Page 7 of Dragon Unleashed
“My presence is known to raise heart rates, Paige, I thought you’d be used to it by now,” he says.
I roll my eyes and try to go around him, but he steps into my path.
“What do you want?” I ask, eyeing him warily.
Mag is a flirt. Something I sometimes find myself dishing right back if I’m bored, but the truth is that he is too much of a player for me. Though, I wonder if it’s my refusal to fall for his charms that makes him try so hard.
“I was wondering if you’ve seen Blossom.”
I snort. If Mag thinks I play hard to get, he certainly has his work cut out for him with the gorgeous unicorn shifter.
“Why? Didn’t she offer to crush your balls into gravel the last time she saw you?”
He shrugs, his smile playful. “I like a challenge. And besides, I need to ask her for a favor.”
“What favor would I possibly agree to do for you?” Blossom’s biting tone cuts off my own reply—which would have been pretty much the same, for the record.
She steps into view from behind the stacks that lead to the poisonous creature section. There’s a splatter of something bright blue on her elbow that makes me wonder if there was some sort of incident. Then again, I probably don’t want to know.
Her gaze finds mine. “And it was sand,” she says. “I offered to crush them into tiny sand granules.”
I chuckle.
“Blossom, my beautiful friend,” Mag drawls, completely unbothered.
Blossom glares. “I’m not your beautiful anything.” She cuts me a look. “Is he bothering you? Because my job is to protect this library—and you—from all manner of threats. And from where I stand, the threat of assholery isveryreal.”
“He was looking for you,” I tell her.
“So... self-defense?” she asks sweetly.
I shake my head. “I can’t approve it.”
She sighs like I’ve really inconvenienced her by not letting her beat the shit out of him.
“Hilarious, you two,” Mag says.
Blossom deadpans, “Who’s joking?”
The strain between them is real, and I decide not to point out it feels awkwardly similar to sexual tension. Blossom would kick my ass if I uttered those words where Mag is concerned. And Mag would never let her live it down.
The gargoyle has been a keeper of the Athenaeum for as long as I can remember. He’s looked exactly the same as the day I met him, too. Basically, a poster child for the cover of GQ. And not a day older than twenty-five.
Humans would swoon, for sure. Honestly, supernaturals do too. One woman—a witch who’d lost access to her powers—actuallydidpass out while following him back to the moon magic section. She claimed low blood sugar, but the gnomes swear she was staring at his ass. Mag rode that high for months afterward.
Then, Blossom’s arrival a year ago shook everything up, especially Mag, though he pretends to enjoy their rivalry. I don’t think Blossom is pretending.
“Okay, look, I can see you aren’t in the mood to grant favors,” Mag says to her, “But I really need someone to cover my shift tonight.”
“Hot date?” Blossom asks, her brow arching to let him know she finds that prospect doubtful.
“I’m flattered that you think so,” he says.
“Everyone is lovable to someone,” she says. “And I don’t judge. I think you and Bingo make a cute couple.”
I suppress a smile.
He clutches his heart, stagging back a step. “You wound me.”
