Page 10 of Seducing the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons #2)

The human female straightened her shoulders.

“I know a trick or two when it comes to working with dragon-shifters. Pretty much all of Clan Skyhunter detests humans. My first year was hell until I learned to use their other hatreds to my advantage. I did the same with Arabella. She hates the dragon hunters, and so do I. That hatred was stronger than what dislike she held for me.”

Shaking his head, Bram moved to stand next to Evie and instantly regretted it as her womanly scent filled his nose. Just one whiff made his dragon growl. Kiss her again. She cooperated. Arabella does not hate her. She is good.

He sent a mental scowl to his dragon. You are too trusting.

His inner beast hissed, but Bram ignored him and spoke to the human, “Your cleverness is going to be a pain in my arse.”

Hope lit her eyes. “So you’re letting me stay?”

The way Evie looked at him, as if he were the only one who could save her life, went straight to his heart. He still couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to kill the lass.

It was time to find that out. “Not yet.” Her hope died, and he resisted putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her as he continued, “First, I need to take a look at your information and see if it really is worth the hunters killing you over.”

Her expression returned to one of part irritation and part impatience as she gestured toward the laptop. “Be my guest.”

Just as he moved in front of the laptop, he heard the human’s stomach rumble and his dragon jumped to the forefront of his mind. Feed her.

Even Bram felt a little guilty at her hunger. “While I do this, there are some leftovers in the refrigerator you can eat. I hope you like curry.”

Raising an eyebrow, she said, “Are you sure it’s not poisoned?”

Despite himself, one corner of Bram’s lip twitched. “Aye, I’m sure. Now eat before I tie you to a chair and force feed you.”

The human looked like she was about to say something, but then shut her mouth and nodded. He motioned to the doorway off to the side. “The kitchen is in there. Come back as soon as you’ve heated your food.”

She gave a mock salute and walked toward the door. For the first time, he noticed she wasn’t wearing any shoes. Not only that, her exaggerated hip sway had been replaced with an efficient stride.

The fake seductress had all but disappeared.

Not that he was sad about it. But rather than think too hard about why he liked the changes, he sat down in front of the computer screen and read the first sentence:

At the presend rime, the Carlide hunters numver avout forty.

Rubbing the late-day whiskers on his face, Bram could see what Arabella had meant about deciphering the typos. Reading Evie’s notes was going to take three times as long as normal.

With a sigh, Bram went to work.

As the smell of curry filled the kitchen, Evie’s stomach rumbled and she tapped her spoon against the counter in impatience.

By now, Bram had to have noticed the plethora of typos in her document.

Would he really make her wait until he finished it all before he told her if he would take her on as his mate or not?

Uncertainty was not her forte. Since Evie had been a little girl, she’d always planned out her life: earn good marks, go to university, and work her way up the Department of Dragon Affairs until she could be the Director.

Now, however, all of that planning was irrelevant. All that mattered was staying alive, and everything else would have to wait.

Living in such uncertainty simultaneously scared and irritated her.

Get over it, Evie. She’d dealt with plenty of uncertainty in her job as a DDA inspector; she would just have to use those experiences toward her personal life as well.

The microwave beeped. The sound was a welcome interruption of her thoughts.

For now, she’d focus on eating. Who knew, maybe by the time she’d finished, Bram might have answers for her. Then she could figure out what to do next.

She removed the leftover korma curry before carrying it to the kitchen doorway. Pausing a moment, she took advantage of the situation and simply watched Bram at the computer.

Without his glare or dominance crap, he looked like just a man.

Sure, a fit man with broad shoulders, defined muscled arms, and a very lickable-looking tattoo on one of his biceps.

Yet with his slightly too long hair brushing against his ears as he leaned over the laptop screen, all she wanted to do was walk over and tuck his hair back behind his ears.

She had a feeling no one ever looked after him; being clan leader was a demanding and lonely job.

According to DDA records, Bram worked the hardest out of the five dragon-shifter clans in the UK to pass all of their inspections.

Stonefire had by far the least amount of sacrifice-related complaints.

Yet despite all of his hard work, Bram’s infertility assured that he would never have a female sacrifice of his own.

Hell, he might not ever have a mate. Everything he did screamed how he wanted his clan’s numbers to rebuild and his infertility would hinder his goal.

Of course, Evie would never be able to give him a child anyway since her DNA wasn’t compatible with dragon-shifter sperm. When she’d been nineteen and obsessed with everything dragon-shifter, she’d been tested.

She hoped that would work to her advantage since Bram wouldn’t have to feel guilty about taking a likely mother-to-be away from his clan.

At one time, she’d wanted children of her own, but she was far more concerned about living than reproducing.

She probably would’ve continued staring if Bram’s voice hadn’t interrupted her thoughts. “You’re not eating.”

Standing back up, she then moved to stand next to him. As soon as his eyes met hers, she raised the spoon to her lips and took a bite.

Bram’s eyes darted to her lips, and that odd heat and awareness shot through her body.

Bloody hell. Since when was eating curry a turn on?

After swallowing the spoonful, she asked, “So? Do you have a verdict yet?”

The heat vanished from his eyes and was replaced by a wry look. “Where did you learn to type, lass? Even if I were blinded right this instant, I could do better.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I type fast and make mistakes. It happens. Now, stop trying to change the subject and just tell me straight what you plan to do.”

He looked pointedly at her curry and she let out a sigh before taking another bite. Only once she swallowed did he stand up and look down at her. Without her heels on, he towered even more over her. The man was huge.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Bram said, “While I’ve only read about a third of what you wrote, it’s enough for a decision.”

The dragonman fell silent and she wanted to kick him and scream for him to just tell her already. When he said nothing, she asked, “And?”

“I want you to pack your things.”

Evie nearly dropped her bowl of curry. He was sending her away.

Her heart squeezed and it took everything she had not to start crying. Pull yourself together, Evie. Fight for it.

She’d come this far. She wasn’t about to give in so easily.

Straightening her shoulders, she said, “If you give me a little more time, I’ll provide more information.

Seven years has allowed me access to quite a bit about the DDA, the dragon hunters, and the other dragon-shifter clans.

With my glasses and another chance, I can prove to you I’m worth keeping. ”

Bram frowned. “What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to help me. I’m not about to mate you just so I can fuck you, although I look forward to that.”

She blinked. “Fuck me? What? You just told me to pack my things.”

“Aye, you’re moving in with me tonight.”