Page 7 of Fire Dragon Lover

She blinked and looked around the room, "That is easier said than done, Logan. This isn't a world I am used to."

He knew that was true. She didn't live in the spotlight, and he sometimes forgot about that. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze as he smiled at her, "Smile, Gretchen. You're wonderful." He leaned closer once more, "I wouldn't have brought you if I didn't think you were up to the task."

Twelve

Gretchen

She doesn't even know how it got to this point. She was sitting in a chair, drinking a glass of champagne, watching Logan mingle. Correct that. She was watching Logan flirt. He had told her just to follow, but she was growing tired of the girls hitting on him while she stood there.

So, she sat at a table, sipped her liquor, and stared. She'd never hated these parties until now. But then again, she was always doing something, busy with some task when she came to them. She was never the one in the dress forced to mingle or forced to stand by and watch.

She took another drink of her glass as she forgot what number she was on. Last she checked, it was five, but that was about an hour ago. When Logan was still watching to see where she was, he had stopped looking when she hadn't moved from her spot.

She sighed heavily. She hated how he was like a fish swimming through the crowd. He knew who to mingle with and who was worth his time. All the girls were speaking to him, caressing his arm and giving their fake laughs. She could tell all the way from the other side of the room. It only agitated Gretchen more.

She took another sip of her glass, waving for another one. Maybe she was on her seventh now. It wasn't the smartest idea, but she didn't care. It was better than listening to girls say, "You're so handsome tonight."

"Would you care to dance?" Gretchen looked over her shoulder and took in a tall, dark-haired man. She had also lost count on how many guys had asked her to dance tonight. The first three, she had said no, because she was still with Logan. The fourth guy she told no because she didn't feel like it. But now, now she felt like dancing.

She looked at Logan and wondered if he would notice she was no longer in her seat. She was shocked, however, to find him flirting with a chick. They were both laughing hard, the girl holding onto his shoulder. Gretchen hated it.

She took a sip of her new glass and looked at the guy, "Sure, why not." She had told herself for a while now that she wasn't going to ever act on her emotions for Logan. She knew it would never be anything but a business relationship, so why was she waiting on him? She didn't need him. He had told her to do what she wanted. Well, maybe he told her to think of herself, and she was. She was thinking of her needs, and her need at the moment was to have some fun.

She took the man's hand, and he led her down towards the dance floor. Gretchen was excited, ready to move this boring party aside and let loose. She wanted to get her stress out before she had to get back to work. She wanted to start to get over her crush and finally move on in life.

Thirteen

Logan

Logan was busy. He knew he still needed to mingle while he kept an eye on Gretchen, which is easier said than done when everyone seemed to be swarming at him, including the women.

He couldn't be mad that she walked away from having to listen to all the girls that flirted with him. He also knew that with the mole, he shouldn't have her attached to him the entire time either. He didn't want his enemies to know how attached he was to her. It wouldn't end well for her.

So, he allowed her to stay a safe distance away—most of which she had spent sitting in a chair drinking champagne. He, however, did not like the handful of men that went up to talk to her every few moments.

He knew they saw exactly what he was looking at, and they knew Gretchen was a catch. Many had asked for her to dance, and his inner dragon was ready to rip the damn building apart with rage. He wanted to storm over there and ask her to dance himself. He wanted to do a lot of things with Gretchen besides dance.

He was happy when she turned them down, and her eyes would look at him for a split second. He wondered if she was maybe upset with him. Her eyes didn't give him a happy look.

Logan tried to listen to the heiress talking to him. He hardly remembered what they were talking about at this point. His eyes were glued on Gretchen, he watched her finish yet another drink. She was downing them tonight.

The heiress laughed, and Logan looked at her and forced a laugh himself. He had no idea what about but she seemed pleased. He turned his attention back towards Gretchen, and his heart froze.

A tall man was talking to her, and she had yet another drink in front of her. She smiled at him and gave him a gentle laugh. She held her hand out, and the man accepted it.

Logan damn near shattered the glass in his hands, his inner dragon boiled to the surface. The man said something into her ear, and she blushed. Her entire face was red, but she smiled at him. She enjoyed whatever it was he said.

Logan stepped away from the group he was with and headed down the walkway. He watched as they walked towards the dance floor, the guy's hand wrapped around her waist as he pulled her close.

Logan grunted and felt a snarl on his lips. He was ready to rip the man's limb off.

Gretchen was enjoying herself though. She laughed as they entered the dance floor, and the man spun her. She was clearly intoxicated and Logan could see the flush on her face from the alcohol.

Logan stopped at the corner of the hallway just by the dance floor. He hated how the man spun and dipped her. He hated how he moved her hair back and got closer to her with each song. Logan had given her a little time to enjoy herself but after a while he was sick of it. He'd had enough.

Fourteen

Gretchen

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