Page 13 of Hungry Like A Dragon
“Out where?”
“Jeez, you aren’t my dad.”
“No, but I am the father of your child.”
“Which does not give you any rights over my life at all.”
“It sure as hell gives me rights over her life.” He indicated the child who was perched in the crook of his arm, awake now and watching their interaction with wide, dark eyes. Ugh, why did she have to look so flippin’ cute in her daddy’s arms?
“Fine. You want rights to her? How about you babysit tonight?” Rebecca was supposed to do it, but Petra doubted the college student would mind having an unexpected free evening.
“While you do what?”
Petra flung her arms in the air. “What is with you? Why do you care?”
“Initially, I honestly didn’t. But now that you’re making such a big deal about it, well, I’m damned curious.”
She gnashed her teeth and tried counting but only made it to five before blurting, “I have a date.”
His eyes widened for a moment before he quickly masked his reaction behind a façade of calm. Or hell, maybe he really was calm. Maybe he didn’t give a shit about what she did with her spare time. They’d spent a few minutes up against a tree in the middle of the day. Hardly enough to warrant anything at all.
Well, except a child, and therefore a permanent bond, for the rest of their lives. Gods above, when she moved back home, was he going to fight her for custody? The reeve had final say in such matters, and considering Petra hadn’t yet completed her mission and therefore was probably on Gabe’s shit list, she ought to make an attempt to get along with Noah.
“Moving fast, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” She blinked, as if that might clarify what he just said.
Noah nodded at the babe in his arm. “She’s three months old, right?”
“As of yesterday.”
“And you’re already on the hunt for a new man?”
“A new man? I didn’t have a man in the first place.” Oh shit, he wasn’t seriously thinking that just because they had a kid together meant they shouldbetogether, was he? That wasn’t how it worked. Petra knew that better than anybody. She needed to set the man straight, pronto.
“All I had was a fit of temporary insanity, during which I convinced you to fuck me—without protection. That’s it.”
“Hey,” he said, cupping his hand around Sadie’s head. “Watch the language.”
She almost cracked a smile at his overprotective instinct. Almost. “She has no freaking clue what we’re saying right now, so relax.”
“She will soon enough. And for the record, I wasn’t implying that you’re moving on fromme.”
Sure sounded like that, but okay.
“I meant, so soon after having a baby. Are you—are you ready to start dating already?” His gaze skimmed down her body, and even though it felt like he was focusing on all the spots she hated about herself, it made her skin sizzle and spark, much like it had the day they’d conceived Sadie.
She took a step back, lest she lose control again and try to climb him or something equally dangerous. Oh, she was most definitely ready to revive that aspect of her life. Not that she’d been getting laid on the regular before she got pregnant. Which was exactly the reason she’d ended up in this situation. Blind lust led to poor decision-making.
Which meant she needed to keep a little distance between herself and Noah, because for some damn reason, her dragon was currently recalling every single second of their brief encounter and most definitely wanted a replay.
She should tell him the truth: that her date was part of her assignment, an attempt to infiltrate the Rojo dragon colony, to seek inside information. While she hadn’t done nearly as much as she ought to have associated with this mission to break the curse, she had uncovered a few clues that indicated Gabe’s mother was, in fact, connected to that colony.
Petra suspected the guy she’d procured a date with had firsthand knowledge of the woman’s whereabouts. Her plan was to flirt the actual location out of him and make a quick exit. If it was early enough in the evening, she might even head to said location and do a preliminary check. With any luck, she could be heading home before Halloween. And if Lady Luck were truly on her side—for once—her family would stay off her back about mating with Sadie’s father.
Okay, yeah, she recognized that was asking far too much.
“Yes, actually,” she said. “I’m more than ready to start dating.” She forced her gaze away from Noah’s windblown hair, those dark eyes, the scruff—she’d never found facial hair overly attractive before and yet her dragon was panting like she was in heat.
