Page 5 of Dragon His Heels
“I’ve been here for five minutes, so that doesn’t constitute ‘moving in.’”
“What would you do if you weren’t my PR manager?”
That was a damn good question. Whatwouldshe do? Her entire existence was wrapped up in this job. Of course, she knew that wasn’t healthy, but Talia Tatsuya didn’t believe in failure, and keeping Gabe looking good to the rest of the colony was far more than a forty-hour-a-week job.
“Join another colony,” she blurted, lest he think she actually needed him. Or this job. “Take on the task of making their reeve look good. It can’t possibly be any worse than my current boss.”
“Touché,” he said, grinning like a damn fool. “Anyway, I was going to say, you know everything. And if you don’t know something, you make it your business to find out. That’s why you’re better at this child-rearing gig than I am.”
She couldn’t argue his point.
“So anyway, about this kid. My kid. And our living arrangements. Will she be okay in there by herself?” He glanced over his shoulder at the partially open door to the entertainment room.
Talia walked over to peek into the dimly lit room. Ruby was curled up on the couch, staring intently at the animated figures on the screen that covered an entire wall. It was quite possible she’d never seen a Disney movie until now.
“Yeah, I think she’ll be okay for a minute.”
“Good. Let’s go upstairs. I want to show you my bedroom.”
With his hand wrapped around her elbow, Gabe started to lead her toward the staircase. Talia dug in her heels, which wasn’t very effective considering she wore flip-flops and stood on a sleek ceramic tile floor.
“No way. I am not going to your bedroom. I am not going to be another notch in your bedpost, mister. No. Absolutely—”
He cocked his head and stared at her. It took long seconds for her to realize he wasn’t hitting on her. Not even remotely. There was no flirtation in his tone, no coyness, no huskiness, none of the telltale signs she’d witnessed plenty enough times while he made his moves on his next entirely willing victim.
“Er…” She felt her face flame, was powerless against the sign of embarrassment.
Gabe grinned and crossed his arms, deliberately flexing his rather impressive pecs. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”
“Me thinks the lady knows you all too well,” she retorted. “Now, what’s in your bedroom that I need to see?”
“My giant four-poster bed. Specially made with bedposts that are perfect for tying someone up.”
Ugh.
He chuckled. “Come on.” With a wave of his hand, he took the stairs three at a time, his long, powerful legs eating up the distance while Talia had to practically jog to keep up.
Hanging a left, he strode down the hall, his leather flip-flops slapping the wooden floor with each step. That was another thing about Gabe she sometimes wished she could fix: He dressed like a California surfer. Not at all fitting for the leader of one of the largest dragon colonies in North America. How in the world were other reeves supposed to take him seriously when he looked like a college student? A buff frat boy, but still.
“There’s a counsel meeting next week,” she said, following him into a bedroom that was the size of a small house. The centerpiece, a four-poster bed, did indeed have thick pillars at each corner that would be perfect for tying someone up while another someone tormented them with a feather. Or perhaps one of those soft, leather riding crops.
Gods, what waswrongwith her? Okay, yeah, her sex life had been hovering on the brink of extinction since Gabe became reeve and she’d decided to make it her life’s mission to attempt to mold him into the sort of leader they needed for this colony. Hey, she liked to fix people, and he most definitely needed mending.
But fantasies involving anything having to do with Gabe went far beyond any and all hard limits she set for herself.
Maybe she needed to cut back her hours. Go out a little more frequently. Attempt to get back into the dating game. Because thinking about tying Gabe up so she could have her wicked way… No. Just no.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, striding to the middle of the room and turning to face her, hands on hips, looking like a warrior general, if she could get past the tight T-shirt and baggy shorts. “Tell me what I’m supposed to cover and I’ll do it. But don’t tell me until like ten minutes before, okay? I don’t want to forget whatever the hell I’m supposed to report.”
She rolled her eyes. He grinned.
“You know what I like about you, Talia?”
“I can hardly wait to hear.”
“Well, you’re hot, but that’s not what I like about you. In fact, that would be annoying if I weren’t getting laid on the regular. Because then I might be interested in trying to hook up with you, and you strike me as someone who isn’t into one-night stands.”
“You’d be right on that count.”
