Page 7 of Here Be Dragons

Even more exciting, it appeared Carly had come bearing treasures of her own. The very “key” that I’d been waiting for. I tucked the envelope securely away into the top drawer of my desk before turning back to her. She looked unsure, and I didn’t blame her.

I hadn’t thought much past inviting her into my domain.

The dragon in me, however, knew exactly what he wanted to do. She smells good. I want a taste.

I shoved him back into the farthest recesses of my mind before he could make me do something I’d regret.

After years of working with humans and shifters, I knew there were certain rules that had to be followed. I couldn’t just pick her up, step out onto the balcony, transform into a dragon, and carry her through the clouds to my lair. That would be considered kidnapping. The thought, however, clearly got my dragon excited.

Do it! Fuck the rules. Rules are for peasants.

Wow, my dragon was a dick.

Stop being a wimp. Steal her. Ravish her. Bathe her in your fire. It’s your right.

I ignored my dragon’s ridiculous request. Only a true mate would survive being bathed in my fire. Cute as she was, Carly couldn’t be my mate.

“Would you like a drink?” I asked, gesturing to the cabinet with my wines and liquors.

“But I’m working,” she said, looking scandalized.

Bah. More human rules.

“Technically, I call the shots here, and I say you can have a drink at lunchtime.” I sent her my friendliest smile.

“No, thank you.” She still looked uncomfortable, which irked me. I didn’t want her to feel awkward around me.

I knew I came across as cold and grumpy to most people. Usually, I considered this a good thing. But I didn’t want to scare Carly away. I tried to soften my features.

“It’s not a trick, I promise.” Then, in a softer voice and with the back of my hand to my lips like I was telling her a secret, “I break the rules all the time.”

That had her finally cracking a smile. “I’m a lightweight. Trust me. You don’t want me out there giving group tours even after asingle sip of wine. I might take myHistory Is Funmantra a little too far.”

That had me remembering her gory, unconventional, yet still factually accurate history lesson from yesterday. That was one group of boys who’d think twice before calling my museum boring and stuffy. She was a good museum ambassador for our youth.

I opened my mini-fridge instead. “Then perhaps something that won’t have my office inundated with calls from disgruntled teachers and pissed off parents?”

She peered into the fridge. “A sparkling water would be great. Thank you.”

I opened the bottle and handed it to her, waiting for her to take a sip before hitting her with the next sentence.

“About yesterday…”

Her face fell immediately. “I’m really sorry about your pants. If you need me to cover the dry cleaning—”

I held up my hand. “There’s no need for that. But I do need help digitizing some files, if you want to do something to make up for it.” I gestured to the vintage oak filing cabinet that was bursting at the seams with paper that had collected over the last few decades.

She brightened. “I can totally do that! I promised to help Janice cover the front desk when I’m not giving tours, but I don’t mind staying late to help you.”

“The student volunteers from the university start tomorrow. They can cover the front desk. I’d rather not trust the students with my files. I’ll send Janice a note.”

I typed out a quick message on my computer and sent it to my museum manager. I got one back from her promptly, saying that I could have Carly for the rest of the day.

“Done. You can start after your lunch break. She says she’s fine on her own.”

We really needed a bigger team helping at the front now that Darlington was getting bigger and the museum busier. We were desperately understaffed, and part of that was my fault.

Hiring new people was difficult for me, even though I knew it had to be done. Because so much of what was on display was part of my hoard, the dragon in me insisted I keep it as secret as I could. All this despite the man explaining to the monster—many times—that sharing them with the world was precisely what gave our treasures worth.

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