Page 24 of Alien Dragon's Bride

He nodded and took the seat across from her. “Everything they serve here is amazing.”

The waitress brought their menus and Megan frowned. Never a good sign if no prices were listed. Small soup and salad shouldn’t break her budget too much. She’d get water as well to offset the costs. Grilled lamb, sautéed vegetables, and seared fish made her mouth water.

“Care for a wine?” he asked Megan.

“Sure.” She set her menu aside and her hands fiddled with the cloth napkin in her lap. Her nerves making her stomach cramp. “Whatever you like.”

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she squeaked out.

“Are you uncomfortable with this place because we can go anywhere else if you like.”

“No, it’s fine.” She took a breath forcing aside her feeling of inadequacy and hoped her voice sounded lighter than she felt. “Go ahead and pick the wine…surprise me.” Not that she knew anything about these fancy wines. Hers was always on the discount aisles.

After he ordered waters and a bottle of wine she couldn’t pronounce, the waitress returned.

“What will you be having tonight?” the waitress asked staring only at Levx.

Megan squirmed in her chair. Even though she knew what it was like serving people she didn’t appreciate being ignored either. “I’ll have the small dinner salad and the soup of the day, please.”

“I’ll have the same but let’s add the hummus and flatbread, and a double order of the stuffed lamb.” Levx’s gaze never left Megan’s as their waitress took up their menus then turned away with a huff.

How many times had Megan watched men at her tables flirt with her in front of their wives? It always made her want to dump ice water in their laps. One, when his wife was busy with their two kids, put his hand up to his ear in a pretend phone and mouthed, ‘call me.’ Not on her life. If a guy was willing to do that much in front of his wife and kids then he was no one she wanted. Megan wanted a man who loved her and was faithful…loyal. Like her dad had been with her mom even though she’d been sick.

The fact that Levx, only a potential business arrangement, made Megan the focus of dinner rather than a flirtatious big-breasted waitress, made her opinion of him raise several notches.

Their salads came first, then their soup. Megan was still starving but she couldn’t depend on Levx’s covering the bill when he had not said he would nor gave any indication that this was a date.

When the stuffed lamb with grilled veggies came to the table, Megan wiped at the edges of her mouth with her napkin. God, it smelled divine.

“Miss?” Levx called out after the waitress, “Another plate, please.”

“Oh, I’m fine.” Megan couldn’t take her eyes off the cooked lamb.

The waitress returned and set the plate down in front of Megan with a slight clunk.

“I was hoping you could help me with this.” Levx pouted. “Way too much food for me to eat alone and it’s not the same reheated.”

“In that case,” Megan fingered the edge of her wine glass, “I suppose I could help you with a few bites of the lamb just so that it doesn’t go to waste.”

Levx cut off a huge portion of the main meal and pushed half of the sautéed veggies onto her plate as well but she was too excited to try the food to protest.

The first bite wasn’t enough and she finished the food before Levx had eaten a quarter of his.

“You’re not hungry?” she asked.

“I usually order rare but figured you’d prefer the food a bit more cooked and allowed the chef to prepare the lamb as he wanted for maximum flavor.”

How did he know that about her having just met her recently?

“It’s perfect but you didn’t have to change your preference for me.” But it was super nice that he did. Any pink in her meat and she got squeamish. What made this guy tick? Did he have a string of girlfriends hanging around or was he serious about someone? She shook her head. What did that matter? This was only a business arrangement.

“You haven’t tried the hummus, yet.” He slid the crystal bowl toward her.

“I’m surprised a fancy restaurant like this would have hummus.” She tore off a piece of flatbread, dipping it into the creamy dip.

“They make the best…of anything really.” He shrugged but his golden gaze watched her and her cheeks heated as the intensity she found there. His stare, his presence both unnerved and excited her. She’d been around hundreds of people, waiting on them, but Levx was different. A dangerous, powerful being who was unlike anyone she’d ever met before. Like there was more to him than what everyone saw on the outside.

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