Page 34 of Never Feed a Dragon

“You have no idea.” I drank the first cup quickly, but held the second in my hand, sipping it slowly. I needed my stomach to settle before I guzzled more water. “You were going to tell me about scents. And flirting.”

“Was I?” He snagged the cup from my hand and drained it, then took both of them to the kitchen and refilled them.

“You’re dodging my questions. Are you scared, Eli?”

“Nah. I don’t get scared.” He sat back down beside me, and put one of the cups back in my hand.

“Then tell me.”

He stared at me for a long moment.

I sipped my water again, waiting.

He finally sighed. “Dragons have much better senses of smell than humans, but only as far as our mates go. As we get to know each other, I’ll learn your scent thoroughly enough to know your emotions based on the way you smell alone.”

I blinked.

He waited.

That was…

Wow.

A lot.

Too much?

Yeah, too much.

But it wasn’t like I could do anything about it.

So, I finally bobbed my head. “Okay. And the flirting?”

His expression grew sheepish. “Can we talk about cupcakes instead? Or spaghetti? Your pasta is delicious, by the way. I couldn’t stop myself from eating all of it last night.”

My eyes narrowed.

“We could talk about sex instead. Or?—”

“Eli.” I cut him off. “Stop avoiding the question.”

“Alright. I don’t want to tell you, so let’s make a deal.”

I scowled.

“Don’t turn it down before you hear it. I’m willing to offer you a flight to any place you want, in exchange for putting off the conversation until after heat.”

“A flight on your back?”

“Preferably. But if you’d rather, we can catch a plane. I’m thinking we go to another city or country, and ride heat out there. I’ll book the nicest hotel I can find, anywhere you want.”

“You’re offering me a vacation?” My voice rose with the question. “What the hell is the flirting about?”

“Do you accept the deal or not?”

Would it kill me to wait two weeks for the story behind whatever he was avoiding?

Possibly.