by J. D. Monroe
Nerves set the butterflies dancing in Chloe’s stomach as she stepped out of the Uber and onto the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Bancorp Tower downtown. The tower of glass and steel glinted coppery pink in the blazing light of sunset. She caught a glimpse of her distorted reflection in the glass and instantly panicked about her outfit.
Maura had convinced her to try an app that rented designer dresses, so she was currently outfitted in an exquisite black dress that would have cost two weeks’ salary to buy. She’d debated on the high heels but remembered Taegan was taller than she. Her last boyfriend had been self-conscious about his height, and she’d gotten used to wearing flats on his behalf. Now, she felt freakishly tall, even more than usual.
She hadn’t been on a proper date in ages. Her last boyfriend, Daniel, had only lasted six months. In addition to complaining that she spent too many evenings grading papers and wasn’t ready to have a minivan full of kids, Daniel hadn’t felt needed. This was laughable on the heels of her prior boyfriend, Marcus, who’d complained Chloe was too needy because she’d made the egregious error of texting him during his work day to ask how he was doing. She couldn’t win, no matter how much she tried to mold herself into what her boyfriends wanted. Taegan would probably be the same, but she could still enjoy a good meal and conversation until it inevitably went south.
With a deep breath, she threw back her shoulders and prepared to face Taegan. She sauntered inside and found him sitting at a table in the lobby. A pleasant buzz of conversation filled the open area. At the first click of her heels on the tile, his head snapped up. His eyebrows shot up on his forehead, his lips parting.
“Hi,” she said, her stomach fluttering with nerves.
“Hi,” he said. His green eyes swept over her, sending a thrill down her spine. “You look fantastic. I hope you don’t mind me saying so.”
“Thank you. And I don’t mind,” she said, cheeks flushing. Her eyes drifted up. Even in her tall heels, he was a solid inch taller. “So do you. Much better than a neon green T-shirt.”
And he did. He wore a black suit with a black button down that was fitted across a broad chest. The suit was tailored perfectly, drawing her eye to his wide shoulders and narrow hips. His jaw was clean-shaven, and the faint scent of smoke lingered around him, mixed with an earthy-smelling cologne.
Well, even if the date was a failure, Taegan was officially the hottest guy she’d ever gone out with. She’d have to sneak a picture for Maura.
He grinned. “Let’s eat.”
Half a dozen people occupied the elevator with them, and they rode in awkward silence to the thirtieth floor. Portland City Grill occupied the entire floor, overlooking downtown Portland and the glittering stripe of the Willamette River. The hostess smiled as Taegan approached.
“Taegan Asharin,” he said politely. “I have a reservation for two.”
“Right this way,” she said, giving him an appreciative look before grabbing menus.
He stepped aside, gesturing for her to go ahead of him. When they reached the table, without missing a step, he brushed past her to pull out her chair. Her heart thumped as she sat down, watching him fold his large frame into the other seat. The table was against the tinted glass window, with a breathtaking view of downtown.
Taegan smiled. “Have you been here before?”
She nodded. “When I first moved here, one of my coworkers brought me here. She said it’s the best view in the whole city.”
“I agree,” he said. He pointed out the window. “From the other side, you can see Mount Hood. But there’s not a bad view in the whole place. My cousin likes their brunch. Bottomless mimosas.”
A waitress stopped by and took their orders for cocktails and appetizers. Once she left, Taegan leaned back in the chair, green eyes intent on hers. “Thank you for coming out with me,” he said. “Did I already tell you that you look great?”
“You did,” she said. You could say it a hundred times.
“Well, it bears repeating,” he said. “I’m sorry we got interrupted before. My cousin had a car emergency, and I was the only one close enough to help.”
“Cousin? Your family sounds close,” she said.
“Yeah, Tellana is practically my sister, but I have a ton of extended family here in town. It’s nice, but sometimes that means I have to drop everything and go help someone.”
“But in exchange, they do the same?”
He nodded. “Yeah, a few years back, I had a minor wreck on the highway. I was fine, but within ten minutes, I had two people there to drive me home, a dozen text messages checking on me, and a family friend had a rental car arranged by the end of the night.” He laughed. “Everyone knows everyone’s business, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing.”
“That actually sounds really nice,” she said.
“You mentioned you don’t have much family,” he said. “That must be hard.”
“It can be,” she said. She winced, already feeling the tension in her face. She was not going to dump all her emotional baggage on him five minutes into a date. With an overly chipper tone, she said, “So tell me about your family. They own a gym, and now they’re hosting this? Are you secretly a billionaire?” If he was, Maura was going to kill her.
He laughed, a rich, warm sound. “No,” he said. “Some members of my family are very wealthy, but I’m just a computer guy. I hate to disappoint.”
“Oh, God, no,” she said. “That’s not what I was saying.” Great. She sounded like a gold digger.
The waitress returned with their cocktails and a beautifully crafted sushi roll. Taegan smiled at her, picking up his glass. His eyes gleamed as she raised her own, an Old-Fashioned, and clinked it to his. She took a sip, relishing the burn of alcohol, hoping it would ease her nerves.
“But to answer your question, yes, my family does a little of everything,” he said. “Someone is always doing a fundraiser or a charity event. Sometimes, I end up handing out six hundred bottles of water at a race, and when I’m very lucky, I get to take a lovely plus one to a party.” He took a pair of chopsticks, handling them gracefully to take a piece of sushi. “So tell me about you. I’ve been talking about me, which is not very interesting.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said. His smile formed inviting creases around his eyes as he looked up from the table. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, I know you teach fourth grade, so you must enjoy torture,” he said. She laughed. “Did you always want to be a teacher?”
She chuckled. “Not really. I thought about going to med school, but it was too expensive. By junior year of college, I was totally over going to school. I worked at a summer camp throughout college, and I liked kids, so I figured why not?”
“And did you go to school here in Portland?”
She shook her head. “I grew up outside of Seattle, went to University of Washington,” she said. “I moved here a few years ago for a change of scenery.” When Helen died, there was nothing to tie her to Seattle anymore.
“From gray and rainy to slightly less gray and rainy,” he said. “Not that much of a change.”
She laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? And the hipsters are the same.”
He chuckled and pointed to the table. “Eat,” he said. “Or I’m eating all of this by myself.”
She carefully maneuvered the chopsticks to grab a piece of sushi, praying she didn’t drop it onto her expensive dress. Slivers of rich, red tuna enveloped a warm layer of rice and salmon. It tasted as good as it looked, with a spicy kick on the end of it. “So, let’s talk Netflix. Best show you’ve seen this year?”
“Oh, easy. Daredevil,” she replied, after swallowing the bite.
“You think so?”
“You don’t?” she said incredulously.
Once they were away from the topic of family, talking to Taegan was easy and comfortable. They chatted about movies, TV, and his utter lack of interest in sports. They’d demolished two more appetizers and a second round of drinks
by the time he checked his watch and cursed. “We’ve got to go,” he said. The waitress had brought the check with the last appetizer. He went for his wallet, initiating the awkward dance of paying the check.
“Hey, let me pay for half,” she said, reaching toward him. She’d been mentally keeping track, preparing herself to pay at least fifty bucks for her drinks and half the appetizers.
“No,” he said matter-of-factly. His teeth tugged at his bottom lip as he thumbed through his wallet. He put a sheaf of twenties into the folio and set it on the edge of the table, then got up and straightened his jacket.
“I don’t want you to have to pay for me.” A pleasant warmth clung to her as she stood. The drinks had been stronger than she realized.
“Who said I have to?” he said. “I asked you out and I want to. No obligations afterward, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Her cheeks flushed. That was planting all sorts of ideas in her mind. “If you’re sure—”
“I am.”
“Then thank you,” she said.
“You’re very welcome,” he said. He offered his arm. “Shall we?”
During the sixth weird mashup of the lip sync battle, Taegan realized he was in serious trouble. Chloe was on the edge of her seat, her eyes alight, as she watched the impressive choreography on stage. Wearing matching red scrubs and lab coats, a local heart surgeon and a contingent of backup dancers were doing an impressive rendition of a nineties boy band hit.
First, he still hadn’t told her she was a dragon, and time was running out. According to the program, there was one more act, an awards ceremony, and then they’d head out for the afterparty. Half the Portland dragon community would be there, and someone was going to open their mouth. If he’d read her as dragon from a hundred yards away, there was no way she’d go unnoticed. Second, he realized he really liked her. And there was no way they were going to come out of this evening with her thinking he was a great guy.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. But once he got her talking, he didn’t want to destroy the moment. She had a penchant for British baking shows and a near-comprehensive knowledge of superhero movies, and didn’t hesitate to express strong opinions about them. But he’d been enrapt with her enthusiasm, and he was more than a bit distracted by her beauty. With a good whiskey loosening his inhibitions, he’d been fascinated by her full lips and stunning eyes. And somewhere between the salmon roll and a plate of bruschetta, he started wondering if he could kiss her on the way down to the car. Thanks to the older couple loudly discussing politics in the small elevator, he’d missed his chance. But now desire clawed at him like a hunger that couldn’t be sated.
Maybe he could back out of the party. He could feign illness and take her home, so she didn’t have to find out. And maybe he could steal that kiss before things went to shit.
Applause broke through his thoughts, and he looked up to see the doctor taking a bow. One of his backup dancers threw a black feather boa around his neck as they scurried off the stage.
“I used to love that song,” Chloe said, leaning back into her seat. “Talk about a middle school throwback.” In a delightful, warm cloud of flowers and smoke, she flipped her hair back and checked her program. “One more.”
“Hey, I was—”
“Next up, we have Mr. Mike Mastrantonio, ready to welcome you to the jungle,” the emcee announced. “Make some noise, Portland!”
The lights strobed like lightning, prompting a scream from the crowd. A man dressed in a leather jacket and shredded jeans ran out with an inflatable guitar, pantomiming playing as the music started.
Chloe laughed, joining in the cheers.
Son of a bitch.
Regardless of how much he didn’t want to, he had to take her to Izarin. Loyalty to the community, and more importantly, to his family, outweighed his interest in Chloe. He wasn’t worried they would be unkind, though they might grill her on why she hadn’t yet presented herself. He just didn’t want her to hate him or pull away when they finally dropped the bombshell on her.
The show concluded with a presentation of awards. While the judges tallied their scores, the audience was encouraged to go to the lobby and vote with their dollars for the People’s Choice award. “Remember, it’s all for the kids. Every vote is a vote for the children’s hospital,” Tellana reminded them. In addition to being driven and incredibly organized, his cousin knew how to guilt people into giving up the cash for her causes. At Chloe’s request, they cast a twenty-dollar vote for the boy band act and returned to their seats for the announcements.
The man who’d sung Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” took the grand prize, much to Chloe’s disappointment. After the prizes were awarded, they headed out to the lobby. His heart thumped as they walked out of the Crystal Ballroom and into the cool evening air. “Do you want to share a ride? It’s a short walk, but in those shoes…”
“A true gentleman,” she said. “Yes, we can ride together. You’re not planning to kill me, are you?”
He jolted in surprise, but her expression was playful. “It wasn’t on my agenda,” he said. “I hope that’s not a deal breaker.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “No.”
As they waited on the sidewalk, he was keenly aware of the warmth radiating from Chloe. He wanted to touch her bare skin, to feel the exquisite reaction of one dragon’s touch to another. Even being this close, the flame in his core was igniting with a primal hunger growling inside. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
Then a shock jolted him, as she leaned against him, cheek pressed to his. The gleam of her phone screen glinted in his eye. “We have to take a picture,” she said.
He breathed deep, nearly overcome with the urge to turn and kiss her. Instead, he smiled, waiting patiently as she took several pictures while fire and heat blazed in his chest. Then she broke away from him, severing the connection as she swiped through the pictures. “You’re very photogenic.”
“So are you,” he said.
She wrinkled her nose. “My forehead looks weird in this one.”
“Chloe, trust me,” he said. “No man is going to notice your forehead.”
She swatted lightly at his arm. “I notice.”
A black car pulled up to the curb. He stepped in front of Chloe, peering at the license plate before opening the door for her. Not that a human driver posed much of a threat, but he didn’t want any issues. Out of habit, he sniffed the air when he got in the car. A hint of cigarette smoke and the subtle smell of human.
Their driver was quiet, bobbing his head to the music as he drove the short stretch down to the Nines, a luxury hotel a few blocks away. Tension wound tighter and tighter in his chest. He couldn’t blurt out that she was a dragon with a hapless human behind the wheel. As the car pulled up to the hotel, Taegan burst out of the car, then offered Chloe a hand to get out. Taking her hand sent another warm shock through him.
You have to tell her.
Heat prickled down his spine as she gripped his hand tight. In the spindly black heels, she was nearly as tall as he was. Running had done wonders for her legs, long and tan and utterly perfect.
He tore his eyes away, trailing behind her as she walked into the lobby. The after-party was at Departure, a restaurant and bar on the top floor of the hotel. Inside, a tasteful silver and black sign directed them to the elevators for the party.
“This place is gorgeous,” she murmured. The interior was a fashionable patchwork of dark wood, pale stone, and geometric patterns that divided the space into cozy sitting areas. Kadirai mingled among the humans, some already enjoying a drink at the lobby bar before heading upstairs.
The elevator was full of dragons and hybrids, with not a human among them. Several spoke quietly in Kadirai, complimenting Tellana’s choice of venue. Chloe’s nose crinkled again, and he heard her sniffing quietly. His heart thumped. He was almost out of time.
All right, Asharin. Get her a drink. Just tell her fast, like ripping off a Band-aid.
One of the Kadirai males glanced at Chloe, his brow furrowed like he was trying to place where he’d seen her. Taegan stared back at him. When he caught Taegan’s eye, he nodded in acknowledgement, but his eyes flitted back to Chloe.
The elevator dinged to announce its arrival on the top floor. A low buzz of conversation filled the air as the doors slid open to reveal a tastefully decorated upper floor. A sign outside the restaurant’s entrance read Private Party. He didn’t want to know how much Tellana had paid to get the place for the evening. Knowing her, there was a web of connections between Izarin and the hotel’s owner. Between the two of them, they knew everyone, and they barely had to use their innate dragon charm to get what they wanted.
Outside the restaurant doors, a young Kadirai woman in a sleek cocktail dress held a tablet in one hand. “Good evening,” she said in faintly accented English.
“Taegan Asharin,” he said. “And my guest. Chloe Madsen.”
The woman swiped down, then nodded to him. “Good to see you, Mr. Asharin. Ms. Madsen.” Her pale blue eyes swept over Chloe. “Welcome. Ms. Asharin welcomes you and hopes you will enjoy the party.”
The interior of the restaurant was pleasantly dim, with quiet music playing amidst the buzz of conversation. English and Kadirai wove together all around him. The native tongue of dragons lacked words for modern human technology, so their conversations drifted between the languages.
His heart pounded as he surveyed the room, watching for anyone to come their way. “Do you want a drink?” he asked Chloe. He needed to tell her. Alcohol might ease the sting, if not for her, then definitely for him.
She nodded, gazing around the room at the crowd. “Sure.”
They headed to the bar together, as Taegan kept watch for curious dragons swooping in. A sizable crowd gathered on the outdoor terrace. If his aunt Izarin was already here, she was probably at the center of the crowd.
A male bartender approached. “Good evening,” he said in English. “What can I get you? We have a nice signature cocktail, as well as a full bar.”
