by Sky Winters
Laura nodded and smiled, realizing just how much her life was about to change in a world filled with heroes and dragons. Then they opened the door.
Dating Two Dragons
Chapter 1
The firefighter’s ball in Austin, Texas was one of the most intensely planned and organized fete’s in the city. Each detail from the venue down to the silverware and table linens was always organized to perfection.
Everyone who was anyone descended on the Crowne Plaza Hotel dressed to the nines in their black-tie finery, ready to mingle and be noticed. The annual event had always been a themed fundraiser for either a scholarship fund, or an inner city school project, this year was a Casino Night to benefit the Fallen Heroes fund. The charity directly impacted the widows and children of fallen firefighters and police officers in the Austin area. Slot machines, blackjack tables, and roulette wheels had been set up around the ballroom. A poker tournament was being held in a separate room with a one hundred dollar buy-in with one hundred per cent of the money received being donated.
Anna Nash was not one of the beautiful or wealthy people invited to the ball. Considering the cost of entry alone was five hundred dollars a plate for non-firefighters, Anna couldn’t afford to attend even if she had the opportunity. What she could do, was earn a scant fifty bucks for waiting tables and filling water glasses at the event. With any luck, she could schmooze a few tips out of the patrons.
The catering company she worked for, Park Ave. Caterers, had been hired to provide the food and beverage menus for the first time ever in the thirteen years since the ball’s inception. Her excitable and very Greek boss, Melina Tsangarelis, was naturally ecstatic at the idea of so much exposure; and for such a good cause. Melina had had Anna rolling dolmades and mixing marinades for several hundred whole chickens all week in prep for the event.
After a long week of prep and back breaking work, at last it was ten minutes until go time. Melina had assembled her entire team of twenty in the kitchen for the pep talk to end all pep talks. “Okay, everybody! We have worked hard all week for tonight. There are going to be a lot of people out there, most of them haven’t ever tried our food before so this is our chance to make a lasting impression on each and every one of them. So with that, let’s go out there and have fun. Oh, and don’t screw it up!”
Anna joined in for the “ready break” moment, but she found it hard to be enthusiastic about such an exciting and heartwarming moment. Not three days ago, she had been dumped by her boyfriend of nearly two years. She found it tough to muster up any feeling of “Go Team!” when her heart had been shattered into a million pieces.
Pete had called her Wednesday night that week to ask if she wanted to meet him for breakfast the next morning. “Anna, I need to discuss something with you and it’s super important that I see you in person.”
“Of course. I don’t have to be at work until eleven so breakfast is perfect.”
“Great, See you tomorrow.”
Pete had hung up before Anna could tell him she loved him, but he sounded like he was in a hurry so that was no big deal. Her hands shook as she set her phone down and her heart raced. Was this it? After two years together and six months of her dropping hints, Pete was finally going to propose! She jumped up and down on her second hand couch whooping and clapping with the excitement of finally taking the next step with the love of her life. She called her mother and her best friend that night to tell them the good news.
She had no idea how far off base her thought process was and hard it would be to rescind the good news.
Pete had chosen a crowded public place to drop the hammer on their relationship. A smart move on his part, because while Anna could shed a tear or two, she was forced to mind her manners.
“Anna, I wanted to say that the last two years with you have been great. I’ve had a really good time, haven’t you?”
Anna beamed at him over her bacon and egg plate. “Absolutely. This has been the best two years of my life!”
A frown tugged at the corners of Pete’s mouth. While her response was nice, her enthusiasm made what he was about to do, that much harder. “I’m glad, but I think it’s time we go our separate ways. I– I’ve met somebody else.”
Anna pressed her lips together and gritted her teeth. Through sheer force of will, she avoided blinking because she was about to cry. “But, why? Who did you meet?”
Pete sighed and scrubbed his face. “Don’t worry about any of that. Listen, I said what I needed to say.” He threw a ten-dollar bill on the table. “I need to be going now. Take care, Anna.”
He had left his now ex-girlfriend gaping at him from a window booth and on the verge of tears. The entire break up only took minutes; they hadn’t even had their meal before Pete pulled the trigger. Anna had barely made it out of the diner before breaking down into crippling sobs.
She shook her head and put aside the memory. Anna knew she wouldn’t survive the night if kept thinking about Pete and with her boss under so much pressure, she couldn’t afford to test the limits of Melina’s patience tonight.
“Do I have time for a quick bathroom break before everyone starts trickling in?” Anna asked.
Melina finished rolling up the sleeves of her chef’s coat and checked her watch. “You have five minutes, Anna. Go ahead.”
Anna dashed across the hall to the restroom. It was time for her own kind of pep talk in order to be able to work without going to pieces. It was one thing to push a memory aside, it was another to be able to keep it out.
After locking the door behind her, she stood in front of the mirror and adjusted her black uniform vest and bowtie. With black tie rules in place, Melina was adamant about no tattoos showing at the event. Anna had spent an hour that afternoon being extra liberal with the cover up on her neck. She had a black dragon that started at her neck, and snaked its way down her arm to just past her elbow. While the tattoo wasn’t massive, the head was about as big as her two thumbs stacked on top of each other, in some collared shirts, the spikes on his head would show. “No hint of lizard anywhere.” She pulled a pink lip gloss from her pocket to reapply. She liked how full her lips were and did whatever she could to play them up.
It was her eyes that needed little more than a coat of mascara for enhancement. Her father had always called her doll eyes; a nickname she grew to love as she got older, but as a teenager, it made her self-conscious because it only drew attention to the fact that her brown eyes were slightly too large for her face. Since recently coloring her naturally blonde hair a deep walnut, her eyes only stood out more. She loved how unique she looked.
With one last tug on her vest and a tightening of her stubby ponytail, she was ready for battle.
Chapter 2
The night was moving along at a steady clip. Each course at dinner transitioned smoothly to the next and before Anna knew it, the entrée was over and she could take a minute to rest her feet. She skated through the kitchen, plucking a couple of leftover shrimp from an untouched cocktail setup. Hopefully, the few bites she would get out of them would quiet the growling beast in her belly; at least until her shift was over at midnight.
She checked her phone on her way out of the kitchen. “Ten-thirty, already? Hot damn!” The knowledge that she was so close to the end put a huge smile on her face. Anna wandered toward the lobby and the vending machines. The handful of shrimp were fine, but what she wanted was a Coke to keep her energy humming.
The welcoming glow of the soda machine held the promise of all things sugary, caffeinated, and good in the world. Anna pulled a handful of singles from her apron pocket and fed two into the machine. Her mouth was practically watering as she punched in the code. Then the bottle got stuck. “No! Awe, man!” She cursed as she kicked the base of the machine. Not a smart move.
“Here, let me help.” A masculine baritone offered. With two whacks of his fist on the front, the bottle dropped.
Anna gratefully retrieved her liquid ambrosia. “Thank you for Fonzie-ing that for me
.” She looked up into the face of her hero and had lost all ability to speak. At nearly six feet tall, it wasn’t often that somebody made Anna feel small, but the man in front of her dwarfed her by half a foot and had the kind of broad shoulders and slim waist that carried a suit really well. Or in this case a tux.
“You’re welcome, miss?”
“Uh,” Oh, hell! What’s my name? “Nash. My name is Anna Nash.”
“Well Anna Nash, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” His wide mouth stretched into a gorgeous smile that carried all the way to his pale blue eyes. “I’m Sonny Adams. I work for Station 1. Judging by the get up, you work for the catering company that’s here tonight?”
Instead of the usual Texas drawl, Sonny’ s voice had a tinge of a lilt, Irish or Welsh, maybe? “You guessed correctly, Sonny. Is that short for something?”
He chuckled and leaned against the vending machine. “Yeah, Morrison. My parents were huge Doors fans. Still are as a matter of fact. They thought it would be cute to name their son after a dead rock star.”
“Ah. Well, I need to be going now, Sonny; my break’s over. It was nice to meet you.” Anna sucked in a deep breath and walked away. She hadn’t ever seen a man so beautiful before.
“Anna, hang on. Let me walk you back,” Sonny offered.
Anna continued down the hallway while Sonny caught up. “Sure, but don’t you have a date to get back to?”
“Yeah, but she can wait. She’s probably fixing her makeup or gossiping with the other wives or something.”
Other wives? “So you’re married then?”
Sonny screwed up his face. “Oh hell no. Lily wishes we were, but that definitely will not happen. I refuse to even commit to being exclusive to her. I have some tastes that I’m not willing to give up for a relationship. Most women are fine with it early on, but don’t want me to keep up my habits after going exclusive.”
What sorts of habits? Judging by the way his eyes smoldered, they had to be something fun. Anna stopped in the hall and shook her head. “Let me get this straight, then. You’re basically stringing along some poor woman who thinks someday you’ll magically want to commit. For what?”
Sonny shrugged and put on that panty-dropping grin again. “She’s reliable. If I don’t find someone more interesting for the night, I can always call Lily. She’s always willing to go the extra mile for me”
Anna’s stomach went from butterflies to nausea. “And she’s okay with being your old reliable?” Sonny shrugged. Anna’s ears got hot. The flippant way he handled this other woman’s feelings didn’t sit well with her. “Lily isn’t a dog, she’s a human being. You are so gross!” With a curt wave Anna took off down the hall. “Take care, Sonny.”
She could feel his eyes on her as she pushed through the swinging door to the kitchen. Sonny was sexy and obviously honest, which she could appreciate on some twisted level. He hadn’t bothered trying to hide the fact that he was with a date, or that he was a wicked slut, but Anna just couldn’t be okay with a guy who treated women no different than a toy. To play with someone only until something shiny and new crossed their path, was not how to treat people.
She jumped right back into her work without another thought about Sonny Adams. There was too much to do to close up kitchen service to worry about the handsome and promiscuous firefighter. Besides, the ball had been teeming with more than its fair share of heroic eye candy.
Anna grabbed a bus bucket and headed for the dining room. If she hurried, she’d be able to get the tables cleared and sanitized and she’d get out no later than twelve-oh-one.
“So what time do you get out of here?” Sonny’s velvety voice teased at her most intimate places as he spoke.
Anna had to remind herself that Sonny was a cad of the highest order and she needed to stay as far away from him as possible. “That is none of your business.” Don’t look him in the eye. She maneuvered around him with her bus tub, only giving Sonny the view of her backside.
Sonny followed close behind with his hands in his pockets. The round, tempting ass of Miss Anna was quite the view, but he was eager to catch the view sans clothes. She was just the type Brandon looked for too.
As he followed Anna around the ballroom, he shot off a quick text to his best friend and fellow firefighter, Brandon Kofax. They had been close since they were kids and shared everything, including their women.
“Is there a reason you’re following me, Mr. Adams? I can see if we’re hiring if you like?” She bent low over a table to grab a couple of wine glasses. Just because she had no intention of taking the handsome firefighter home, did not mean she couldn’t have a little bit of fun with him.
Sonny slid into a chair in front of her and put his head in his hands. “Come out with me after work.”
Anna straightened up and put her fist on her hip. “I already told you no.”
“Ah, that you didn’t,” he said with a wag of a finger. “You told me the time of the end of your shift was none of my business. Big difference.”
Anna’s mouth flattened into a line. He got her on a technicality. “Fine. I’m telling you now. I’m not interested.” The plan was to go home and wash off the stink of spilled grape leaf water and red wine.
She grabbed the last few plates and hustled back to the kitchen with the bus tub on her hip and Sonny hot on her heels. “Anna, hang on.” He hopped in front of her, blocking the only kitchen door in the room. “I have a proposition for you. Meet me after your shift. I’m only asking for one night.”
Anna blinked at the bold specimen in front of her. “You got yourself a mighty pair, don’t you?”
Sonny grinned. “That I do, Miss Anna.” He moved in closer, leaving only inches between them. “I’d be happy to show you just how big. Come out with me tonight.”
With the tension humming between them, Anna was dangerously close to saying yes, but just couldn’t do it. Even if the wounds from Pete weren’t so fresh, Sonny was not the kind of guy who would be good for her to get involved with. “Sorry. My answer is still no,” she said as she pushed past him into the kitchen.
Sonny stood in shock as he watched Anna walk away. He couldn’t believe it; a woman had rejected him, turned him down flat. Women never said no to him.
She didn’t even pretend to be interested, didn’t women at least humor a guy? Sure, he got to scope out her ass, but he wanted more and had been denied. The fact that he had never been turned down before only made him want her more. He was going to get her in his bed, he just had to figure out how.
Chapter 3
“Don’t you think it’s time to get back on the horse, Anna? It’s been over a month since you and Pete broke up.”
Anna frowned. If this was where the conversation was going, she didn’t think that accepting a lunch date with Winnie was a good idea after all. “I don’t want to date yet, Win.” It didn’t help that her mind waffled between being consumed by memories of Pete to thoughts of her and Sonny Adams tangled in the sheets. Sonny had been starring in her dreams at least once a week since meeting him, leaving her randy and wholly unsatisfied.
“You don’t even have to date anybody. It just might be time for a ride to get the practice down again.” Winnie’s green eyes watched Anna over the rim of her mug. She was waiting for Anna to admit she was right. Winnie could tell that Anna needed a little lovin’, her best friend intuition told her that.
“Ugh, you’ve been on this kick for over a week now. If I join a dating site, will you get off my back?”
Winnie grinned at her friend. “Absolutely. And let me just recommend one for you. Have you checked out ComeShift yet?”
Anna furrowed her brow. The name sounded familiar. “Is that the shifter dating site?”
“Oh yeah. That’s where all the hotties are. You should definitely check it out.” Winnie pulled out her tablet out of her purse and signed into the app. “Go ahead and scan through a few on my account.”
Anna hesitantly grabbed the tablet from Winnie’s hand. “Your accoun
t? You’ve been on here?”
“Of course! Why do you think I can give such a glowing recommendation? Do you remember Zach, the construction worker?”
“No way! He was a shifter?” Zach was the poster child for the All-American, white-bread male with his mop of sandy blonde hair, chiseled physique, and awe shucks attitude, he could have been Captain America.
“Yup. Lion shifter and fantastic in the sack. Probably the best I ever had.”
“But you aren’t dating him anymore.”
“Oh, honey. Zach and I never dated. You were lucky enough to meet him because I invited you to. Most of the time, we never got out of bed.” Winnie had an almost wistful look in her eye as she thought about that lover in particular. “Which reminds me, I don’t have plans this weekend. I should call him.”
“Wow.”
Anna scrolled through photo after photo of gorgeous men. Each fell into different categories based on their animal, relationship wants, and sexual orientation. Even the women that popped up were exceptionally beautiful. “Is it some kind of rule that in order to be supernatural you have to be really, really, ridiculously good looking? There isn’t one average looking person on here.” Anna was in awe as she kept on scrolling.
“I don’t think so,” Winnie said. “At least it’s not a written rule. I personally haven’t met a shifter, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I’ve only known a few.”
One striking fellow caught Anna’s attention. He had blonde hair and a similar look to Winnie’s Zach, but there was a darkness about him that drew her in. She committed his name, Brandon Kofax, to memory so she could look him up later. “Alright, I’m convinced. I’m still not sure I’m ready for a relationship.”
Winnie giggled. “You don’t have to be, just take one for a test drive, no one says you have to buy right away, or at all if you don’t want to. Just go and have yourself a little fun.”
