Page 16 of Charming the Dragon
“I know. Considering I have to watch people’s reactions closely for the smallest tell in court or during interviews and interrogations, I think I can handle a charming dragonman inside a pub.”
His beast growled.Don’t insult her. She’s an intelligent, strong female who has put some big names into prison.
After clearing his throat, Nathan said, “I know you can. But still, I just wanted to warn you since you’re new here, and I don’t want anyone taking advantage of you. And despite his best intentions, sometimes Lucien makes females fall in love with him when he’s sworn off ever doing so himself.”
“Okay, that’s a story I need to hear someday.”
“Maybe. But for now, let’s order some dinner.”
He nearly put his hand on Hayley’s lower back to guide her, but resisted. Instead, he motioned with his head and followed the human to a small table off to the side, one with a Reserved placard. After she sat down, he said, “I’ll fetch us some menus. Did you want anything to drink?”
“Just some sparkling water.”
Once he ordered, he kept an eye on Lucien. But thankfully, the male was laughing with his friends and not paying any attention to Hayley.
His dragon asked,And why do you care?
As I said, females fall in love with Lucien too easily.
Right, tell yourself that. It’s okay to fancy her.
I don’t fancy her. I won’t fancy any human ever again.
His beast fell silent, which was never a good sign. But Nathan ignored him and returned to Hayley, doing his best to glare at any male who tried to come close to the table.
Hayley triedto figure out what Nathan was up to. One second he was grumpy and distant, and the next he glared and tried to warn off other men.
The easiest answer was that he fancied her a little. And yet, while she normally voted for the easiest explanation, she couldn’t quite buy it.
Maybe his contradictory behavior had something to do with the human woman who’d hurt him.
Not that Hayley was going to ask about that. Nope, no way.
Thankfully, Nathan returned, handed her the menu and her drink, and sat back with his arms crossed. After pushing her glasses up, she asked, “What do you recommend?”
“The Irish Stew is good. Or the chicken curry.”
“I’ve never really thought about this before, but are there any dragon-specific dishes?”
“I’m not an expert, but from everything I know, it was fairly simple back in the day—soups, stews, roasted meat, that kind of thing. However, there are a few traditional soups we make that you couldn’t eat because some ingredients are poisonous to humans.”
Without thinking, she replied, “Those dishes would’ve been an easy way to get rid of enemies or unwanted guests a thousand years ago. Just offer them a meal and they’d all keel over.”
He frowned. “Do you routinely think of ways to murder people?”
“Not usually. But I’ve worked on a few murder cases with my colleagues, and I had to try and think like a killer.” She shuddered. “It’s not a fun place to be, by any stretch of the imagination.”
“I would think not. I sometimes have to investigate dragon hate groups online. And even after all these years, some of what they post still shocks me.”
She lowered her menu and placed a hand on his arm. Ignoring how hot and hard it was under her fingers, she said, “I’m sorry you have to see any of that.”
“It’s my job, and it helps my clan.”
“Still, it can’t be easy. I mean, people have these irrational fears of what’s different and some of them go to extremes to blame others for their problems. When, in reality, it has absolutely nothing to do with dragon-shifters.”
He grunted. “I know.”
Not quite ready to change the subject, she asked, “But your work has led to finding and turning in some of these people, right?”
