Page 6 of Here Be Dragons

I waved to the janitor who was standing by the front desk. Janice wasn’t there. She must be in the ladies’ room. But it was so quiet today that I doubted anyone would miss her.

I went to the staff room to drop off my bag. Envelope in hand, I considered looking for Mateo so he could deliver it to Desmon, but hesitated. I could just do it myself, if he was in.

I doubt that he’d want me to actually cover the dry cleaning, considering he was worth a fortune, but I still felt bad about yesterday. I sighed. Who was I kidding? This was a thinly veiled attempt to see him again.

I wasn’t delusional. I knew he probably wouldn’t be interested in someone like me: too young, too inexperienced, too chubby, and frankly too much of a nobody. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy some eye candy. Right?

I made my way up the central staircase to the top floor of the building. Compared to the American Natural Museum of History in New York, where I’d done my internship, which boasted a whoppingtwenty-oneinterconnected buildings, the Museum of Darlington was tiny, despite its imposing foyer, opulent décor, and unique offerings.

It had only one large building with three floors, a gorgeous rooftop garden, and a giant planted wrap-around balcony. Honestly, this smaller museum was much more to my liking. Fossils were cool and all, but I was much more interested in crazy battles and fantastic lore. Also, things like old jewelry and weapons were much more likely to give me visions than old bones that had been trapped first behind flesh and then under sediment for thousands of years.

Since the fall of The Wall, I’d done a deep dive into magical artifacts. Okay, deep dive was putting it mildly. I was obsessed with the subject for years, researching everything I could. My professor, who was the only forest nymph in academia, ever, had encouraged me to explore my talent, working with me to see what it could uncover. We’d learned that what was important to inanimate objects usually wasn’t that important historically.

Naturally, when Darlington Museum posted their job opening, I jumped on the chance to work there. My old job didn’t pay me enough to live in New York. Museum jobs, in general, didn’t pay well. They were more a labor of love. But love didn’t pay the bills, and I had student loans up the wazoo.

I paused in front of the double doors leading to Desmon’s office. Like the rest of the building, the doors were ornate: there was even a plaque on it bordered in gold filigree with his name. There was also a camera above the door.

My hands were sweaty as I knocked, which was silly because he was just a guy. A very gorgeous, mega-wealthy guy who could possibly be a dragon, but still.

I waved at the camera and ventured a small smile as I waited for a response. None came.

Sigh. I guess he wasn’t in today. Admittedly Janice had been surprised to see him yesterday, so maybe he didn’t come in that often.

I was just about to slip the envelope through the mail slot when the door opened, and a very big and imposing Desmon greeted me. The top few buttons of his silky shirt were unbuttoned, giving me a glimpse of his tanned and well-defined pecs.

My mouth went dry, and all I could do was hold the envelope out to him like a idiot.

Great. What a wonderful second impression.

I wasn’t usually like this around men, I swear. Though there had never been anyone I wanted to impress before. I’d only ever had one boyfriend, but I’d ended things with him when I realized I’d rather be single than be stuck with a man-child.

Desmon took the envelope from me, looking just as grumpy as he had been yesterday before doing a one-eighty and pouring on the charm for the introductions. “I was waiting for that,” he grunted.

I gathered my wits about me enough to say, “You’re welcome, then.”

I was about to turn to leave when he reached out to touch my arm. The touch was sizzling, despite the fabric between us.

“Carly, wait.”

He remembered my name?

“Come in.” He guided me into his office and closed the door behind us. “Sit.” He took a seat in his leather chair, leaned back, and placed his hands casually behind his head.

Ugh! Could the guy be any sexier?

Andthatwas how I found myself alone with the Dragon of Darlington.

Chapter 4

Desmon

My dragon was practicallygiddy with excitement at the prospect of having Carly in our domain. I didn’t understand it. She was just another human woman.

Sure, she was exactly the type my dragon and I preferred—voluptuous, what you’d call Rubenesque. But there were plenty of generously proportioned females of all kinds out there, and none had ever made my dragon act so obsessively.

I’d been thinking about her ever since our meeting yesterday. Or rather, my dragon had. He clearly wanted to own her, possess her, hide her away in our cave of treasures. I’d had to remind him several times that Carly was a human being, not a chew toy.

It was this irrational behavior that had me hesitating when she came knocking at my door. I wasn’t a malevolent dragon, but I felt like I had to protect her from that side of myself. And yet one little smile and wave at the camera and all my good intentions flew out the window.

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