Page 26 of I Am Sin

“And she can rock.”

I nod. I’m feeling a little awkward. Dragon holds a beer, and I have a flute full of champagne.

He gestures to the flute. “You like that stuff?”

“Yeah. It’s good. My uncle Ryan does a great job with the sparkling wines. But honestly, I don’t drink much.”

“Really?” He wrinkles his forehead.

“Does that surprise you?”

He cocks his head. “Well…yeah. You’re a member of the Steel family. They all drink. A lot.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not saying they’re drunks or anything, but look around you.” He gestures to a few nearby members of my family, who are indeed imbibing. “The alcohol is flowing.”

I can’t fault his observation. My family enjoys the finer things in life, and that includes good booze. “Yeah. My dad loves his bourbon, and my brother Dale loves his wine. Then there’s Donny.” I can’t help a giggle.

“What about him?”

“He likes sweet drinks. His favorite is a margarita.”

That gets a low chuckle out of Dragon. “He doesn’t look like the margarita type.”

“I know. But he loves them. Drives Dad and Dale crazy. Especially Dale, since he appreciates all the nuances of the wine he makes.”

“Funny.” Dragon takes a sip of his beer. Then, “Well, nice to see you.” He saunters off.

And I’m left to think about what an enigma he is. First, his name. That in itself is interesting. Second, he’s so quiet. And there’s a definite darkness about him—a darkness that, quite frankly, is very intriguing. Attractive, even.

Then those eyes…

Even under the artificial torchlight in our backyard, they glitter with gold flecks.

I finish my champagne and set my empty flute on one of the trays available for the bartenders to take care of.

And then I don’t think about Dragon again.

ChapterTen

Dragon

Diana’s quiet, but it doesn’t bother me.

I’m used to quiet.

I like it.

I’m not a big talker myself, especially when people ask me about my past. Or even about my present. Come to think of it, I’m not too keen to discuss the future, either.

During this last rehab, though, I went into some in-depth therapy. It took some time. For the first few sessions, I didn’t say a damned word.

Then I finally realized that Jesse and Brianna were paying for this, so I’d better make the most of it. I owed Jess that much after what I put him through in Europe.

So I opened up, and once I did, the choice was no longer mine.

The memories had to get out because what was inside was eating me alive.

---