Dragon with Benefits (Forgotten Dragons Book 4)

by Terry Bolryder

  “And don’t be late,” Chadwick said, giving Petra a polite smile. “It only makes him more cantankerous.”

  “Should we meet in a public place?” Petra asked, rubbing the back of her neck. She could already see the headlines now if she was making a stupid decision.

  Local reporter found flambéed on backyard grill for hungry millionaire cannibals’ enjoyment.

  Chadwick burst out laughing at something she didn’t hear, but then he quickly composed himself. “No, meeting here is fine. We’re not going to eat you. I promise.”

  She gulped, shocked by how well he’d read her expression. Was she that obvious, or could he read her damn mind somehow?

  She laughed inwardly, telling herself that was impossible.

  “Those are the terms if you want an interview,” Chad said plainly. “If that doesn’t work—”

  “It’s fine,” she said quickly. She was already invading their privacy, so she didn’t mind doing things on their terms.

  Besides, she’d make sure someone knew where she was… in case she didn’t show up again.

  So much of her life had been for other people. Petra finally wanted something for herself. This promotion.

  And she’d risk anything to get it.

  “Good,” Chadwick said, ignoring Trevor’s attempts to get his attention so he could talk to him. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  And he turned and walked away, leaving Trevor to stare at her for a moment, flushed with anger… and possibly something else.

  “See you tomorrow,” he said in a rude tone, though it still sounded polite, like he couldn’t stand to be a total boor.

  He shut the door, and Petra walked slowly back to her car, thinking that both men were so interesting, living in that huge house so far from anyone else.

  What did they do for a living?

  Petra still felt like she was in a daze after being in the presence of so much male beauty. Yet it was Trevor’s eyes that stuck with her. And Trevor she would be interviewing… alone.

  It would be hard to wait until noon tomorrow.

  Trevor paced in his study, waiting for the knock on the door that would signal the annoying reporter showing up again.

  Yes, annoying.

  Annoying for making Trevor think about her too much.

  All of his attempts to convince Chad this was a bad idea had failed.

  Chad had just insisted he do the interview and find out if the reporter could be a potential mate. After all, as Chad had joked, anyone who came back after getting the door slammed on them might be brave enough to qualify as a dragon heart.

  Trevor hadn’t been amused.

  He was pretty sure she was just a greedy reporter, not a dragon heart, but it didn’t matter anyway, since they were never able to actually mate someone.

  If Trevor could picture having a mate, it wouldn’t be so bad to have one with fiery dark eyes, smooth brown skin, and a tall, curvy body that made the dragon in him sit up and beg.

  Shut up, he told himself.

  A knock sounded on the door, and Trevor could practically picture her small hand with its pretty nails knocking.

  He opened it and told himself that, just this once, he would try not to be such an “intolerable douche,” as Xander would say.

  “Hi,” he said, stepping onto the porch to greet her. He froze as he realized she wasn’t wearing that god-awful green delivery outfit. Not that it could hide her beauty, but it didn’t enhance it. Not like this little gray suit with its tailored blazer and tight pencil skirt did.

  Her hair was pulled back in a sharp bun, and she had light makeup on to accent her features.

  She was beautiful. Dangerously so, in Trevor’s opinion.

  “Come in,” he said, suddenly remembering his manners.

  “Ah, thanks,” she said, and he felt his heart twinge a bit at how nervous she looked. Then he reminded himself he didn’t owe her anything for invading his privacy.

  He led her to a sitting room off the main foyer. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and lots of light.

  He moved to a chaise lounge and sat on it while she took a plush, velvet chair for herself.

  His eyes hungrily moved up her curved legs to her generous hips and her soft waist, nipped in by that jacket, and just a hint of cleavage in that white blouse with the little ruffles—

  She cleared her throat. “So… nice place you’ve got here.”

  He frowned, angry at how easy it was to lose himself around her. He wasn’t supposed to get feelings for anyone. Not unless he actually would be able to mate them with Chadwick.

  Which he doubted.

  He didn’t normally want to share, but with this woman, he was pretty sure he’d start a war before he let someone touch her.

  “So did you want to start?” she asked nervously, smoothing her skirt over her knees.

  “Sure.”

  “Um, well, what would you say was your state of mind on the day the video was filmed?”

  “No comment.” He huffed. “Next question.”

  “Why did you get so upset? Had something just happened?”

  “No comment. Next question.”

  Petra bit her lip, and a small part of him was happy he was frustrating her, since she was making his life more complicated.

  But there was also a part of him, a dangerous part, that wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss all her troubles away.

  “Next question,” he reiterated, crossing his ankles and leaning back against the chaise lounge.

  “Um, well, if you won’t actually answer any of them, then—”

  “I’ll answer questions if you ask better ones.”

  She stood, frustrated, clutching her pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. “This isn’t going to work, is it? Should I just leave?”

  He shook his head. “Wait, I’m sorry. I’ll give better answers.” He scowled. “Since you’ll probably just bother us again if I don’t.”

  She nodded as she sat down again, and the small smile on her face told him she’d never intended to leave in the first place.

  The little minx. She’d tricked him.

  He kind of liked it.

  She sighed. “All right, then. Let’s start over?”

  He nodded, glad that Chadwick wasn’t at home for the interview. Chad always took the lead in searching for mates, and Trevor knew he would be schmoozing her right now if he could.

  Especially after seeing how Trevor reacted to her. He’d never reacted like this to anyone Chad had brought home.

  “I’m Petra,” she said, extending a hand.

  He shook it and was shocked by the electric feel of her skin against his. Too much. Instantly too much. He released her hand like it had burned him, then sat back. “I’m Trevor.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said shyly.

  He just raised an eyebrow, telling her to get on with it. He didn’t have time for pleasantries.

  Except that wasn’t true. He was bored as hell with Chad working all the time with the oracle. But he did have zombie movies to get back to.

  “I’ll be quick,” she said, scrolling on her phone to presumably look at notes. Then she set them aside and looked up at him curiously. “How long have you lived here?”

  He wanted to say, “Next question,” but decided against it. The sooner he got this luscious human out of his house, the better. “Since it was built.”

  “When was that?”

  “I can’t remember,” he said honestly. Obviously, as an immortal dragon, he had to be careful about things that could lead to questions about more than just sushi.

  “And Chadwick, you work with him?”

  “He goes by Chad,” Trevor said, folding his arms. “And what does he have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing,” she said, flushing and averting her eyes to look at her notes again. “I just was curious.”

  Trevor perked up slightly at that. So this wasn’t just a work interview for her? She was curious about them?

>   Well, why shouldn’t she be? Humans should be intrigued by dragons.

  Trevor was allowing himself to puff up over her attention when she skewered his ego balloon with a potent needle of a question.

  “So does your behavior on the video embarrass you?”

  Trevor swallowed, biting back a retort. He’d behaved terribly on the video. He should be embarrassed. But…

  “No,” he said honestly.

  “No?” She cocked her head. “The whole city is laughing at it.”

  “Thanks for pointing that out,” he said sardonically. “I wasn’t aware.”

  She grinned. “Well, this way you’ll get out ahead of it. People love to hear the story behind the breakdown.”

  Trevor looked to the side. He couldn’t tell her the real story, and he hated to lie, so what could he say? “I had a bad day.”

  She laughed. “I can see that. To be honest, it’s something I could picture myself doing.”

  He raised his head at that, looking through the bronze strands that had fallen in front of his face. He pushed them aside as he sat up. “You could?”

  She nodded. “I have kind of a temper.”

  “Me too,” he said. “Though, I promise I would only ever attack sushi that way.”

  Well, also rapist wolves and murdering bears, but she didn’t need to know about that.

  She smiled. “I believe you.”

  She was watching him now, and Trevor could sense that her interest was now in him, not just in getting her article written.

  Interesting.

  Humans were supposed to be intrigued by dragons, but it was the first time Trevor cared that one was.

  The deeply possessive side, the one Trevor always tried to hide from Chadwick, didn’t even like that they were meeting at the mansion.

  If Chadwick got any hint that Trevor was interested, he’d want to share. To try things out as a triad.

  Trevor just couldn’t.

  Petra sighed. “You don’t seem like the violent type… even if you can be a bit of a jerk sometimes.”

  “A jerk?” Trevor couldn’t help the shocked grin on his face. “What do you mean I’m a jerk?”

  She counted his sins on her fingers. Her pretty fingers. “Let’s see. You slammed the door in my face. You went viral for screaming at sushi. You told me to get off your porch. Want me to go on?”

  He shook his head violently. “No. I’ve heard enough of my sins for now.”

  “Then again,” she said, softening her tone. “I think there’s more to you than that, and I’d love for the world to see it.”

  He peered at her, unsure what to say since letting the world see him was the last thing he could afford to do.

  But how could he say no to this beautiful woman? Especially when he was enjoying spending time with her.

  He’d thought he could just give such frustrating answers that she would leave them alone. But he found himself wanting to help her. Wanting to find a middle ground in their interview.

  He was slightly ashamed that he hadn’t even tried to prepare. He rubbed his neck nervously.

  Just then, his phone buzzed, and he saw it was a text from Chadwick.

  Need you at a pickup. Xander needs help taking down an alpha wolf.

  Trevor sighed, unsure whether he was relieved or frustrated to be interrupted. He glanced at Petra, who was watching him with concern.

  “Is everything okay?”

  Trevor nodded. It was just like Chad to set up an interview for him and then text him to interrupt his interview, forgetting about it altogether. “It’s just I’m needed at work.”

  “Oh,” she said, her pretty eyes widening and her mouth forming a small O shape. “Should I go?”

  Trevor didn’t know. If she left, would this be over? He didn’t want it to be.

  “What about this?” She began to pack up her stuff and put it in her large black handbag. “Let’s meet for lunch, my treat and your choice.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “If it’s my choice, there’s no way I’m making it your treat.”

  She looked at the opulence surrounding her. “Good point.”

  He chuckled. “So how about this? Dinner. My treat.”

  “Dinner?” She stared at him as she stood, straightening her skirt. “Are you sure? I—”

  “Bring your questions, and I’ll actually try to answer them this time. If I can.”

  “Deal,” she said, shaking his hand eagerly. Once again, the electric touch consumed him from head to toe, making it hard to think straight.

  As he walked her to the door and watched her walk down the steps and to her car, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d just made a huge mistake.

  His phone buzzed again, and he glanced down at the text from Chadwick.

  Sorry, bud. I forgot about your interview. Were you able to reschedule?

  Yes, Trevor typed back, hitting send after.

  Good.

  It was a slight relief to know his partner was supportive, but Trevor only wanted to do this for himself.

  He wanted to go out and enjoy dinner with a human like any other man would.

  Any man who wasn’t a double dragon.

  Chapter 4

  As Trevor waited at the only Italian restaurant he’d leave the mansion for, he couldn’t believe he actually felt nervous about meeting a human.

  He checked his watch, which glimmered with gold accents, and looked up just in time to see Petra enter the restaurant, looking around for him.

  She looked gorgeous in a simple black dress with a wool trench coat over it and fashionable black heels. Her hair was done extra curly, each tendril defined and beautiful and soft.

  He wanted to touch her. Own her completely. Take her home with him and never let her go.

  He definitely shouldn’t go on with this interview.

  He stood to walk over to the hostess stand and pick her up himself.

  “Oh! You didn’t need to come over,” she said, shrugging out of her coat and allowing Trevor to take it as he shook his head at the waiter who was coming to help.

  He pulled her chair out for her and waited for her to sit down before going back to his own seat across from her.

  She glanced around slightly nervously. “I’ve never been here, but I thought it seemed nice.” She smiled, flashing even, small white teeth. “I was worried they’d throw me out if I showed up in my usual after-work outfit of yoga pants and a hoodie.”

  Trevor couldn’t help smiling. “They wouldn’t do that.”

  “Are you sure? You haven’t seen my yoga pants. I definitely would look out of place here.”

  “Yes, I’m sure because I wouldn’t let them,” he said firmly.

  She flushed for a moment, and her sparkling dark eyes met his. “Oh. I see. So…”

  “So?”

  She composed herself, tucking a curl behind her ear. “See? Sometimes you can be downright charming. All the more reason the world needs to see the man behind Sushi Douchebag.”

  He cringed. “Don’t you think the video will just die off? Won’t people just stop caring?”

  “Maybe. But if I get this scoop, then my boss promised me a promotion. Just being honest.”

  “That explains the delivery driver shenanigans,” he said nonchalantly.

  “Are you mad about that?”

  Trevor laughed. “No. Not really. It’s kind of ingenious, if I really think about it.”

  “Thanks,” she said, looking relieved.

  “It’s no problem.”

  There was an awkward moment of silence, but it was interrupted by the waiter coming to take their order.

  “What’s the deal with the sushi obsession?” Petra asked once the waiter had disappeared from sight. “I think that’s what most people are going to want to know.”

  “Everyone likes sushi,” Trevor said, rolling his eyes like it was obvious.

  “I don’t,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “It’s gross.”

  That was it. She coul
dn’t be his and Chadwick’s mate. End of story. Full stop. Trevor grinned, somewhat relieved that his brain could stop torturing him with images of having to share her with Chadwick.

  “Only a crazy person wouldn’t like sushi,” Trevor said.

  “I hate it,” she said eagerly. “The seaweed, the fish. It’s so cold and slimy. Like something left at the bottom of the ocean.”

  “Take that back,” Trevor said, narrowing his eyes playfully.

  “Or what?” She smiled back, cocking her head coquettishly.

  “Maybe they should call me the sushi knight rather than the sushi douchebag, because I’m about to defend the hell out of—”

  “Sir.” a passing waiter tapped Trevor on the shoulder. “Please watch your language.”

  Trevor’s cheeks burned, and Petra covered her mouth with her hands, clearly laughing at him and trying to hide it.

  “Well, I’ll find some sushi you like eventually, and you’ll realize how wrong you were.” As he raised his wine glass to take a triumphant sip, he realized that saying “eventually” implied he would know her a long time, even though she was just doing one interview.

  What the hell was wrong with him?

  “Well, who knows?” She scrolled through notes on her phone, clearly feeling as awkward as he was.

  “Yeah, who knows?” he said quietly, feeling too big for their small table and the building surrounding them. He always felt a little too tall, a bit inelegant, no matter how well he dressed. Today, he was in a custom-tailored gray suit that was perfect for the occasion, and he still felt like someone was trying to strangle him.

  He was meant to be in battle, putting up shields to protect Chadwick and—

  “So is your job off-limits?” Petra asked.

  Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Is anything off-limits to a reporter?”

  She laughed. “We aren’t known for having a lot of scruples in our pursuit of truth. That’s true. But personally, I won’t publish anything you’re not okay with.”

  Her kind words left him speechless. Then, like water rushing over him, he suddenly wanted to be the one asking her questions. He wanted to know everything about her. How she’d decided to become a reporter. What her life had been like. What her family was like.

  “Anyway, what do you do for work?”