Page 32 of Dragon in Boots

“Crying?” She arched an amber brow. “I’ll convince him some other way.”

Seduce him. Yes, wonderful idea.Sex also worked on Damien.

“Good luck. Here is my number.” Damien handed Jac his card. “I wrote the stripper’s address on the back.” He’d gotten it off the internet.I guess finding dragons isn’t so difficult when you know where to look.

Her green eyes quickly scanned the card. “This says you’re a tailor.”

“Side hustle. You know how stripper life can be. Good nights, bad nights.”

“Yeah, you’re never going to get rich taking off your shirt,” she said with pity.

Rude.

She added, “Maybe Dash can show you some moves.”

Damien smiled tightly, feeling the sting of her comment on every level. A man such as himself did not need anyone’s help to get by in life. Or in the art of seduction. He could be quite the scallywag when he wanted. “I will keep that in mind.”

Jac left the hotel lobby with a head full of questions and a stomach filled with angst. It would take months, if not years, to fully digest what she’d learned tonight, but that Damien stripper seemed really desperate for her immediate help. Of course, that wasn’t why she’d agreed to do this. It wasn’t even about the money he’d promised.

Dragons are real.And if she didn’t convince Dash to give up the testi-goods, his kind would disappear forever.

Not that the world would notice, given how no one knew dragons existed, but she knew. And the idea of such a rare creature going the way of the dodo broke her heart. So if she could prevent their end, she had to do it.

After all, saving exotic animals was her calling. It was why she’d stuck with the sanctuary all these years when it was grueling, thankless, backbreaking work. So if not her, who else would come to the aid of dragons?

The question was, would Dash change his mind?

As she headed toward his place, she mentally thumbed through her options. Damien had suggested that she reason with Dash, but the more she considered it, the less she liked the idea. Mostly because while Dash might be abrasive, he didn’t come across as dumb. So telling him something he already knew, like his species would die out if he didn’t man up, wasn’t going to help. It was a waste of time appealing to his sense of duty or to his heart.

If she wanted Dash to playballs, she’d need to motivate him some other way.

How does a woman convince a stubborn, cocky, rude man—I mean dragon—to share the love?She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.Maybe I should tranq him again.

No, no. He’ll just escape like last time.Also, forcing him to procreate felt a little rapy.

Hmmm…If reasoning with the guy wouldn’t work, and forcing him was a no-go, then that left one other option.

She turned right, heading toward the store for supplies.

Cimil popped a Twinkie in her mouth and chewed twice before letting its sticky sweet goodness slide down her throat. “Don’t forget the sparkles, Minky. You know how I like my toenails to reflect my ominous aura when I gaze at them.”

Minky grumbled and reached for the rainbow sprinkles nail polish while Cimil enjoyed the deep-tissue-massage chair.

“Grumble, grumble,” said Minky.

“No, you can’t go back into that woman’s body,” Cimil said. “The last time you possessed her, she lost all her teeth. You know humans can’t eat missiles. Or grenades, monster trucks, sea turtles, moon rocks, airports, or unicycles.”Poor toothless Nancy.Unfortunately, Cimil hadn’t had a choice but to commandeer a human suit for Minky. Someone needed to carry out the plan that involved the club while Cimil was out of town, taking care of important details.

“Grumble, grumble,” Minky said.

“Sure, lube is okay, but only the edible kind. And humans don’t eat the tube.”

“Grumble, grumble.”

“No, dentures aren’t an option. I’m afraid that Nancy’s body is going to be in the hospital for a while. But I hear the surgery went well to remove all the crap you made her body eat.”

Minky began complaining that Cimil never let her have any fun, which wasn’t true.

“Who do you think I’m doing this for, huh, Mink? You. You’ll get all the human bodies you want out of this, and since these ones come without a soul, you can trash them all you want.” Unlike poor Nancy.

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