Silver (Date-A-Dragon Book 2)

by Terry Bolryder

  Kelsey sighed, but for this woman, who instantly was kind and treated her like anyone else and not some homeless person, she didn’t mind repeating the story.

  For some reason, she felt she could trust Robbie instantly.

  Five

  Adrien let cool water run over his body, enjoying the tingling thrill of it, the way it made him feel more awake.

  He needed to be awake, given that Robbie was now out there talking to Kelsey.

  His greater than average hearing assured he could catch every word without even trying to.

  He listened as Kelsey once again repeated the story of him coming to her rescue.

  Even hearing it, he felt it had to be someone else they were talking about. Not that he was the kind of cad who could stand by while a woman was assaulted, but just that it was weird that he’d been paying enough attention to her to even know to come to her rescue.

  It was definitely something to think about, and Adrien liked to think.

  Most of the time, it was better than feeling.

  He tilted his face back, letting water pour over his eyelids, cheeks, nose, lips, and jaw. It was a new day. Another day in this stupid time where he had no idea what his place was. Another day to think about everything he’d lost.

  Another day to deal with stupid humans.

  Kelsey wasn’t a stupid human, though. He had to admire her ingenuity at coming in here for warmth in the first place. And the way she’d walked in and claimed food, told them off as needed, that set fire to his loins.

  He loved a feisty woman. That was probably why he got along with Robbie. That and he loved the way she got under Citrine’s skin.

  Those two would probably end up mated, he thought, even if neither of them realized it.

  They were a perfect pair.

  He’d often wondered if there was a perfect pair out there for him. He’d had doubts about any of his crew matching with a human until he’d met Dante and his mate. They seemed wonderful together. That gave him hope for Sever. But as for himself, he’d never found a female he could get along with.

  Perhaps if there was a dragon female, like the one Emerald had mated, then he could mate with her.

  But he’d never heard of one.

  And besides, it felt wrong to even think of it somehow, because when he did, Kelsey’s face came to mind as if rebuking him.

  Was she his mate? That would be an interesting act of fate. He reached back and squeezed water out of his hair, then shook his head back and forth, spraying droplets around him as he turned off the showerhead.

  She’d clearly showered this morning. Her hair was short, curly, and framed her face nicely.

  He’d been surprised by the pure green of her irises, the curled, long lashes that lent her otherwise straightforward features a vulnerable look.

  She had full lips and a pretty mouth, a jaw that was a little strong for his usual taste, but a chin that signaled strength.

  Her body was still doing its best to hide in that baggy sweatshirt she’d been wearing, but he could make out solid hips and large breasts.

  She had an overall solid look to her, the strength of a tree that had been made to stand against the wind.

  He wanted badly to know what she’d been through to land her where she was.

  He had a begrudging respect for surviving the way she had, compared to many of the privileged women who came into Date-A-Dragon, thinking their money entitled them to more than a date.

  His eyes narrowed as he thought about the daily staff meeting and appointments that would follow.

  He was tired of being trotted out like a prize horse. He was a dragon. He should be ruling things from a castle, taking tribute, going on midnight raids to defend his territory.

  He should have power. Right now he had none. Less than none. Forced to act servile, to endure indignities.

  The ring on his hand, which couldn’t be removed in any way by himself, brought another wave of bitterness through him.

  He needed to be a dragon again. He needed access to his powers. His treasure. His wings.

  The thought of flying with Kelsey went through his mind, and he took a step back in shock. No, she had nothing to do with his dragon form, did she?

  With a human mate, how was that supposed to work? She would ride his back as if he were a common horse?

  But thinking of it, carrying her through the clouds, wasn’t half as awful as he’d thought it should be.

  He felt a headache coming on as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped his robe around him, trying to think of anything to get the image of their stupidly sappy flying fantasy out of his mind.

  But even as he dried his hair with a hand towel and began to retie his bandage, he couldn’t shake a rushing feeling that he was falling down quickly with no way to slow his descent.

  Kelsey, a woman who had nothing to her name and who didn’t seem to think much of him, a human, was probably his fated mate.

  “What exactly am I watching?” Kelsey asked, leaning back in the comfy office chair she’d been given and looking up at the TV screens Robbie was studying with a clipboard in her hands.

  “I let Citrine run the pre-appointment meetings,” she said. “I’m trying to stay as hands-off as possible now that I’ve given them a lot of training.”

  “Why do they need a manager?” Kelsey asked. “Citrine seems pretty nice.”

  Robbie gave her a sardonic look, dark eyes twinkling. “That’s the problem. He couldn’t control them at all. Especially Adrien.”

  “Why do they do this?” Kelsey asked, watching Citrine point at Adrien and hold something up on his phone to show him. Adrien just folded his arms and turned away, making Citrine turn an unflattering shade of red. “Does it pay that well?”

  Robbie shook her head. “I haven’t really been able to figure that out. They are picky with clients and turn down almost everyone. Meanwhile, the overhead on this building is sky high. No, they have money, so it’s not for that.” She shrugged. “It’s not really my business, though. As long as they pay me, I’m good. Still, I admit to being curious.”

  “Do they just like women to fawn over them, then?” Kelsey asked.

  “No,” Robbie said. “In fact, Adrien, in particular, hates it. I’m not even sure why—if he just has problems with women or what.”

  “Is he gay?” Kelsey asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Robbie said. “Not that I’ve asked. I get along with Adrien in a way. Better than the other ‘dragons’.”

  “Dragons?”

  “This place is called Date-A-Dragon,” Robbie said, lowering her brows. “That’s another mystery. But they refuse to change it.”

  “What’s their reasoning?” Kelsey asked, liking that she was in the middle of a mystery.

  “That they’re so hot it’s mythical,” Robbie said, rolling her eyes. “But anyway, what’s your story?” She studied Kelsey. “I’m more curious about that. You come out of nowhere and get our resident misanthrope to fight for you. I can’t believe it.”

  “I can’t either,” Kelsey said. “I don’t know what the answer is, except maybe he doesn’t hate people as much as he seems to. As for me, not much to say. I don’t really… I don’t know if I want to talk about it now.” She’d just escaped one nightmare after another; she didn’t really want to revisit them.

  “I understand,” Robbie said. “But if you ever do feel like talking about it, I’m here. We could hang out, too. After all the time I’ve been spending with these crazy guys, some girl time would be very welcome.”

  Kelsey sighed in relief that Robbie wasn’t going to ask any other questions and grinned. “Girl time. Yeah, I could use some of that.”

  “We’ll go shopping,” Robbie said.

  Kelsey opened her mouth to tell her she didn’t exactly have money for that, but Robbie held up a finger. “Oh, they’re getting started. Let’s watch.”

  “Again, what am I watching?”

  “I watch for any sign that they are behaving i
nappropriately with the women. Being mean or loud or uncouth in any way that would result in a bad review.”

  “Bad review? This place has reviews?”

  Robbie pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through it. “Here. Our reviews.” She giggled. “Read them.”

  “Oh my gosh,” she said, scrolling through the reviews and stifling a snort. “Are these real?”

  “Sadly, yes,” Robbie said. “You’ll notice they’ve improved since I got here. Since I stopped doing open houses also. They were too unorganized. Plus, the women were handsy, and that drove Adrien crazy.”

  “Understandable,” Kelsey said. “It’s disgusting to be touched when you don’t want to.”

  Robbie frowned. “Yes. I suppose so.” She checked her watch. “They’re almost ready for their first appointment.” She pulled out her clipboard again. “Looks like we have two women coming in today. One has a private appointment. The men will probably turn both down, though hopefully they can be polite about it. I wish I knew what criteria these men were using or what they were looking for. They seem to turn everyone away.”

  That did seem weird.

  There was a knock on the office door, and Kelsey sat up in attention. “Who’s that?” she asked Robbie.

  Robbie raised an eyebrow at the door. “Who is it?”

  “Dante,” a voice called back. “And Ella. Let us in. We have to see the woman who changed Adrien.”

  “I didn’t change him,” Kelsey muttered. “And I’m not some kind of museum item.”

  But then the door opened, and her jaw dropped at the couple in front of her. The man was some kind of golden angel, with beautiful blond hair in all shades, a tall, muscular build, and sinful golden eyes that tilted up at the corners.

  Definitely made sense as one of Adrien’s associates.

  “This is Dante,” Robbie said, standing and welcoming them in. “He used to work here. He’s an old friend of Adrien and Sever.”

  At Dante’s side was a businesslike woman with dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She had a sharp look to her, but her smile at Kelsey was kind.

  “I’m Ella.” She put out a hand for Kelsey to shake. “So you’re the one who caught Adrien’s eye. Congrats.”

  “Is it such a big deal that he was nice to me?”

  Dante looked at the monitors. “Damn. He really did get injured, didn’t he?” He turned to Kelsey. “And yes. Yes, it is a very big deal.”

  Ella took a chair on the other side of Kelsey and kicked back, watching the screen. “Has the show started yet?”

  “No,” Robbie said, grinning as she sat back in her chair. Dante sat on the other side of Ella, taking her hand. Kelsey noted the care he showed her with an odd feeling in her stomach.

  What would it feel like to have a man act like that with her? Like the sun rose and set in her eyes?

  She turned back to the screen because everyone else was watching avidly. What kind of business was this where even the manager and her friends were entertained by watching the men fail?

  There was a lot here she didn’t understand.

  She glanced up at the screen and saw Citrine go to the main club double doors and open it for two women to walk in. Kelsey sat up slightly, eyes narrowing, as she watched the two women walk toward Adrien and Sever.

  One of them definitely had her eyes all over Adrien, and Kelsey didn’t like the way she was looking at him at all.

  She heard popping noises from across the office and realized Dante had gotten up to make popcorn. When it was done, he poured it into multiple bowls and passed one over to her.

  She munched it quietly, her eyes glued to the screen as the others laughed and chattered.

  There was something about this situation that she just didn’t like.

  Six

  Adrien stared at the women in front of him with a growing sense of unease.

  He didn’t like private appointments even on the best day, but after a hide-tearing speech by Citrine about his bad behavior, he was even less in the mood to deal with handsy human women.

  And he recognized this one vaguely.

  He didn’t know exactly when she’d been in here, but she had been, and a prickle ran up his back as she ogled him.

  She was an older woman, middle-aged perhaps, and everything, from her carefully coiffed hair to her expensive handbag, bespoke money and what humans felt was class.

  When she eyed him like a piece of meat, the predator in him reared up in outrage.

  But right now he was defenseless, and if he didn’t please the powers that be, he would never get this ring off.

  He detested everything about this situation.

  What had he done in his past life, before being buried by an avalanche and waking up in this time, to deserve it?

  It didn’t make it any easier that he knew Kelsey was watching in Robbie’s office. Dante liked to stay there with Ella and watch Adrien’s outbursts.

  Today, Adrien was determined to behave.

  He wouldn’t be mocked for an outburst, and he wouldn’t allow someone else’s classless behavior to make him lose his temper. After all, these were just human women. What could they do to a dragon, even one restrained as he was? For once, he would hold his tongue.

  Part of him wanted to show Kelsey that he was better than the others thought he was.

  Perhaps he had been a bit rude, a bit instantly judgmental with humans since awakening.

  But when he and the other precious metal dragons had awakened, they’d been treated like trash by humanity. They’d had no idea how to survive, and without IDs and alone in a new world, they hadn’t been able to support themselves well. Even the precious metals they could produce seemed to only cause suspicion rather than appreciation.

  Humans had looked at him as if they were better than him. As if he were nothing.

  As a result, being forced to make nice with them while they tried to take advantage had been untenable.

  Until now. Sending a smirk at the camera, he was determined to prove everyone wrong.

  “Should we take this to another room?” Adrien asked, standing and extending a hand to the woman. She took it a little too long, trying to pull him forward slightly, though he held his ground.

  She came forward to whisper in his ear.

  “Yes. Another room, for certain.”

  He jerked back, looking at her askance as he walked outside and down the hall with her. The room used for private appointments had a camera in it as well. Robbie allowed private appointments once a potential client had decided to hire a specific employee. He was almost positive he would turn her down after the consultation, but perhaps if he at least listened politely to her needs without any outbursts, he could get a good review from her.

  That would get Citrine off his back for a minute.

  All of this was completely ridiculous considering the things he could be doing in the world right now if he had his real powers.

  But as it stood, the only power he possessed was the power to control his own reactions in the moment.

  He pushed the door open for her and let her walk into the room first. He held a chair out and she sat, grinning at him. He took a chair across from her and took out his phone, clicking open a notepad.

  “So what is your purpose in coming to Date-A-Dragon today?” he asked calmly, looking up at her.

  The pure hunger in her eyes made a rock form in his stomach.

  Dammit.

  He took a long, steadying breath, determined not to let this affect him. “So you need an escort for an upcoming function?”

  She scooted her chair forward until she was knee to knee with him. Then her hand wandered onto his leg, squeezing. “I need an escort, yes.” Her eyes met his suggestively.

  He took another deep breath and scooted his chair back. The urge to react, to slap her hand away, to scream at her, rose in him like bile, but he pushed it down and focused back on his phone.

  “If you could give me your scheduled date,” he said,
keeping his tone neutral and professional. “Then I could…”

  He trailed off as she shocked him by settling on his lap, moving suggestively. He jerked back, but her arms wound around his neck.

  “Madam,” he said in a tight voice, too shocked by how far she was going to figure out exactly what he should do. He didn’t believe in hitting any female, but how exactly was he supposed to get out of this situation?

  A vein twitched at his temple. Was this what happened when he tried to drop his prickly exterior and be polite to people? A snarl rose deep inside him as he glared at her face.

  “Get off of me,” he said tightly.

  “Oh, come on,” the woman said, again moving against him suggestively. He felt as if he would throw up. “A man like you, young, enterprising. I’m sure you have needs. Needs I can meet.”

  “I highly doubt that,” he said drily, keeping his hands fisted at his sides. What was Citrine thinking about this? What did he expect him to do right now? Surely, this was the right time to yell and push someone off of him.

  But given her position, he kind of wondered if he’d hurt her, trying to shove her off.

  She reached toward his head. “And you’re injured. What a pity. Must be rough out there for a male escort. If you were mine, I’d keep you in only the best places. Nothing would ever happen to you.”

  A snarl curved his lips. The idea of this human setting herself up as his protector when he was one of the most powerful beings on earth, despite his current situation, was completely disgusting.

  “I’ll tell you just once more. Get off me,” he said tersely, keeping the last threads of his temper intact.

  She reached her hand to his face, and he jerked back. “At least let me taste you before you make up your mind.”

  Her lips came toward his, and as he jerked back as hard as he could, eyes wide as her grasping hands tried to jerk his face toward her, he heard the door slam open.

  Thank heavens.

  He looked over to yell at Citrine for taking so long but stopped when he saw Kelsey standing in the doorway, hands in fists, looking mad as hell.