Page 29 of Purple Scales & Coffee Tales

“Will you come back to the castle with me later?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

“Yeah, I’d love that,” I murmured back, kissing his cheek and enjoying the shiver that travelled the length of his body at my touch.

“I always thought I was someone with great self-control,” he said after a while.

“But?”

“I’m not so sure anymore. I’m trying to convince myself not to shift and carry you back to my lair.”

Oh God.

“How very archaic of you,” I groaned softly as goosebumps raced down my back at the mental image of seeing his true form. Unfortunately, they also reminded me of yet another mosquito bite I had. So far, neither Tiff nor I had been able to spot any critters in my room, though.I hope it’s not bedbugs.“I’d love to fly with you one day, though,” I told him, to get my mind off the itchy spot on my back.

“You’re not making it any easier, sweetling. Come on, let’s have another drink. Maybe that’ll help.”

“Taran!” a loud voice from behind us called. We turned to face a tall blue Demon accompanied by one of the most attractive men I had ever seen. His silky black hair framed chiselled cheekbones, and he wore a smile fit for a sexy Father Christmas.

“Samuel.” Taran extended his free hand to the Demon, then to his companion. “Perky, how lovely to meet you.”Perky?Had I misheard that?

“Maeve, these are Samuel Carson and his husband, Perky. Samuel is the CEO of Frostfire, my family’s real estate agency.”

“Oh, it’s lovely to meet you two.”

“And you, Miss Maeve,” Carson replied genially. Perky stepped closer to brush a friendly kiss over my cheek.

“It’s really good to meet you, Maeve. I never thought I’d see Taran this happy.” He patted my arm, and we stood by as our two dates made some polite conversation.

Taran seemed a little cautious around Samuel, but then again, he wasn’t exactly a social butterfly.

Eventually, the Demon insisted on introducing him to the mayor, Eloise Gillam, a round-faced woman I had only ever seen in print or online.

Watching Taran suffer through twenty-minute-long speeches by Samuel Carson and Eloise Gillam was actually pretty fun, because he turned to me for comfort. His left hand fiddled with mine, while the other kept a firm hold on my hip, pressing me into his body.

The mayor thanked him for saving the cafe, and told him that Harry Reynolds had gotten in touch with her and expressed how happy he was. I couldn’t imagine my former boss doing anything remotely like this, but decided to keep my mouth shut.

They moved on and Taran turned to me, voice low. “From what Samuel told me about meeting your former boss, that’s highly unlikely. How about we get out of here when they start clapping and flipping out over how rich they all are? I think I’ve had enough of this.”

“Great idea, Scales.”

When the applause began, Taran used it to lead me out onto the massive balcony. The land dipped down a little and gave us a fantastic view of Kirkmuir sprawling out before us. It looked gorgeous.

“Could you do me a favour and put the car keys and my phone into your purse?”

I abandoned the view to accept Taran’s belongings and stowed them in my little handbag without really questioning why he had asked me in the first place.

Then he closed the distance between us and hitched me up in his arms.

“What are you doing, Scales?”

“I usually don’t buy clothes for just one occasion, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Desperate times?” I asked, my brain slowly catching on.

“Desperate,” he snarled, slamming his lips on mine in a bruising kiss before he got on the balustrade in one easy step and jumped.

No scream escaped me as my stomach dropped like it did on a rollercoaster. There was one thing I was sure of: Taran would keep me safe. The sound of ripping fabric was barely audible over the rush of the air past my ears as the huge Dragon shed his humanoid body like a butterfly its long-too-small cocoon. Huge wings unfurled on either side of us, and we tumbled in mid-air for a moment until he caught himself.

We sped over land, the wind rushing past us and moonlight glittering on his black scales. He was stunning, huge, with massive, curling horns. At the base they were as thick as my upper arm, and they had the same gold rings, magically expanded, I thought, stretching around them.

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