Page 8 of The Dragon, the Bear, and Their Sugar Glider Omega

“Maybe we should have just given him our order, attitude or no, as busy as it is.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t suggest getting Karma to fly here and deal with him.” He smirked. “If you were going to the top.”

I did have Karma and her mate Warren, the owners of the Animals clubs, in my phone because they had various real estate investments most were unaware of. Sooty didn’t actually know that though. My clients’ portfolios were not common knowledge, nor should they be.

“You don’t think the manager and head of security were enough name-dropping?” I felt bad about doing it anyway. He was just a server and deserved more respect than we gave him. “I guess I resented the implication we were too old to know how to use our phones to order a drink.”

“Well, we probably are.” He held his phone up. “We might have to try or end up dying of thirst and hunger. Who is this Clay guy anyway?”

“Just a server who was great the last time I came in.” I might have carried it off if my cheeks weren’t burning.

“And?”

I shrugged. “He might have hit on me or at least implied he was interested.”

“Cute?”

“Yeah, but you know I’m past that. Mate or nothing now.”

He snorted. “Then why did you ask for him?”

“Could we just order?” We both bent close to try, but all we succeeded in doing was downloading a copy of the menu.

“Hi again.”

The scent hit me at the same time I lifted my face to see Clay standing in front of the table. It mingled with the last bit of the aroma from the doorway and clicked. Clay wasn’t my mate; he was one of my mates. As three more of our friends were heading for the table, I leapt up and grabbed the sugar glider’s arm. “Can you take a break?”

Chapter Seven

Rome

When Dez and I arrived, the line to get into Animals swung across the front of the parking lot along the walkway beside the club. The lot was so full we had to park toward the back.

“I knew it would be like this,” I said.

“Yeah, and it’s not even dark yet. Good thing we got here early.”

I made a face.

“Hey, Rome. Don’t be like that. It’s better than staying home,” he said. “It won’t kill us to wait in a little line.”

What could be better? I’d left my couch and Netflix to stand in a long, not little line. “Sure.”

Dez was happy when he found a spot and pulled in. He always had a positive outlook on everything. It was good for me to be around him.

Together, we walked across the big lot and to the end of the long line. People of all kinds were queued up. All ages, all walks of life, and wearing everything from mini-shorts to three-piece suits. The immediate vibe was excitement. The air felt charged.

I heard someone ahead of us mention the club opened at six thirty. That made me feel a bit better. No one had gotten in yet. Still…we were at the very end. There had to be hundreds of people ahead of us.

My dragon was alert, paying attention to everything around us. Most of the time, unless there was any hint of a pen or meat, he paid no attention to my comings and goings in the outside world.

Tonight, he sniffed the breeze making me more aware of all the mixed scents. Spicy colognes. Human sweat. And something sweet I didn’t recognize. Alluring. My stomach growled, though I wasn’t actually hungry.

I breathed in, filling my lungs.

I turned to Dez. “Do you smell that?”

“What? Hot pavement?”

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