Page 48 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

Tika’s attention snapped to Az, her wingtips dropping.

Udar’s thin lips pinched together.

“I’m just looking out for you.” Tika crossed her arms.

“I can look out for myself.” Smoke puffed out of his snout, and I wanted to scuttle out from between these two massive, angry beasts.

“Put your wings away,” he said. “You know how skittish humans are.”

Now seemed like a bad time to tell him that billowing smoke like a chimney wasalsoterrifying to most humans. The rest of the party pressed themselves against the walls, their attention still fixated on us.

“I warned you, Tika.” Udar tsked, his own wings tucked against his back.

Tikalass’s wings snapped closed. “Sorry.” She dipped her head.

“We’ve talked about this. You can’t come to human events until you’ve spent more time around them.” Az ran a hand over his flat face. “Tomorrow night, you’ll come to my apartment and apologize to Elle. Then you’ll go back to your lair.”

“It’s fine. Really,” I said. A surprise introduction to his family going to shit wasn’t exactly, well, surprising.

“It’s not fine.” He glared at Tikalass, who slunk backward.

“And you.” He rounded on Udar, who looked about as innocent as a seven-foot-tall dragon could. “What the hell were you thinking, bringing her here?”

Udar shrugged. “I thought she could handle the responsibility. She’s been an adult for a full year.”

Az scoffed. “I told you to stay out of my city uninvited.”

“Come on, I think it’s time for us to leave.” He pulled me forward, and I followed in silence. We hadn’t even had dinner yet, but I was eager to get out of here after that scene.

Once we were in the car, he turned to me and asked, “You’re still working?” Hurt poured off of him in waves.

I groped for an answer and said the first one that came to mind. “Quitting wasn’t in our agreement.”

“You don’t need a job. I assumed…”

My forehead wrinkled. “That I would depend on you completely?”

“That I can take care of you.” His shoulders hunched.

I sifted through every conversation we’d had. How he’d responded to all of my demands in the coffee shop, how he’d showered me with extravagant gifts, how his sister had seemed bizarrely pleased about that, and how his brother had instantly tried to one-up him.

Shit.Was the gift-giving a dragon-culture thing rather than an Az-has-a-kink thing?

“I think you can provide for me very well.” I chose my words carefully. “But it’s difficult for me, as a human, to give up that kind of independence.” I’d need something to go back to when this was over.

“So this is a human thing?” He narrowed his eyes. “But that show, with the bosses. It sounds terrible.”

Itcouldbe terrible. I’d had my fair share of shitty jobs, but my current restaurant was one of the better ones. “It’s about knowing you can provide for yourself.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.Ican provide for you. If my mateworks, people will think I don’t value you.”

“Yourmate?” I spluttered.

He shifted. “Fuck. What do humans call it? Husband? Spouse?”

“Wife.” I supplied the word while the rest of my brain tried to catch up.

“Right. Wife.”

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