Page 5 of The Ruby Dragon’s Unconventional Mate (Oro Escondido #3)

Chapter

Five

“ O ooohm.”

Lars tried to bend into downward dog, but somehow, downward dragon just didn’t have the same ring. He sighed, because Slipknot chittered at him, and he nodded. “I’m letting him steal my joy. Right?”

Chittering again, Slippy leaped at him, landing on his arm. He crawled up to sit on Lars’s shoulder, nibbling his ear.

“No. No, I’m fine. I don’t want to go out.”

Slippy poked him.

“Yes. I know you want to see Teaball. But no.” He could hide. It was fine.

Slippy tittered, nudged him with his nose.

“If I take you to see Teaball, will you stop?”

Slippy curled around his neck, like the world’s weirdest, breathing stole. “I know that you don’t understand. I really liked him, and now I’m like his coworker, and so I have to see him, and he doesn’t like me anymore. Think maybe he found somebody else, and he just doesn’t know how to tell me.”

Like he’d be evil about it.

He wasn’t even sure that Bryant really believed he was an omega. They’d never even gotten to kisses. It had just been a flirtation, and then lots and lots and lots of emails and texts, some of which had gotten pretty intense.

Especially with phone calls.

But he wasn’t going to be mean. Of course Bryant would get mated. He was a guardian. Guardians did that.

And baby fever had hit Oro Escondido. All sorts of people were having babies again, and it was so fun. He loved working at the school with the kids, dealing with issues and…

It didn’t matter.

None of this mattered anymore.

“Come on, Slippy. Let’s go. We’ll go see Teaball, see if Amber doesn’t have something interesting, and maybe my new pastry cookbook is in.”

He drove out because he wasn’t feeling like flying. Not today. He was grumpy and ill-used.

Lars parked in front of the coffee shop. “Okay, let’s go see Teaball.”

They walked in the door to the bookstore, and he’d be damned if Amber wasn’t standing there with goddamn Bryant, who had his book of pastry in his hands.

“I’m sorry, but that one’s been claimed. It’s a special order.”

“Oh, I’ve been wanting to read it forever. Because I could eat my way through it.”

Lars cleared his throat. “Hey, Amber, I’m here to pick up my order, and Slippy needed to see Teaball.”

Teaball cackled from his cage, where he stayed when there was a customer he didn’t know well, and Slippy ran down his body, appearing next to Teaball almost like magic.

Bryant raised his eyebrows. “They’re friends, huh?”

“Yes.” He nodded and offered Amber a smile. “I was coming to get my cookbook and see if you have anything new that I desperately need. Nothing sad, but a serial killer wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Naughty! I have a hot little romance that’s new—it’s a take to the tub type of novel.”

He arched an eyebrow, refusing to blush, to admit Bryant was right there. “I do love my baths. It’s the best part of being a dragon of leisure.”

Bryant opened his mouth, scowled, and then snapped it closed.

“Mmhmm. Well, you know, you’re a lazy little shit.” Amber winked at him, her eyes dancing, removing all the sting from the words. “Are you stopping by Kota’s place? I have a stack of books for them, too.”

“I will happily drop them off.” He needed to see his nieces. “Samuel says thank you for the books for Grant. He was incredibly happy.”

“I’m glad. Books for all.” She took the cookbook from Bryant, then handed it to him. “Now, Mr. Bryant, we can find you something special too.”

“Thanks. I’ll just browse around.”

“Sorry about the book.” Lars probably should offer to let Bryant borrow it, but he didn’t really want to. “Have a good day, man.”

“You too.”

And Bryant wandered off. Amber blinked at him. “This is a messed-up situation.”

“It is what it is. No worries. There’s no…there are absolutely no worries here.” Lars shrugged. “We weren’t together. It’s not like we were mated, and then he decided he didn’t want me anymore. It was just a flirtation, and now we’re coworkers.”

Now he wasn’t wanted anymore, and he was going to be cool with that.

“Yeah, I heard about what happened at the coffee shop.” Amber rolled her eyes and pointed to the tree across the way, blackened and split by his lightning bolt.

“I think everybody heard about what happened at the coffee shop.” He shrugged. “You know, the lightning strike was probably a little much. I’m a kinda embarrassed.”

He really wasn’t, but it was nice to say.

“Still, I’ll be glad when everything’s settled back down. Have you met the other guardian? Is he all right? Is he even real?” she whispered.

This was what he had been afraid of. Lachlan was so very private, only coming out in the darkness to do rounds and then disappearing that no one ever got to know him.

“Oh yeah, he’s real. He’s a nice guy. Keeps to himself a lot, but he’s totally capable of doing his job. He’s just not social, you know?”

Lars wasn’t going to say anything that wasn’t utterly vague about the platinum dragon who was Bryant’s brother. Logan was happy with them. He would be too. The wing would learn to love them or not; he didn’t care.

“Don’t worry about the wing. It’s safe as houses.” Even if Logan had needed to hire two dragons to replace Jason. It figured, he guessed, that Jason was so amazing that he had been doing the work of a dozen guardians.

“I trust you, Lars. I’m looking forward to getting to know—what is the new dragon’s name?”

“Lachlan, but I don’t—I don’t know how he likes to be addressed. You might ask his brother. That might be the smartest answer.” Lars didn’t call him anything. He worked mornings and one weekend a month, more if Logan was out of town on business.

“All right…” Amber’s frown was just deepening, not easing as he’d hoped.

Goddess, this was awful. Now he felt like everybody in the wing was going to be unsure about Bryant and Lachlan. That wasn’t what he had been going for. He had been going for sure. He’d been going for confident and guardian-like.

“Are you talking about my twin?” Bryant swooped over, fire in his eyes.

He refused to cower. He’d done nothing wrong. “Put it on my tab, Amber.”

“Sure, Lars.” Amber studied Bryant. “I was just wondering when we might meet your brother.”

Bryant stiffened a little. “I’m not sure. Lachlan likes to meet folks one-on-one rather than in big groups. Maybe he’d like to have you and your mate for supper?”

“You don’t know?” Amber propped her chin on her beringed hand and stared at Bryant.

“Um.” Bryant blinked, then looked at Lars, who widened his eyes very large. Like, don’t look at me.

He wasn’t about to give Bryant guidance on his brother and the wing. No way.

“Yes.” Bryant finally nodded once. Definitively. “You and… Mariposa? Should come over. With Lars and Logan and Dakota. It will be a great little dinner party to introduce Lachlan to some folks while letting him hang out with Logan, who he knows already.” Bryant gave him a narrow-eyed stare.

Well-played. Lars watched Teaball groom Slippy’s ears, trying to think of an out.

“That sounds amazing. I can bring apps. Lars should bring dessert.”

“Sure. He can come up with something out of the book he stole from me.” Now Bryant’s eyes were glinting with teasing laughter, which Lars remembered so fondly from his visit.

Which was so not cool.

He didn’t want happy memories of Bryant, dammit.

“It was my book, since I ordered it. But sure, why not?” he said, trying for breezy.

Amber chortled, and he wanted to pinch her. She was having too much fun.

It wasn’t nice.

“I’ll text you both with the details once I check in with Lachlan,” Bryant said. “Now, what kind of tea goes best with a thriller, Amber?”

“Oh, cinnamon and cardamom.” She bagged Lars’s books and checked him out, then helped Bryant while Teabag and Slippy played.

They were having a ball, so maybe he should go get a coffee next door while they had fun.

“I’ll just go?—”

“I owe you a coffee.” Bryant took his bag of books. “I’ll walk over with you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“I know.” Bryant cupped one big, warm hand under his elbow and walked him out. They didn’t speak while they moved to the coffee shop, but once they got inside and put in their order, Bryant gave him a wry smile. “I owe you an apology. I was inexcusably rude.”

“You were.” Lars turned to poke him in the chest. “Not about the coffee thing and me not working. But about showing up here without telling me,” he hissed.

“I know. I totally panicked. Lachlan’s situation is—” Bryant glanced at the barista, who could probably only hear steaming milk. “Complicated. I wasn’t even sure we would come here until the last minute.”

“Well, once you knew, you could have texted me. So you didn’t trust me.”

“I do trust you. For me. I don’t trust anyone for Lachlan.” Bryant spread his hands. “I can’t. Not after what happened.”

The steamer stopped, and so did Bryant, going to stand at the pickup counter.

Well, he guessed that was that.

For the first time, it was clear as crystal, what was going on here. What his position here was.

Bryant was not his mate. It wasn’t on anyone’s mind even. He had precedence for this. If Logan had to choose between him and Dakota, Dakota would win.

Samuel had left his entire wing behind for Jake.

Bea would eat her young for Mickey.

He wasn’t going to waste time being upset about it. He didn’t have to.

“Guardians, what can I get you?”

To get out of Oro Escondido.

Lars didn’t say it aloud. He wasn’t sure what he did say because he was so in his own head, listening to himself. He’d never once considered actually leaving, but he could.

He could leave.

He could just get in his car and go anywhere, and it would be okay.

What a fascinating thought.

He’d always been needed here in the wing, but now there were two more guardians. There was an excess of guardians, even.

Fascinating.

He could just leave.

“Are you all right?” Bryant asked.

Lars glanced up into the new guardian’s eyes and nodded. “I am. Thank you. I’m fine.”

He was leaving.

“I—” Bryant seemed so unsure. “Do you wanna come sit and chat?”

“Sure, I have a few minutes. No problem.” He could have his coffee before he went to go get Slippy. Then he could go home and send an email resigning.

He needed to buy some boxes.

Of course, really, he could just make sure that all the perishables were gone. Logan would let him keep his house until he found a new place. Then he could pay to just have it packed.

He could give notice and, in two weeks, be gone. He could just go somewhere and be…him.

He didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t sure he was supposed to.

Goddess. He was going to leave.