by Amelia Jade
What the hell, it would be worth it just to see the look on Jake’s face the next time he came around to try and threaten her.
Was it a little manipulative of her? Hell yes. But she was going to do it anyway. Mr. Lovely wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I suppose—”
“Perfect, you’re hired.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“But you do not know my name.”
His formal speech was so at odds with what she was used to hearing that it jarred her every time he used it.
“Well, what’s your name?”
He smiled, taking another drink from his beer. It was almost done. “Cowl. And yours, fair maiden?”
“Fair what?”
“Nothing. What’s your name?”
“I’m Andria.”
“An-drea-ah.” He repeated it slowly, large mouth working over each syllable as if memorizing the inflection she gave her own name. Everyone’s named sounded just a bit different coming from their own lips compared to someone else’s.
“Pleasure to meet you, Andria.” He stuck out a hand.
She took it, watching as he swallowed her up in his grip. The skin was rough, but not callused, and warm. So very warm. The feeling continued up her forearm, almost reaching her shoulder before he let go. Somewhat reluctantly she returned her hand to the bar.
“What shall I do first?”
“Pardon?”
Cowl—and what kind of name was that anyway?—tilted his head to the side. “I thought I had a job here now. Doesn’t that mean I need to be working?”
“Oh. Well, you don’t start tonight. There’s paperwork and forms that need to be filled out. We’ll need some ID, your bank information, all that stuff.”
The huge man frowned. “That could be an issue. You see, I don’t have any of that.”
“You…don’t have any?”
“No.”
“Nothing? Not even a driver’s license?”
“Not yet. But Colonel Mara assured me I will. Eventually.” He looked back at the door for a second. “Though I have my doubts.”
“I see.”
“I will work tonight for more beer. A barter.”
Labor for a beer or two? That seemed like a fantastic idea. “Done.”
Mr. Logan allowed her to have two or three pints a night as a sort of work perk if she wished. Normally Andria would have at most one, most nights none. She needed a clear mind in the mornings for class. But he certainly wouldn’t begrudge her trading a few beers for help. There was a lot that needed to be done.
“What do you want me to do?” He was looking around, searching for something to do.
Why was Cowl so eager to get to work? Does it matter? He’s going to be working around you the whole time. You’ll get to stare at those biceps all the time. Especially when he starts bringing beer up from the basement, carrying the cases…
“Is something wrong?”
She shook her head, closing her eyes. “No. Nothing is wrong.”
Quite the opposite. For now. If she caught herself daydreaming in his direction too much things could go wrong. Better get rid of him for the moment. “The beer guy is coming by tomorrow to restock us and take our empties. Can you bring up all the empty cases of beer and stack them by the back door?” She pointed to the area.
“Of course.”
“Good. They’re down the stairs to the right.”
The stairs were behind the bar.
Cowl nodded, finished his beer with one long pull, and then vaulted the counter. Andria gaped in surprise, too stunned to say anything before he’d disappeared to the basement. A moment later she heard the sound of empties clinking, and then footsteps making their way back up.
Focusing her eyes, she continued to wipe down the bar, purposefully moving in the opposite direction of the stairs so she wouldn’t have any excuse to look. The noise grew louder.
And louder.
Curiosity burned at the amount of rattling glass she could hear. It eventually got the best of her. Andria looked over her shoulder just as Cowl came back up the stairs, carrying six empty cases of beer as if the size and weight were nothing. He squatted down near the door, giving her a front-row seat to his fantastic ass as the jeans he was wearing pulled tight over it.
She’d never been into butts before, but all of a sudden Andria understood all the fuss guys made over a girl’s ass. All it had taken was the right one. His buns looked unbelievably tight, and she just wanted to go up and grab them, one in each hand.
Maybe he could then lift her up as easily as he did the beer.
Andria shook her head, scrubbing the bar as hard as she could. What the hell had gotten into her? A hot stranger walks into her bar and she just loses her composure, flirts shamelessly, and hires him? She knew absolutely nothing about him. It was crazy. What if he were a serial killer or a stalker or something?
“So, are you new in town?” she asked, trying to make the conversation sound as casual as possible. The last thing she wanted was for him to grow suspicious.
“I guess you could put it that way.” He paused thoughtfully. “I spent some time out at the Army base, but I’m on, ah, what do they call it…when you can leave?”
“Leave.”
“Yes, when you’re able to leave. What do they call it?”
Andria giggled. “They call it Leave. You’re On Leave, you mean?” She emphasized the words.
“Yes. Yes I’m on leave. They’re putting me up in an apartment over here for a while.” He pointed to one of the walls. She figured it was more of a random gesture meaning Barton City.
”Oh. Okay.”
Cowl went back down the stairs and returned with another load of six empties. Andria was still trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened as he took a third trip. This time he only came up with five boxes.
His arms were working, the muscles flexed and swollen. His biceps had to be nearly as big as her head.
“That’s all.”
She almost jumped. When had he gotten so close to her? Cowl stood back on the other side of the bar, palms resting casually against the edge as he leaned in toward her, that same, cocky, almost arrogant look plastered on his face.
On anyone else it would have made her roll her eyes and move on. But with Cowl it just sort of worked. It was like it accented the other peculiarities. Like the white hair. Not old-person white hair, either. This was more like ice, vibrant and almost glowing. He kept it short, and it was so thick it mostly stood up on its own.
His big, wide-set eyes were latched on to her, like a fish who had gone after the bait eagerly, been hooked, and was unable to let go. Andria felt herself begin to grow heated under the attention, her face growing warm. Other parts threatened to follow if she didn’t cool herself down.
“That’s all?” she tried not to lose herself in the brightness of his eyes, the azure ovals calling out to her like the Sirens of myth.
“Yes. There were no more cases with empties in them.”
Right. Of course. He’d done in three trips and five minutes what would have taken her half an hour or more. Maybe she’d made a good choice in hiring him after all.
“Okay, you can start stocking the beer fridge then.” She showed him the fridge and told him where to find the new ones, and to make sure to put the warm ones at the back.
Cowl just nodded and meticulously set to work. She tried not to watch too much, but something just kept prompting her to go back over there. Finally she gave in, tossing the cleaning rag into the sink. Washing her hands quickly, she walked over to him, snagging the door to the fridge and holding it so he could work faster.
“Here,” she said, reaching in and grabbing two bottles of her favorite beer. Cracking them, she handed him one.
“Thanks!” He upended it easily and sighed loudly after, a boyish look on his young face.
Andria shot upright from where she’d started to lean on the bar. “Wait a minute.
How old are you? I didn’t just serve a minor for the second time, did I?”
Cowl eyed her skeptically, then took another drink, his actions slow and exaggerated. “You really want to know?”
She nodded.
“Two hundred and sixteen.”
“Right.” She tried to laugh with the joke, but his eyes weren’t dancing like she might expect them to.
Well he certainly wasn’t telling the truth. “Two hundred and sixteen is it?”
“Give or take a year. You sometimes lose track after that many. Sleep for a few years more than you planned.” Cowl sipped his beer. “You understand.”
“Right.” Matter of fact, Andria did not understand. “Just don’t get me in trouble.”
Cowl’s face did something unexpected. It tightened with concern. “Is that what you think I’m trying to do? Make your life worse?”
“Well…” Why did that joke bother him so much? It wasn’t like there was anything he could do to make her life worse, anyway. Not after what had already been done to her. That was humiliation enough for one lifetime.
“I’m not interested in doing that. If I do, please let me know. All I am is to make your life better. More enjoyable.”
He was weird. Really weird. Yet in some odd fashion, she actually thought he was sincere. Maybe it was the size of his eyes, or the lines of his face, the strong cheeks and jaw. Whatever it was, Andria found herself more at ease around him than she had any right to be.
Hopefully Jake experienced the exact opposite effect around him.
Chapter Four
Cowl
He glanced at the clock on the bedside again.
2:37
Dammit. Hurry up and change already.
Cowl had been sitting on his bed for almost forty minutes, waiting until it was closer to an appropriate time to leave. Andria had told him to be there the next day at three, and he didn’t want to seem too overeager. It was tough. Leaving his mate at the end of the day had been hard as well.
It went against his senses to let her out of his sight. Knowing that this Jake fellow was out there, Cowl had thought about asking if he could walk her home. As it turned out, she had a car. Following her had been out of the question. Cowl could have kept up, but that would have caused a scene, and he’d been advised to keep his dragon status under wraps. The mass population wasn’t ready to know about them yet.
The choices hadn’t been ideal, but asking to go home with her simply was out of the question. Cowl knew enough about humans and about women to know that would not go over very well. Andria enjoyed having him around, but they weren’t ready for that. Not yet.
The clock finally hit quarter to three and Cowl was out the door to his bedroom before the lights had barely finished changing. He sped toward the elevator, only to come to a sliding halt as Caine blocked his path, having beaten him there.
“Where ya going, little brother?” he drawled, resting one hand against a nearby support pillar.
“Out. I have to go to work.”
Caine blinked. “Work? Like, a job?”
“Exactly.”
“You. Have a job. Already? Doing what?”
Ivore sauntered over, arms crossed over his powerful chest. “We’ve been here two days. How did you get a job?”
“I went out and looked,” he said dryly. “Unlike you two.”
Caine growled. “What job do you have?”
“I’m a…” he paused. What was he?
“You’re a what?”
Cowl glared at his eldest brother. “Don’t be a prick. I work in a bar.”
“Doing what?”
“Um. Like. Stocking. And, uh, cleaning.”
“You have no idea, do you?”
He looked back and forth between the two other dragons. “Why does it matter? I have a job, isn’t that the big thing?”
“Cleaning tables,” Ivore teased. “Truly worthy of a dragon.”
“It matters, little brother,” Caine began, “because it’s so like you. Always jumping head-first into any situation, without really giving it any thought. That’s why we have to keep looking out for you. Even after a couple of centuries, you just don’t get it yet.”
He pushed his way between the two of them as they laughed at his expense. They loved him, he knew that, but sometimes they sure had terrible ways of showing it. Maybe they were just jealous. That was it, he decided—they were jealous he had a job and they didn’t. Serves them right for doing nothing but staying in the apartment and arguing over whether we should fight or not. As if that was ever really a question.
The streets outside were much busier now, full of cars and pedestrians both. Cowl marveled at the variety in human dress and method of transportation. There was so much color. Blacks mixed with reds and blues, neon oranges, and rose-reds. Watery blues and foresty greens. Everywhere he looked the world was awash with color and fun.
What a world!
Absorbed in the magic of the city he almost missed the side street where he’d found the bar.
Cowl sauntered up, eying the neon sign. Mcguiver’s Pub. He wondered who or what a Mcguiver was. Making a note to ask Andria, he pushed the door open.
Immediately he was plagued with a sense of déjà vu. A couple of tables to his left were occupied, along with three seats at the bar. It was what was straight ahead of him that drew his immediate attention.
Jake and his two bootlickers were lounging against the wood. The lead ruffian was once more leaning in, talking to Andria, who was nodding to whatever he said. She looked petrified; the fun, almost boisterous person he’d met the night before was wiped away, replaced by someone else. Someone that only Jake could bring out in her.
Cowl snarled and headed right for him, even as his henchmen moved to intervene. The rafters rumbled, vibrating in time with his chest as he filled the room with noise.
“I thought I told you to leave her alone,” he snapped, leveling a single finger in Jake’s face. He noted the leader hadn’t shaved today, looking scruffier than before. Both of his followers looked ill as well, paler versions of what he remembered. Maybe. Cowl couldn’t recall if he’d noticed their skin that clearly the first night. He’d been a little distracted.
Jake pushed it aside. “Get that out of my face before you regret it.”
“Get out of my bar.” Cowl stood his ground, arms flexing.
To his surprise, Jake didn’t back down. He swayed to Cowl’s left and then slowly back to his right, sizing him up. “You think you’re a tough guy, do you?”
“No. I just know an asshole in need of a beating when I see one.” Cowl smiled broadly, letting his teeth show. It was a predatory move, designed to inflict fear.
Jake, to his surprise, responded with a similar look. “If I didn’t have somewhere more important to be, we’d settle this right here and right now, and you’d be begging for my mercy in five seconds flat.”
Cowl snorted. “Good luck with that. You’d be off your feet in one.”
The two stood scant inches apart, neither willing to make the first move. Cowl, because he knew it wasn’t fair to Jake, and because he didn’t want to upset Andria. Regardless of what Jake was doing to her, violence in her bar and presence was something he would try his absolute hardest to avoid.
What drew his attention most, however, was Jake’s unwillingness to back down. He didn’t know Cowl was a dragon shifter of course, and he had the numbers on his side. That made for a dangerous combination in someone as cocky as him, and Cowl knew that one wrong move right now would start a fight he would have no choice but to finish. He could only hope that Jake was serious about having other places to go.
“Come on, Jake, let’s go. We don’t want to be late to meet your father.” The alcoholic with dark hair put his hand on Jake’s shoulder, but the bigger man threw it off violently.
“No, we don’t,” he said, continuing to stare at Cowl, forced to look up at him just a little bit. “Nobody wants to be piss my father off.” He winked at Cowl.
“You’d better keep that in mind before you keep talking more shit.”
He snapped his fingers and pointed one at Cowl, almost flicking it against his chest as he pushed past, heading out into the afternoon sun.
“Someone has daddy issues,” Cowl growled, turning to look at Andria. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She managed to nod her head, but he saw the tremors running up and down her arms, the fingers tapping nervously against the bar. “Yeah I’m fine.”
Cowl reached out to rest one of his hands atop hers, stilling the shakes instantly. “It’s fine. He’s gone now.”
“I know.”
“What the hell was that all about? Why is he bothering you so much?”
“It’s nothing,” Andria said much too quickly. “Just some drama he won’t let go of. It’s fine.”
It most definitely was not fine. Not when someone was talking to and treating his mate like that. Cowl wanted to push the issue, but he had to respect Andria’s right to privacy. They’d only met the day before; he couldn’t go pushing her just yet.
“What was the comment about his father?”
“He’s a punk like that. Trades on his father’s name to act bigger than he is.” Andria rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing though, unless you actually fight him, which you shouldn’t. He’s got lots of friends.”
“They seem more like parasites than friends.” Cowl had observed the way they hung off of Jake, like leeches trying to gain a bit of blood for themselves, but worthless on their own.
Andria shared her first smile since Jake had left. “That’s actually a pretty good way to put it.”
Cowl stared into her face, unashamed at his brazenness. His eyes roamed over her delicate skin, memorizing every curve and line, imprinting it on his memory. This was a look he wanted to be able to cherish, to call upon in the darkest of times. The smile of his mate could brighten his worst day, and fend off the worst of enemies.
The moment was amplified by the continued contact between them. Andria had yet to slip her hand out from under his when he’d placed it there. He wondered if she’d forgotten about it. He didn’t want to allow himself to begin to think she was into him as well. It was too soon.