Page 23 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

When a knock sounded, I scrambled for the door and pulled it open. Elle stood on the other side, clutching her purse.

“Elle. Hi. Hello.” Fuck, she was beautiful. Hair the color of gold curled around her face, and she’d done something to her eyes to make them look deep and dark. I suddenly appreciated humans’ interest in looking “mysterious.”

Her dress, though. I stifled a wince. Just like earlier, she wore an off-the-rack, low-end brand. Cheap materials, poor construction. I’d need to take her shopping at the earliest opportunity. I couldn’t allow my future mate to walk around in this insult.

“Hi, Az.” She smiled, but her eyes darted around the hallway and past my wings, into my apartment.

Right. She’d want to know what my home looked like. I stepped back and ushered her inside. “Dinner will be here soon.”

“Great. Thanks,” Elle answered, eyes wide as she took in my penthouse, examining the pieces of treasure I’d chosen to display in the entrance, seeming mesmerized. Watching her eyes run over everything made all the agony of dealing with Niemrin’s ribbing worth it.

I couldn’t wait to watch her pick through my things and choose something to keep. Something I’d provided for her to wear on her wrist or next to her throat, covering her heartbeat. My chest puffed out, and my wings wanted to expand.

7

Elle

An ornate gold chalice, one that looked so much like it belonged in a museum I expected Harrison Ford to show up with a whip and snatch it, sat on display in Az’zael’s massive living room. Paintings decorated every square inch of wall space. Those probably belonged in a museum, too.

No wonder he’d agreed to pay me twenty-five grand a month. That amount must seem likenothingfor someone with his wealth. I should have asked for fifty.

Okay, keep it together. He’s paying for a service. Act like it.At least he’d sent me his test results before I arrived. Throwing around a little extra cash had expedited my results, and I assumed he’d done the same thing. We’d both come back negative for everything, so I had every expectation of condomless sex tonight.

“You have a lovely home.” My voice hitched on the last word.

His massive chest puffed out, and his wings extended several feet behind him before snapping back close to his body. I was pretty sure he was pleased.

I only wished I knew what he expected sexually. A few times since the dragons moved in, I’d searched for a little dragon porn—I’d been curious and horny—but all my searches had turned up little more thanhuman actors in ridiculous costumes. I didn’t know what he might be working with below the belt.

It’s just sex, I reminded myself.Insert Tab A into Slot B.

“Thanks. Would you like a tour?” He spoke quickly. At coffee, he said he’d never done this before, but I’d been too anxious to absorb that at the time. Now, seeing the slight tremor in his extended arm, that little tidbit echoed in my head and put me a touch more at ease. This would be new and maybe a little awkward for both of us.

I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow, disappointed that I couldn’t feel his scaled skin beneath the thick material of his no-doubt expensive suit, but his warmth seeped into me all the same, settling into my belly. I motioned for him to lead me forward, my shoulders relaxing a notch.

Az’zael ushered me through room upon room of treasure, keeping my hand trapped tight between his arm and chest in a move that felt almost proud, like having me touch him even so slightly was an impressive accomplishment.

He obviously wanted to show off a bit, and doing so seemed to relax him. His apartment occupied the entire top floor of the most expensive apartment building in the city, and it must have been modified to fit his proportions. His wings fit through the doorways, and the ceiling cleared his head by several feet.

Given all the apartment’s modifications, he must have owned it. Hell, he probably owned the whole building. I mean, he owned half the city. Sweat beaded on the back of my neck every time I thought about it.

The many and varied ways he could ruin my life if things went sideways were a lot scarier than anything we might get up to in the bedroom.

“I thought Niemrin was in charge of universities and libraries,” I asked when Az’zael showed me an entire room dedicated to books. “Library” seemed like a bit of a misnomer, since the room seemed more focused on display than functional reading. My own apartment had a single overstuffed shelf of used paperbacks that I constantly had to pare back.

He tilted his head. “He is.”

“Then why all the rare books?” Most were housed in standing, sealed display cases. Only a handful were on the bookshelf. They were probably centuries old. I felt a little dizzy.

“Oh. No.” His feet shuffled, and he squeezed my hand more tightly to his firm chest. “This is my personal library. It’s just this room.”

I blinked. Anentire room, and he was shifting his weight like I’d caught him doing something wrong. “An entire room of books sounds amazing. I only have one bookshelf in my apartment, and it’s always stuffed to the brim.”

“So you like books, then.” It was an observation, not a question. Az held himself stiffly, his wings pinned to his back. Part of me wanted to pet him until they flared out again. He looked so insecure, but about what? I saw nothing to be ashamed of.

“Love ’em. What kinds do you have?” Maybe talking about his collection would put him at ease. He’d certainly enjoyed showing me every other room we’d been in so far.

He coughed, smoke puffing out of one nostril. “I choose them based more on, uh, artistic skill than content. That one has a treasure binding dating back to the tenth century.” He pointed to a book on prominent display in the center, the cover studded with gems and the edges gilded with gold.

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