Page 15 of Charming the Dragon
His cousin slapped his shoulder. “Well, you should find out. She’s already better than Tracey ever was, in my opinion, and Hayley clearly isn’t afraid of us. Not just because she became interested when my pupils flashed earlier, but also because she was biting her tongue to keep from asking what my beast was saying. If I were a betting male, I’d say she could handle an inner dragon and a mate-claim frenzy.”
“So says the male who knows who his true mate is and stays away.”
Luke glared. “It’s complicated, and you know it.”
It was, for many reasons. Still, Nathan never held back with Luke. “You could find a way to make it work, if you wanted to.”
His cousin gave a double finger salute. “You can stand here and talk about fairy tales, but I’d rather spend time getting to know the interesting new female. At least one of us can be charming.”
After Luke headed inside, Nathan took a deep breath to calm down.
His dragon spoke up.Just forget about everything else tonight and have fun.
You know it’s not that easy.
Maybe not. But you’ve grown up here. It should be okay.
Sometimes Nathan could handle a big crowd, and sometimes not. Even if he knew almost everyone inside the pub, it would still be draining.
And since tonight was karaoke night, it would be packed.
A song started playing and a female voice belted out a tune, one he didn’t recognize. After he opened the door, a tone-deaf singing voice assaulted his ears, and he looked to see who it was.
Hayley Beckett stood on the slightly raised dais, singing loudly and dancing in place, clearly without any sort of rhythm.
His beast said,And yet, she’s happy and smiling.
It was true—Hayley beamed as she sang and attempted to dance. Her hair swayed around her shoulders and her skirt kept swishing around her legs.
Everyone watched her, and if anything, Hayley sang even louder.
Her eyes eventually met his, and for a second, time stilled. He wanted to go up there and sing with her, to see what it felt like to not care about crowds or people judging his awful singing voice. He’d attempted karaoke exactly once as a teenager, and the pity claps afterward had convinced him to never try it again.
His dad appeared at his side and said, “She knows how to have a good time, that’s for sure.”
Before Nathan could reply, Hayley finished, and everyone clapped. He joined in for a few beats before he saw a group of single dragonmen heading toward her. One of them was Lucien Fox, a charming male he sometimes worked with for IT projects.
When Lucien took Hayley’s hand and kissed the back of it, Nathan growled.
His dad whispered, “Act fast, son, or Lucien might win her over. He’s looking for a mate, after all.”
Without saying another word, Nathan made a beeline for Hayley and reached her in record time. He heard Lucien say, “I come to karaoke every week. Maybe we can sing together sometime?”
Nathan grunted. “Hayley and I have an early start tomorrow, so don’t tire the human out.”
Hayley frowned at him a second before smiling at Lucien. “I may not be twenty any longer, but I can stay awake past six o’clock. I’d love to have a singing partner.”
Lucien smirked at him and replied, “Then we’ll do a song together, love. I’ll put us on the list. What should we sing?”
She shrugged. “Pick anything popular from the last twenty years, and I’ll probably know it. Surprise me.”
Lucien leaned forward. “Right, then I’ll come find you when it’s time.”
Nathan glared at Lucien as he left with his friends. Once they were as alone as two people could be inside a pub, he growled, “Be careful of Lucien.”
She raised her brows. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
“I’m just saying, he’s a huge flirt.”
