Page 88 of Fake Dating The Dragon

And worst of all—right in front of Ethan, who stood at the podium, about to deliver his speech.

CHAPTER 26

Ethan stood in front of the crowded room, the lights in his eyes.

Even though he’d done it many times, he still hated speaking in public. His hands were sweaty, but he reminded himself that Min was in the room somewhere, waiting to join him.

He squinted at their table, trying to spot her, but the lights were shining in his eyes.

He cleared his throat and smiled at the assembled crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Council of Towns officials, Mayor of Motham, thank you all for attending the seventh annual Blade gala dinner. Tonight, I have?—”

Suddenly the doors at the side of the ballroom burst open. Ethan stopped mid-sentence and stared at the scene unfolding in front of him.

It was Beau… Beau, fighting with someone, they were tangled in his wings, and his fists were flying, so Ethan couldn’t see what species.

Un-fucking believable.

Rage flared up Ethan’s throat. He couldn’t believe that on his night of nights his brother could do this to him…

Beau’s wing dropped for a moment, and Ethan caught sight of the other combatant. It wasn’t a monster, too small… It was a human.

And not just any human…

Fuck! Quentin Jordak was attempting to throw punches at Beau’s head, while Beau held onto his shirt and easily dodged his fists.

They tumbled onto the floor in front of the stage. For a moment Quentin managed to free himself, and he hit Beau square in the middle of his snout. His brother let out a string of dragon expletives and threw a flame straight at Quentin’s lank hair.

It went up like a stack of dry hay.

A staff member ran forward and doused Quentin in extinguisher fluid.

Enough was enough!

Ethan jumped off the stage, grabbed both guys and separated them.

“What the hell are you both doing?” he growled loudly. The auditorium, he realized, was deathly silent except for the pair’s labored breathing.

Beau clambered up now, placing his foot on Quentin, who’d dropped to the floor as he tried to wipe foam from his face.

Beau said, “I found this lowlife with his filthy hands all over Min.”

“What?” Ethan’s blood ran cold in his veins.

“Yeah, he’d grabbed her outside the bathroom.”

“Where’s Min? Is she okay?” All his thoughts were for her. His gaze flew around the ballroom, trying to locate her in the sea of faces.

“I’m here, Ethan.” The sound of her voice had him heaving a breath of relief. Then he spotted her, pale and disheveled, her dress ripped on one shoulder. “Oh shit, Min darling, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, it’s nothing… I mean, yes, he did grab me, but I… fought him off, and then Beau came and pulled him off me.”

Ethan’s heart clenched. “This piece of shit dared to touch you?”

She nodded. “It’s okay, Ethan, nothing happened. Beau got there before?—”

Red-hot rage blurred Ethan’s vision. He grabbed Quentin by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up until they were nose to nose.

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