Page 13 of Alien Dragon's Bride

Chapter 8

Levx

The waitress stared at him as if he had two dragon heads. Did she discern that it was him who had flown overhead? No, she couldn’t possibly know. Even if she had believed what she was seeing, no one else would. But what was she doing here at Renjer’s business?

“Seems like we keep bumping into each other,” he said, then cringed. As far as she knew, they’d only met at the diner—why did he think she’d remember him out of the dozens of people she waited on every day. Not like she knew he was a dragon who had come to rescue her.

Her eyes widened like she recognized him. “Oh hey, yeah, I guess.” She rubbed her arms and smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Sir, I tried to stop her,” Sarah, the receptionist, wrung her hands.

He waved her off and punched in the access code that would take him and Megan up to the top floor where his office sat along with a handful of his brothers. “I work here.”

“At one of the firms?” Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip as though she were nervous.

The elevator dinged closed. Her scent of soap, hint of daisies, and her own personal aroma lingered in the confined space.

“Yes, my family owns Renjer Associates. Who are you here to see? Are you having legal issues?” Crishlk, he silently cursed, was he being too nosy? Or was she here for the baby contract?

His gaze shifted to her hand. No ring but surely she had a boyfriend. From what he understood about humans, few men would be okay with their woman carrying another man’s child. Especially if they knew the babe would be half-human and the woman’s biological child as well. So she couldn’t be here for the baby contract.

Her cheeks colored a delightful shade of pink that highlighted a cluster of small freckles that his breath caught. “Y-you’re part of Renjer?”

He kept his voice neutral not knowing how she’d react. “Yes. I was on my way into the office to grab some files.” In reality, he was going to confront his father and tell him to…how did humans say it…fuck off. He didn’t care if his father banished him to an ice planet or ripped out his scales one-by-one but he was going to find a human incubator for his babe that wouldn’t mind raising a half-alien child when Levx disappeared to Renjer and fight his enemy.

“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened even more. “I-I had wanted to talk to someone from your company. About work, about a job here.”

“As far as I know, we’re not hiring.” Aside from the daytime receptionist they shared with other businesses in the building, everyone at his company was Renjerian. They wouldn’t like having a human who might overhear them discussing things.

Her face fell and she wrapped her arms around her middle. She appeared so distraught that he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to help her.

“Hey, why don’t you come up to my office? I’ll check the company’s inner website and see if maybe I was mistaken.”

She blinked hard but nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

The elevator door opened. “Follow me.” He led her down the hallway, passed his brothers’ offices. The idea of one of them trying to solicit her to have their baby made his skin heat like his dragon wanted to erupt from his skin and tear into them for even thinking about her at all. What was wrong with him?

He pulled the door to his office and she stepped inside. Under her breath, she let out a low whistle.

His sister, Desmonda, had decorated all their offices. Something he guessed by human standards she was really good at since they’d spent so many years hiding in caves instead of their castles once the Tryns outnumbered them. He suspected Desmonda did it as a way of relaxing after caring for three rambunctious Renjerians. Who, after their human transformations, weren’t any calmer or less adventurous. The other day, he caught them on the roof, hanging upside down on the ledge daring to see who could shift into their dragon form the fastest while falling. His sister had fallen asleep and not know they were even out of the apartment. Last he heard, she’d spoken with father about borrowing some of his chains to lock the boys up whenever she needed to sleep.

“Have a seat.” He pushed his trash from his unfinished lunch into the trashcan. A smear of spicy mustard streaked across his Cherrywood desk. “Damn! Let me clean this up.” Desmonda would break his tail if he stained his desk.

She handed him his half-finished bottled of water and a napkin off the floor he’d missed.

“Thanks.” Quickly, he wet the napkin and wiped up the mustard. “My sister would kill me if she knew I ate at my desk.”

“Why’s that?” Megan cocked her head to the side.

“She decorated all of our offices and I’d hate to have her think I disrespected the work she put into making our office spaces unique.”

“Well, tell your sister, I think she has excellent taste.”

He nodded. His chair squeaking when he sat down in front of his computer. “What kind of work were you looking to do here? We do our own filing and bookkeeping.” He typed a few words into the company’s database pretending to make it appear like he was looking to see any job opportunities even though he knew there were none. Except for the baby-making ones. That thought riled his anger up again and he ground his back teeth so hard a crack echoed in the room.

“If I’m taking up too much of your time, I can talk to someone else,” her voice was soft, full of uncertainty but an underlining determination that made him glance at her.

“No, no, everything’s fine.” He leaned back in his leather chair, steepling his fingers. “I might find a fit for you here if you explain what you’re looking for.”

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