Page 51 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

“Why do you care?”

“Because one of us should be happy.”

I winced. “Badly. It went badly.”

“She didn’t like your siblings? No surprise. Tika made an absolute spectacle of herself. I can’t believe she was able to talk Udar into coming.”

I narrowed my eyes. Udar didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do, and he’d been angling for a visit for months. I’d bet my gold chalice that coming to that party was his idea. The better question was how either of them had known I’d be there on such short notice.

“Elle wasn’t upset about Tika.” She’d been surprisingly understanding about her.

Orwasit surprising? She’d thought she was anemployee. But if Tika had talked to Diego like that, I’d still have demanded an apology.

“Then what was she upset about?”

My scales heated with embarrassment. “She didn’t… She was surprised by…” I sighed. “She didn’t know I was courting her.”

“What?” Niemrin’s wings flared out in shock.

“She said that…” I frowned. How had she put it? “That she thought I was offering her a job.”

“Why would… That makes no sense. A job as yourmate?”

“Temporarily.Casually.”

His forehead wrinkled. “But that’s… Why do they have so many levels of casual? Can’t they pick one and stick to it?”

“Apparently not,” I muttered.

Niemrin ran a hand down his face. “Any chance she’s interested in something serious?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I still want that.” My heart still smarted from last night. The uncomfortable kind of burn, not the pleasant heat I’d felt just yesterday.

“Whywouldn’tyou want that?”

“Was any of it real? Did any of it matter?” Had I forced her into doing something she didn’t want to do?

Niemrin frowned. “Did you ask her?”

“She didn’t seem to know either.”

“So there’s a chance. Look. Imagine Elle moving on. She’s dating someone new. They get mated. How would you feel aboutthat?”

Seeing Elle on someone else’s arm, giving them her sass, her smiles, her time. Her fire. I’d feel like I was being burned alive from the inside, my guts constantly aflame. “Not good.”

“It would feel like a living hell, trust me.”

My phone buzzed. It was Udar.

Went to apologize to your prospective mate this morning about that scene Tika made. Elle has a lot of fire for a human.

Thanks, universe.Now I could imagine Elle happy and smiling every day with my fucking brother, who always tried to take what was mine.

I stared at the screen and just barely stopped myself from responding. It would only let him know he was getting to me.

I glanced back at Niemrin, who was staring at his claws while he flexed and unflexed them. He was stuck in that hell already. Recalling the brief minutes I’d spent with Tiffany and Jack, I said, “Yeah. Jack’s a real jackass.”

“He is. I’d hate him even if he were a wonderful mate, but he treats Tiffany like garbage. It’s all I can do not to rip his puny human heart out of his fragile human body.”

---