In a Dragon’s Dream by Riley Storm Page 0,25

“Just as long as the house is right. That’s what matters most.”

What the heck did that mean? How was she supposed to find him somewhere if he couldn’t give her anything to go on?

He glanced down at her, flashing Laura one of his stomach-tightening grins. Then he looked back up, his expression changing. It took her a moment to realize he was scanning their surroundings.

Taking her gaze off him for a moment she looked around too. There were people out and about. This was what passed for the center of Five Peaks, and there were always people out shopping, heading to or from work, or like them, getting food during the lunch hour. It wasn’t busy, but neither were they the only ones out.

And everyone who is out, is staring at Rakell. He certainly does attract a lot of attention, now doesn’t he?

She watched him as he swept his gaze over the other pedestrians. Watching for threats. He looked at them like they were objects. No threat, and they became nothing to him.

Then he glanced down at her, probably realizing she was staring. Their eyes met, and she noted the difference. Rakell looked at her. He saw her as she was, a person. It was so different from the way he treated everyone else.

It made her feel, for the slightest instant, just a little special.

“So a house,” she said, waiting as he pulled open the door to the Dragon’s Eye. “In town.”

“Yup,” he said, holding the door for her without hesitation.

A gentleman too…

Maybe having Rakell live closer wouldn’t be the worst idea she’d ever heard of…

Still, it sucked that he would be confined to his human form. The stained-glass etching of a dragon on the huge street-facing window caught her eye, and she stared at it almost longingly as Rakell chose a seat for them.

Ever since she’d first discovered the truth of the families on the mountain, of what they really were, Laura had longed to see one up close and personal. To touch its scales and feel the power of such a majestic beast straight out of fantasy.

If Rakell moved into town, her chances of that were likely to go way, way down.

How do I convince him to take me home, before that happens?

Chapter Fifteen

Rakell

The free and relaxed Laura that he’d had lunch with was more than countered by the business-like Laura that replaced her for the entire afternoon, and now into the early evening.

Rakell sat outside her office, doing his best not to let his eyelids droop. It was the same place he’d been in for hours now, even as the sun set, removing the daylight and making the office seem even drearier than it had from the start.

This was not the sort of place he could spend a lot of time, day after day. Rakell needed to be outside, in nature’s elements. That’s where he truly felt alive.

He doubted that Laura normally worked this late. At least, he hoped not. But after missing several days of work, he wasn’t surprised that she had a bunch to catch up on. Several couples had come in and had meetings with her while he’d sat there, though nobody was in her office at the moment.

Seizing that instant, he got to his feet, long legs covering the ground in three steps.

“Yes Rakell?” she called lightly when he knocked on the glass, his head already sticking through the door.

“I’m going to go do a perimeter search of the building,” he informed her.

“Huh? What? Okay,” she said as her brain fully processed what he said. “Why?”

“Well, I figure that you are likely reaching the close of your day, which means you’ll want to leave soon after. I want to ensure everything is okay outside first, before that happens.”

“Right. Of course,” she said, shaking her head. “Sorry, I’m just not used to having a bodyguard.”

“Not to worry,” he assured her.

“I’m almost done, yes. I have one more meeting with a couple, new clients. Preliminary stuff, getting to know them, getting their information, that kind of thing,” she said. “Shouldn’t take too-too long, and then we can go home. Well, I can go home. You, I guess, are coming home with me.”

Laura went bright red in the cheeks, frantically looking down at her desk. “Anyway, they should be here really soon,” she said.

“Okay.” Rakell just pretended obliviousness, thinking it easier for her. “I won’t be long.”

He headed out the back door. Despite his attempts at a relaxed attitude around Laura, once he was out of