Page 44 of There's Something About Dragons
“You do. But I have every right to ignore you.”
Something hard and ugly crosses his face. I would have missed it if I wasn’t so familiar with his face from his many clinic visits.
“I haven’t turned in my check yet,” he says, patting his breast pocket where the corner of the envelope peeks out. I suck in a breath. Would he really deprive the AAW of his donation if I don’t do what he wants?
“I haven’t written Impy’s new prescription yet,” I say just as coldly. I’d never deny that sweet old girl her medicine, but he’s not the only one who can use the things people love to manipulate them.
To his credit, Tristan looks stricken. “You wouldn’t!”
“No, I wouldn’t. That’s the difference between us. You would.”
“I wouldn’t, either. I swear,” he says, gorgeous eyes brimming with picture-perfect tears, lips slightly swollen like he’s in a high-end lip gloss campaign. “I would have turned in my envelope either way. I just wanted a chance to apologize. To make things right for my bad behavior earlier. Sometimes my demon instincts take over and I go about things the wrong way, but it’s always with good intentions. Let me get you some champagne to make it up to you.”
He lifts his hand to flag down a waiter, and my head starts to throb. Is he doing bad things for good reasons, or is he doing good things for bad reasons? I pinch the bridge of my nose, willing away my impending headache. Why are men so infuriating? Even if Zed is being shady about why he’s in town and where our relationship stands, at least he respected my boundaries and left when I asked.
“Tristan. If you don’t leave in the next thirty seconds, I will.”
Finally, he listens. With a practiced, mournful look, he leaves out the front, his donation envelope still in his pocket.
Chapter 19
Zed
“Did Cari like the jacket?” Gabe asks when I walk in the door of my hotel room, glancing up from his laptop. Then he catches sight of my expression and spins around in the desk chair to face me fully. “Uh… I guess I don’t need to ask how it went. Shit. What happened?”
I flop down on the other bed. “I don’t even know. It was a total disaster. Cari kicked me out of the event, and she was probably right to do it. That demon friend of hers knows how to get under my skin. I acted like an idiot. Almost got myself into a fight.”
“A fight with a demon? Are you crazy?”
I cover my face my hand. “Yeah. Crazy for her.”
“Bro. I’ve been telling you, your obsession with this chick is not healthy. You’re making really bad decisions because of her. You could get yourself killed going up against the wrong demon dude.”
Iknow. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut and show Cari a good time? Damn, I really screwed up. “She doesn’t even want to talk to me now.”
“Probably for the best,” Gabe says sympathetically. “She’s been causing issues for you for as long as I’ve known you. She put you in the hospital. She got you in trouble with the law. Now she’s getting you tangled up with some demon who’s even more obsessed with her than you are.”
Every impulse in me is to go to her house and wait for her. Make sure she and Radar get home okay. Talk to her. Tell her that we’re mates, meant to be together forever. But she specifically said she doesn’t want to see me or hear from me, so I know she’ll be even more upset if I do it.
“What should I do? She told me to stay away from her.”
“You stay the fuck away, that’s what.”
“I could hide in the bushes so she doesn’t see me.” The look Gabe gives me is so disgusted that I’m embarrassed I even had the thought. “Never mind.”
He spins in his chair, frowning thoughtfully. “You need a distraction. A very sexy distraction who smells good and is eager to please.”
I groan. “No strippers.”
He scoffs. “Obviously. You don’t need to pay for it. We already made the app. Get on MateDate where all the monsterfuckers are. That’s why we created it, so monsters can hook up with thirsty humans with the least amount of effort.”
Mate, my feral form growls, completely pissed at the suggestion of any female besides the one he wants. “That sounds like an even worse idea than your recommendation to wear a fur coat to an animal-rights charity event.”
“It was vintage,” he says defensively. “I’m telling you, it’ll take two minutes to get one of those chicks in your lap. Trust me, they’ll make you forget your own name. Cari is not the only bitch in the sea.”
“Shut the fuck up about Cari,” I snarl, flinging a pillow at him.
“I’m not talking about her, I’m talking about what you obviously need. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
