coaxing motion probably intended to be soothing, but it made my skin crawl. I pulled away. Jason seemed surprised.

“You know, Medea, you don’t have to lie. You know, about having a date. I know things with us ended a bit abruptly, and that you were upset when we discussed Anna?—”

“We did not ‘discuss’ Anna,” I hissed. “I found out my boyfriend of several years, the one I moved to space for, wasn’t my boyfriend at all. He was someone’s fiancé.”

“There’s no reason I couldn’t be both.”

My jaw dropped so quickly I thought it might dislocate.

“Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “I know it’s not for everyone, but I think Anna might be open to me still seeing you. I miss you. We should get back together.”

“So she doesn’t know about me? She doesn’t know that you brought me here? You tried to invite me to your wedding to a woman who doesn’t know I exist?”

He sighed, as if this conversation was a heavy burden. “She knows that there was someone in my life, and that it ended. Moving here for her job was part of a reset to address any issues.”

I clicked my tongue. “So she didn’t know you had moved me here as well.”

Typical. Typical, Jason.

“She could know now. I could talk to her about opening things up.”

I shook my head. “Jason, that’s now how open marriages work. You need communication and trust , something you clearly fail at. You also need consent . You act like I’ll just jump back into your arms if you ask me, but that’s not the kind of relationship I want. I don’t want you at all.”

He laughed this time. “Stop lying to yourself, Medea. We were good together. And we both know there’s no one else.”

“We were never good together because you were lying to me the entire time. And I do have someone else.”

He took hold of my arm again, expression becoming stern. “It’s a pathetic thing to lie about, Madea.”

I was startled at the rapid shift in his tone and the way his fingers dug into my skin. The feeling in my chest pulled taut, seeming to wrap around my racing heart as if holding me together. I was going to have to see a doctor if this was becoming worse with stress, but first I needed to deal with Jason.

The tugging sensation eased as a calming presence appeared behind me, followed by a deep, angry growl.

“You have one second to remove your hand from my mate and to apologize for what you just said. If you do not, I’ll break the hand you touched her with and gift her your tongue as penance for your words.”

Jason’s skin blanched as Cal loomed over us, pulling me back into his body as he glared at my ex.

“Medea and I are just having a conversation, catching up as old friends.” Jason audibly swallowed, eyes darting from me to Cal and back.

“Jason, this is Cal, my boyfriend.”

Cal pulled me even closer, that deep rumble still coming from his chest. Smoke had begun to trickle out of his nose as well, making me chuckle.

Jason stared at me like I had lost my mind, chuckling at a fuming dragonkin, but I just patted Cal’s cheek.

“It’s okay, Cal. Jason, I think you better leave.”

My ex nodded, then took off as if Cal would follow him and make good on his threats.

“Mate, huh?”

My dragon froze. I could feel his heart racing where my back pressed to his chest, but I needed to see his face. Turning in his arms, I reached up to cup his jaw and direct his orange gaze down to mine. His glowing irises were filled with worry.

“I’m sorry, I know I should have told you.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since the moment I saw you.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me? Were you… ashamed of me? Of having a human as a mate?”

Actual sparks flew from his nostrils this time, catching us both by surprise. Cal pulled back, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry, I’m… a bit emotional right now.”

“That’s okay, so am I.”

He took my hand and led me out of the hallway, back to a little sitting room a few doors down from the restroom. No one was in here, allowing us peace and quiet to talk everything out. Cal tucked me onto a small sofa, kneeling down before me so that we were eye to eye.

“Medea, I should have told you before. When I first met you, you were with Jason and seemed happy. And then after, I thought you needed time to heal. But I should have been honest with you about… about this.”

I nodded and waited for him to continue.

“You’re my fated mate. The one soul built to pair with mine in the universe. I know we’re just getting to know each other, but… you mean everything to me. I know I may not be the being you pictured for your future, especially since you thought I hated you. I’m sorry, my face just looks really stern when I’m?—”

Before my dragonkin could continue to ramble, I launched forward to lace my hands around his neck and press his lips to mine.