Page 101 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

“Yep.”

“You got me abuilding?” Not just any building. My old apartment building. I felt faint.

“You told me you needed security, and this should provide some.” He tilted his head, a question on his face. “And you obviously liked something about this building. I’ve already started on repairs, but you can do whatever you want with it.”

I knew how much maintenance it needed. “You’ve already started repairs? And I can do whatever I want?” I could undo all the rent increases. Or turn it into Section Eight housing. A thousand ideas swirled.

I recalled our conversation from a few weeks ago. He’d said security was simple, and I’d asked him not to do anything too crazy. This was the definition of crazy, but also a completely Az thing to do. “Thank you. This is perfect.”

He beamed, pulling me into his chest, his whole body pressed to me. Goddamn, all he really wanted was to make me happy. If I didn’t pull back, I’d end up fucking him instead of getting breakfast.

I snuggled closer.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “You were going to give this to me last night.”

“Yes?” He nosed into my hair, already setting his hands on my bare hips. I hadn’t had time to get dressed between all the surprises he’d dropped on me in the last five minutes.

“Even if I’d left you?” I confirmed. He’d specifically said this might be the last gift he ever gave me.

He ran a hand down my back, as if assuring himself that I was still here. “Of course,Arum. I want you to have whatever you need, even if you aren’t with me.”

“Az, you big softie.” We didn’t make it down to breakfast for a very long time after that.

It turned out, dragons weren’t early risers, on the whole. Someone had set out a handful of breakfast dishes buffet-style in the dining room, but it was obvious that Tika, sitting by herself, was the first one there.

“So last night went well?” Tika said with a grin and a pointed look at my neck.

I ran my fingers over the mark, feeling the miniscule ridges.

Az just grinned.

“Is, uh, everyone going to look?” I asked him.

“Yep.”

“I was hoping you’d have finally figured it out since you left early last night. Can I finally give her my gift now?” Tika nodded to awrapped package sitting next to her. She seemed completely unfazed by her brothers beating the crap out of each other.

“Sure.” Az shrugged.

I did a double take. That was a complete one-eighty from the last time we’d discussed Tika giving me gifts. Did the mating mark make that much a difference?

It must, because he passed Tika’s gift over to me.

“Thank you.” I carefully unwrapped the gift. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything.”

Tika waved a hand. “I know. Az was being totally unreasonable. You’ll just have to make up for it next time.”

I shot Az a panicked look. He ran a hand down my back.

Inside was a makeup set—eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, eyeliner, blush. Even a foundation and concealer in my shade. All from a high-end brand I’d seen all over my social media feeds and wanted to try but would have never bought for myself.

“Thank you, Tika. This is really thoughtful.”

“See?” She turned to Az. “You’re not the only good gift-giver in the family.”

“Maybe one day you’ll win a gift exchange with me without cheating,” he said.

The three of us chatted amiably over breakfast. Tika complained about how their parents had spent most of last night asking her about her own plans to claim a city. Az was adamant that she needed a little more experience before she tried.

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