Page 45 of The Dragon Recruit
Oh, Iris could charge into any mission or assignment without hesitation. However, there was more to a person than just their job, and Antony silently vowed to tell her how gorgeous she was until she truly believed it.
Reluctantly, he released her hand. As much as he wanted to devote the night to that goal, he couldn’t miss this meeting. Hesaid, “I will come back to this, I promise. For now, let’s go. We have to get to the pub and make sure everything is ready for the meeting.”
And as she walked ahead of him out the door, he swore she swished her skirt and exaggerated the sway of her hips on purpose. Thankfully, once he waited for her to go onto the street, she resumed her normal walk.Good.He didn’t want any competition later.
Once enough time had passed, Antony headed out and toward the old pub, doing his best to clear his head along the way. The informant was risking everything to meet him, and he couldn’t fuck it up.
Iris fucking hated dresses. She usually only wore them for special occasions, when traditional dragon-shifter clothes were required.
However, when Antony had come out of the bedroom and looked at her as if he wanted to eat up every inch, she’d started to wonder if she’d underestimated the power of dresses. Because if it could make Antony Holbrook, who she thought might be one of the most powerful men in the country—albeit behind closed doors—speechless and his jaw drop, she imagined it could work well in enemy situations, too.
Although she doubted she’d shiver at a stranger’s gaze. No, she’d probably want to knee them in the bollocks.
And yet, when Antony had given her a slow once-over, her skin had heated, and she’d barely restrained herself from teasing him by lifting her skirt a few inches. Would his incredible control have snapped? Would he have calmly wooed her into more?
Not for the first time, she admitted she wanted to know Antony better. Much better.
However, as she stood behind Antony’s nameless technician in a little flat across the street from an old pub, she willed herself to focus. Antony was counting on her to be ready, if he needed her knowledge or help.
Her dragon snorted.If you had jumped him yesterday, then you wouldn’t be so randy now.
With everything going on, you’re still focused on sex?
Aye. It’s been a while.
Iris ignored her beast to focus on the screen. Antony wore a hidden camera in the button of his shirt, and he’d entered the pub. He moved through a crowd of people toward the bar. After ordering a pint, he sat in a corner booth and chatted with some passing people.
Well, two females, to be exact.
A shot of jealousy roared through her, and her dragon spoke up.Yes, he’s ours. Just admit it.
Not now, dragon. I need to help him.
Her beast harrumphed.Fine. But later, don’t run away from him if he flirts. Embrace it.
She ignored her beast since the latest female had left and a male wearing builder’s clothes—the sweatshirt had the company name, and his trousers and boots were well worn—motioned toward the empty space across from Antony. “Any fan of the Spurs here is a friend of mine. We should stick together.”
Ah, so that’s why Antony had worn a Tottenham Spurs scarf in Inverness, whose team was the Caledonian Thistle F.C.
They chatted about football for a bit before the match started and the attention in the pub shifted to the TVs. It was then that Antony and the other male started talking in quiet tones.
But his microphone was excellent, so Iris heard everything.
Antony asked, “Any luck landing that job you wanted?”
During the drive to Inverness, Antony had explained some of their code. He was asking if the male had discovered any of the dragon hunter prisons or research facilities. While Clan Stonefire’s head Protector, Kai, had found a few, they’d been smaller. Antony suspected there were larger ones, maybe inside abandoned properties or mines.
The male replied, “I think so. But Birkwood Castle is a bit far from Inverness, so I’ll have to check with my girlfriend to see if I can take it or not.”
Iris racked her brain for the place. She’d heard the name somewhere…then remembered about the abandoned manor house that had been bought to turn into a hotel, given up, bought again, and currently sat empty. And was supposedly haunted.
But maybe it was a ruse—being supposedly haunted could be a brilliant tactic to keep others away.
Iris wanted to race out of the room to head south—Birkwood Castle was in Scotland, but south of Glasgow—and check it out. But Antony’s next words kept her in place. “What renovations do they want to do? If it pays well, it might be worth it.”
“Aye, well, they want to turn it into a fancy retreat facility, last I heard. Quite the change going from a mental hospital for decades to a fancy retreat.”
“Retreat for what?”
