Page 51 of Never Feed a Dragon

There was a beat of silence, and then the waitress returned with our drinks and appetizer.

Neither of us touched them for a solid minute before Eli finally let out a slow, long breath. “I appreciate the honesty.”

I bit my lip.

He grabbed his cup and held it out to me, as if waiting for me to clink mine against it. “To being roommates with occasional benefits.”

Though he was still a little tense, I could tell he was trying, and appreciated it tremendously. My shoulders relaxed with relief, and I lifted my cup to his.

The tension between us vanished as we ate, chatting about flying, and the gorgeous view from the window nearby. We made a list of things we wanted to do while we were there, and decided to stay a few extra days to explore afterward if heat made that too difficult.

It was easy.

And fun, honestly.

Since me and Eli weren’t enemies anymore, maybe we could even be friends.

We headed to a bar when we were done at the restaurant, and spent a few hours singing terrible karaoke with a handful of drunk people. We drank enough alcohol to get us there too, if not for Eli’s magic. I only got the tiniest bit of a buzz, and even that vanished as soon as I wasn’t touching Eli.

Heat wanted us miserable when we weren’t in bed together, but screw heat.

We were enjoying life.

After we belted out the lyrics to one final pop song, we finally collapsed in a booth together, laughing and tired and blissed-out at the same time.

And a little horny, too.

Eli’s arms were around me, his chin resting on top of my head as we slouched against the wall, our legs sprawled out lazily in front of us. The grin on my face wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

“That was fun,” I said, my gaze on the ceiling above us.

“Best night of my life,” he agreed, squeezing my middle. “Unless we count the first part of last night.”

“The part when we hooked up?” I drawled.

“Mmhm. That was great. This can be second.”

I snorted, my mood ridiculously upbeat. “We should probably try to get some sleep so we can go exploring during the day tomorrow.”

“Probably.”

Neither of us moved, though.

We were too comfortable.

And too happy.

But, a few minutes later, the bartenders announced they were closing. So, we had no choice but to hit the road.

My side pressed to Eli’s as we walked back to the hotel, still feeling more at peace than I had in ages. I wasn’t lonely. I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t missing Randa. I was just… content.

Maybe all I needed all along was a roommate.

An attractive one.

With wings.

When we made it back to our room, we plopped down on the bed together and turned on a movie. Eli’s arm was still around my shoulders, though I was using his thick muscles as a pillow by then.

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