His handsome grin made her ladyparts tingle. “It feels good too.”
“I bet it does.” And because Yasmin was a glutton for self-punishment, she remembered what else felt good—his tongue between her legs. “Need directions to your next class?” she squeaked out.
“Nah. I got it. They gave me a map and an initial tour around with the rest of the new students. Besides, I’ll learn faster if I fumble my way there a few times on my own. Speaking of which, I should get going so I’m not late.”
He rose from the chair with the kind of grace expected from a dragon, sin personified in one delicious package. Yasmin didn’t move at first, and it took her a moment to come to her senses and realize nothing remained of her meal but a smear of ketchup.
“Good idea. Better to arrive on time and have your pick of where you want to sit all semester long, too.”
Javier lingered by the table after shouldering his bag. “Guess I’ll see you around then?”
“Um. Yeah.”
“I have a local number now, if you ever want to call me,” he said, producing a slip of paper and sliding it to her across the table. “Feel free.”
She picked up the slip, both amused and bewildered by his forethought. At least it wasn’t a business card. “What if I don’t want to talk and only want to text you and communicate in gifs?”
“Then I’ll answer you in poop emojis and random dick pics I find on the Internet.”
Yasmin cracked an involuntary grin. “Touché. All right. Git. You have a whole campus to cross to your next class.”
Try as she might, she couldn’t help but watch him leave. Jeans did amazing things to his backside, and she caught herself sighing. She wasn’t the only one either. A cluster of girls followed Javier out with their gazes, and an inexplicable urge came over Yasmin to gouge out all their eyeballs.
“What’s up? You look ready to murder someone.”
Amaya’s voice snapped Yasmin from her dark thoughts. She twisted in her seat and looked up at her friend. “Javier was here.”
Amaya gaped and took the empty seat. “No kidding? What for? His dad or mom doing something here?”
“Nope. He’s enrolled.”
“Seriously?”
Yasmin took a small measure of comfort in her friend’s disbelief. “Uh-huh.”
“That’s a good thing then, right? You can get yourself some booty. Or are we still pissed at him for ditching us at the ferry? Should we still be pissed at him? Just let me know.” Amaya put on her game face and pressed her lips into an exaggerated thin line.
She had the best friends.
“Nah, we’re not pissed at him anymore. He had a good reason for not seeing us off. As far as booty calls go, however, I don’t know… It’s probably best that he and I keep it platonic. You know?”
“Girl, he is way too hot to keep platonic with. But hey, I’ll support you no matter what. You know that. Did he follow you here?”
“No idea.”
Yasmin launched into the story, or what she knew of it, while they both stood and headed outside. She tossed her trash along the way. Amaya listened without comment until she finished.
“Wow. Well, I guess if anyone can handle a course load like that, it’s a dragon, right? They don’t have to sleep much, or so I read in that Paranormal Studies elective I took last semester.”
“Yup. He’s a big boy dragon.” Yasmin shrugged and took a sip of her leftover milkshake. “Anyway, it’s not like I care.”
“Uh-huh.” Amaya didn't sound convinced. “C’mon, let's go grab an ice cream before next class. It’ll cheer you up.”
“But I have a milkshake.”
“Then you need a banana split. You know, fruit and all that healthy stuff.”
Chapter Ten
Thanks to their similar schedules, Yasmin and her friends carpooled to save gas and time. At the end of the day, they piled into Gillian’s yellow Camry and made the hour-long drive from San Antonio to Atropos, their journey lengthened by traffic.
“They’re making another one of those Quick and the Notorious movies. Number thirteen,” Gillian said as she turned onto their street. “Wanna go see it this weekend? It’ll be fun. Explosions, hot dudes in badass cars, and all the popcorn we can eat.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Amaya said from the back seat.
Yasmin wrinkled her nose. “Only if we go to the dine-in cinema. I want real food and cheesecake with my movie.” Speaking of dessert, maybe she’d get her mom to send over a tray of her secret-recipe triple chocolate chip cookies as a reward for enduring the first day back to class after a fantastic winter break.
“Hey. Whose ride is that?” Amaya asked.
An unfamiliar car sat in the second driveway of the duplex, glossy, perfect, and cherry red, as if the make and model of the Porsche convertible didn’t scream wealth already. The owner wasn’t in sight.
Gillian squinted through the passenger window after throwing the car into park. “Did your parents ever mention renting out the other side?”
“No. Not a word. I mean, not that they have to run it by me. Mom is an excellent judge of character, so we can count on whoever it is not being a douche.”
“Or a bitch,” Amaya murmured thoughtfully. “Wanna be nosy?”
“Amaya—”
Before Gillian could kill the engine, Amaya unbuckled and hopped out. She jogged up to the door and rang the bell.
When no one answered, the disappointed brunette returned to them.
“Oh well. No one answered. Maybe they took off in another hundred-thousand-dollar ride.”
“To do what?” Gillian asked. “Eat chicken fried steak and taters at Mabel’s Diner?”
Yasmin chortled at the idea of living next to one of her dad’s richer-than-sin friends. He ran in all kinds of circles these days, but both of her parents had never failed to instill a strong worth ethic in her while growing up. Aside from the antique Jaguar parked at her parents’ house—the thing was older than Yasmin—her parents flew under the radar and avoided extravagant purchases.
They also lived beside her in the adjacent building, another duplex the pair had refurbished over twenty years ago by knocking down walls and turning it into one enormous home. Before that, her parents had been neighbors, each sharing half of the building.
Once the girls filed into the house and dumped their heavy backpacks around the sectional, Yasmin traded her sneakers for flip-flops and peered out the window. “I’m gonna run across the lawn for a sweets raid.”
“And dig up info on our new neighbor? Maybe it’ll be a hottie.”
After rolling her eyes at Amaya’s hopeful enthusiasm, Yasmin stepped outside into a typical Texas winter afternoon scented with the earthy aroma of fresh grass and her mother’s herbs. Her parents liked to joke that they’d met because of the lawn, which her father fastidiously groomed while her mom managed the flowerbeds and herb gardens. Yasmin had argued that she could mow her own yard, but the truth was she knew her father enjoyed it, so she only put up a token fuss.
Whether it was because her parents were badasses, or the safe and friendly neighborhood, they left their doors unlocked throughout the day. She let herself inside and entered the living room to find her dad and Javier drinking beer on the couch.
The tail-end of a video game discussion reached her ears.
“Nah, trust me. It takes a lot more to offend us. I actually own a copy of The Last Dragonslayer. It’s a great game.”
Her father smiled like he’d made a new best friend. “Excellent. How would you feel about reading the script for the sequel?”
“For real? Yes.” Figured Javier would suck up to her father by asking about the second greatest love in his life after his family. Both guys noticed her at the same time and broke out in identical grins. “Hey, Yasmin.”
“Ah, about time you showed up. How was the first day back to class?”
Before Yasmin could answer her father—or question Javier’s presence—her mother swept into
the living room and hugged her tight. Aside from her green eyes and lighter skin, Yasmin was her mother’s clone, sharing her round face, high cheekbones, and wild curls. “Oh, there you are! You’re just in time.”
“Just in time for what?”
“I’m about to pull cookies from the oven for Javier, but I may have added enough to the tray for you girls too.” River winked at the dragon before she returned to the kitchen.
Not yet over the shock, Yasmin darted her gaze from her mother’s retreating shape to Javier.
“I told you, Mrs. Silva, that’s unnecessary.”
“You’re a guest in our home, so I insist!” River’s voice carried back.
Zac chuckled. “She’s already made up her mind to spoil you rotten. She promised your mom she’d treat you like her own cub, so expect to eat an actual meal every day instead of whatever counts for food at school.”
“What are you doing here?” The question tumbled out of Yasmin’s lips with an aggressive edge she regretted. Both men stared.
“Javier is staying in the empty unit for the school year,” Zac answered, breaking the awkward silence. “That’s great, right?”
“Wait, so that’s your Porsche outside?”
Javier shifted in his seat. “Um, yeah.”
“Typical.” She spun around on one foot and headed into the kitchen after her mom. An emotional war raged within her, excitement and unease battling for dominance. Having Javier so close led her mind down naughty paths, until her good sense kicked in and told her getting entangled with the dragon would lead to nothing but trouble.
She had goals. She had a lucrative career ahead of her. The last thing she needed was another series of meaningless—but incredibly satisfying and fulfilling—sexual encounters with him. Risking their friendship once was enough.
Even though the aroma of lemon-lavender shortbread already filled the home, Yasmin’s mouth watered when she entered the kitchen to find her mother sliding a tray of them onto a cooling rack next to her enormous, award-winning chocolate chip cookies. When it came to dessert, her mother took baking to Go Big or Go Home levels.
River glanced over her shoulder, concern notching a wrinkle between her dark brows. “Everything okay, sweetie?”
Determined to treat Javier as nothing more than a friend, Yasmin forced a smile. “Oh yeah. It just would have been nice to know you’d offered out the space next door. Kind of shocked us when we came home.”
“When Marcy told me her boy would be attending classes, she asked for leads on apartments to rent in the area. I figured I’d offer our empty place. Don’t you both get along?”
“We do. I was surprised to see him is all, since he wasn’t there this past weekend.”
“He was staying at a hotel close to campus while apartment hunting.”
“Oh…” She frowned and mulled the information over.
“Everything all right, sweetie? You didn’t come over here because you were upset, did you?”
“What? No. We were curious about our neighbor and now we know. Anyway, I really just came over to beg some cookies off ya, so…” Her tummy rumbled.
Her mother portioned cookies onto two plates then passed one to Yasmin. “Be careful, they’re still hot. Eat a real meal with those, you hear me?”
“We have leftover lasagna. Love you, thanks.” Yasmin kissed her mother’s cheek.
Bearing her prize, she passed by the living room and overheard Javier chatting with her father in Portuguese. They looked so chummy she was almost jealous. Almost. No matter how much she wanted to be irritated, she ended up smiling instead, glad to see them getting along so well.
“Bye, Daddy. Later, Javier.”
“Bye, bruxinha.” Despite being twenty-two and technically on her own, and Yasmin remained her daddy’s little witch. Some things never changed.
Javier’s green eyes fixed to her. “Bye, Yasmin.”
“Don’t let my dad keep you away from your books. You need to do your reading since you’re determined to be a mega overachiever this semester.”
“I finished that over the weekend.” A broad grin spread over his face. “Funny thing about these professors, they post all the required reading in the syllabus and don’t expect anyone to actually do it.”
Yasmin blinked. “The professors don’t hand those out until class.”
He shrugged. “They were all available online. Figured I’d read early and get ahead of the game before things get busy.”
“Your choice. Later.”
“You want a ride tomorrow?” Javier asked as she turned for the door.
She looked over her shoulder and raised a brow. “And get up at the crack of dawn so you can make it in time for your early class? I’ll pass, but thanks.”
“Oh yeah.” He rubbed his neck and smiled in apology. “Another time maybe.”
“Yeah, we can compare schedules. G’night.”
She returned to her place and entered through the sliding door in the kitchen. Gillian stood at the counter pouring three glasses of wine while Amaya watched the lasagna in the microwave.
“Well?” Amaya asked. “Who is it? Are we dealing with an ultradouche or a megabitch?”
“Neither.”
“Someone nice, then. Excellent.” Gillian rubbed her hands together. “Who is it?”
“Javier is staying next door while he attends classes.” As Yasmin headed into the living room with her sweet bounty, both friends scrambled in after her. Their questions overlapped in an endless rush until Yasmin held up a hand for quiet.
“No, I didn’t know. And it’s fine. Not a big deal, so let’s leave it at that, okay?”
After a pregnant pause, Amaya made a grabbing gesture at the air. “As long as you pass over those cookies.”
Gillian hopped over the couch and swiped the remote from the coffee table. “I’ll get Netflix going.”
Yasmin loved her friends. There was no other word for it. Without bringing up Javier again, they enjoyed their food and wine over a horror movie.
“Seriously, Yaz, are you going to eat that cookie or just pick at it all evening?” Amaya demanded.
“Huh?” She snapped out of her thoughts, gaze lowering from the television to the crumbled cookie on her plate. She’d only picked a couple of chocolate chips out of it after the first bite. “Here, you can have it if you want. I think Mom must have changed the recipe or something. They’re too sweet.” And a little sour. Vomit-inducing sour.
“Your loss,” Amaya said as she snatched what was left.
“Hey, don’t let it get to you,” Gillian said. “Screw boys and the way they complicate things.”
“You’re right.” Yasmin forced a smile past her queasiness. Seeing Javier again had stirred up old thoughts, that was all. Between their conflicting class schedules, they’d barely cross paths, which was just as well if she wanted to keep things platonic and salvage their friendship. She’d been well on her way to becoming bitter during the weeks since their parting.
So why did the idea irritate her so much?
Chapter Eleven
Javier questioned his sanity after the first month of class. Why had he assumed it would be easy? Oh right, because he was a dragon, and he could do anything.
Except find a job.
While resting a MacBook over his lap, Javier sipped a frosty Coke and worked on his threadbare resume. Technically, he’d been employed on the island as upper-level management, but it would be cheating to use the experience in his work history.
Despite the hellish class load consuming every minute of his daylight hours, Javier wanted a job. Tolerating free room and board from family friends didn’t mean he had to be a bum relying on his parents to cover his grocery bills too. He’d been a leech living in his father’s shadow long enough.
Loss prevention maybe. All big chain stores had those guys in navy polos watching for shoplifters. If it gained him employment, he’d sacrifice his morals and namedrop the resort.
Damn. Maybe he should have
liquidated some of the jewels from his hoard after all. He’d wanted to, but then his father had talked him out of it, promising Javier could always pay them back in the future once he achieved success.
The doorbell snapped him out of his thoughts. After setting the laptop aside on the coffee table, Javier crossed the living room to the foyer and opened the door. Yasmin stood on the stoop, beautiful as ever in unicorn print leggings beneath her oversized pink sweater.
He stared at her, momentarily lost.
She smiled up at him. “Hey. Are you busy?”
“Hey. Not at all. Well, a little—not really.”
A slight furrow appeared between her brows. “Are you busy or not?”
“I’m job searching,” he explained. “But it’s mostly been me tabbing through pages and pages of part-time job openings in the area.”
“Oh…” She scraped the edge of her shoe against the ground then tipped her chin toward her chest. When she looked up again, her green eyes shimmered in the evening sunlight. “We ordered takeout from a Vietnamese place on the way home from school, and we have extra. Wanna come over and hang out with us? We could give you a hand. Gillian works at the University Center, and she always hears about the job openings for students.”
“Sure. Lemme grab some shoes.”
“It’s just next door.” She folded her arms over her chest and laughed. “Besides, you walked barefoot all over the island, so c’mon.”
“Right.” Damn. Why did he become a dimwit whenever she entered the vicinity?
Yasmin led the way to the other side of the building and held the door open for him. Immediately, the mingled scent of multiple perfumes reached his nose. The whole place smelled feminine, and he felt like an intruder invading their private space. Within view of the front door, her two friends sat on stools at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with several takeout containers spread between them.
“No, no, you have to add in the lime to make it taste right,” Amaya said, trying to squeeze a wedge over Gillian’s soup bowl.
Bitten by Magic: Agents of SAINT: Book 1 Page 9
