Page 6 of No Room at Dragon's Landing

“I’m sorry?” he said, flicking his gaze up to meet mine.

“Nothing. Is everything in order?” I asked, ready to get going. There were things to do and places to eat before this town got busier than it already was. My body hummed with excitement.

“I apologize for this…Boen.” He knew my name? Oh, yeah, it was on the reservation. “But we are booked solid and I have no record of a confirmation in your name in our system.”

“But you see it right there. I have the reservation. This is the Dragon’s Landing B&B.”

He nodded and threaded his hand through his hair. “I do. I see it all here, but this service? The one listed that you booked with? We don’t do business with that app. I’ve never even heard of it.”

My stomach knotted as disappointment flooded my veins. “Oh, and you’re sure you have no rooms available?”

The man gave me a warm smile and turned the monitor around. I didn’t quite know what I was looking at until hepointed to a map of the grounds. “See the green? Each room with green means it’s occupied.”

Every. Single. Room. They were all green. Except one, but it had an X over it.

Steeling myself with a long breath in and then out, I shrugged. “Well, are there other accommodations in town?”

Tall, tanned, and gorgeous gave me a warm smile. “Not that I know of. It’s so close to the festival. It’s Dragon’s Landing’s biggest event of the year.”

“I’ll have to work on getting a refund when I get home. I suppose I’ll drive to the next town or city and stay there. Commute in for the festivities.”

The man’s hand shot out and covered mine as I turned to leave. “No, you can’t do that.”

I cocked my head at his reaction. “Why?”

“Um, they are all booked with the season as well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, you’ve gone through so much trouble. I live on the premises. In my own apartment of sorts. I can bunk with the staff. It’s no problem.”

Sleeping in the same vicinity as this broad god? Sure, but…no. “I can’t impose. This isn’t your problem. I’ll figure something out.” His hand still hadn’t left mine. My body swayed toward the sexiest man I’d ever met.

“I really don’t mind.” His smile brightened his eyes and smoothed the frown lines. “You’ve come all this way. You looked so excited walking through the door.”

“What’s your name?” I asked, pulling my hand slowly from under his. He was so kind. Not like the nightmare hotel front-desk people I’d seen on YouTube.

“My name is Cyrus and, in case you’re wondering how I can offer things up like this so easily, I own the Dragon’s Landing B&B.”

“You are the owner?”

He blushed so beautifully, strength and warmth emanating from him. “I am. We’ve only been open for about six months. This is the first time something like this has happened.”

The lobby was beautiful. Warm and cozy with a roaring fire in the stone fireplace. This town was called Dragon’s Landing but, in my head, this place in particular would be where a dragon chose to make his den, his lair. “I hate to miss the festivities. I’ve been wanting to come here for years.”

“Then don’t,” he said. “Stay in my apartment. I’ll be fine.”

“But you have to let me pay,” I retorted. If he was going to give up his space for me, at least he should make some money off it. I understood how it was to build something and not know if it would make a living for you or not. To pour your heart and soul into your passion and wait for it to grow. I had been lucky in that regard. Some people wrote incredible books that went unnoticed for one reason or another.

An older woman came in and sat behind the desk, clicking busily away on the keyboard, but I caught her peeking at us through her lashes.

Cyrus shook his head. “I can’t do that. I won’t take money from you, Boen.”

A loaded statement. Cyrus and I only met a few moments before, but I found myself not only attracted to him but magnetized by his presence. I didn’t want to leave and go anywhere else, even for the night.

I preferred to stay here, in the thick of things. With him, in his space. That would make this trip all the more interesting. “You have to make money, Cyrus. You just opened.”

Shaking his head, he leaned over. “I wouldn’t make money off my room even if you weren’t here. Please. Let me do this for you. It’s a comfortable apartment, and I’m not a slob. I promise.”

Laughing, I looked him up and down as much as I could since he was behind the counter. He was well put together.A long-sleeved shirt rolled at the sleeves. Tattoos peeking out from the cuffs. His beard was trimmed and well kept. When my roaming stopped and I looked up to meet his gaze, I swore a low growl rumbled from his chest.

Holy shit. Could Cyrus be a dragon or another shifter?

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