Page 5 of Never Feed a Dragon

“You thought wrong. Eli’s mine. Walk away.”

Her eyes widened, and she finally hurried off.

I’d probably been too mean, but I wasn’t in the mood for kindness. It had been a long, uncomfortable day.

“That was fucking hot,” Eli said.

My face warmed.

I ignored my body’s reaction, rolling my eyes and focusing back on the dance floor. August and Elodie still looked ridiculously happy together.

“Peace offering accepted, Spaghetti. I will never insult your cooking skills again,” he added.

“Great.” My voice was flat.

He was silent for a moment before he finally asked, “Did it offend you when I complimented you?”

The question came out sort of uncomfortable.

Maybe even a little awkward.

I liked that. Not because he was uncertain, but because it humanized him a bit.

“No. I’m hard to offend,” I said.

It was a lie.

I was easily offended, I was just good at hiding it when I was.

“Alright.” He took another bite. “What should I give you as a peace offering?”

“I don’t need one. We’re pleasant to each other now.”

“Doesn’t feel like it to me.”

I took in a slow breath, then emptied my lungs. “Fine. Help me find a guy to leave the party with, and we’ll be even. I don’t want to go home alone tonight.”

Eli was silent for a moment.

A long moment.

A few long moments.

When I finally looked back at him, his gaze was scanning the crowd almost… predatorily.

“You’re finding me a date?”

“Mmhm.” There was spaghetti in his mouth again.

As much as I was frustrated with him, I was still stupidly proud that he liked my pasta.

“There’s a dark-haired guy off to my right. He looks human. I haven’t seen him with anyone, and he’s not wearing a ring,” I said.

Eli stiffened. “Not him.”

“Why not?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Bad vibes.”

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