Page 64 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

“Udar.”

“What do you want?”

“To remind you that you can’t show up in my city without my permission. I just spent the last two days cleaning upyourmess.”

Udar scoffed. “That party was boring as fuck before we showed up.”

“This is why no one’s willing to partner with you to claim a city. You’re too much of a selfish asshole.” I smirked. Udar was two years older than me, yetI’dbeen the first to claim a city. It was one of the only times my parents had seemed proud of me.

“I’ma selfish asshole? You’re the one leaving your prospective mate in a shitty little apartment while you parade her around in public without even letting her know what that means. She probably didn’t know enough to ask for something better, and you took advantage.Frumser.”

I leaned back in my seat, my wings flaring out behind me. “She thinks you’re a creep for showing up at her apartment. Probably because you acted like one. A woman like Elle can’t be bullied and ordered into matehood.”

“Iknow. She slammed her door in my face.” Enthusiasm dripped from every word.

My hands fisted on the desk. “Find your own human.”

“But yours is so delightful. If you’re her first dragon, she has no ideawhat she’s missing out on.”

“Just stay the fuck out of my city and away from Elle. And don’t think your little trick with Voyage Games worked.”

“Voyage what? Never heard of them.”

“Don’t play dumb.”

“Right. That’s your job.”

“You may be smarter than me, but I could always kick your ass.” Udar and I hadn’t gotten into it since we were teenagers, but I always wonthosefights. Usually after he’d humiliated me some other way. “You can only push me so far.”

“Mepushyou? You’ve been pushingmefor the last eight months.”

Before I could respond, he hung up.

I cursed and stared at the phone.

16

Elle

Iscurried to my new apartment and changed into my work clothes without letting myself think about where I was. I’d process that later.

Then I headed to work, all the while trying to ignore the pleasant soreness between my legs. Every time I thought about it, I blushed hot and hard. No one had ever made me feel like Az did, and I didn’t even mean because of his anatomy.

Although that had been its own kind of magic. Next time, I wanted to see if I could take them both. With an attentive, generous partner like Az, it would be mind-blowing.

Shit. Maya was giving me side-eye from across the room. Probably because I kept blushing.

“What are you still doing here? Come to rub it in our faces?” she demanded when I paused to pick up an order.

“Excuse me?”

“Those fucking dragons made it impossible for normal people to live here. I thought you got that, and now you’re cozying up to one. More than one, by the looks of it.”

Fuck. I’d forgotten that pictures of me with Az were all over social media. Of course everyone here had seen them by now.

“Fuck off, Maya.” See if I switched shifts with her again.

My stomach clenched. She’d get her pick of my shifts if I quit. Which, let’s be real—if I married a dragon, it’d be pretty stupid to keep working as a server.

---