Page 10 of Hot for the Dragon

"So, what exactly can you do?" he asked, his dragon's curiosity getting the better of him. "Besides running a flower shop that got torched."

"I'm a green witch." Daphne's eyes lit up. "Here, let me show you."

She stopped walking and held out her palm. Archer watched, skeptically, as she closed her eyes in concentration. A tiny green shoot sprouted from her palm, growing rapidly until it unfurled into a perfect red rose.

"Ta-da!" She offered it to him with a bright smile.

Archer stared at the flower, then at her. His dragon huffed in disbelief. "You're telling me the Council paired me - one of the most powerful dragon shifters in existence - with someone whose special power is... gardening?"

"Hey, plants can be pretty powerful." She tucked the rose into his jacket pocket, ignoring his scowl.

"Great." Archer shook his head. "I'm stuck with a cheerful florist while hunting down a vicious dragon."

5

DAPHNE

The bell above the Cauldron & Cup's front door tinkled as Daphne led Archer to a secluded booth in the back corner. The familiar scent of coffee and magic wrapped around her like a warm blanket, but today it did little to settle her nerves. Archer's imposing presence filled the small space as he slid into the seat across from her, his broad shoulders nearly touching both sides of the tiny booth.

The floating menu board shifted above them, the chalk letters dancing and rearranging themselves. A "Dragon's Breath Hot Chocolate" flashed briefly, and Daphne caught herself wondering if that would be too on-the-nose to order for her companion.

Archer's coal-black eyes scanned the café with military precision, his jaw set in a permanent scowl. His fingers tapped against the wooden table, creating a rhythm that matched the anxious beating of her heart.

What was she thinking by volunteering to watch over him? Her fingers traced the grain of the wooden table as doubt crept in. She was a florist, for heaven's sake. Her biggest accomplishment this week had been growing a particularly stubborn batch of orchids. And now here she sat, across from one of the most feared dragon shifters around, pretending she could somehow help him prevent a war.

But then the image of her shop engulfed in flames flashed through her mind. The screams of people running from Carmen's wing. The destruction that had rippled through her beloved town like a tidal wave.

"You're having second thoughts." Archer's deep voice cut through her reverie. It wasn't a question.

Daphne straightened her spine, meeting his intense gaze. "No, I'm having first thoughts. There's a difference."

His eyebrow arched slightly at her response, and was that the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips? The warm glow from the hanging lanterns caught the golden highlights in his auburn hair, softening his harsh features for just a moment.

Daphne planted her hands firmly on the table. She might not be a fierce dragon shifter, but she had her own kind of strength. The kind that made flowers break through concrete and vines crack stone walls. The kind that rebuilt rather than destroyed.

"So, what would you like to drink?" Daphne asked, pulling out her wallet.

Archer's coal-black eyes narrowed. "Black coffee."

"Just black coffee? In a magical café?" She gestured to the floating menu. "They have Dragon's Breath Hot Chocolate that actually breathes fire."

"Black. Coffee." His jaw tightened, as if ordering anything fancier might damage his carefully cultivated image of brooding dragon shifter.

"Suit yourself." Daphne made her way to the counter, feeling his intense stare on her back.

The whispers started before she'd taken three steps.

"That's Archer Hawke," a witch in purple robes hissed to her companion. "I heard he once took down an entire wing of dragons single-handedly."

"My cousin said he burned down an entire village just because someone looked at him wrong," another added.

"Did you see how he just commanded that poor girl around? Probably thinks he owns the place."

Daphne's fingernails tapped against the counter as she waited for Nina to finish with another customer. The rumors painted Archer as some sort of monster, but all she'd seen so far was a grumpy man who apparently had boring taste in coffee. Sure, he had that whole dangerous-alpha-male vibe going on, but that didn't automatically make him evil.

"One black coffee," she told Nina when it was her turn, "and I'll have the Moonbeam Macchiato." She paused, then added, "And two slices of that lemon cake."

"Brave of you," Nina whispered, glancing at Archer. "Sitting with him."

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