Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,44

unannounced after they had had their first fight. Or at least, what he was hoping was only their first fight. If he had his way, they would have years and years to fight and make up. He had been a dumbass for letting her walk away.

Bethany opened the door, looking adorable in a pair of oversized pink princess fluffy pajama bottoms and a thick sweatshirt that had a smiling poop emoji on the front. The damn thing was sparkling at him. Her brown hair was pulled back into a top knot, hair spilling out of it. Her face was red, and her eyes were puffy.

Shit.

Had she been crying?

Guilt made his gut clench. He leaned against the door jam, and Bethany hugged a tub of ice cream to her chest.

“Wha…” she cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize. I should have done it this morning. In fact, I shouldn’t have let you leave.”

Her brows arched up into her hairline.

“That came out wrong. I meant we should have resolved things before you stormed off.”

Bethany spooned some ice cream into her mouth. “Why? What does it matter?”

London licked his lips and took a deep breath. “I would really prefer having this conversation somewhere private.” His eyes went over her shoulder, where Eugenie was leaning out over the entryway wall, a cookie halfway to her mouth. The other woman squealed in shock and retreated back. He couldn’t see her anymore, but he could hear her heart beating fast at having been caught snooping.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We had our fun, and that was that.”

“No,” London was adamant, but he was trying to keep the commanding tone out of his voice. “It wasn’t fun.”

Again, Bethany looked shocked.

“Fuck. Of course it was fun. What I meant was, it wasn’t just fun. I like spending time with you, and there is a lot we need to talk about. What if we go for a drive? Get out of the city for a few hours. We can go down to the Warwick Estate in the country, and I can show you my dragon.” He held up his hands. “Not a euphemism for my cock. I literally mean, I could shift and show you my shifter side. If you’re brave enough, I can even take you up in the sky for a twirl.”

Bethany took another mouthful of ice cream. “No, London. It’s fine. Really. I know you must feel guilty for messing with me because I’m a friend of your mom’s, but it’s fine. I won’t tell her that you…” She broke off, her breath catching in her throat. The tears that were lining her eyes were threatening to fall. “She’ll find out anyway. Because of that dumb article.”

There was a slight cough, interrupting the painful moment. Bethany turned as London looked over her shoulder again. Eugenie was standing there, holding a box of double chocolate chip cookies. A half-eaten one was in her hand.

“A word, Bethany,” the other woman said.

Bethany rolled her eyes and held out her finger, telling him to wait a minute. Then she closed the door in his face. He was stunned. Literally no one had ever slammed a door in his face before. He could still hear what was happening through the door. He had shifter hearing, after all. It took all of his self-control to walk down the four steps, away from the sounds of the hushed conversation.

It seemed liked hours passed as he paced the pavement, but eventually, the door burst open. A pajama-clad Eugenie made her way down the steps. She placed her hands on her hips and raised her chin in defiance.

“Okay, fuckboy, listen to me.”

His eyes went round in shock.

“My best friend has gone through a lot. She is the coolest lady I know, and I adore her. I don’t know why, but I have convinced her to go with you to your country estate. She will report back to me how you behaved and if you treated her kindly. If you so much as hurt a hair on her head or make her cry again? I will gut you like a fish. You might be a big scary dragon, and I might be just a tiny little human, but I’m a lawyer. I eat men twice your size for breakfast in the courtroom. Do I make myself clear?”

London knew he should curb any thought of laughing, but it was heartwarming to see that Bethany had a good friend.

“I swear, I won’t