Page 96 of Never Flirt with a Dragon

She hadn’t accepted our mate bond yet, but there hadn’t been anywhere near as much confrontation as I expected. That alone felt like a victory.

“I think tonight warrants a celebratory dinner, don’t you?” Dad asked, looking at mom.

She grimaced, but nodded.

And after everyone took a few minutes to freshen up, we got back in the car and headed to a restaurant we’d frequented when Vi and I were kids.

It felt a little bizarre, but not in a bad way.

Not at all.

eighteen

RANDA

Dinner was awkward for the first five minutes, but when Jasper asked my mom a few questions about her job, she finally started to relax.

The woman loved her job. Always had, and probably always would. I was fairly confident she’d work in some capacity until the day she died or the people she worked with forced her out.

The conversation shifted smoothly from there, and the time passed quickly with good food. Jasper’s hand was on my thigh for almost the entire meal, so he was either left-handed, ambidextrous, or just incredibly skilled at eating with both hands.

I loved it.

Absolutely loved it.

The constant touch made me feel important.

Treasured, maybe.

As cheesy as it sounded, it did.

We stayed at the restaurant for a few drinks after dinner, and while I didn’t feel a thing from the alcohol, it was still fun. Maybe it was even more fun, seeing the way everyone else loosened up as they drank.

Though it wasn’t late when we made it back to my parents’ place, everyone turned in. Vi headed to our old room, my parents went to the one they shared, and I led Jasper to the guest bedroom I always claimed when I stayed there.

Though there was plenty of space for me and Vi to have our own rooms growing up, and our parents had tried to talk us into it repeatedly, we’d always insisted on sharing until we moved to Scale Ridge.

He carried our stuff into the room, and I closed the door behind us. Leaning my back against it, I watched as he set our bags on the desk beside the bed.

The way he moved… damn.

And I didn’t want to walk away from him.

That particular realization was still at the front of my mind, and I was starting to wonder if it would ever leave again.

“You’ve been quiet,” he said, leaning up against the desk after he turned to face me.

“I’m always quiet with my family. They’re all loud.”

“I noticed.” He studied me, like I had him. “What have you been thinking about?”

“You get along with them really well. My mom’s still grumpy about it, but I can tell she’s coming around. I didn’t think it would happen this fast.”

He nodded.

“What did you talk to my dad about?”

“Get in bed with me, and I’ll tell you.”

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