Dragon's Second Chance Romance - Riley Storm Page 0,4
personal issues.
“You need help?” the bartender asked, looking at her sharply.
Claire waved the concerned look off. “Just don’t let me go home with any of them. Especially any that have tattoos. I’m fine now, but a few more of these…” she said, looking down at her drink.
“Of course,” the bartender said. “Kal will make sure you head home fine. Alone.”
A shadow detached itself from the wall to her right, a mammoth pile of muscles, just like most of the other men in the bar.
“He’s big,” Claire admitted. “But so are they.”
Her comment spurred a realization, and she slowly turned to run her eyes over the men inside the bar. Claire had been to the Dragon’s Eye Pub numerous times on her visits home to see her best friend Lilly or her parents, but she’d never noticed just how musclebound most of its male occupants were.
“Is this a gay bar?” she asked abruptly. “Am I just realizing that now? They’re all so jacked.”
The woman behind the bar snorted laughter at the surprised look on Kal’s face.
“No. I mean, some of them are, sure. I don’t really make it my business to pry as long as people pay their tabs. But no, the muscles bit is part of their DNA. Being a dragon has its perks.”
Claire’s eyebrows shot up. “Dragons?” she said.
“Yeah. Apparently, that means you get to be born strong and sexy.”
The mound of muscles next to the bar growled.
The bartender laughed. “You have nothing to worry about, mister, relax.”
Claire glanced at the two of them in surprise. She’d not realized they were an item, but the comment and the playful banter could only be interpreted one way.
“Yeah, he’s mine,” the woman said, sticking out a hand. “Anne Aterna. That lump is Kal, as you know.”
“Claire,” she said, shaking the hand. “So you’re telling me they’re all dragons?”
Anne shrugged. “Most of ‘em, yeah.”
The name of the bar suddenly made a lot more sense. “Is this like, a dragon hangout then? Have I been coming to your motorcycle clubhouse unknowingly?”
Kal growled something, but Anne waved him off.
“She’s trustworthy,” Anne said in defense, looking at Claire. “And as long as you don’t go telling anyone, then yes, this is a dragon hangout.”
“How can you tell she’s trustworthy?” Kal complained. “You don’t know her.”
“Because I have woman-sense,” Anne countered. “It’s the best sense. You’d know if you had it, but you don’t.”
Kal sighed, rolling his eyes, and went back to leaning against the wall as the two women laughed lightly at his expense.
“So, Claire. Boys with muscles and tattoos got you down?”
“You could say that,” Claire said. “A dilemma. No good choices either way.”
Anne nodded thoughtfully. “Been there, understand that for sure. If you wanna talk, I’m a good listener.”
Claire leaned forward, hunching over her drink, blocking out the rest of the people in the bar.
“It’s difficult,” she said at last.
“Bad boys always are,” Anne said in an understanding tone. “Trust me, I know. It wasn’t until this one here that I was able to get rid of him.”
Claire glanced over to see Kal looking pleased with himself. She frowned. “How bad was it?”
Anne swabbed at a non-existent spot on the bar. “I celebrated my son’s tenth birthday hiding out in a shack in the middle of nowhere after moving more times than you can count in a two-year span to get away from my ex. I started on the east coast; now I’m here. He didn’t give up. I was at my wits’ end, and it was simply luck that Kal here was willing to intervene and show him the error of his ways.”
“It was fate,” Kal muttered. “Not luck.”
“Whatever,” Anne said with a grateful smile. “What matters is we celebrated Liam’s eleventh birthday just last month with a bunch of his new friends, and he finally had a real birthday party.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Claire said. “I’d be okay with having my own personal dragon protector, that’s for sure.”
“Take your pick from the litter,” Anne said. “Maybe one of them is your Kal, you never know.”
Claire smiled, glancing over her right shoulder. “I’ve got enough guy troubles right now. I’m not really interested in trying to find any more. Besides, the last time I was here, some guy tried to hit on me, and it was just painful how nice he was. Too nice for me, I think. I’m not ready for that.”
A vision of a tall male with shaven head, blue-green eyes that stood out even in the lowest light, and a smile