Page 19 of Destiny of the Dragons

Mia tried with her last boyfriend, she really did. But part of her wondered what she was supposed to do if she gave all of herself to someone and they still left her.

And there was always the matter of her blood magic. She couldn’t tell Jace and Smoke what her family really did. There were so many ways that could backfire, starting with Jace telling the supernatural authorities, and then moving down to her mother finding out and thinking of a new, horrible way to punish her.

No, the only way out was her family’s spellbook, and for that she had to be patient.

Mia sat on the couch. She wore strappy high heels, and they were already hurting her feet. She wore her favorite dress, wine red, tight and lacy, that showed off some cleavage. The skirt was short in the front, but dipped down and turned into a sort of train that hit the back of her calves.

She could dress it up or down, and since it was a first date, she went with down. She kept her hair loose and only put a tiny bit of makeup on. Her earrings were big gold hoops, and she added some gold bangle bracelets.

It was the perfect mix of sexy and beautiful, and she hoped it was the right choice.

Maybe she should have went with jeans after all.

Someone knocked on her door ten minutes before five, and it was too late. Mia stood up and smoothed her dress down.

Jace stood at the door, while Smoke leaned against the railing to her balcony. It was like a photo shoot pose, top ten sexist men alive.

Her apartment was on the small side, but her balcony looked out over the desert, with the Red Rock Canyon in the distance. The lighting this time of night was perfect, the setting sun giving both of them an otherworldly quality.

Jace wore dress slacks and a white dress shirt without a tie, and Smoke had on dark blue jeans with another tight t-shirt. The leather jacket made him look like a dangerous biker. There was a sameness to them even as they were a study in opposites.

Jace looked at her, and whatever he was about to say stopped. He looked her over, slowly, and the heat inside Mia followed his gaze.

“You look amazing.” His voice was deeper, and he put his hands in his pockets.

Smoke didn’t say anything, he just kept his gaze on her.

“Thanks.” Mia grabbed her purse, and stepped outside. “I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

“You chose correctly.” Jace glanced at her again. “We thought something more casual for the first date?”

“Sounds good,” she said. Her stomach fluttered as Jace put his hand on the small of her back.

Jace slid into the backseat with her. “We did rock paper scissors for who would drive us there, and who would drive back.”

Mia arched an eyebrow. “Who won?”

“I did, obviously.” Jace smirked.

“So jealousy isn’t a thing for dragons?”

She hadn’t meant to come right out with it, but she wasn’t sorry either.

“Not really.” Jace shrugged. “Do you have more than one friend?”

“Yes.” Mia bit her lip. She’d researched polyamarous relationships on the Internet, but she barely scratched the surface.

“Do you love one of them more?”

Mia shook her head. “I like them for different reasons.”

“There you go.”

If Mia didn’t like both of them so much, she didn’t think this would work at all. But she wanted both of them. Common sense told her to choose, or to date only one person at a time, but she didn’t feel like crowded. It felt like a good fit.

“Why, do you like one of us more?”

Smoke frowned at Jace. “Don’t.”

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