Page 72 of Never Feed a Dragon

I knew him well enough after our month together to be damn sure of that, and I told Randa as much.

“I’m not saying he’s not a good guy. Eli is one of the best men I know. I’m just saying that it seems like a pretty big coincidence, all things considered.”

I unbuckled and got out of the car, and she did the same. “Sometimes coincidences happen.”

“Sometimes,” she agreed, but didn’t look convinced.

We stepped into her new place, and she gave me a tour of the cabin. Jasper had already thrown out the leftovers from their last visit, leaving everything immaculate. He’d even folded their laundry before leaving it in the dresser and closet, something Randa would never have done.

She was lucky to have him.

I oohed and ahhed over how gorgeous everything was as we walked around, like usual, but she didn’t seem as happy as I would’ve expected. We drove back after a while, but she stopped me in the car with a hand on my arm before I got out at Eli’s cabin.

“I’m really, really glad you’re happy,” she said, her expression hesitant. “And you’re one of the most logical people I know. I love both you and Eli, but I can’t get out without making sure you know exactly what I think is going on.”

“Randa,” I started.

“Just listen. There’s a decent chance Eli knew what you were to him before you took him home. Before you slept together. He didn’t want you looking at any of the other men at the party—that’s a very possessive move, and dragons aren’t possessive about people without damn good reason to be. They’re prison guards, right? They’re raised and trained to be impartial. But he wasn’t impartial with you. He didn’t want you going home with anyone else.”

My throat swelled slightly. “Even if he did,” I began, but she cut me off again.

It was one of the first times in her life that she’d done so, so what she was saying was important to her.

“And if he knew, if he’s been flirting with you this whole time because he’s known you were his, then he doesn’t just want you to be his friend. He might be playing along, but if he really knew this whole time and kept coming back anyway, he wants you as his mate. Romantically.”

She went on, “And if you want to play roommates, and pretend otherwise, that’s totally fine. You know I’ll support you. But as someone who knows dragons, knows you, and knows Eli, that’s what I think.” She let out a long breath and sat back against her seat. “Rant over.”

“I appreciate you trying to look out for me,” I said honestly.

My voice was quieter than it had been.

“You’ll consider it?” she asked.

“I will.” I didn’t want to, but what choice did I have?

Randa didn’t stick her neck out if she wasn’t sure about something. She went with the flow as much as humanly and supernaturally possible.

She squeezed my hand, and after another minute went by, we finally got out. “Don’t tell Jasper what I said,” she whispered. “He keeps telling me not to get involved.”

I scowled. “Men.”

She gave me a sheepish smile. “He just believes in waiting until you have the full story to speak up. He was worried I’d put a wedge between you guys without reason. But I would’ve felt horrible if I didn’t tell you my theory and it ended up blindsiding you.”

“Thank you.” I put an arm around her back, giving her a quick hug, and she did the same.

When we went back inside Eli’s cabin, he and Jasper were playing a video game—and sure enough, all the cupcakes were gone.

It was nice to have someone enjoy my desserts, though. It made me feel good.

It had been too long since I cooked for someone other than myself. And Eli, if you counted the spaghetti that one time.

Randa dug a board game out of one of Eli’s closets, and the guys shut off the TV. I didn’t bring up what she’d told me, but I thought about it.

I thought about it a lot.

While I had fun with our game night, I couldn’t help but notice how often Eli looked at me. Every time he grinned, his gaze went right back to me.

And every time it did, my stomach got just a little bit tighter.

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