by Starla Night
“I did, and I will ask again. Talk to me, Rose. I won’t be compartmentalized out of your life again.”
She hugged him tighter, warming his heart.
They dropped off the permission slip, then took off again.
In the air, she checked his watch. “Maybe you should just take me to work.”
“You don’t wish to enjoy an hour and a half in your apartment?”
“I’d love that. I don’t know what I’d do with myself. It’s a dream.”
He landed in front of her small apartment. “Live the dream.”
She released him, a little uncertain. He leaned down to give her a kiss and then stopped. She disliked public affection. “See you soon.”
“Okay.” She eased her weight to the balls of her feet and planted a kiss on his cheek.
He turned to meet her.
Their lips brushed.
She stumbled back, adorably awkward, and grabbed the porch pillar. “Okay, see you tonight.”
“I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Oh! Right. I…right.” She climbed the steps, dropped her keys twice, and let herself into the house. Then, her eyes peeked between the blinds at the window.
He waved.
She ducked, then opened the blinds and waved.
He lifted off and made several phone calls in the air. One was to the landlord; another to the housing inspections, and another to a realtor. Rose had told him the method to improve her grandmother’s living situation. He executed it.
Her family was a part of her team. He had made a mistake with Briar, and now he knew better. Rose had tried to fight and been beaten down by a lack of progress. So, he would fight for her.
Jasper finished his calls and reached the office. He landed by the front door, entered the lobby, and exchanged pleasantries with their gruff human receptionist, Jeanine, while waiting on the security escort.
Peridot arrived, out of breath, to escort him through the building. “Jasper. How is your plan for returning to the Onyx Corporation?”
“It needs work.” Jasper strolled to the elevators with Peridot. “I hope you’re working well with my fantastic team.”
The other dragon didn’t answer right away. They rode the elevator to the top floor.
“They’re very easy to work with,” Jasper continued. “You need only to ask and they will give their all to the building.”
“We have spoken little.”
“They can be task-focused.” Jasper stepped onto the soft carpet of the top floor and followed Peridot into his old office. “I had to initiate many conversations to gain a good understanding and personal connection.”
Peridot took Jasper’s old chair behind his old desk. “You did?”
“Yes, I talked about myself and made connections; also, I asked them about themselves, and we gained a rapport.”
Peridot looked confused.
“As an aristocrat perhaps you never did this,” Jasper offered, staying on the guest side as was proper.
“Never.”
“I’m told it’s a workplace practice. I recommend you take up the habit. Anyway, I’m sure things will go well. My team is so competent that even if you do nothing, they will exceed expectations.”
“I see. Thank you.”
The office door slammed open.
Mal roared at him. “Jasper! You never answered your texts. You’re late! What were you doing?”
“Dropping off my future nephew.”
“Nephew!”
“As I explained yesterday, I will marry Rose, and she—”
“Shh!” Mal clamped a hand over Jasper’s mouth. “She’ll hear you.”
“Mmph?”
“Larimar. The daughter of Adviser Wrathmoda.”
“Mmph.”
“She’s here. Waiting for you in the conference room.” Mal released Jasper. His malachite-green scales stood up mid-shiver. He straightened and shook himself, and they descended under his skin. He was the fearless leader who gazed on danger and saw opportunity, so it was strange to hear him panic. “We can’t beat her.”
The scales on the back Jasper’s neck and his arms also rose. He took a deep breath and straightened his suit. “I am not afraid to fight.”
“You should be.” Mal led them to the conference room.
Kyan and Alex waited in the hallway. They looked nervous and out of sorts. Behind them ranged the security forces. Unlike the energy from moments ago when Jasper had exited the elevator, now the floor was quiet and evacuated.
Pitching his voice lower, Mal leaned toward Jasper’s ear. “Try to get her outside before you draw her anger.”
“If you wanted her outside, why didn’t you refuse her entry?”
Mal looked at him like he was crazy. “You think we had a choice?”
“If you had no choice, why did you think I do?”
Mal didn’t have a good answer.
Jasper turned and entered the familiar conference room.
A white-blonde female sat a chair in all-white trousers, blouse, boots, and a long white trench coat. Her slender ankle balanced on her knee.
Jasper reached out his hand to shake. “Larimar? I apologize for keeping you waiting. I’m Jasper.”
Larimar dropped her leg and stood. She towered over him, at least seven feet, and he had the unsettling experience of rolling back on his heels to keep his eyes fixed on her sharp, milky blue-green eyes. “Jasper.”
He swallowed.
Amber was small, and he’d forgotten that even in human form, female dragons were another breed. Also, Amber worked hard to be seen as an unassuming part of the team, whereas most females flaunted their superiority and relished the opportunity to show off.
Larimar clamped his hand. “You’re smaller than I expected. Mother is hard on husbands. I hope your health is strong.”
Chapter Twenty
Jasper steadied himself as Larimar pumped his limp hand. “My health is strong.”
“So you say.” She flexed to claws. Razors ghosted across his skin. “My doctor will confirm. My accountant will tally your assets. As a low-caste, I expect little.”
“Ah.” He twisted his hand trying to relieve the pressure. “There is a slight problem.”
Her claws dug in, holding him so he couldn’t move or risk slicing to the bone. “There is no problem. You are grateful for her attention.”
“I initiated the marriage proceedings too hastily, and—”
“What? You did not initiate.” She laughed, and her mouth showed sharp incisors that could rip his throat out. “We have had our eyes on you since your appearance at the top of the business charts. I approached your mother then. And although she has made suicidal threats to fight House Tektite, when our warships appeared over her planet several days ago, those threats wisely ceased.”
“I thought my mother arranged your offer after the Empress demanded Mal.”
“The Empress? No.” Her white-blonde brows lifted. “But you are going to build us a company so vast, so powerful, that when the current treaty protecting Earth inevitably collapses, we will rule this backwater planet.”
“That will be—”
“We will set up her company before Mother arrives so all she must do is glide into her new position of power as the richest dragon outside of Draconis.”
“I can—”
“Now, take me to the finest office on Earth. This one is cramped. I will wait there until you have produced the company I deserve.” She released him.
He rubbed his wrist. The human skin was rough but the dragon scales underneath were uninjured. “I would be happy to take you to the finest office.”
“Good.”
He used his cell phone to arrange the transaction, and—with Mal’s permission from the hallway—displayed the interior photos on the wall screen. “This is your new office building.”
She scooted forward and examined the crisp white lines, the amphitheater shipping docks, the ice and snow in the backdrop. “How quaint. I suppose ever
ything is smaller on this planet. What floor is it?”
“It’s in Sweden.”
“Hmm.” She leaned back and rested her ankle on her knee. “Your building is already configured for intergalactic export.”
“It is no longer my building. I left the company before my mother accepted the offer.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then what are you still doing here?”
“I’m a guest, like you. Look.” He waved his hand over the wall screen. It didn’t respond. “I cannot operate any dragon machinery.”
She glanced at the hallway. Had she exiled his brothers from her sight? It was common on Draconis but the first incidence on Earth. And it would happen all the time if he actually married Adviser Wrathmoda and joined the aristocracy.
Imagining it hurt his heart.
“Very well.” Larimar rose, towering over him once more. “Take me to my quaint office.”
He led her out the door—she had to duck through the doorways—and into the emptying hallway to the elevator, taking the usual guest route through the building.
She folded her arms. “I had no idea the most successful dragon family outside of Draconis couldn’t afford a properly sized building.”
“It was built for males,” he agreed. “That is why I have acquired you an office that will need fewer adjustments. The space has already been customized for taller humans. The Swedish Basketball Team owned it.”
“Hmph.” She followed him out of the elevator on the ground floor and into the parking lot, where they both rose. His brothers hovered overhead.
Jasper checked his watch. There wasn’t enough time to take Larimar and return before he needed to pick up Rose. “Please review the office and make a list of improvements. I will join you.”
She zoomed near him. “No.”
He edged back, uncomfortable with her speed, bulk, and ruthless razor claws. “No?”
“You’re scheming to get away from me. Your brothers have been whispering all morning. They think I don’t hear them.” She lowered her voice to a malicious whisper. “I do.”
He had hoped to have this conversation long-distance since he hadn’t gotten it out in the office, but at least here he had room to fly away. Too bad she was faster. He continued backing up. “Yes, I’m sorry. Please rest assured I will help set up the company for you.”
She continued edging into him. “Of course you will.”
“But—” His back hit the wall of the office building. “I will not marry your mother.”
She arched a brow. “Oh?”
“The female I desire also desires me. We have bared ourselves and mated. We are married in the dragon way.”
“Mm.” Larimar gazed around, squinting, and then returned to him. “How strange. I don’t see her anywhere.”
“Yes, well, she’s a human—”
“A human!” Larimar laughed with her teeth. She slammed her claws into the building, digging out chunks of concrete. “Jasper, what a funny little joke. Who can a low-caste marry? A no-caste, of course. And so what happens when a dominant female comes to collect you?” She snicked her claws in front of his face. “Nothing. That’s what happens.”
“I will set up this company but I will not marry,” he repeated, his voice shaking even though he strove to keep it steady.
“That’s so silly.”
“I’m sorry, Larimar.”
“Don’t be.”
She moved faster than he could see. Her claws enclosed his throat.
He couldn’t breathe.
She yanked him off the wall and sneered. “As if you had a choice.”
Jasper was late.
Rose sat on her front step, her toes wiggling, and stared up at the flawless blue sky. The day was already hot and threatening to get even hotter.
And how luxurious it had been to relax on the couch with a cup of tea! She was never home by herself, ever. Liam always ran underfoot messing up one part of the apartment while she cleaned up another part, so they went round and round until bedtime. Alone, it was so quiet! She could even hear birds chirping from inside.
She was still a little sore in funny places from sex with Jasper last night, so she’d put her lunch in the fridge and rested, reliving the sweet and swoony moments until her heart had almost burst.
Imagine a world where Briar was healed! Or at least not so angry and impulsive. What a dream!
It was too much.
The urge to tidy had forced her up, and she’d run after the vacuum, then the duster, and then the bathroom. Her floors would never be as white as Jasper’s, and she’d never fully polish any of the fixtures, but sweeping up lint and dust still felt good. And her muscles limbered, and the squeaky soreness receded. Tidying was therapeutic as it had always been.
She also thought best while she was moving, so while her body went through the familiar motions, her brain machined on Grandma’s problems.
If Rose married Jasper—not that she would, but she very much might—then she and Liam could move into his spaceship, and she could ask to switch the renter to Grandma. She’d stay on the lease. Jasper wouldn’t charge rent—and what was rent on a spaceship, anyway?—so Rose could still afford the lease on this place. Since it was a one-bedroom, Briar couldn’t crash. At all. And her so-called friends couldn’t, either.
Rose snorted to herself. Convincing Grandma to close her home to Briar was a fantasy, all right.
Rose had checked the time, stowed her cleaning supplies, grabbed her lunch, and headed out onto the stoop to be ready for Jasper.
And here she waited.
Her phone showed it was past the hour. Rose left a calm voice message on Jasper’s phone. Then, five past the hour. Ten past the hour. She stood and paced. Where was he?
Taylor came out her door and locked it, then saw her. “Good morning. You look like you’re waiting for the sky to fall.”
“It already might have.”
She tilted her head quizzically.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Rose waved her worries away. “Ignore me. Are you going out?”
“For groceries, my weekly book club, and I volunteer at the food bank. Are you usually at work now?”
“Yeah.” She searched the blue sky. “I was supposed to have a ride…”
Taylor looked up at the sky too. “The young man with the Shin Rey chef knife? Is he coming by hot-air balloon?”
“He’s a dragon, so he can fly.”
“Ah, yes. Apparently, he’s not so good about the time.”
“But he’s never late. I’m worried.”
“Given his history of misunderstandings, I can see why.” She unlocked her Smart car, stowed her purse in the back, and opened the passenger’s side. “Have a seat.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.”
“You could, and you better.”
“I really couldn’t. There’s the bus.”
“Then you’ll be even later. Come on, get in.”
“I’ll make you late,” Rose protested.
Taylor lifted a brow. “Late to grocery shopping? I thought you worked at the Onyx building, not in the next state.”
Rose hesitated, but Taylor insisted, and Peridot was just looking for an excuse to write her up and fire her, so she jumped in and buckled up. Taylor zoomed out of the apartment complex. Her car was the size of a large golf cart, and the engine was strangely quiet, but it got them around.
Rose’s nerves eased to be on the move even though she dreaded what would happen when they stopped. She wanted to make time travel backward.
“Do you suppose he’s been arrested again?” Taylor asked at a stoplight.
Rose felt bad all over again. “I don’t think so. There’s some chaos at work. He probably…Well, he wouldn’t forget but …”
“He misunderstood.”
“Okay, the thing last time was partly my fault.”
“You encouraged him to stalk you with a chef’s knife?”
“No, I discouraged him, and the knife was…I don’t know what that was
. He’s usually better at social cues, but some dragon wants to marry him, and marrying a human was the only escape, and he didn’t want to marry any human but me, so, here we are.”
Taylor turned in to the parking lot. Dragons in human form dotted the sky flying to and fro like the international meeting of superhero businessmen. She looked up out the windshield. “Is it always this busy?”
“No.” A hole darkened the side of the building, and dragons hovered around it, arguing. She hoped it didn’t relate to Jasper’s silence. “Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome.” Taylor rested her hands on the steering wheel and stared. “It’s a different world, isn’t it? And so close to home, too. I can’t wait to tell the book club. I heard they came to Earth centuries ago. Maybe we’ll have to read a medieval book on dragons.”
Rose waved again and hurried into the building through her usual entrance. Peridot was nowhere to be seen; the offices were strangely shut down as though everyone was panicked and evacuated. She dropped her lunch in the staff room fridge.
Her coworkers lounged on the couches and chairs, the picture of unconcerned relaxation. Shawn scrolled news on his phone, Elle typed a school paper on her laptop with her headphones in, and Patty circled weekend sales in the newspaper.
“You’re late,” Shawn noted.
Rose jerked her spine straight. Hot electricity jolted through her, and she gesticulated wildly. “I know! I know, it’s…I’m so sorry. I was going to come in earlier, but then Jasper said to go home and relax, so I did, and he never came back. My neighbor just dropped me off. I came as fast as I could. I was supposed to get a ride from Jasper.”
Elle stopped typing.
Everyone stared at her.
Elle popped her gum. Loud.
“So, Jasper let you down, too, huh?” Shawn asked.
“Well, I just…I think…something happened… When I see him, I’ll ask.” She crossed her arms, her heart still beating hard. “What do you mean, ‘too’? He didn’t let you down.”
“He let us all down with that jerk in charge.”
She made the shush gesture. “Calling our new boss a jerk is not appropriate at work.”
Shawn clamped his lips. Elle rolled her eyes. Patty looked sympathetic, but she didn’t speak.
