Eva, someday, your prince will come.

Eva’s grandmother had repeated that fairytale every time Eva’s dad dropped her off and forgot about her for a month or ten. It was usually spoken while she painted Eva’s small nails with magical purple sparkles to help her feel special.

Just be patient, my dear.

Decades later, Eva eased through crowds of young, demure college students at the art-themed bar. Techno music pounded her skull.

She raised her rainbow-sparkle fingernails and caught the attention of Chloe, her friend and part-time bartender. “One ‘Unicorn Farts’ cocktail, please.”

Chloe cupped her ear and shouted. “What?”

“Unicorn Farts!” Eva shouted back. “Extra glitter!”

Chloe made the thumbs up, constructed the rainbow-colored drink, and slid it down to Eva. “How about your date?”

“Something came up…”

Chloe’s smile faltered. “He stood you up? At dinner? Do you need something? I have a granola bar in my purse.”

“I ate by myself.”

“You should have called!”

Eva waved her off. “You were working. I wanted to try that restaurant, anyway.”

“But it’s your special day… You want me to find you someone?”

“No, no.” Eva flubbed her lips. “I’m not that desperate.”

“Sure?” Chloe teased, then leaned across the wide bar and enfolded Eva in a more serious hug. In Eva’s ear, she could speak at a normal volume and still be heard. “You don’t have to take a guy home. Just be open to meeting new people. Not strangers on the internet who’ll ghost you instead of meeting. Not a guy you were friends with in high school who you know is emotionally unavailable. A real, live, physical person who’s new. Anything could happen.”

“Why do I need new people when I have good friends like you?”

Chloe snorted and squeezed her again. “Well, I am pretty great…”

The other bar patrons waved to catch her eye.

She released Eva. “Everybody’s out on the dance floor. I’ll see you on my break.”

Eva lifted her credit card. “Start my tab.”

“Forget that!” Chloe waved and headed to serve the next customer. “Happy thirtieth!”

“Thank you!” Eva tried to smile and sipped her drink.

Apparently, unicorn farts were one part rose cream, one part cake vodka, one part banana liqueur, and one part peach Schnapps. Her tongue burned. That seemed fitting.

She meandered toward the bobbing dance floor.

It was funny that unicorns were popular this season after five solid years of dragons. Of course, dragons being popular as a theme was understandable since exactly five years ago dragon aliens from space had landed their spaceships on Earth soil and said, “Surprise, you’re not alone!”

In fact, dragons had surveyed Earth in the Middle Ages and decided it was a useless backwater planet with no valuable resources, so they’d gone on to ignore it for several hundred years.

Humans were the only species in the universe that couldn’t shift forms. Some genetically recessive trait only existed on Earth, probably due to the lack of valuable minerals.

It had been a big deal when they’d landed, with constant coverage on TV, but most of the Dragon Empire still thought Earth was useless and ignored them. Only a few hundred dragons ever even settled on Earth, they restricted their technology, and nobody got to voyage around the galaxy. One family had even settled right across the river in a field outside of Vancouver, Washington. But aside from the occasional spaceship that flew overhead, nothing much in Portland, Oregon had changed, and the news had just kind of faded away.

Like Eva’s dating opportunities.

Eva sipped her unicorn cocktail and studied the bar.

Chloe wasn’t wrong. Eva had a long record of picking guys who kept their distance. Her online therapist would say that made it easier to reinforce the narrative that there was something wrong with her, when in actuality, Eva had a lot going right.

She was big, which meant she could see over half the crowd to pick out her friends. She was heavy, which meant she’d be the last person targeted by a predator. And she was naturally blonde, which meant her hair took up any color she wanted—including the teal-magenta-violet ombré her stylist had given her shoulder-length locks this morning.

But shoving her way into the bouncing crowd to dance was so much work, and dangerous, too. Someone could throw an elbow. It was so much easier to lean against a black-painted building support column and wait for her friends to tire of dancing and find her. She was good at waiting, and she liked people watching.

Take the guy a few feet over, leaning against the next grungy black pillar.

He was hot, like molten lava hot, in a black-on-black tailored suit that accented his impossibly broad shoulders, bulging biceps, trim waist, and powerful thighs. And he was mysterious in a literal I-wear-my-sunglasses-at-night and leveled it up by wearing them indoors. Short brown hair and a chiseled jaw completed the spymaster look.

And he was looking at her.

Probably. The sunglasses made it hard to tell for sure, but it looked like he was staring straight at her. His lips parted as if in shock.

Tingling awareness flooded her private places, tightening her nipples and causing her pussy to clench with heat.

She gazed back, sipping her drink, testing how long he would stare.

He didn’t look away.

Heat crackled between them.

His nostrils flared as if he scented her. He was a dangerous male, and she was his chosen female.

Or she was mistaken, and he wasn’t looking at her. The sunglasses were completely opaque. His gaze could be fixed anywhere.

Eva drained her drink and stepped away to return the empty glass.

His face tilted to follow her movement.

Her breath caught.

He was staring at her. In a hard, attentive, mesmerized manner.

Or because something was wrong with her.

Eva rocked on her heels, caught between conflicting desires.

She didn’t have to take a guy home. She could just walk up, introduce herself, and talk to him. He might be waiting for a girlfriend. It only cost thirty seconds to find out.

Of course, after thirty seconds, she might say something stupid and be even more embarrassed and alone, whereas if she didn’t approach him, she could stretch out the magic of what-ifs and make-believe all night.

Just be patient, my dear.

Waiting was so much safer.

Eva squared her shoulders. She was already thirty. How much longer was she going to wait?

She wove through the crowd and stopped in front of him.

He oriented on her.

She clenched her purse. It was quieter next to the pillar. She wouldn’t have to scream in his face to be heard. “Hi.”

He tilted his head in subtle acknowledgment.

“Um…I thought you were staring at me.”

He gave another subtle nod.

“You were? Is everything okay?”

“Yes.”

His voice was a quiet, pleasant tenor, but his monosyllabic answer was functional and short.

This conversation was going nowhere. Eva slid a step backward, her body exiting before she was quite able to give up. “Uh, why were you staring?”

“Because you are beautiful.”

She had misheard. “Huh?”

“You are beautiful.”

Heat enveloped her in sudden shock, and her heart thumped. “I? I am?”

He nodded. Subtle, functional, short.

“Um, thank you.” Heat burned her cheeks and her heart continued to thump. Don’t get too excited. She swallowed her suddenly dry mouth and tried not to trace the impressive curve of his hard biceps. “Are you waiting for someone?”

He shook his head.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

He shook his head again.

Probably it was the drink that emboldened her, but she flat out asked, “Did you want one?”

He hesitated.

“Ha ha, never mind, I was just....” She pressed her palm to the breast of her new blouse. “I work at the art college down the street. My friends and I come dancing almost every weekend. I’ve never seen you here.”

“Tonight is my first visit.”

“Yeah? What drew you in?”

“Work.”

“Oh, what do you do?”

“Security.”

“For this bar?”

He subtly shook his head and casually surveyed the bar like he was checking out the clientele.

Small silver piercings dotted both of his ears, lining the whole curve from lobe to the top of the helix.

Wasn’t security a more conservative job? Maybe she was thinking of banks. “Your piercings are so unique. It’s lucky that your job is okay with them.”

“They are common at my employer,” he told her flatly. “They indicate my rank.”

The lack of emotion in his tone, like his short answers, pushed her away.

But something made her linger. “Rank in what?”

“Everything.” His sunglasses hid his eyes, just like his tone hid his emotions. “I’m a dragon.”

Dragon…

She took in his hard, lickable, all-too-human body and reconciled it with the TV coverage of scaly giant flying lizards from several years ago. “You mean like an alien? A shifter dragon? Like the Onyx dragons who—?”

“No.” He seemed mildly offended. “Of course not. I am nothing like them.”

“Oh! Sorry, it’s just…” Hysterical laughter bubbled up, and she giggled. “I’ve got dragons on the brain. And on my legs.” She lifted her knee to show him her tights, which had Chinese-style dragons smoking impressively across the lace.

He gazed for an appropriate length of time.

She dropped her knee, fixed the hem of her velvet skirt, and giggled again. “I didn’t mean to be silly.”

He tilted his head as though forgiving her.

But that just triggered her to giggle harder.

He watched her without cracking a smile.

But that was okay. He also didn’t interrupt, and she appreciated that.

She enjoyed a real laugh at herself, at him, at the situation. This was nuts, she was nuts, and of course the good-looking man in the bar wasn’t an alien shifter dragon. They were supposed to be reclusive billionaires. What alien billionaire slummed it at an ordinary college art bar?

Eva eventually sighed and wiped her eyes, careful of her glitter-crusted mascara. “Ah, I’ve either had too much to drink or not enough. Actually, I’m sure it’s the second one.”

He focused on her, listening in companionable silence.

And she wanted more.

Eva squared her shoulders. “It’s my birthday, and I’m waiting for my friends to finish dancing. Did you want to get a drink?”

Syen stared at the glittering human female standing before him.

She was all colors and sparkles and curves. Extra-large curves. He had never imagined such a woman could exist and now she was standing before him, inches away, tempting him in ways he did not imagine he could be tempted.

“…Did you want to get a drink?” she asked in a cheerful tone.

He had no desire to leave her attractive company. He was fully hydrated.

“No,” he replied.

Her luscious pink lips formed a frown.

Why this reaction?

She backed away, wobbling on incorrectly sized black heels. “Oh. Well, it’s been nice talking to you.”

“Very nice,” he agreed.

She stopped. “Really?”

He nodded.

“But you don’t want to get a drink…”

“I do not require hydration. You are more interesting.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “That’s nice of you to say. I thought you were rejecting me.”

“Rejecting?”

“When I asked if you wanted a drink. I want one, so we could go together, maybe buy each other a round…”

Shock froze him in place.

This beautiful female wanted to exchange offerings?

“Why?” he asked.

“Because.” She chuckled uneasily. “What do you mean, why? You’re single, I’m single, we’re both here…Why not?”

His translator informed him that “single” in this context meant that she had no mate.

Although they’d had five years to train the implant in all Earth languages, it lagged when translating family relations.

“You’re single?” he repeated, incredulous.

She grinned and rested her sparkle-tipped fingers on her ample chest. “Hard to believe, right?”

“Yes.”

Her grin faded. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious.”

“I’m always serious.”

She was a dreamy female. A tight pink velveteen blouse displayed her rounded breasts and her hourglass waist was cinched with a well-chosen corset. A short, purple skirt hugged her grippable thighs.

And beyond her attractive clothing, her artful coloration was irresistible.

Sparkly green and gold powder dusted her eyelids. Teal, pink, and violet tresses caressed her shoulders.

She was tall for a human and regally proportioned. A true queen of dragons.

And now she was looking him over, her gaze lingering on his unfortunately triangular torso and tapered waist as if evaluating him more carefully for her mate.

He straightened. That was a dream. Even if she was a human.

“So…” Her wandering gaze returned to his face, and she gestured over her shoulder at the bar. “Did you want to get a drink with me?”

“Yes.”

“Great! I—”

“I will buy yours.”

“Oh, that’s very generous of you, thank you.” She grinned. “And then the next round will be my turn.”

“Wait.” He pushed off the dingy column, pivoted away from her, and wove through the crowds to the other end of the bar.

His boss, Sard Carnelian, sat at a table with two untouched cherry colas. His heavyweight bulk crammed into a pink button-up shirt and jeans, and aristocratic silver ingots punctured his face, filled his teeth, and flecked his bald head.

His noble bearing kept the nearest humans away, making Syen’s job as his bodyguard significantly easier.

Syen stopped a few feet away and touched the black noise-canceling earbud in his left ear. “Boss.”

Sard touched his own earbud. “Spot our artist?”

“No.”

“She’ll come.” He growled at the untouched drinks. “She wouldn’t dare ignore me.”

Their company, Carnelian Clothiers, exported colorful human clothing to the rest of the Dragon Empire. It was incredibly lucrative. Because most dragons spent their whole lives in dragon form, the Empire never evolved beyond functional beige jumpsuits, and because the Earth humans were incapable of shifting, their limitations had resulted in incredible exotic variations. Now the Dragon Empire paid a premium for every export.

But their nearest and bitterest rivals, the Onyx dragons, had dared to compete for the top spot.

Allowing low caste dragons to run a company defied the very foundation of the Dragon Empire. It was only permitted because Earth was so very far away from the rest of the Empire, and their home planet, Draconis.

The Onyx dragons had forced Sard to extreme measures to source new and innovative exports.

That’s why he lowered himself to waiting in a Portland bar to meet privately with an artist. Sard was here to negotiate a deal. Syen was here to ensure the fiery Onyx brother, Pyrochlore, didn’t show up and make trouble.

Male dragons couldn’t make fire like females. They had to chew brimstone candy first. But Pyro Onyx was radioactive enough that he could cause as much damage as a wildfire. And unlike his business-focused siblings, the lazy VP liked to peruse the bars, breaking furniture and heads in his wake.

Dragon heads, mostly. Harming humans was against the Dragon-Human Treaty.

Mating them, however, was most decidedly allowed.

“Question,” Syen said softly, still pressing the communication button on his earbud.

“Approach.”

Syen crossed the last few feet and stopped at his boss’s elbow. “A female offered me a drink.”

“And? Do you require hydration?”

“No, she offered to allow me to buy her hydration.”

Sard blinked, then craned his head to see the corner Syen had staked out. “One of the plain ones? Blonde? Brunette?”

“The female with the multi-tone hair.”

His boss’s jaw went slack. “She offered for you to give her a mating gift? You?”

Syen bobbed his head.

Sard’s eyes narrowed. “Does she know what she’s asking?”

“She knows I’m a dragon. She admired my aristocratic piercings and then asked if I was an Onyx.”

Sard clenched a meaty fist. “Low caste schist. Malachite Onyx needs to take a long vacation in a short-use escape pod.”

Syen listened to a stream of insults against the aggressive CEO of their rivals. When it ended, he confirmed, “She knows.”

“But not about…?”

His gut clenched. “That I am no longer a worthy aristocrat? Not yet.”

“Don’t wait too long.” Sard’s lips flattened. “She is only a human, but there is no need to repeat your family’s mistakes. However, I wondered if she had seen your eyes.”

Syen nearly touched his opaque tactical glasses. “No.”

“Perhaps it is not as bad as I remember. Shift your hand.”

Syen’s stomach dipped.

He held out his left hand. Scales emerged from enlarged hair follicles and coated his vulnerable human knuckles. His fingernails retracted and tips of his claws poked out, but he stopped them from fully emerging.

Sard’s expression softened with regret. “Shift back.”

He reversed the shift, sucking in the scales and hiding away his shame.

His boss considered his two cherry colas. “She is a non-shifter human. They have a strange value system. Perhaps she will not care about your deformity.”

Syen’s heart swelled against the cage of his ribs. His boss was kind for even suggesting such an impossible thing.

Sard flicked his fingers. “Keep the entrance and me within your field of vision.”

“Sir.”

“Go.”

Syen turned on his heel. His black business jacket flared, revealing more of the black shirt beneath, and he strode swiftly to where he had left his female.

She had moved to the bar without him. Lifting her fingers, she shouted to the bartender, “Chloe! One Horny-Corn!”

“Got it, Eva!”

So, his female’s name was Eva. Syen filed that away.

Chloe, a slender female with long blonde dreadlocks, glanced over Eva’s shoulder and locked on Syen. “Just one?”

He indicated himself as well.

She turned away and pulled out two glasses.

“Just one!” Eva called.

Chloe jerked her chin at Syen. “What about him?”

Eva turned and jumped. “You’re back! I thought you’d made a fast escape.”

“Escape?”

“You disappeared. I lost sight of you.”

“I conferenced with my boss.” He accepted the completed drinks from Chloe and handed over his Earth payment card.

“Your boss is here?”

“Yes.”

Chloe took the thick gold-palladium etched rectangle with both hands in awe.

“I’ve got the next round,” Eva told her.

Chloe lifted the card. “He can afford it.”

Eva frowned. “What am I missing?”

“I’ll tell you later. Enjoy your birthday!” Chloe urged them away.

Eva shrugged, scanned the crowd, and then pointed. “I think that table’s about to be free.”

She strolled to the table. Her feminine hips swayed, hypnotizing him. Beneath the skirt, lacy dragons swathed her long legs.

Destiny…

Eva paused a few feet away from the standing table and waited.

A young couple argued at the table.

The female swung her purse onto her arm. “I told you not to come here.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” the male snapped. “Just because we’re dating—”

“We’re not dating!”

“Yes, you agreed—”

“I agreed to one date, and that was clearly a mistake.” She turned to leave.

He hooked her arm. “You owe me. Last week—”

“Last week was a hookup, Greg. A hookup!” She jerked her arm free and tossed her hair. “Leave me alone.”

The male gazed sadly. Then he frowned and chased after her through the crowd.

Eva lifted her eyebrows significantly. “Yikes. But hey, free table!”

A group of rowdy young males converged on the standing table from the other side.

Syen cut between patrons and rested his hand on the wooden table first.

The young males crowded around him, still laughing, and the group spread out with the obvious intent of intimidating him.

He changed the opacity of his black shades so that they could see his eyes.

They stopped laughing.

The closest male lifted his palms and backed off. “It’s yours, dude.”

The rest of the group moved away without protest.

Syen darkened the opacity of his shades to hide his eyes again.

Eva moved around his elbow and set her drink on the table beside him. “Well, that was nice. Getting a table around here is usually impossible.”

“Nice,” he echoed.

She favored him with another sparkling smile, then sipped her blue Horny-Corn drink. “Mm, this is delicious. Thank you!”

Her grateful smile washed over him like a bright ray of sunshine.

She accepted his offering. The first step in any mating dance.

A tiny muscle eased the tense band constricting his heart.

The music changed to a new song, and the sound blared. His earbuds adjusted to the higher volume.

“So, hey. I just realized we never introduced ourselves!” Eva raised her voice to shout in the direction of his ears. “My name is Evalina! Well, actually my friends call me Eva!”

So noted.

“What’s your name?”

“Syen.”

“Simon?!”

He removed one of his earbuds. Sound assaulted his ear. “Wear this.”

“What is it?” She put the earbud into her right ear without waiting for his answer. Her face changed. “Whoa! The music’s so clear, but I can suddenly hear…and I’m shouting, aren’t I?” She laughed and shook her head. “Sorry. This is so cool. What was your name?”

He lowered his mouth to her right ear. “Syen.”

She shivered. “Syen. Is that right?”

His name on her tongue sounded more than right. His cock filled with ready heat. He wanted her crooning it over and over as she moaned her way to a shattering orgasm.

He nodded.

“These are so high tech. Hey, what’s the story on your sunglasses? Do you always wear them inside?”

He nodded again.

“Are they high tech too? Can I see?”

But then she’d know…

He fought with himself. The longer he didn’t show her, the angrier she’d be when she found out. She’d wasted her time with him. He was no male worthy of a female with her exotic coloration.

Evalina lowered her gaze to her drink. “Sorry. That was kind of a weird thing to ask.”

“Your interest is natural.”

She lifted her eyes to his. “It is?”

Yes, it was natural to want to know the color of a potential mate’s irises.

Hers were lovely brown monazite threaded with reddish-bronze veins of cinnabar. They were luminous with the clarity of diamonds. Sparkly green and blue powders accented her thick, curved lashes.

She focused on the frames of his shades. “Well, they do look cool.”

They sipped their drinks in companionable silence while the noise deafened his unprotected ear and crowds thrashed around them.

Syen kept the door and his boss in his field of view, as per his instructions.

But his mind whirled.

Taking a female from Earth for a mate wasn’t forbidden, but few dragons had done so. Certainly none in Carnelian Clothiers. He had no one to ask how to proceed.

There was always the direct route.

“Evalina.”

She flushed and placed a palm against her chest again. “Y-yes?”

“Did I startle you?”

“Just…my full name sounds different when you say it.”

“Different good or different bad?”

“Different,” she said cautiously, averting her gaze. “What were you going to ask?”

“Are you seeking a mate?”

Her lashes fluttered. “A mate?”

“To no longer be single.”

She made a small circle with her mouth, considered him from the side of her eyes, and then frowned at her drink. “Yes and no.”

How could it be both? Humans were so strange. “Explain.”

“I think every girl wants to be swept away by a handsome stranger.” She smiled at him, flashing her beauty with shimmering sparkles. “But reality is messy. My parents had a passionate love affair that ended almost as soon as they had me, and then my dad dumped me off with my grandma every time he met a new woman.”

“He protected you.”

“I guess.” She eyed him skeptically. “I mean, you’re right, I’m sure I had a better time growing up with my grandma than whatever bridge he ended up under after each affair soured. But he also didn’t have to date. He had a choice.”

“Did he? It is dangerous to disappoint a female. She may rampage and burn all your valued possession.”

“Did you have a psycho ex-girlfriend?”

He shook his head.

“Okay, well, my dad wasn’t dating fire-breathing dragons. He could have said no and kept his pants on.”

“Ah. That was lucky.”

“How so?”

“Because if he had dated a female dragon, she could have sprayed him with her lust hormones and forced him to take his pants off.”

“I guess.” She frowned at him. “Sometimes, I feel like we’re having two conversations.”

“We two are conversing,” he agreed.

“Right. Um, how about you? Did you come from a happy family or a broken home? Or you don’t have to tell me, but since you asked…”

“I come from the noble Pyroxene family.”

“Noble?” She studied the silver piercings lining his ears. “I knew you weren’t from around here.”

He tilted his head in affirmation. “My oldest brother ruined our family. He lied about finances and embezzled his new wife’s fortune.”

“Ouch.”

“She divorced him and demanded restitution, but he had spent more than our family owned. We lost everything and became indentured. I traveled here to repay the fine.”

“Wow.” Her lips parted in surprise. Their lush shape was emphasized by hot pink gloss. “I’m guessing there was a lot of rampaging.”

“Much.”

“And you’re paying off the whole debt? On your own?”

“I was more prepared for a life of servitude.” He paused, but she didn’t ask why, and he moved on to his quiet triumph. “I paid the fine off last quarter. My boss, Sard, has petitioned our government to lift the complaint so our family name can be restored.”

“That’s so…” Her stunning diamond-cinnabar eyes traced the tailored Carnelian Clothiers suit. “What business do you do security for?”

“A clothier.”

“Ah.” Her gaze lingered.

He forced himself not to stiffen.

Did his fallen status cling to him like a foul odor? Did she evaluate his suit — and the slender, narrow-chested body beneath — and find him wanting?

“That’s amazing,” she said finally. “I’ve got a few thousand left on my student loans. To pay off your brother’s debt on behalf of your family all by yourself, you must have worked really hard.”

His chest felt too small to contain his aching heart.

She did not mind that he was fallen. She honored his effort. Perhaps, as Sard had said, humans were different, and Evalina might be able to overlook his other deficiencies.

“Now I will rebuild our family fortune,” he said.

“Cool.” She checked her wristwatch, finished her Horny-Corn, and gazed out on the dance floor.

Perhaps she was not as engaged as he’d thought. “What are you looking for?”

“My friends.” She checked her wristwatch again and hiked her purse up higher on her shoulder. “I know I said I’d get the next round, but I’ll have to get a rain check. We’ve got time for one or maybe two more songs, and then we have to get a move on before the dessert restaurant closes.”

He followed her gaze over the dance floor. Couples bobbed together tightly, sliding their bodies against each other in a sensual motion that reminded him of sex. Kissing, gyrating, sliding and slapping, they all swayed in time with the pounding bass. He craved that intimacy with Eva. His cock throbbed with heat.

Evalina sighed with longing. “I guess I’ll have to wade in there.”

“Do you dislike dancing?”

“I love it.”

“What is the problem?”

“Huh? Oh. I never dance in public.” She waved him off. “I look like an elephant having a seizure.”

“A large, plain, gray elephant looks nothing like you.”

“I’m big.”

He shook his head.

“I am.” She looked up — and up, and up. “Don’t shake your head. I’m big for a woman, but for a man, you’re huge.”

He threw back his shoulders. “My brothers are all much larger.”

“Yikes.” Her lips curved into a familiar smile. “Close your eyes, picture me as an animal, and it’s not too hard to get to ‘elephant.’”

“You are an exotic bird. A swangali with artful plumage.”

She blinked and softened. Her hand touched her chest next to her heart. “I have no idea what that is, but you’re so sweet.”

Then she gazed at the dance floor again with longing.

He studied the floor.

From a tactical perspective, dancing with Evalina was dangerous. He could lose his concentration. Make the wrong movement. Fail Sard and disappoint Evalina.

But she had accepted his first offering. He must try.

“Evalina.”

Her gaze flew to him.

“Dance with me.”

Syen’s demand seemed to shock Evalina. Her eyes flew wide. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“Right now?”

He nodded.

The shock faded. She toyed with the nearly empty glass. “Are you making fun of me?”

“I want to make fun with you. Is it the same?”

She glanced up. “You’re really not from around here, are you?”

He shook his head.

She left the glass on the table and stepped back. “If you want to dance, my friends are much better dancers than I am. I’ll introduce—whoa!”

Her tall black wedge wobbled and her ankle rolled. She fell sideways into him, nearly collapsing in his arms, and grabbed his forearm for balance.

He cushioned her like a precious gem.

Her gentle back curved, inviting his caress. Breasts pillowed his forearm under textured pink velveteen. He wanted to stroke it, first the soft way, and then rough-soft the opposite direction.

Her sparkly skin beneath the velveteen would be even softer.

His cock pulsed.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry!” she gasped, struggling upright.

She was sorry.

His chest went cold. He helped her to balance on her own feet. “I should not have touched you without permission.”

“Oh. No, I’m the one who touched you.” She lifted one black leather wedge. “I’m not used to wearing these heels.”

“They are too large.”

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’m fine.”

“Yes.” Her fabric choices, her color designs, and her stylistic choices were of high quality. “You are very fine.”

She snorted. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And you have my permission.”

“Huh?”

“To touch me, Evalina.”

Her mouth opened and closed. Her tongue wet her parted lips. “Ah…I was going to introduce you to my friends…”

“I don’t want to dance with your friends.” He held her gorgeous diamond-and-cinnabar gaze. “I want to dance with you.”

Her smile returned, fragile and precious. “You want to dance with me? Seriously?”

He nodded.

She squared her shoulders. “Alright. I’m ready.” She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”

Her soft, cool palm caressed his massive hand.

He led her onto the dance floor. Heavy bass thumped in his chest. Treble scratched his unprotected ear.

Syen wove between couples, angling his body to keep his boss and the entrance within his gaze, but also to find a quiet corner to dance with his female.

Males of all ages crowded Evalina.

He snarled at them.

They backed away.

He created a less crowded pocket for her to move safely, he allowed her to pull free. She straightened her corset and skirt, then bobbed up and down in rhythm, subtle and controlled, as though she were made of glass.

He stepped closer.

She edged back.

He leaned toward her earbud. “You dance alone? Not as a couple?”

She frowned and shrugged, then tapped her ear as if she couldn’t hear him.

He hooked her waist and drew her against him.

Her eyes widened.

Lowering to her right ear, he murmured. “Dance with me.”

She stiffened.

Uh oh. He had gone too far. She didn’t wish for this closeness. He—

Evalina melted into him.

He centered her, his hands on her soft waist anchoring her waist to his, and swayed her like the other couples. Her soft cleft brushed against his thigh.

His cock flooded with arousal.

Across the bar, Sard Carnelian’s hard eyes swept the dance floor, connected with Syen’s, and continued on.

Divided focus was dangerous.

Syen slowed his swaying, struggling to balance both demands.

Evalina drew back and averted her gaze. “Sorry. I’m not used to this.”

How dare he make her doubt herself? She had worried that he would dislike her dancing, and instead of easing her fears, he had lost focus on her and increased them.

He repaired the damage now. “Evalina, rest your forearms on my shoulders.”

She obeyed stiffly, her palms sliding across his wide shoulders until they hooked around the back of his neck. A wide gap remained between her chest and his.

“Relax.”

“I’ll knock you over.”

“You can’t.”

She frowned.

He snaked an arm around the small of her back and pressed her soft abdomen to his.

Her breasts slid over his chest. Her legs straddled his hard thigh. She hesitated, holding herself back, and then she released her breath and melted against him once more.

His heart pounded harder than the music.

He tilted his hips forward. Her soft breasts rubbed down his chest and her buttocks pointed out. He eased back. Her skirt rode up and her cleft rubbed his thigh.

His cock throbbed. Hot and ready and hungry.

She tightened her arms around him.

This was human dancing.

He swayed, his attention impossibly fractured. Across the bar, his boss was an exposed target. Syen needed to keep his attention there. But Evalina swayed in his arms.

His cock, hard as iron, urged him to dive into her yielding sweetness and release his seed.

Her fingers softly tickled the hair at the back of his neck.

His cock jolted with heat.

She toyed with strands of his dark hair. Her floral scent teased his nose, light and happy, sparkling and glittering and beautiful.

The song changed.

Her smile glowed, rapt. “I love this one!”

She closed her eyes, rested her hands on his shoulders, and arched her back. Her waist went liquid, moving to his rhythm. She yielded to him with trust, resting her full weight in his arms.

No other female had ever put her trust in him this fully.

Her eyes closed and her hot pink lips parted. Her tongue teased the rim of her mouth.

She threaded fingers through her rainbow hair and trailed her hand down her face, across her swelling breast, and stroked the soft velveteen down to her purple skirt to her thigh.

He wanted her naked, his hands tracing the same path, followed by his tongue.

Her eyes snapped open. The clear brown diamonds fixed on him.

Her light, floral scent deepened to the sweet syrup of arousal. It wrapped around his cock and squeezed, breaking his control.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth.

She licked her lips again.

Would she allow…?

He slowed.

Her gaze remained fixed on his mouth as though she were willing his lips to cover hers.

He lowered his head and claimed her mouth.

The pink was soft and yielding, just as he’d imagined, but also hot and wet and trembling. He tested her gentle seam. She opened to him and her tongue found his.

Her flavor was sweet as liqueur and hot as flame.

He sucked her deep into his mouth.

She made a hungry noise. Her fingers threaded his hair.

He thrust into her mouth. She accepted him and pushed back. Their tongues tangled. Meeting, skating away, meeting again. Their mating dance.

Her fingernails dug into his scalp. Shivers trailed down his back.

He crushed her to his chest.

Syen craved to sweep her off the floor, fly her away from this club, and worship her. No matter the fallen state of his family. No matter that she deserved a worthier male. He craved—

A stranger invaded his space.

Syen lifted his mouth from Evalina’s and thrust her behind him.

She squeaked.

A slender female had been reaching forward to tap Evalina on the shoulder. Now, her hand suspended over empty air.

Evalina clung to his shoulders.

The female frowned in confusion. “Eva?”

“Y-yes?”

He moved aside to allow Evalina out.

She wiped her mouth and adjusted her skirt. “Um, what’s up?”

“We’re ready to go.”

“Oh. Already?”

“It’s getting late. Restaurants are going to close.” Her friend evaluated him, then leaned toward Evalina and smirked. “Fix your lipstick.”

Evalina clapped her hand over her mouth. “Thanks.”

Her friend’s smile lightened. She wove through the crowds and disappeared.

They moved off the dance floor. Evalina rummaged in her purse for a mirror and a stick of the lip color.

Across the bar, Sard motioned to Syen. He was still alone. Which meant … what did it mean? Syen had turned his attention off the instant Evalina’s hot pink mouth touched his.

Not good.

She put away her makeup and shouldered her purse. Anxiety pinched the skin between her brows. “I think we’re leaving for cake. Do you want to come?”

His breath lodged in his throat.

Her smile twisted into a grimace. “Don’t like cake?”

“You wish to prolong our contact?”

“Is that okay?”

It was more than okay. His heart hiccupped again. More time with her. “Yes.”

“Syen.” His boss’s voice growled in one earbud. “Outside. Now.”

She gasped and put her hand over her ear. “Was that your boss?”

“I will conference with him and return.”

“Oh. Um.” She tangled her fingers. “Do you want to exchange numbers?”

Another growl. “Syen!”

They both jolted.

Exchanging numbers would take too long.

“Evalina. I will find you.” Syen rested his hands on her soft shoulders. “Wait for me.”

Her anxious expression melted away. “Okay.”

He released her and strode for the exit.

Her trust warmed his soul.

Syen met his boss just outside the door.

Sard crossed his arms over his massive chest. “We failed.”

Uh oh. “Sir?”

“The artist called me. She needs to ‘think it over.’ Our offer was not compelling.” Sard rose into the air. “At the office, we will try again.”

This meeting would not end soon.

Syen’s heart sank. “Sir? I must—”

“Fly with me.” His boss, still in human form, summoned him from twenty feet overhead. “Now!”

His loyalty snapped into correct focus. “Sir.” Syen lifted off.

A woman across the street pointed. “Dragons!”

Her partner craned to see them, already dark dots on a wet, cloudy sky.

The city shrank below.

Evalina would never wait. Syen’s one chance with the colorful, bold woman was gone.

Evalina laughed and chatted with her friends about the relative merits of different cake restaurants while she waited outside the bar for Syen to finish with his boss.

The rain, a light mist when they exited the bar, congealed into droplets and pattered with increasing authority. A chill wind scratched her thinly clad arms and legs.

Her friends were pretty easy-going, especially when they were buzzed from tasty shots and tastier dancing, but eventually, even they started checking their phones and talking about waking up in the morning.

“Hey, Eva.” Chloe nudged her. “Are you ready to make a move?”

Her heart flip-flopped.

If she left, then he’d never find her. The magical night of dancing with a handsome stranger would end forever.

And boy, could he dance.

Syen made her feel like a dainty, petite little wisp who could wear her tallest, most glittery heels and still fit under his arm. Sliding his hard abdomen against hers, rubbing his rigid cock against her so she could just imagine its girth between her naked thighs, seducing her with his wet kiss…

A hungry ache twisted in her center.

“Well,” she hedged, “I guess…”

Her friends laughed.

Jon, one of her fellow teachers at the art school, lifted his hands in surrender. “It’s your birthday. We can stand in the rain if you prefer getting drenched over getting a slice of Death by Chocolate at the dessert restaurant.”

“Which closed fifteen minutes ago,” one of their other friends noted.

“There you go.” Jon grinned and shrugged, then jammed his hands in his pockets. “Maybe we should go back inside if we’re going to stay out?”

“I have to take my aunt’s dog to the groomer’s,” another friend said, apologizing and backing away slowly.

He laughed. “What’s that? The new excuse? It’s not, ‘I can’t go out with you, I have to wash my hair,’ it’s ‘I can’t stay out with you, I have to wash my aunt’s dog’s hair?’”

Everyone laughed and then shared about the funniest excuses they’d ever heard or used to duck out of an awkward date.

The stories were funny, but as the hour dragged on and the wind chill increased, Eva’s good mood slipped.

Where was Syen?

Chloe came out of the emptying bar a few more times to check on whether they’d left yet, and then finally stood next to Eva and elbowed her gently. “He left his credit card.”

“Hmm?”

“Mr. JP Morgan. The guy who bought you a drink.” She shivered and rubbed her bare elbows. “He’ll have to come back for it. It must be solid gold.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He can afford a drink. Or three, or five.” Chloe gave her a quick hug. “I’ve got to start cleaning up. Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll treat you to breakfast.”

“Okay.” Eva returned her hug, and that started a round of everyone giving hugs, calling rideshares, or walking home. Soon she was alone in the street with nothing but her thoughts.

The rain steadied into a shower.

She moved across the street and huddled under an awning. Wind shook the canvas, cascading cold water on her even under cover.

She checked her birthday messages on Facebook and replied online.

There were tons, but of course, she noted the ones that were missing.

Her dad, for example.

Rain pooled on the awning and poured off in a thick, liquid curtain that obscured the bar across the street. Cold misted her bare arms. She hugged herself and shivered.

Was Syen okay?

Chloe would have to tell her if he ever picked up his card. Although if his credit card was made out of solid gold, he could probably afford to lose it.

Eva poked her rideshare app and sorted through her options. Her finger hovered over the button to select the cheapest.

Except what if Syen was on his way and she left? One missed connection could change everything.

Childish thinking, like her obsession with sparkles and her belief that someday her dad would love her more than he loved whatever new vice crossed his path.

Completely irrational.

And yet, she always waited.

In case her dad came back. In case her first heartbreak changed his mind. In case the ambulance rushing her sick grandma to the hospital turned around, and she got all better. Evalina had to be waiting or the magic wouldn’t work.

Of course, the magic never actually worked anyway…

Eva tapped the ride to select it. The loading screen flashed. One more button press and her ride would be confirmed.

A voice mail notification flashed.

Voice mail?

She switched out of the rideshare app without confirming, dialed into her voice mail, and lifted the phone to her right ear.

Clink.

Huh?

Oh. Syen’s earbud.

Eva touched the smooth plastic. It was super high tech. She’d forgotten it was even in her ear.

He’d miss this, wouldn’t he? Or would he? If he could leave a gold credit card lying around a bar, maybe he could leave anything.

She switched the ringing phone to her left ear. A kindly great aunt’s thready voice wished her a special day. She smiled to herself and hung up.

No more waiting.

She re-opened the rideshare app.

A huge shadow loomed on the sidewalk.

She jumped. “Syen?”

He emerged out of the curtain of rain and joined her beneath the awning.

She flushed hot, then ice, then hot again. “You came back?”

“You’re still here.” His tone was flat and cold, just like in the bar, and she didn’t know how to read it.

“You told me to wait.”

His lips parted. What was that expression? Surprise?

She crossed her arms. “Did you expect me to wait like this? What took you so long?”

“No. Come.” He reached out to grab her elbow.

“Stop.”

He froze.

She wanted more begging for her forgiveness. Especially considering how her teeth were chattering. “Where were you?”

“The office.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“At midnight?”

“My boss called a meeting.”

“Why?”

“He did not meet the artist.”

“Your boss got stood up?” What irony. “So why couldn’t you just slip out and let me know?”

“It was too far.”

“Where’s your office?”

“Longview.”

An hour’s drive away, and he’d supposedly made the drive twice and had a long meeting. Could he at least choose a more plausible lie? One that didn’t defy the laws of physics?

“What were you really doing?”

He closed his mouth. His face was so unreadable.

What did he see when he looked into her eyes? Because all she saw when she tried to look in his was a reflection of herself, wet and shivering.

“Take off your sunglasses,” she ordered.

His hand jerked toward the plastic and stopped. His lips flattened. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll see my eyes.”

“That’s the idea.”

He shook his head.

“Why not?” she repeated.

“It will disturb you.”

“What will? Your eyes?”

He nodded. His fingers flexed. Twitchy.

“Are you blind?”

He shook his head.

“So you don’t need the sunglasses to see?”

“My vision is fine. I don’t want to earn another reason for your disgust.”

Huh.

Possibilities whirled through her mind. He had red albino eyes, black tattooed over the whites, some kind of heterochromia…but like blindness, none of it sounded all that bad. What could be wrong? Whatever it was, his fingers twitched with stress at the very idea of having to reveal his secret to her.

She returned to the main point. “Another reason for my disgust? So you understand what I’m feeling right now?”

He nodded.

This wasn’t satisfying.

“You should have just told me to meet you later.” She tried to sound as pitiful as she felt. “I waited here for a long time. My friends all left. I never even got cake.”

Flat reaction.

She tried to express herself more clearly. Like an adult. “I’m really disappointed.”

He pulled out a slender cell phone and poked at it.

Shock changed over to anger. “Are you ignoring me?”

He jerked up. Looked at his phone. Looked at her again.

“What are you doing?”

He looked down at his phone. “Seeking cake.”

“At this hour? Every restaurant is closed.”

He put the phone away.

“I have no idea what you’re thinking. I’m tired and cold. I just want to go home.”

Blank stare.

Okay.

Swallowing her hurt, she opened her rideshare app again. Driver less than five minutes away. “I’m calling a car now, so you can just go home.”

He watched her navigate through the settings again.

Anger mixed with hurt. “Do you think I’m sharing a ride home with you?”

His lips parted.

“Get your own.”

A long beat passed. His mouth closed. He turned away, hunched his shoulders, and stepped out into the pouring rain.

Syen left without argument, disappearing into the curtain of rain just as shockingly as when he’d suddenly stepped out of it.

Something was wrong here.

“Stop,” Eva said.

Syen stopped.

The awning poured torrents of rain on his head. He didn’t move. He didn’t seem to feel it.

Now, for some reason, she felt like the jerk.

Eva closed her app for the second time without ordering a car. “Why don’t you say anything?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“The truth.”

“About what?”

“Why you left me waiting in the freezing rain for hours!”

He frowned like he didn’t know where to start.

Was she being unfair? He’d told her to wait around instead of taking her number like a normal person, and he was clearly lying about commuting so far for a midnight business meeting. She wasn’t out of line. Was she?

Her ankles ached in her stupid sensible shoes. She lifted one and rotated her foot, then the other. Her turquoise boots were far more comfortable, but Chloe had gone shopping with her. Black was sexy, she’d promised. Grown-up. No longer living in dreamland.

Even if it was the wrong size.

Ksssht. A dangerous voice growled in her right ear. “Syen!”

Eva jumped.

Syen touched his left ear where he wore the matching earbud. “Boss.”

“We have a crisis. You’re not at your desk! Where are—are you in Portland?”

He stiffened. “I’ll be right—”

“You went back to the bar?”

He glanced at her. “Evalina was waiting for me.”

“The dramatically colored female? Waiting for you? Why?”

“I asked her.”

“And she waited? In the cold rain? For you?”

Syen didn’t speak. From a certain angle, he might be hanging his head. And his already soft voice burred with an unusual roughness. Shame?

He cleared his throat. “Yes.”

“Stay there,” his boss barked.

“Right here?”

“With the female. Convince her to claim you for her mate. Your life depends on it!”

“Sir?!”

“Your ex-sister-in-law has sent her declaration of marriage. She can’t marry you if you’re already mated to someone else!”

Syen’s jaw flexed. “A human would be no match for Ruby.”

“She doesn’t know that. And if you’re not here, she’ll never find out.”

“But—”

“Do not return to this office. I forbid you from returning!”

Syen paused for a beat. He seemed to be weighing his responses as the rain pattered off his head, wearing at him like an immovable stone. “I cannot obey, Sir. I have disappointed Evalina.”

His boss, who Syen had earlier referred to as Sard, made a strangely inhuman growl. “Un-disappoint her.”

“Sir!”

“I will tell you when it’s safe to return. Do not disobey me, Syenite!” The earbuds hissed again and went silent.

Syen frowned at the pavement. His head tilted and nodded slightly as though he were weighing his options. Disobedience looked like it might be pretty high on his list.

So, Eva had a lot of questions.

But at the same time, a weight lifted off her shoulders. Syen hadn’t been lying. Somehow he had gone to his office and back again because his boss had expected him to still be there.

Eva pulled the earbud out of her right ear. The rain suddenly sounded louder. “Your boss is demanding.”

“But he is a good boss.”

“I think you mean ‘strict.’ So, you really did have a meeting? How did you get to Longview and back so fast?”

“I flew.”

Huh. A rational explanation. He had a helicopter stashed in the city. Voila.

Evalina studied the earbud. The sound quality was amazing. Syen’s boss had been breathing down her neck, and not in a good way.

She held the earbud out to Syen.

He did not take it. “It’s yours.”

“Your boss might call again, and I’d rather not be on the receiving end.”

He returned the earbud to his ear.

“Did your boss really expect you to be at your desk at one in the morning?”

“It’s where I usually am.”

No wonder he was rich. She poked at another curiosity. “And what did your boss mean about making me claim you as my mate?”

Syen looked at her as if testing whether she was serious. “Which part is confusing?”

“Let’s start with your ex-sister-in-law demanding you marry her.”

His jaw muscles flexed again. “Last quarter I sent my final payment. She asked to increase the fine because I had paid it off too fast. She was still angry.”

“Embezzlement can infuriate people, sure.”

“My elder brother concealed several other things before and during her marriage. Ruby was enraged beyond the reach of reason.”

“I guess the moral is don’t hide anything.”

He stiffened.

“Syen?”

He shook himself. “Yes. A good moral.”

“So she asked for more money.”

“And Ruby’s request was rejected. This is her next step.”

“She can’t force you to marry her.”

He rocked his head back and forth, clearly wanting to agree, but not quite able to make himself. “It is not uncommon.”

“That’s so messed up. What a shock. You must be horrified.”

“My parents warned me about the possibility after her appeal was denied.”

“That was good of them.”

“They urged me to accept her marriage offer.”

“What?!”

He gazed at the pavement again. “Uniting our families still elevates us. Her family is older and richer. She is next in line to become the matriarch of her house. And denying a powerful female her desire is dangerous.”

“Much rampaging,” Eva murmured. “I remember. But if I ‘claimed’ you first then you’re safe?”

He rocked his head back and forth again. “Debatable.”

“Are you going to get out of town for a few days?”

“I will not leave my boss and coworkers to face her wrath.”

“So you’re going to face her?”

His lips flattened. He didn’t answer.

She was beginning to figure him out just a little. “You don’t know yet?”

He nodded.

She returned to her original question. “Did you actually expect me to wait this long?”

“No.”

“But you did come back to the bar.”

“I saw you were waiting.”

“How?”

“There are tracking devices in the earbuds.”

Wait a minute. That’s how he knew to find her? “You knew I was here all along?”

“When the meeting was called, I thought you would leave. I did not expect you to stay. My order to wait was arrogant. Your anger is what I deserve.” His shoulder slumped. “And so is your disappointment.”

He was serious.

I’m always serious.

Her heart thumped.

She swallowed. He was going to make her fall for him. If she wasn’t careful, he would just sweep her right off her feet.

A new thought struck her.

Maybe she was the one judging appearances. Yes, he looked like a god poured into a suit, complete with the “wet look” supplied by the Portland weather. That didn’t mean he was a jerk who enjoyed playing with women because he had so many of them. It would be hard to play around if he spent every night at his desk.

Dramatically colored female. Indeed.

And he wasn’t a smooth talker. He was shy, quiet, and hard to approach.

Oh. Wait.

What if he didn’t know how express himself because he spent all his hours working an impossible job? What if he was reaching out, as best he could, and hoping for someone — for Eva — to reach back?

Eva hugged her elbows. The street was wet and cold, but the rain seemed to be letting up. It had soaked him thoroughly — again — and was done with its punishment.

She let out her breath in a rush. “Well, why don’t you make it up to me?”

He looked up. “You forgive my arrogance?”

“I’m willing to be talked into it.” She was super curious about the helicopter. “Can you fly me home?”

He captured her hand and pulled her out from under the awning. Cold rain droplets fell on her, and she squeaked. He drew her against his rock-hard chest as if they were dancing. “Put your arms around me.”

A pool of hot awareness flooded her center. She squeezed her thighs together. “What are you doing?”

“Flying you home.”

“Like this?” Eva dropped her phone in her purse, hiked the strap up on her shoulder, and put her arms around him. His jacket squeezed out on her like a sponge. She gasped and laughed. “You’re so wet. Are you—?”

He rocketed her into the air like he was connected to an invisible bungee cord.

She screamed.

Her feet dangled and her weight pooled in her toes. They zoomed for the top of the buildings. His grip tightened like a seatbelt.

“Oh my god!” She started laughing hysterically. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

He hovered somewhere around the fortieth floor of a skyscraper. “Are you all right?”

“Yes! Oh my god. We’re flying! Why didn’t you give me a warning?”

“You asked me to fly.”

Of course she had.

“So?” She laughed harder. Pure hysteria. “I didn’t know you were a dragon!”

His lips parted. Shocked. “I told you.”

“You said you weren’t like the dragons across the river!”

“I’m not.” He was low key offended again. Even with his flat, emotionless tone, she could pick that up, which meant he was probably actually outraged. “I work for Sard Carnelian.”

“Like that’s completely different!”

“The Onyx dragons are low caste siblings who dare to call themselves our rivals. They employ local natives.”

“How dare they! You know, I’m a ‘local native.’”

His expression froze.

She laughed and laughed. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

“No.”

His boss was a dragon, not a mobster or a pro wrestler. She was a “dramatically colored female” rather than a loud woman who dyed her hair too bright and drowned herself in childish sparkles. His ex-sister-in-law could bully him into marriage because she could transform into a fire-breathing dragon the size of a house.

Well, the last one wasn’t funny, but it did explain everything.

Eva’s over-sized wedges slipped off her feet and dropped into an empty parking lot.

“Your shoes.” He descended.

Her belly rose to her throat.

“Forget them!” She gripped him harder. “I never liked them anyway. This is amazing! But, uh, fly easy. It’s my first time.”

He floated her over the mist-shrouded city like gravity no longer applied. Normally she’d worry about a guy trying to lift her princess-style. But Syen was so large, so powerful, and so clearly at ease that he made her feel like she was nothing in his arms. He could lift her to the moon and back.

“I don’t think of the Onyx native employees as being like you,” he said, continuing a conversation she’d forgotten they were having.

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because.”

He descended in front of her white bungalow, overgrown with plants and fresh-smelling trees, and released her on her front porch. Her tights squished in puddles.

“Because?” she prompted.

“You are so beautiful.”

Her heart squeezed. Again. “Really?”

“Yes.”

I’m always serious.

She fumbled with the key and let them into the covered porch, locked the outside door, and then fumbled the inner door. “Well, it’s sweet of you to say.”

The key slipped from her slick hands and fell to the whitewashed planks.

Syen scooped it up, unlocked the inner door, and held it open for her.

Chivalry wasn’t dead. Her knight was a dragon from another planet.

Speaking of which, what was she going to do? Invite him in?

Did he want her to?

He watched her behind those reflective sunglasses. Unreadable.

The rain picked up and pounded on the porch eaves. It sounded like stones. Water slid down her forehead and dripped off her nose.

The night seemed to stretch out.

Okay. The problem was Eva.

Tonight, she’d decided not to wait for her prince any longer. She’d taken matters into her own hands. And she’d immediately hooked up with this huge, gorgeous, sexy dragon shifter. They had to work on their communication. Every couple had problems.

What did she want?

She opened her hand.

Syen set the keys gently on her palm and curled her fingers over the warm metal. He looked away. Stealing himself for a dismissal? Or hoping for it?

“Did you want to come in?”

He riveted on her. “Yes.”

The porch warmed to about a hundred degrees.

“Great.” Her voice broke. She cleared her throat and turned. “Welcome to my humble home.”

Syen entered Evalina’s lair.

She let him pass, then locked the door with shaking fingers.

Nerves? He felt the same way.

She straightened and turned. Her shoulder brushed his. Their mouths hovered inches apart.

She held her breath.

So did he.

Even though she had just spent the flight in his arms, this was somehow more intimate.

She let her breath out and shook herself. “Excuse me.”

He stepped back.

She flicked on the living room light, illuminating comfy colors. And then she laughed, jittery. “I just realized I didn’t leave you much choice about coming in. I already locked the porch.”

His heart kicked in his chest.

It was the ultimate act of intimacy to bring a lover into her den. Unconsciously locking him in. She already considered him hers.

Or did she? She was a human female. Her rules were different.

What would he do about Ruby’s threat?

Claiming Evalina, while his greatest desire, put her in the path of Ruby’s destruction.

And Evalina could never be endangered.

Never.

Evalina hung her purse on a hook and shivered. “Did you want some hot tea? Or a shower?”

“No.” To dry himself, he raised his skin temperature to scalding.

“Nothing?” She filled her kettle with water and grabbed a towel from the hall closet. “You can dry with this. Help yourself to anything. Coffee, juice, tea.”

He accepted the towel but his face and hands were already dry. Steam curled from his suit.

She frowned at the steam, checked the thermostat, and shrugged. Then, she entered her bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

He nodded.

“You don’t, uh … with me…”

Was she inviting him to take a shower with her? His focus clarified. Listening intently for her next words.

“You know? Never mind. I’ll, uh, be right back.” She escaped. Minutes later, a shower started.

How would she look in the shower? Her face turned toward the spray, water sluicing over her large breasts and slipping between her soft legs…

His cock, hard since she’d pressed against him for the flight, pulsed with tight heat.

Syen examined her house.

Her den was warm and soothing. He could relax here, he could be himself here, he could sink into the softness here.

The main room was small and homey, and it smelled floral, like Evalina. Unlike his bare walls, colorful picture boards were decorated with encouraging words like Dream Big or Love Happens or Shine. Scraps of fabric and bits of string accented these photo-paintings.

The shower stopped.

His excitement swelled.

Evalina returned to the living room, bare and pink. Only her hair and nails retained their rainbows.

She was still a thousand times more beautiful than any female he had ever seen.

And her pinkness only accentuated her seductive curves. A lime green bathrobe cinched around her waist and revealed an enticing swell of her breasts. Plush unicorn slippers clothed her feet.

She carried mugs of tea on a small wooden tray and set it on the coffee table. “Here. Please have a seat.”

He accepted a mug and perched on the edge of the loveseat.

She squeezed a slice of lemon into her mug, stirred it with a spoon, then eased into a big brown armchair. “What do you think of the house?”

“It’s comfortable.” He found himself sinking into the loveseat even though he’d intended to perch on the edge.

“Yeah? It’s probably not what you’re used to, but it’s home.”

He nodded and sipped the sweet tea. Chamomile. Also comfortable.

“So, you’re a dragon, huh? I knew you weren’t from around here, but another planet is a little farther out than I was thinking.”

But his identity was so obvious.

She squinted at him. “I think you’re surprised.”

He dipped his head.

“Why? You look as human as me.”

“In this form, I am as human as you.”

“So why are you surprised?”

“No one has ever mistaken me before.”

“I think everyone in the bar mistook you,” she said dryly, and tucked her legs under her, twitching the robe to cover them. “So … What do you think of Earth? Do you hit college bars for business or pleasure? Ha ha.”

“Nothing I do is for pleasure.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing until tonight.”

Her brows rose.

“Sard Carnelian has treated me well, but leaving Draconis was not my choice. Tonight is the first time I have ever been glad to have arrived.”

Her mouth dropped open. Her bare lips were soft and dusky pink. Natural and enticing. “So you had a good time earlier?”

“A very good time.”

She licked her lips as though tasting, again, their kiss. “Would you want to dance with me again?”

“Many times.”

“Right now?”

He stilled. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? He did not want to make an error. Already tonight he had made several.

He had not paid attention when Sard received the phone call from the artist canceling their meeting at the bar. He had betrayed Sard’s trust. He had not contacted Evalina when he realized he would be gone an unacceptably long time. He had betrayed her trust. And she had suffered great personal cost. Her friends had left her alone in the rain, she had not eaten her special birthday cake, and she had become injuriously chilled.

Now, she had invited him into her lair. Betraying her trust here was the last thing he wanted to do.

Eva lifted the steaming mug. “Can you transform?”

If she saw his dragon scales, then she would know what was wrong with him.

“I was just wondering if you had wings and everything. Like they say.”

“It is dangerous to open them in a room this size.”

“Oh.” Her smile dimmed.

“You are disappointed again,” he said.

“A little.” She blew the steam from the mug. It curled like a female’s flames. Dangerous, but in her case, non-lethal. “I feel like there’s something you’re hiding.”

His heart stopped.

She knew.

“And you don’t trust me enough to tell me about it. Just like your eyes. Or am I mistaken? I can’t tell by your expression. It’s hard to figure you out.”

Many said so.

He collected his thoughts.

His eyes were far worse than his scales. She would be horrified. Disgusted. Frightened.

She leaned forward. “Tell me about claiming. Mates.”

His heart thudded. “What do you want to know?”

“It’s dragon marriage, isn’t it?”

“More pure.” He took a deep breath. Soaking in her comfortable, floral-scented den. Her sweet concern and soft skin. Her. “Dragon marriage can be forced. Mates unite their bodies, hearts, everything.”

“Souls.”

He nodded.

“And your boss thinks we could be soulmates because I picked you up in a bar?”

He nodded again.

She snorted. “Tell me the logic on that one.”

“A female of your exotic beauty could select any male. Because you selected a fallen, unworthy dragon such as me...”

“It must be destiny.” Her brows drew together. She shook her head. “You have no idea how weird this whole conversation is for me. I’m normally the last one picked for a speed dating meet, and both you and your boss have put me up on a pedestal like some classical goddess.”

“You are. To us.”

She quirked a brow at him. “To you?”

“The most beautiful,” he assured her.

She sighed and then frowned again. “And you want to get married, but you don’t want to show me your eyes or how you transform. I’m not opposed to trying to help you, but you know, in real life, I’d never marry a guy who kept secrets.”

The moral is don’t conceal anything.

A tight band squeezed the blood out of his heart.

She was right.

Tonight had been wonderful. He’d felt like a worthy male courting a beautiful female. Thanks to her, he would never forget this feeling.

Syen held up his right hand and flexed.

His nails sharpened to claws and scales shimmered under his skin. The follicles stretched. Like hair standing up on his hand, the scales emerged, coating his soft human skin in an impenetrable layer of interlocking, gray-white-red speckles.

Eva’s eyes widened. The mug tilted in her hand. She fumbled it to the coffee table. A little tea spilled onto her hardwood. She barely seemed to notice.

Now it was all over.

“Wow.” Awe infused her voice. Then, wonder. She reached out. “Can I—”

He twitched away.

She hesitated.

The drive to jerk his arm away and hide nearly overwhelmed him. But he forced himself to remain exposed for her inspection. “Can you?”

“Can I touch?”

His jaw went slack for the umpteenth time tonight. She’d surprised him from her first words, noticing him and then offering him a drink. Over and over she’d surprised him. And now he was surprised again. He shouldn’t be. But he’d never imagined that question coming from her lips.

He nodded once.

She rose and stepped closer. Her soft fingers explored his scales. Curious, delicate.

He shuddered.

She lifted. “Is it sensitive?”

“Yes.” His voice sounded husky. He cleared his throat. “I have not shifted in a long time.”

No one could endure his ugly coloration, so even as a dragonlet, he’d assumed human form. He had been the most prepared to come to Earth, a planet full of recessive-gene humans who could not shift.

And now a curious female stroked those very scales carefully. Reverently. Inspecting them without horror or disgust.

The band released and blood seeped back his heart, flooding it with warmth.

“So many colors,” she murmured.

“Syenite,” he said.

She glanced up. An open smile lit her face. “Is that what your name’s short for? I’ve never heard of that mineral.”

“It’s a type of granite.” A rare, ugly type.

Her smile widened as though she were happy to learn it. “It’s beautiful.”

His throat closed on a painful lump. “Don’t.”

“Hm? Don’t what?”

“You are beautiful. Your colors. Mine are…” He couldn’t say it. As if by saying it aloud, she’d suddenly realize that she’d been blind, and he was awful.

Shock stole her smile. “You don’t think you’re beautiful?”

He shook his head. “Not like…”

Not like her.

Her brows rose. Incredulity mixed with laughter. “But mine wash off. The ‘dramatic color’ is all dye and polish. And body spray, I guess.”

He knew. She had intense bravery to put on and then wash off her colors as if she knew she were worthy no matter how she looked on the outside.

How many times had he wished his scales would change — wash off — overnight and leave him any other color?

Sober understanding softened her features. She cupped his face and stroked soothing thumbs across his cheeks. “May I?”

His tactical shades.

She was determined to remove them.

He swallowed hard.

She did not want to see his eyes.

But maybe he needed her to see.

This tenderness and her kind words were treasures he would carry to his funeral pyre. Even when she destroyed them with her horrified reaction from seeing his eyes.

But … there was a very tiny possibility she would not react with sickness. As with his scales, she might surprise him.

For that reason only he nodded. Quick, before reality intruded, and he changed his mind.

She hooked gentle fingers under the hard metal and slid the shades down his nose and off.

His ugliness was revealed.

Her eyes focused on his. Diamond cinnabar. She never wavered.

Without the tactical information scrolling across his vision, such a constant companion he’d become numb to its existence, he saw her more clearly too.

No disgust. Only fascination. “Your irises. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

There was no judgment in her tone.

His chest swelled. He risked explaining the problem. “Many find the color disturbing.”

“I wonder why.”

“They match my scales.”

“Do you think so?”

“You don’t?”

She dropped her gaze to his claw and back to his eyes. Evaluating. She stroked the scales thoughtfully. “Your scales are speckled like granite. But your eyes…”

He held his breath.

She gazed deeply and smiled. “The flecks are multidimensional and catch the light. White gold, silver. Your scales might be rock but your eyes are glitter.”

He couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

She thought his irises were as stunning as glitter?

Her brows drew together. “I hope that’s not an insult.”

He got his scrambled brain enough together to shake his head.

“Good.” She stroked his cheek. “Because glitter is my favorite color.”

He shifted his claw back to a human hand, encircled her wrist, and tugged her into his lap.

She’d given him a most treasured gift. He must return her kindness, treasure her, however she would allow him.

She straddled his knee. Her robe slid up to entice him with a long, curvy leg. He wanted to squeeze.

Her noise stopped him.

Her hands hovered over his shoulders like she wanted to regain her balance but feared to touch him. “Um, I don’t know what happens next. I don’t bring guys back here.”

She did not bring other males into her lair.

But she had brought him. He was special.

His cock pulsed.

He confirmed his understanding. “I am the first?”

“And only.” She tucked her colorful hair behind her ears. Despite saying it washed off, it was as bright now as in the bar earlier. “So, when it comes to kissing or, uh, the bedroom and kissing, ah, I don’t know what to do now…”

She could do anything. Anything in the entire universe.

But as when she’d followed him onto the dance floor, again, she seemed afraid.

Why should such a bold, warm, beautiful woman feel afraid?

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

She bit her lip and tangled her fingers. “Kiss you.”

He took her hands.

Her gaze riveted on him.

“Then do so.”

Her lips parted. She blinked and looked away. “Just do so?”

He slid his hands up to her wrists. Her wrists were cool and thin beneath his wide palms.

She jumped. Nervous.

Would she change her mind and push him away? No. She stared at his hands as though silently willing him to take action.

He slid his hands up her delicate forearms, over the soft, fluffy sleeves of her lime green bathrobe, across her gently rounded shoulders.

She resisted with a murmur.

He stopped.

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.”

“Put your arms around me.”

She tentatively obeyed, resting her hands on his shoulders. Her brows wrinkled with worry.

Right now, even his ugly eyes didn’t bother him. Evalina was looking at him. Not at what she guessed he might look like behind his shades. Not at what he should have been or used to be. Her hands rested on his shoulders and her gaze, her whole being, focused on Syen. Unmasked for her. Revealed in all his terrible glory.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips across the wrinkles.

She blinked and then giggled. “Hey.”

He kissed down her nose.

She giggled again. The worried wrinkles relaxed.

He kissed the thin ridges between her nose and lips.

Her laughter disappeared.

Your eyes are beautiful, Syen.

She was beautiful.

He kissed her lips.

The taste was different from the bar. Clean, soft, warm. Yet still a sparkling rainbow, like her cheerful blue-pink-violet hair, her feminine flavors swirled with fresh mint and warm chamomile.

She opened her mouth to him right away. No longer tentative or afraid, she sought him out and their teeth meshed. Her tongue met his with more confidence.

He stroked her gently.

She nipped his lips with her teeth.

Heat flooded to his cock.

He took her mouth. He must mark her. Mark all of her as his.

She made a soft noise. Her fingers splayed across his flexing back, pulling him closer. She pressed her soft breasts up against his chest.

Invitation. Trust. Desire. He never thought he would experience these with a female. His breath tightened in his chest.

Her lips moved to his ear. “Do you want to go to my bedroom?”

Syen slid one arm around Evalina’s fuzzy back, the other under her knees, and scooped her up.

She clung to him and rested her forehead against his neck.

He flew her into the small bedroom.

It was lit by a seashell-covered night light and exploded with her vibrant personality. Rainbows of clothes spilled out of drawers and closet, mounded on her chair, and were strewn across the floor.

“Don’t look.” She buried her face in his shoulder. “It’s a mess.”

He edged between the dresser and the bed and laid her down. She sank into the fluffy patchwork quilt.

His nerves twinged.

He had never made love to a human. Were there rituals? Other dragons at the office watched educational videos on XXX websites helpfully divided by body type and experience level, but he had assumed no female would ever want him and, thus, had avoided the viewings. Now, perhaps, he might regret his lack of knowledge.

Evalina tugged his sleeve.

Her robe had parted to reveal a delectable swathe of her chest and thigh almost to her cleft. His breath quickened. She had removed her clothing in preparation.

Removing clothing was universal.

He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it over her chair. The shoulders were still a little damp.

Her gaze fastened on his suit collar.

Following her silent guidance, he unbuttoned the black shirt to reveal his wide chest and tapered waist. Her gaze traced the lines of his corded muscles with curious hunger. He unbuckled his belt, unfastened his slacks, and hooked his thumbs in the loosened band to drop them.

She sucked in a slight breath. “No boxers? Or briefs?”

He shrugged. Unnecessary. He stepped out of his slacks, folded them neatly, and rested them with his shirt on the chair.

Her gaze fixed on his long, hard cock. Her lips parted and her pink tongue wetted her lower lip. “You’re amazing.”

The tension behind his heart eased.

Despite his lack of the barrel chest preferred by dragon females, he had worked hard to sculpt what he had. All that mattered now was Evalina liked his shape. He wanted her to think he was strong and capable of protecting her. Long hours at the gym had not been wasted time.

He threw back his shoulders and flexed. “You approve.”

Evalina averted her eyes and twitched her robe closed. “Everyone must tell you how good-looking you are.”

He grabbed her hand, stopping her from hiding herself. “You are the first.”

“Are you serious?”

“Always.” He settled on top of her. The bed was soft like she was; he sank into it. His knee pressed between hers and his elbows rested on either side of her head. “Where I come from, I am below average.”

“Well, here you’re off-the-charts hot.” She slid a hand up his bulging bicep and along his shoulder to his neck. She stroked his hair. “I still can’t believe you’re here.”

“Believe.”

Her lips curved. “I don’t—”

He surged forward and stole her words with his kiss.

She melted. Sweet and fragrant and feminine. He kissed her mouth and licked down her neck, sucking and biting. The tender bone of her collar. The soft warmth of her skin. Tasting. Claiming.

She moaned and threaded her fingers through his hair.

He slipped a finger into the knot of her bathrobe and tugged. She was nude beneath and smelling of delicate powder.

Her hands untangled from his hair. She covered the knot.

Did she wish to keep the knot tied? Fine. He slid the fabric off her creamy shoulder and poised to appreciate the beautiful view, then mark her as—

She stiffened. “Wait.”

He waited.

She closed the robe tightly. Agitation colored her cheeks. She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “This is moving kind of fast. Getting naked is … well, I haven’t really done it. Ever. The light in the club was kind of dim. So you might not have seen me clearly.”

She scooted upright, away from him.

His chest panged.

He rested his weight on his knees. Sharp divots in the bed matched the sharp divots in his chest.

His brother’s ex-wife had annulled their marriage citing, in addition to all the other factors, that his brother failed to sexually satisfy her. It added another fine to her already-hefty compensation bill.

Evalina hadn’t given Syen the chance to try.

Seething hurt sliced into him.

Syen growled low. “Do not dismiss me.”

“Dismiss? No, I was thinking we should get cozy and turn off the lights.”

Turn off the lights? The hurt intensified. “You lied.”

She blinked. “What?”

He slammed his hand into his aching chest. “I am not off-the-charts hot. I am on-the-charts cold.”

“Huh?”

“You do not wish to look at me.”

And rather than close her eyes, the polite but still agonizing practice of dragonkind when they mated for convenience rather than for love, she wished to turn off the lights and blind herself entirely. His heart ripped again. The only thing worse would be to plug her nostrils and her ears.

No. He could not endure this. He had thought she was different. He thought she truly liked him.

But he was wrong. She did not like him. She could not tolerate him naked.

He turned away and rested his feet on the ground to rise, dress, and leave.

“I don’t want to look at you?” She tightened her grip on her robe. “What are you talking about? I mean you don’t have to force yourself to look at me.”

He whipped back to her. That made no sense. “How could such a beautiful woman speak such a lie?”

She flattened her lips in derision. “Lie? There you go again.”

“I go where?”

“Calling me ‘beautiful’.”

“Because you are.”

She shook her head. Her mouth pinched and chin wrinkled. She swallowed. Her eyes grew red-rimmed.

Something was wrong now.

He rested his weight on the bed again. She looked like she would cry. Every instinct compelled him to drag her into his arms and soothe her pain.

He fought his instinct and remained taut with iron control.

She swallowed again and gestured at him. “Any time now, you’ll suddenly come to your senses and realize I’m an elephant.”

An elephant? Again? There must be more to this gray pachyderm than he realized. “Evalina—”

“No.” She cleared her throat. “I hate my full name. I never go by it. ‘Evalina’ is a tiny delicate woman, and I’m this huge ogre. No matter what picture I use on dating websites, guys who meet me face-to-face are always disappointed. ‘I didn’t realize you were so tall. What size are you? Do you shop in the woman’s section, or the big-and-tall?’” She sniffed. “One even thought I was a cross-dressing man.”

His hurt drained out of him. Deep shame took its place.

He had accused her of dismissing him, but really, she was protecting a pain much deeper than his own. Why did he think her immune to injury? Anyone could become injured, no matter how beautiful or sweet or kind.

He leaned across her and wiped the dampness from her cheeks. “Who said those things?”

“Guys.” She sniffed again. “I know the ‘sparkle’ thing has gotten out of control. My dad was never around and my grandma used to distract me by painting my nails whenever I was sad. ‘Bright colors have a magic power to make you happy,’ she always said. As I got older, I put on more and more until it got to the point you see here.”

“You are the happiest?”

“Most guys say my colors are too loud or too weird or too ‘zany.’” She rubbed her forehead. “You’ve only been nice. But you must be thinking it too.”

“Dragons find bright, iridescent metals irresistible.”

“Then maybe they did bring me happiness after all.” She sighed. “Most guys disagree.”

“I am not ‘guys.’”

“Yeah.” Her smile returned, faint but reassuring. “You’re a dragon. And you make me feel like a girl. Almost. Not that I’d blame you mistaking me for a man.”

“How could anyone make such a mistake?”

“My cheekbones are too wide.”

He leaned forward and kissed her right cheekbone. “This is a woman’s cheekbone.”

Small lines fanned at the edge of her eyes. Her mouth curved in a tentative smile.

He bestowed a kiss near her chin. “This is a woman’s jaw.” He lowered to her sweet lips. “This is a woman’s mouth.”

She softened. Again, her resistance melted. She trusted him.

He swore to be worthy of it.

Syen trailed kisses down her neck to the fist clamping her bathrobe. Her fingers loosened beneath his kisses. Over her knuckles, her wrist, he named each. She released her grip with a sigh.

He parted the soft fabric, revealing her beautiful body. “These are a woman’s breasts.”

She sucked in a breath.

He swooped down before she could flinch away again and licked the soft, vulnerable skin. She arched. Opening to him despite her fears. How brave was she? He honored her bravery by worshiping her breasts.

Palming them reverently, he enjoyed the soft fullness. Luscious handfuls of beauty were topped by dusky nipples. He rubbed his thumbs over her sweet nubs. They hardened into pearls.

She moaned.

He latched on, sucking and flicking each pearl with his tongue. Her moans deepened. She undulated her hips. “Syen.”

He switched, tugging the wet one with his thumb.

She writhed. “Syen!”

He smiled, breaking the seal. Uncontrolled passion roughened her voice. He did that.

She rolled and clamped her thighs around his leg, rubbing her hot cleft against his thigh.

He released her breasts and clasped her waist, continuing his exploration. “This is a woman’s belly.”

He eased her legs apart.

She fought him with hungry moans. “Touch more.”

He nipped her skin, licking and sucking until she went lax and spread wide, and only pleasure-soaked moans emerged once more. “These are a woman’s thighs.”

He kissed the blonde curls fringing her wet, pink clit. “You are all female.”

She looked down the length of her body at him. Her worried expression was framed by her breasts. “Even in comparison to a dragon lady?”

Again, he would not know. He had always been too ugly to entice a dragon female, and then, on top of that, he’d been too disgraced. “In comparison to every lady in the universe.”

Her lips curved faintly. She was reassured.

She made him want to become talkative. She was a feast of every sense.

He lowered his mouth to kiss her feminine center.

She reached first, hungry and aggressive, and grasped his hard cock.

Solar flares exploded behind his eyes.

He tightened, clamping down on the pleasure. He was barely holding in his seed now. “Evalina—”

“I want you.” She stroked his length in her tight, wet hand. “Now.”

The solar flares burned. He couldn’t last. She was too hot.

As she wished.

Syen dragged her to the side of the bed. She squeaked. He stood on the ground and lifted her waist. Curved over her, he pressed the thick tip of his cock to her entrance.

She wrapped her legs around him.

His cock nudged in. She was tight, hot, and wet. He pushed. Her steady gaze looked at him. In the golden light, she was gorgeous.

His.

He thrust, connecting them more deeply.

She lifted her arms. He wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her against his thrusts and grabbed her hands, kissing her palms. She dragged him down on top of her. He slipped to his knees and landed on the fluffy quilts. Her soft body fully enveloped his. He buried himself to the hilt.

She moaned and arched her back to take him.

He drove his cock deep and hard. Her moans grew louder and her gasps more desperate. Her nails raked his back. Shuddering pleasure whipped through him. He grabbed her waist, locking her to him, and angled his thrusts so her wet clit rubbed against his bunched abs.

Her pleasure-soaked cries reached a new pitch. She rose higher and higher, up on her elbows, and cried out. Her channel clenched around his cock. Orgasm rocked her sensual body.

No rest now.

He lifted her upright in his arms and thrust.

She gasped. “Syen! I already came.”

“Come again.”

Her protest dissolved into pleasure. Her legs bounced freely against his ass and his cock plunged harder and deeper. He rode her into a second screaming orgasm.

“Oh, my god.” She shuddered and held him. “You’re incre—”

He dropped her on the bed again and dug in. The whole bed shrieked as he ground her into a third gasping, pleasure-filled cry.

He clenched on with the last threads of his will. She had chosen him. He needed her to know just how much that meant. He wanted to give her every last drop of pleasure she could ring from his cock.

Her channel milked him. His balls clenched. He fought the inevitable release.

She hugged onto his back, desperate. “Syen! Oh god. I’ve never — you’re incr—three is more than—it’s okay. I’m good. You can come.”

Her order freed him. Seed burst free from his cock and flooded her womb. Release shuddered through him. He collapsed and rolled so she lay atop him.

Her thigh crossed his abdomen, possessive. He rested his palm on her knee.

They sank into her bed together. The quilts bunched up around them, chaotic.

His former life drained out into the ether. He was remade in her bountiful arms.

She wiggled. “Aren’t I too heavy?”

He tightened his grip on her knee. “No.”

She rested her head on his chest. Her breath slowed and evened. She fell asleep.

Her concern for his well-being again shamed him.

He only thought of himself. His desire for a female. His wish for her to forgo comfort and wait for him. His rejection when she honestly and openly communicated her past injuries and her fears.

All along, his selfishness caused her pain.

Why?

Because a male like him didn’t deserve her. She would surely recognize that and reject him. He was unworthy.

But she had never rejected him. In fact, she had accepted him more deeply at every crossroads.

She didn’t normally bring a male home. She cared about his comfort. Even now, she worried her slight weight interfered with his rest.

He stroked her sinuous back. She was so beautiful. And she’d chosen him to bring her pleasure.

Which meant she thought he was worthy.

Her skin was a little chilled. He tugged the quilt over her. She sighed and dropped deeper into sleep.

His selfish focus on his own worth ended now.

He would treasure her. Pleasure her. Worship her until she became his.

And never, ever risk causing her harm.

Syen jolted upright.

He was alone in Evalina’s bed.

Syen scrambled free of the quilt and stalked out of the bedroom on high alert. Yes, he’d been working nonstop to finish the last debt payment. He had always worked many days without rest. How could he have relaxed so completely in Evalina’s presence that he felt nothing when she slipped away from him?

Water was running in the bathroom. It shut off. The door opened. She stepped out, fully clothed, glimpsed him, and jumped. “Syen!”

His tension eased.

“Oh, you surprised me.” She pressed her hands to her chest. Her eyes widened on his nakedness. And drew lower to his cock with an excited blush. “And you’re—”

He dragged her into his arms and dominated her with his thorough kiss.

She melted, giving herself over, and kissing him back. He relaxed.

He was worthy.

She’d accepted his claim with her body.

He found the bottom of her lacy blue shirt and slid his hand up her soft belly to her silken cups.

“Mmph!” She wiggled free and pushed down her red leather shirt. “Oh. Kay.” She took a deep breath and ran a smoothing finger across her smeared red-sparkle lipstick. “Sorry. There’s not much time. My friends felt bad about abandoning me last night. They’re taking me out to breakfast.”

Her rejection stung.

He also did not have much time. Ruby would soon arrive, and then Syen had to leave, possibly forever.

Evalina slid one rainbow-striped, knee-high, toe-sock behind her and bit her lip. “You can come.”

Okay, then.

He wished to spend the day in bed with her for as long as possible, but he respected her wish to keep an appointment with her friends. “I will dress and go.”

She frowned.

Syen flew to the bedroom, pulled on last night’s clothes, and ran his fingers through his hair. He donned his tactical shades and changed the tint to hard opacity. He returned to the living room.

Eva stared out the rain-dampened window. Her colorful hair was styled in a loose bun with soft curls and her face, hair, and body were extra sparkly.

“I am ready.”

She turned to face him. “Right now?”

“Yes.”

His calm answer did not ease the anxiety on her face.

Why so tense?

She pulled on turquoise boots and a banana yellow leather coat, locked up, and pulled out her phone.

“Put your arms around me,” he ordered.

“Huh?” She looked up. “I just ordered a car.”

“No need. I will fly you.”

“Oh. You’re going?” She brightened, tapped more buttons, and obediently put her arms around his neck. “What changed your mind?”

“I did not change my mind.”

“You said you were going to go.”

“And I am.” They rose into the gray skies.

She blinked and then buried her head against his shoulder. “I am never going to understand you.”

“That is fine. I perfectly understand you already.”

She moaned.

He soared across the city. The clouds had a damp chill, but the horizons hinted at blue if only the clouds would burn away.

“Your colors look vibrant against the gray,” he said.

Her lips curved. A slight softening. He pressed her close.

The restaurant appeared below.

He landed on the second-floor balcony and knocked to be let in. A surprised staff member seated them at Evalina’s friends’ table. They had to pull up a chair to accommodate him.

“This is Syen.” Evalina gave them an anxious smile. “He’s a…well, ah…he’s a dragon.”

Her friends stared in shock.

The bartender, Chloe, gaped. “An actual dragon? From space? That kind of dragon?”

“Yep.” Evalina patted his arm. “How about that?”

Nobody had an answer for her.

She identified her friends by name, and then a long silence settled over the table.

A male — Jon — finally turned to Evalina. “Did you finish grading last week’s portfolios?”

“Since last night? No way.”

“Students will be asking.”

“I was kind of busy.” She laughed and rested her elbows on the table.

Everyone looked at him.

Jon smiled with too much intimacy.

Under the table, Syen placed his hand on Evalina’s knee.

Her shoulder relaxed. She didn’t look at Syen, but she leaned closer.

Syen’s chest eased. In front of her important friends, she did not reject him.

“How about you?” she asked Jon.

“I wish,” Jon said. “Self-evaluations take me twice as long to grade as the actual assignment.”

Their conversation broke the tension. The others began chatting. A waitress took their orders and brought Syen the spicy chai latte he enjoyed. Evalina ordered strawberry pancakes with whipped cream.

Across the table, Chloe addressed him. “You never picked up your credit card.”

“I will collect it later.”

“Oh, are you joining the weekly gatherings of our merry group of friends?”

“No.”

Her brows rose. The other conversations stopped.

“No?” Chloe repeated. “You’re not going to be friends with us?”

“Correct.”

“Wow.” She stared at Evalina. “That might be a problem. We kind of hang out with Eva all the time.”

“Good.”

“Like, every weekend.”

“Yes.”

“And you have no plans to be a part of that?”

“Correct,” he repeated, a little more slowly since Chloe seemed to have trouble understanding his enunciation.

“Wow,” she repeated.

Evalina frowned at the table.

The waitress brought her plate of pancakes and had to edge between Evalina and the wall to deliver it. “Excuse me, hon.”

“Oh! Sorry.” Evalina scooted out of the way. Her knee dropped away from his hand.

The waitress departed.

Evalina stared at the fluffy whipped cream topping her human pancake. Was she upset with her food? He had no idea about quality. Human food was so textured and interesting in comparison to the unflavored protein mix usually consumed by dragons.

She squared her shoulders and picked up her cup of black coffee.

“You’re not joining us?” Chloe asked yet again and took a bite of her egg white omelet. “Eva’s like a party organizer.”

“My work consumes too much time for cultivating friendships. Last night is unlikely to be repeated.”

Evalina’s coffee tilted. Scalding liquid sloshed out of the cup and splashed her hand. She cried and released the handle. The whole cup tipped.

Right over her vulnerable lap.

He grabbed the mug around the rim and sealed the liquid in with his palm. Boiling heat seared his vulnerable human skin.

Pain burned white-hot.

He endured. Dragon scales, while able to tolerate high heats, were slick. He couldn’t risk dropping the mug.

Evalina scooted back. “Oh my god! Syen!”

He set the mug on the table. The coffee had seared an angry red circle on his palm.

“Oh, god.” She fumbled ice cubes from her water glass into a white paper napkin and pressed the disintegrating paper to his palm. “Your hand’s red. It’s probably burned.”

“It will heal.” He tugged a piece of ice free and pressed it to the burned splash on the back of her hand. “Take care.”

“I know! I’m so clumsy. You’ll never want to go out with me again.”

He palmed the single ice and lifted her chin.

Her anxious eyes skidded across his face. He forced her still until she focused on him. Her brown eyes cleared.

“You are kind,” he said quietly. “Not clumsy. I will want to go out with you many times.”

She sucked in a breath and let it out. A gentle smile curved her sparkly red lips. The tension between them dissolved, and she became the woman who had melted into his kiss and opened herself to him in the bedroom.

“Wait.” Chloe pointed at them. “Did you two hook up?”

“No,” he said.

In the same instant, Eva murmured, “Um, yeah.”

Her answer stabbed him in the chest.

She jolted and hurt filled her voice. “We did so hook up.”

“You are more than a hook up to me.”

She blinked. “But then why did you say you’re too busy with work and last night won’t be repeated?”

“If I escape Ruby, then I will owe Sard Carnelian more than the total loyalty I have already given him. I will owe him…I will owe him a debt that cannot be repaid.”

“Aren’t you just saying you don’t have time for me?”

“I will only have time for you.”

Her disbelief fought with tiny rays of hope. She tilted her head. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“And this morning? Say what you like, you didn’t want to come to breakfast.”

“I wanted to return with you to the bedroom.”

Her mouth opened and closed. She suddenly looked at her silent, staring friends and covered her face.

Chloe grinned. “So, I guess you two are dating.”

He stilled. Would Evalina claim him?

Evalina’s lips flattened. “Honestly? I’d say we flew right past dating and straight into ‘It’s complicated.’”

His heart dipped.

He had to work harder. Syen was used to working harder. He had to prove he was a worthy male someone like Evalina should—

A dark shadow blackened out the sun.

Strange red, blue, and orange lights flickered over the landscape outside.

“It’s another dragon spaceship!” a diner exclaimed. “A big one!”

Everyone got up and went to the windows, oohing and ahhing.

Everyone except him and Evalina.

Syen’s stomach rolled.

He knew who that cruiser belonged to.

Evalina looked at him. “Is it Ruby?”

He pressed the communication button on his earbud. “Boss?”

No answer.

He tried again. “Boss? It’s Syen.”

Nothing.

“Is he in trouble?” Evalina asked.

The ship hadn’t landed yet, but nothing was impossible. Syen rose and pressed his earbud at the same time. “Boss, I’m coming in.”

“Do not come in!” Sard snarled, furious. “We’re not here. Nobody’s here. The office is empty. Do not come in!”

“Ruby’s cruiser is on its way.”

“So you should be heading in the opposite direction!”

“You know I can’t obey that order, sir.” He strode toward the balcony.

Evalina hurried beside him.

Sard swore incoherently.

The balcony door was locked. Syen flexed a small amount of strength. The metal frame bent and the glass cracked. The door swung open.

Syen hopped up on the balcony railing.

Evalina waved. “Wait!”

Syen swerved back.

In the restaurant, patrons gawked and snapped pictures.

He focused only on her. “Yes?”

She entwined their hands, her cool fingers meshing with his large hot ones. “I didn’t mean to minimize last night. You’re amazing and I feel like it was all a dream. Last night, today.” She shook her head. “I can’t honestly imagine tomorrow.���

Given the size of the massive doom cruiser drifting overhead, he didn’t blame her.

She waved her fingers at the cruiser. “Not because of that. I can’t imagine you’ll still want me tomorrow.”

“Try,” he growled.

“And then you say something like ‘try’ so seriously.”

“I am always serious.”

“I know. Can I?” She removed his shades, baring his irises to her.

He forced himself not to flinch.

She stroked his cheek. Accepting him in the bright daylight just as she had accepted him in the artificial lights of her living area. “I want to believe in an impossible dream.”

“So believe.”

“And I’m not used to guys being nice.”

“I’m not ‘guys.’”

“No.” She studied him as though she really, truly, saw him. “You’re not. But you’re so hot. I feel unworthy.”

She felt unworthy? She’d said such things last night, too. It still seemed unbelievable.

Perhaps her self-conception of unworthiness felt as unbelievable to him as his self-conception of unworthiness felt to her.

She threw her arms around his neck. “Take me with you.”

His gut clenched. “Never.”

“But your boss said something about me being able to help.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“You’re going.”

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t. You’re a good person who worries about his boss and tries to take care of everybody. This is one burden you can’t shoulder alone.”

“I won’t be alone. Sard will be with me.”

“And he’s the one who said I could help.”

“No.”

“Syen!”

He unwrapped her arms and folded her hands atop each other. “Dragon females fight over a male in teeth-to-claw combat. No weapons. No fire. Only your natural fangs and claws.”

“So that’s what you think your boss meant?” She wrinkled her brow. “Is he an idiot?”

“He is the kindest, noblest, most intelligent dragon in—”

“Okay, so, he knows I can’t fight a dragon. What else could he have meant?”

Syen wasted precious seconds considering her question. Sard wasn’t unintelligent… “If we married according to local laws, then you could submit a complaint the Empress and force Ruby to return me without violence.”

“But you’d still get kidnapped today and possibly assaulted or worse?”

He nodded.

“It doesn’t matter because we don’t have enough time to get married. That ship is landing in minutes. What about dragon marriage?”

“First, we bare our bodies and unite, fully nude, in the light so there are no secrets between us.”

Her cheeks flushed. She licked her lips. “Check.”

“Now we are provisionally engaged.”

“That was fast! And the marriage?”

“You must bear my dragonlet and, on his or her first birthday, he or she must be recognized by the house matriarch.”

She blinked. “We, uh, definitely don’t have time for that.”

He nodded.

“Huh. So what was your boss’s idea, then?”

Syen pressed the communication button and relayed the question.

Sard’s panicked tone calmed. “You un-disappointed her? Good work, Syenite. Your discipline has never failed me. Bring your female to the office.”

“Sir? You have a plan that will not endanger her?”

“We may all survive this yet.” Sard’s deep growl rose in pitch. “She’s landing! Come as fast as possible. Don’t keep Ruby waiting any longer!”

Evalina twined her arms around Syen’s neck. He lifted her off the balcony. She snuggled tight against him.

He soared.

She giggled. “Whee!”

He squeezed her tight.

Even though they were flying into danger, her sweetness filled him with a powerful sense of purpose.

The landscape below zoomed. A shot of adrenaline buzzed in his veins.

If he survived this, Syen would show Evalina around the office. Dress her in exotic outfits in the warehouse. Strip them off again at his private desk.

Give her a pair of earbuds for when he couldn’t join her bed and repurpose it to their own private use.

Earth, which had once depressed him as a backwater prison, now gleamed as beautiful as the heart of the Empire. As the sun emerged from behind spaceship-churned clouds overhead, his future had once been dark and unfathomable. Now it was so full of hope it was blinding.

The spaceship floated, tethered over Carnelian Clothiers’ head office building.

Eva craned her neck to see. “That’s so big. It must hold an army.”

“It probably only carries a few dragons.” He swooped down the outside of the glass building to his floor. “Royalty or aristocrat.”

“No way! That big ship? How do you know?”

“I used to have one.” He keyed open his office window and landed behind his gray, barren desk. “Before my family’s dishonor.”

She regained her feet, sliding down his hard body, and caressed his cheek. Sweet sympathy reflected in her clear brown eyes. “I’m sorry. Do you miss it?”

“Every day. Before.”

“Before?”

“You.”

She blinked. Her lips softened.

His office door slammed open.

They both jumped. Syen moved himself in front of her.

Sard stormed in “You’re here. Hurry! I sent Ruby to the river. You can meet her before she gets too enraged. It’s almost too late.”

Syen released Evalina. He never questioned his boss and so he spoke softly despite his great agitation. “What is your plan for Evalina?”

“She’s the key to everything.” Sard’s dark eyes gleamed with red threads. “Because she’s going to get Ruby to break the Dragon-Human Treaty.”

Eva waited in Syen’s dim, gray office by his window.

He was having a muted disagreement with his boss in the hall. She’d been tempted to interrupt, but then Sard had loudly exclaimed, “Ruby only has to singe your human a little bit!” and Eva had figured she was better off not knowing.

She was the one who’d assumed Sard had a better plan, and Syen was the one who’d insisted Sard was intelligent, so it seemed they were both wrong.

The starship up above looked amazing! Straight out of a Star Trek movie, except the whole thing was the saucer and none of the extra bits.

Syen re-entered the office and closed the door. His jaw was grim.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, rising. “Did you come up with a plan that doesn’t require me to get a little bit singed?”

He nodded.

“That’s a relief.” She joined him in the middle of his office. “What is it?”

He took her hands in his huge palms. “Evalina. This past day and night with you have been the best of my life. You are a more beautiful female than I ever imagined attracting. I wish I could spend the rest of my days with you. Forever.”

Whoa.

Her heart pattered all out of rhythm. She tried to joke. “That almost sounds like a proposal.”

He remained silent.

Uh…

He was so hard to read with the dark sunglasses on. She untangled their hands and pulled his glasses off, baring his determined, glittery irises.

He was serious.

“No,” she said.

His lips parted. “No?”

“Of course, no! We can’t get engaged now.”

“We can’t?”

“First of all, I’m not letting any total stranger, whether it’s your boss or some other deranged dragon, dictate the path of our relationship.”

His mouth closed.

“And second, we’ve known each other for less than twenty-four hours! We have to date at least a year. Any sooner and it’s like a shotgun marriage. My parents had that. They never last.”

He blinked rapidly. His eyelashes were long and delicate fringing his eyes with surprising sensitivity. “You refuse our engagement to protect our relationship?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“In one year, I can propose marriage again?”

“You can set your clock to it.”

He touched his smartwatch, which was probably a more advanced dragon watch now that she thought about it. “One year.” He studied her. “Then are we dating?”

Her heart rose to her throat. “Do dragon shifters date?”

“No. But you are a human. So dating for a year is allowed.”

Her heart rose higher.

She tried to swallow. To squeeze out her voice. Her hands shook. Be brave. Go after your prince. “Did you want to date?”

“Yes.”

Oh. “Well, great. That wasn’t so—”

He pulled her into his commanding kiss.

She melted.

His lips nibbled hers, firm and sweet, and his tongue swept her mouth. Hot, spicy, male. Liquid hunger ached in her center. Her channel clenched.

He lifted his head slowly, nuzzling her. She closed her eyes and savored his hard body. They were alone in the office. All new fantasies entered her head.

He sighed and released her. “Wait for me.”

“Again?” She tried to keep the worried whine out of her voice. “Do you have to go?”

“Yes.” He opened the window and looked down at her, a gorgeous, hard, proud male. “I will be back.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I will offer Ruby a percentage of my wage until her anger is satisfied.” He flew away.

The window closed automatically behind him.

Eva sank into his huge, cushy office chair and collapsed on his desk. Resting her head on her hands, she tried to ignore the very real worry and focus on the fantasy.

They were dating!

There was so much she needed to know.

Did Syen rent or own? Did he drop his clothes all over the floor on his way inside the house, or did he hang and press his clothes when taking them off? Did he have a hobby? What did he think of the ukulele or harmonica?

Worry seeped in again.

She checked his wall clock.

Ten minutes had passed.

Great, she’d wasted ten minutes before helpless worry took hold. How was she going to last until he got back?

Okay.

There was a pattern here.

She could stay put and wait for her prince — who now looked amazingly like a huge male with glittery, granite eyes — or she could stand up and go after what she wanted. Chase that prince down, tackle him, and never let him go.

Eva stood, crossed his office, and opened the door.

A man in a suit — well, actually, he was probably a dragon in a suit — studied a slender cell phone.

She walked up to him. “Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Syen?”

He blinked and then stared at her with undisguised shock. His eyes were a very deep blue. “You are here.”

“I am here.” She gave him a big grin. “Where’s Syen?”

His gaze went slightly cross-eyed as though she had dazzled him. He shook himself and touched a black earbud. “Boss. Syenite’s female is here.”

She could almost hear his boss’s shout. The man — er, male — winced and shied away from the earbud.

“Sir. I understand. She just emerged from his office asking where he was.”

“And that’s a problem,” she guessed.

The male rolled his lips together in the universal gesture of not telling.

He didn’t have to.

Syen’s boss roared down the hallway toward them. “What are you doing here?! Where is my bodyguard?”

Some people might be intimidated by a bajillion-pound male who looked like he bench-pressed busses and then ate them for breakfast.

But Eva was the one making demands. She stuck her hands on her hips. “Syen told me to wait and then he flew out a window.”

“But what are you doing here?”

“I’m waiting. Syen’s gone to offer part of his wages until she’s done being angry.”

“What? That will never happen!”

“Syenite is at the riverfront,” the other male employee said, touching his earbud and shrinking back from the enraged boss.

“With Ruby? Alone?” Sard slammed Syen’s office door open and flew to the window, clicking the keypad to force it open. “Is she in human form or dragon?”

“Still in human form.”

“Suicide,” he muttered.

“What’s going on?” Eva demanded.

He ignored her question but turned to her and held out his massive hand. “Let’s go.”

She kept her distance. “Go?”

“Do you want to rescue Syenite? Come now!”

She stared at him. Doing her best to channel Syen’s immobile, unreadable expression.

His boss bit off an impatient growl. “Ruby’s a business dragon. She’s furious about the embezzlement, but it’s a cold fury. She’ll never accept a small percentage of his income when she could get the full amount.”

Oh no.

That made a dreadful kind of sense. Eva’s pancake lurched in her stomach. “So what do you want me to do about it?”

He held out his hand again. “You’re the only one who can stop this.”

“You’re not going to make me get hurt, are you?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Now or never, take my hand. Come!”

She took his hand.

He yanked her into his embrace. It was like being hugged by an over-sized character from an amusement park, except the soft fluff of the costume was all hard muscle. He barreled out the window.

The wind ripped at her hair.

She gritted her teeth as the landscape blurred. “So what’s the plan?”

“Syen’s older brother wronged someone. And—”

“His former sister-in-law,” she supplied.

He glanced down at her as though surprised Syen had shared his private situation with her. “Yes. His older brother lied about his finances and embezzled her fortune. The Empress—”

“I know all this! I meant, what’s your plan for me to help Syen?”

“You will stand in front of him and claim him for yourself.”

“And then?”

“That will goad Ruby to non-fatally injure you. I have called agents of the Gentlemen’s Society to wait and watch. When she breaks the Dragon-Human Treaty, they will step in and exile her from Earth. Syen will be saved.”

“And I will be toast.”

“You must move with alacrity to avoid her flames.”

“I can see why Syen didn’t like this plan.”

“It’s a risk you must take,” Sard insisted. “No male deserves freedom more than Syenite. His idiot brothers value only wealth. He is a male of truth and loyalty.”

Yes, that sounded like Syen.

Syen’s boss flew along the wide, smooth Columbia River. In the distance, the traffic of I-5 between Washington and Oregon made a melodic roar.

On the riverside cliff, a tiny human faced down a ginormous red dragon. The kind that appeared in storybooks of medieval times and was rumored to eat people.

“Oh, well.” Sard sighed heavily. “It was a brilliant plan, but you waited too long. She’s already transformed.”

The ginormous red dragon stalked toward Syen on all four feet. Her lips peeled back from saber-sized white teeth.

Funny. Eva had seen videos and pictures of the dragons, but they were all normal-ish size. Like, only twice as big as her.

This female was the size of a house.

Syen backed away, his loafers hanging off the miniature cliff over the river.

“Why doesn’t he change to dragon too?” Eva asked. “It would give him more of an edge.”

“It would infuriate Ruby.” Syen’s boss descended to trees and released Eva at a safe distance. “Have you seen his coloration? Showing himself to Ruby would be the equivalent of flinging excrement at her face.”

How awful.

Hard, trembling anger kindled in Eva’s chest. She formed fists. “You didn’t tell him that.”

“Of course not. He’s known this his whole life. It’s understood.”

He’d been told that his colors were the same as having poop shoved in a person’s face his whole life? No wonder he’d been so hesitant to reveal his scales or his eyes to her.

And no.

No, it wasn’t understood.

Not by her.

Scarlet flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth.

Syen’s boss moaned. “He refused her. Suicide!”

Syen dove out of their path. The red flames his the water and sizzled. Steam billowed. Syen disappeared inside the cloud.

Deadly heat rolled across the water and sunburned Eva’s face.

“Oh, maybe she’ll incinerate you by accident. How lucky.” Sard raised a meaty fist and shouted. “The treaty restricts dragons from injuring humans! I will report you to the Gentlemen’s Society!”

The female dragon ignored him. She snapped her mouth closed on the fire and squinted into the steam.

Eva turned to the boss. “You said I can stop this?”

“You could have stopped it by claiming Syen before Ruby shifted. Now, it’s too late.”

The dragon landed nearby. Her tail smashed into a birch. The tree splintered like a toothpick. Its top half folded into the Columbia.

Syen popped out of the steam cloud. He zoomed low and hard across the river.

The dragon bugled and launched.

A shadow the size of a jetliner crossed Eva and sand gritted in her face. Her hair flew.

“Get her attention,” Eva shouted at Syen’s boss.

“It’s too late.”

She raced across the sand after the red dragon. “Hey! Ruby! Down here!”

Sard swore and flew after her, stopping her from falling off the cliff. “What are you doing?”

“You said I could stop this!” Eva shrieked.

“Didn’t you hear what else I said? It’s too late. You’re going to get hurt.”

“There’s a treaty!”

“I don’t think she cares about that right now!”

The dragon flamed down the middle of the Columbia. Spouts of steam billowed up, again disguising Syen’s position. He was like a tiny, helpless dot against a furious monstrosity.

Eva was not watching her new boyfriend get barbecued.

“Syen!” she screamed in his boss’s ear. “I’m here! Over here! Your boss brought me!”

His boss winced. “Argh. What are you doing?”

“Trying to get his attention with your earbud thingy.”

“Oh.” He sobered as though she’d given him an actual good idea. He touched the earbud. “Syen. Evalina wishes to talk with Ruby. She’s on the shoreline.”

Syen emerged from another cloud of steam. He darted down to the Columbia toward her.

Eva’s heart raced in her throat.

Syen dove for her. His glasses were askew on his face but his expression was finally very readable. He landed in front of her with a hard thump. His shoes gouged the sand, spraying it up her legs.

The dragon wheeled lazily in the sky and beat her giant wings.

Syen grabbed her biceps, his face tight with alarm. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving you.” She threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Pressing kisses to his face — hard enough to leave red, sparkly marks — she did her own dragon growl. “You’re mine.”

The dragon bugled.

Syen jerked to look over his shoulder.

Eva tightened. She was absolutely not letting him go to face that monster alone.

The dragon’s head descended, neck outstretched, and the scent of a lit match wafted over them. Brutal red lava bubbled between her fangs.

Syen launched them into the air and flew to the trees.

Ruby erupted with fire.

Flames pooled where there’d been standing. The sand sizzled to glass.

Syen wove between the trees. “You should not have come. I told you to wait.”

Adrenaline surged through Eva’s body. “Yeah? Well, you took too long!”

He glanced down at her. Surprised, perhaps, by her vehemence. “I apologize for the delay.”

“Apology accepted.” She clung to him. Her hands trembled. “And I’m sorry too. I hate to bother you when you’re working.”

“That’s not the problem.”

Overhead, Syen’s boss roared. “Do not threaten a human!”

The dragon snapped at him like he was an irritating house fly.

He evaded her teeth. “If you cause an injury, you will violate the treaty and the Empress will destroy you!”

The dragon bugled at the sky.

Syen’s boss pointed at the ground. “Let’s discuss this calmly and rationally as humans.” He descended to the riverside sidewalk.

The dragon reluctantly descended, shrinking at the same time. 

Syen descended as well. He landed with a thunk, shoved Eva behind him, and faced the dragon with both hands out. “When you speak to Ruby, please choose your words carefully. She has not spent time among humans. She will not understand unless you are very clear.”

Oh, Eva would be clear. 

She leaned against him. He reached back and pressed her close, supporting her.

Ruby touched down, slimming into a tall, fertile goddess with deep auburn hair and eyes.

She was completely naked. 

Perfect size-D breasts bounced on her chest, a generous hourglass curved her waist, and the vee between her legs was like Aphrodite stepping into the realm of mortals.

She was gorgeous. Pale, cream skin tone. And brilliantly confident. Everything Eva would never be.

Syen’s boss stepped forward. In human form, he was larger and more dangerous-looking than Ruby, by a lot, but he didn’t get too close. “Ruby. Humans wear clothes in public.”

“In dragon form, clothes are unnecessary.” Ruby even had a gorgeous, throaty voice. Everything about her was seductive.

Syen curled his hand around Eva’s waist. Ensuring she was well-protected behind him.

His boss grimaced. “To honor the treaty, dragons must conform to local laws.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. Off to the side, two guys in suits Eva hadn’t even noticed — what with the breathing fire and everything — hurried over with a sparkling red sheath. Ruby lifted her arms. They dropped the dress over her, artfully arranging the fabric to highlight her assets. She snapped again, and they scuttled back to a safe distance.

“Now.” Syen’s boss cleared his throat. “Syen’s mate wishes to speak with you.”

“Mate?” Her gaze fixed on Eva. “He is not engaged. You are no mate. I have the right to this male.”

“We are, actually, dragon-engaged,” Eva corrected. “But we’re also dating. It’s very serious.”

Ruby frowned and focused on Syen. “You are an unclaimed male. I am an available female. We will marry.”

He tightened his grip.

The imperious dragon female curled a lip. “How dare you hesitate? I will forget my complaint and elevate your family within the aristocracy. So, accept my claim.” Ruby’s eyes gleamed dangerous red and smoke curled from her mouth. “Now.”

His jaw clenched.

“Why do you not answer me?” she demanded. Apparently, he was hard to read for his own species too. “So long as you wear your tinted glasses, I will overlook your flawed eyes. No other dragon female will do this. Your colors are disgusting for a male who was once a pure aristocrat. My tolerance shocks even me.”

He flinched.

Eva’s heart thumped hard.

I will overlook your flawed eyes.

“That’s just mean,” Eva blurted, pushing against Syen’s protecting hand. “And it’s not even true. Syen’s eyes are beautiful.”

Ruby’s jaw dropped.

Syen’s arm also went slack. Surprised by her passionate declaration? She pushed around him and faced the auburn goddess directly.

“You shouldn’t ‘put up’ with unique characteristics that make your partner who he is. Take me.” She pressed her palm against her chest. “Lots of guys told me I looked ridiculous. But Syen likes it. And his encouragement gave me the confidence to stand in front of you now even though you’re a gorgeous fire-breathing dragon.”

Ruby’s mouth closed. Her eyes narrowed. “I do not think you can understand. You are colorful. He is hideous.”

“He’s three times more colorful than I am.”

“Ugly colors.”

“And that’s what you want to marry.”

“I will overlook it.”

“Well, I won’t! Syen, take off your shades.”

His hands trembled. 

Eva reached up. She lowered her voice just for him. “Can I?”

“You can,” he murmured, and she could feel his anxious gaze darting past her to the other dragons. “They will not accept it.”

“Good.”

He tilted his head.

“You think your ‘ugly’ mineral is this terrible weakness, but it’s the reason you grew up so humble and hard-working. Your coloration is your strength. And it’s going to save you now from the deepest unhappiness.”

He removed the shades and tucked them into his breast pocket.

All the emotions he kept hidden burst through, bare and exposed to the world. His worry for Eva. His shame about his eye color. His fear of exposing himself to her like this in the daylight. His trembling hope that she meant what she said, and she really did like his eyes, and she wasn’t just saying it to be nice.

She understood. She’d felt the same fears. The same uncertainty. The same desperate longing to be loved for who she was and the same hope that someday she would find someone who saw through to her. Who truly loved her.

Just the way she was.

She stroked his jaw, drinking in his irises. “I see silver, gold, and copper. Those are precious metals, right? They’re even more beautiful in the daytime.”

His jaw trembled beneath her fingers. The rims of his eyes reddened and moisture wavered. He was so expressive. His love. His devotion. His deep kindness. It shone in his sparkling eyes.

The other dragons shuffled uncomfortably. 

“What is this?” Ruby growled.

Oh. They weren’t alone. Right.

Eva turned in his arms to face the dangerous female dragon. “You have to be able to look your own husband in the eye.”

“Of course.” Ruby averted her gaze. “Perhaps his eyes are not as hideous as I remember. Syen, you may wear the shades at only half opacity and remove them when it is dark.”

“That’s ridiculous. You have to love all his colors.”

“No one could love all his colors.”

“I do.”

“You’re lying!”

Eva glanced back at him. “Syen, will you transform? Please.”

Syen stepped back from her.

His boss held up his palm to stop him. “That’s enough. We don’t want to incite Ruby’s anger.”

“Yes, we do.” Eva jabbed at Ruby. “If she wants Syen for her husband, she has to want all of him. Otherwise, she needs to acknowledge that he’s not her soulmate and get out of my way.”

Sard blinked.

Ruby’s perfect brows arched.

Eva nodded at Syen. “Go ahead.”

Syen fixed his gaze on her as though tuning out the rest of the world. Then, he flexed. 

Speckled scales flew over his body like he’d done a backward cannonball into a swimming pool of gray. His suit shredded as his arms and legs elongated into dragon limbs. The claws burst forth from his nail beds. His spine burst out the jacket, tail unfurling, and his dark hair traveled off his head — which elongated into the flared nostrils and deep eye ridges of a medieval dragon.

Eva ran her fingers over his glittery, mica-speckled skin. “Stunning.”

“Stunning?” Ruby raised her fists. Her teeth gritted. “Are you insulting me?”

“Why would you be insulted? This is the true, beautiful form of the male you supposedly want to marry.”

“I already promised to overlook his flaws.”

“You shouldn’t have to. Because he doesn’t have any.” Eva threw her arms around Syen’s long neck. “He’s gorgeous.”

His tail curled around her. Protective, sweet, and all hers.

This close, his scales shimmered like polished stones. Gray with flecks of brown and silver, like the scales he had shown her on his hand.

“You’re blind,” Ruby snapped.

“Are you going to be happy waking up every day beside this male? Being with him? Making children — er, dragonlet together?”

Ruby’s growl dissipated. So did some of her confidence. “He’s a productive worker...”

“There are cheaper ways to hire an employee.”

Ruby frowned.

“Be honest with yourself!” Eva urged. “Marriage is forever. Find someone you can love without reservation. You deserve at least that much happiness.”

“You are serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. Everyone deserves to find their perfect match.”

“That is easy for you to say.” Ruby gestured at her. “You’re so colorful and I’m so plain.”

Wait. 

Eva raised her hand. “I’m sorry. What?”

“You have an exotic blue, purple, and dark pink coloration. Of course, you could claim any dragon. A gold duke or lapis lazuli marquis. Even a rare alexandrite prince.”

Syen stiffened like he thought Ruby was right, and Eva was selling herself short by “settling” for a speckled syenite-colored dragon with glittery eyes when she could have one of a much higher class.

Ha! What a joke.

Except all the dragons were waiting for her to explain. Ruby was not the only one interested in her answer. Syen’s boss, Ruby’s two dragon assistants off to the side, and even Syen as a dragon listened.

“But I don’t want a different boyfriend.” Eva looked up into Syen’s glittery eyes. “I’m falling pretty hard for you.”

The hollow above his eye ridges relaxed. He believed her.

“She must have a fetish,” Ruby said to Syen’s boss. “A strange, perverted sexual fetish. Do all humans prefer ugly dragons? Or only the most attractive human females?”

He shrugged, clearly agreeing with Ruby and also not caring. “Syen is an honorable male. She’ll be happy.”

“When the low castes hear of this, they’ll flood Earth.”

“Then the Empire will be forced to change its treaty restricting dragon technology.”

Ruby tsked at Syen. “You’re irritating my dragon eyes. Shift.”

He melted to his original massive, nude human form. 

Eva remained in front of him like a shield. 

It was so funny that less than twenty-four hours ago, she’d been nervous to walk up to an attractive man in a club to say hi, and now she defended him from death or slavery with an impassioned defense.

But it was right.

She wasn’t waiting around for her prince to rescue her. She was running after that prince, rescuing him right back, and clubbing anyone who got in their way.

No one was taking him away now that she’d staked her claim.

From behind, Syen slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her crown. He didn’t say anything. He just held her.

She relaxed against him.

Ruby looked at them as a couple and shook her head. “A waste.”

“You can get this done, you know.”

Ruby stalked toward Eva. Her red eyes gleamed with hunger. “You can just do this? The hair? The glitter? The sparkles?”

She nodded.

Ruby reached out and stroked her ombré locks. “I need this.”

“I’ll give you the number of my stylist.”

Ruby raised her fist to her assistants. “You will make me the appointment! I will have this color. And buy every sparkly outfit at Carnelian Clothiers!”

Sard bowed. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“Then, I will be the irresistible female.” She focused on Syen. “Your brother’s debt is paid. I withdraw my complaint against your family.”

His arms tightened around Eva. He answered evenly. “Thank you.”

“Of course, if you ever remove your shades or shift in front of me again, I will rip out your spine.”

He bobbed his head in understanding.

Eva tightened her grip on him. “Don’t say things like that.”

“My apologies, human. I do not mean to insult your sexual fetish.” Ruby stroked her red hair. “I will attract a handsome male who cannot take his eyes off me. Farewell.”

Ruby strode across the river walk to her companions. One spoke into a cell phone, clearly making her a salon appointment. The trio rose into the air and flew across the river, heading south to Portland.

Eva sagged against Syen.

Her boyfriend.

Syen squeezed her.

He warmed her so much. She curled her hands around his deliciously hard forearms. “Now what?”

“Now,” Sard lifted off the ground, “we return to the office, package Ruby’s purchase, and test the market for cosmetics. We will work through the night. Syen?”

He twirled Eva to face him and lifted them into the air. “Sir.”

“We’ll head back now and—”

Eva protested. “I think you should give Syen the rest of the day off.”

“Why?”

“I have questions for him. And since I just got you a huge purchase and saved his life, I think giving us a little time together is the least you can do.”

Syen hovered beside his boss. “I have never requested a day off before.”

His boss growled. “We are in the middle of a product search.”

“So, when you say you’re following local Earth laws, are you following labor laws, too? Because there are rules about overtime. Most workers get vacation and weekends.”

Sard held up his hands. “Syenite. Report tomorrow.”

Syen’s eyes widened. “Sir.”

“The weekends are two days,” she insisted.

“Report the day after tomorrow,” Sard amended through gritted teeth and zoomed away before she could ask for anything else.

Now she had Syen in her clutches. She laughed with power.

“You have questions?” he murmured in her ear. His nude, hard cock pressed against her thigh.

She shivered. “I want to see your place. Do you own or rent?”

He darkened.

Seriously? They’d been through all this and he didn’t want to show her where he lived?

“Not okay?” she asked.

“I live in the dorms.”

“Dragon dorms? Where?”

He pointed up. In the atmosphere beside Ruby’s spaceship hovered another, similar-sized floating vessel.

“On your spaceship?”

“Sard’s.”

“Am I not allowed?”

“You are allowed.” He suddenly looked very tired, as though the atmosphere had gotten heavy as he flew toward the spaceship. “I have saved every coin to pay off the debt. I have created no lair.”

Oh. “That’s okay.”

“It is not.” He almost looked sick. “I should never have purchased your drink. I thought — I made a mistake. No male dares approach a female without a lair. I deeply—”

“Whoa! It’s okay. I’m still paying off my student loans, and anyway, I was the one who approached you.” She squeezed his hand. “You can show me around the dorm and we can plan our lair together. Okay?”

He resumed a more normal color. “You are too generous.”

“I like the sound of that. Um, you have no clothes.”

“Dragons do not care about nudity. Give me my shades.”

Because waving his cock was fine but letting a slip of his irises show was offensive.

Sigh.

She slid them carefully on his face, mindful of the winds the higher they flew. “Will you take them off again when we’re inside? I want to see you.”

A ghostly smile touched his lips. “Yes.”

For an impassive dragon who had crushed down all the hurtful emotions in his life, this was a radiant smile.

She was the same. Except instead of crushing down her emotions, she’d crushed down her trust. Not in other people, although that was also a problem. Trust in herself.

She’d waited and waited and waited when what she should have done was channeled Ruby and hunted herself a prince all along. Hers was scaly and out of this world.

He was side-eying her. Like he was curious about her thoughts, her quietness, but wasn’t sure whether to ask.

She brushed her tangled, wind-blown, fire-smoked hair. “Is it really such a big deal to dye hair or put on glitter?”

“It is.”

“You know it fades, chips, and washes off.”

He nodded and flew up to the entrance of the massive spaceship. They glided down increasingly narrow corridors until he reached a room. He opened it and floated her inside.

The tiny room fit a bunk and a desk. In the wall behind the bunk were built-in shelving and a closet. On the other side was a tiny room for showering and removing wastes.

He set her down.

She patted the bed. Firm.

He reached for the closet to put on clothes.

She stopped him. “Sunglasses off.”

He folded his sunglasses and set them on a shelf. His cock grew large, hard, and erect. As if having her in his private room excited him.

He turned to her. Nude. Proud. Hers.

She rose, twined her hands around the back of his neck, and teased his hair. “So. We’re dating now.”

He nodded.

“Let’s have sex to celebrate.”

Approval and hunger flashed across his features. 

She stroked those taut cheekbones. His hard cock pressed her waist. 

He stripped her satin shirt and dipped his head to her breasts, kneading and teasing the hot bumps of flesh. Sizzling desire streaked into her core. She slicked hot and wet for him.

His nostrils flared like he could scent her. He collapsed her on the bed and pressed her knees apart.

With her open, he nuzzled up her sensitive inner thigh to her wet pink slit. He stroked her lips with his tongue and then latched onto the nub. Exquisite pleasure flooded her channel. One stroke, two strokes, three strokes. She broke into a thousand glittering pieces, orgasming hard.

He rose from between her legs and slid a long, hard finger deep into her hungry feminine channel.

She moaned.

Stroking her gently, then harder and faster, he licked her sensitive nipples and latched onto the taut peaks.

She spasmed. The orgasm built again to a crescendo and then she exploded. “Syen!”

He removed his finger. His cock drizzled his seed against her leg.

She expelled a burst of air. “Is this how dragons make love?”

“No.” The ghost of a wicked smile crossed his usually expressionless face. He rolled her over onto her front and kneaded her derriere.

“I meant multiple orgasms,” she gasped, as his long male rod caressed her thighs, sliding in and out of her juices. 

Her sex throbbed with use. He was so athletic and she’d used her yoga poses in the hot shower to recover from the last session. It looked like she’d need it again because this male had an infinite supply of pleasure and he was doling it out on the fullest setting.

Syen’s huge palms spread her cheeks. His hard cock head glided into her channel. He filled her completely and thumped her g-spot. Pleasure vibrated off his cock in a wave. She shuddered.

“Good,” he growled in her ear like an animal and bit the lobe.

She arched.

He curved a palm around her breast and pinched the nipple, teasing and tugging the engorged pink peak.

Pleasure flooded her with a new high. “Oh, god, Syen!”

He stole her mind and commanded her body as he rammed into her spot, slick and sliding, caressing her from the inside. Every hard thrust brought her right into her third magnificent orgasm. 

She screamed in ecstasy. He growled and his hot liquid splurged inside her. 

He shuddered and collapsed, curving his body around her to hug her in a dominant, protective huddle.

She stroked his hard forearm. The hairs looked so normal. But underneath that skin were speckled scales he did not feel proud of.

“I really do love your colors,” she said.

He tightened and nuzzled her. “How did you know?”

“Know?”

“I have many thoughts after we are together. Some are not positive. You speak kind words and those thoughts disappear.”

“So you still can’t believe a woman who wears glitter and dyes her hair would ever choose to spend her time in the arms of a gorgeous, hard-bodied dragon who always gives her three incredible orgasms? Effortlessly?”

He nuzzled her again. “There is some effort.”

“That I believe.” She stroked his arm again. “Your fascination with glitter and bright colors is less clear.”

But Ruby had believed it. She’d looked at Eva as if she were a unicorn herself. Mythical, unbelievable, and perfect.

And she wasn’t the only one.

“It’s just weird,” Eva said.

Syen rose up on an elbow. “Dragons have no choice in their coloration. We forget we’re half-human and can change.”

“So I remind you?”

“Yes.” He traced the edge of her eyeshadow with his gentle index finger. “But for you, it’s more than that. The sparkles on the outside reflect the sparkles on the inside. And those can’t be washed off.”

“Sparkles on the inside?”

“You faced down an enraged female dragon and made her rescind her proposal. And she was grateful to you for doing so. That required bravery, intelligence, and kindness. And after I left you in my office for too long.”

“You were trying to keep me safe.”

“And you understand me.” He frowned. His glittering eyes told her just how troubled he was. “My silence can cause misunderstandings.”

Sure. He’d been unable to show his true colors his whole life. Crushing down his hurt until he was expressionless didn’t help. Others probably saw it as indifference.

“That is one of the many reasons I feel your sparkles. They glow from the inside as well as the outside.”

Her heart melted.

“Even when they’re washed off?” she joked. To keep from tearing up and bawling.

“Especially then.” He clasped her hands against his heart. “I only want to make you happy. I had given up hope that any female would ever accept me. But you do. It’s a dream. Please stay with me always.”

He felt the same way she did.

Tears burned behind her eyes. Streaks of falling stars lit her soul.

She had never dreamed she would find her prince. She had given up hope plenty of times. Yet the two of them had been searching. Waiting with hearts open. Hoping, only hoping, someone would finally reach back.

She gripped his hand, startling him. “I will.”

He hugged her tight. The bunk lifted away. She laughed in surprise. They twirled in his tiny dorm room and she giggled until she saw stars. Two hearts entwining — a sparkling, multi-colored dreamer and her dragon alien prince.