Page 50 of Dragon in Boots

“No. I don’t have scales or breathe fire. I don’t fly around like some ancient blowtorch. I’m just a thirty-five-year-old woman who has zero understanding of dragons.”

“Fine.” He drew a deep breath. “Female dragons rarely live past a hundred, and they spend most of their lives in human form. They even take human husbands so they don’t get lonely. The males bounce between dragon and whatever form protects them. They’re very rare. One out of a hundred born are male.”

“But that—”

“Defies the order of nature and survival of the species? Yes, but it also maintains balance. Like I told you, young dragons are ravenous. If dragons constantly bred, there’d be nothing left for them to eat.”

“Okay, but I’m not a dragon.” She’d know!

He raised a caramel-brown brow. “Tell me what first drew you to the club, looking for a job, when there are a hundred different bars and restaurants in the city? Why did you lay an egg?”

Had she been drawn to Heebie without knowing it?

She crinkled her nose. “Because…I’m a dragon?”

“Yes.”

No, no, no.That couldn’t be right. “But what about my sisters? Why didn’t they show up to the egg party?”

“Maybe you’re adopted.”

She gasped. “Not possible. I look like my sisters.”

“Maybe you only share one parent—the one who’s not a dragon.” He shrugged. “You’d have to ask your parents.”

“They’re gone. Died a few years ago in a car accident.”

“I’m sorry. That must’ve been rough.” He sounded genuinely sympathetic.

“It is what it is.”

“Want more coffee?” He got up and went for the pot on the stove, refilling his cup.

“No, thanks.” What she wanted was answers.

Holding his mug, he leaned against the counter, looking perfectly at ease shirtless in her kitchen.

“Jacquelin, take it from someone who’s lived over five centuries. Most parents will do anything to protect their children. Maybe your mother or father figured you didn’t need to know. A male dragon only mates every few hundred years. The chances of you ever participating in a mating call were extremely low.”

But to keep something like this from her? She found it difficult to believe. Her parents were so…honest.

On the other hand, she couldn’t deny what had happened last night. A kitten had turned into a dragon.A kitten that kept rubbing on me. Eww…

“Why did you say I ‘fucked’ Heebie?” she asked.

“I’m sorry for that, but put yourself in my shoes. I watched the woman I waited centuries to find let some other guy give her a baby.”

“Dash! I didn’t have a baby, get a baby, or agree to anything.”

“You let him touch your egg, and now it’s done. You might have a baby dragon with him.”

Nooo…“I’m going to be sick.”

“You and me both.”

She covered her mouth. “Is that…thatthinggoing to eat babies?”

“If it hatches and you let it, yes,” he replied.

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