Page 35 of Fated to the Grumpy Dragon
“Come, let’s go,” he said, picking up the pace slightly and forcing me to hurry after him.
“Where are we going?”
“Shopping.”
I perked up. “Come again? Shopping? For what?”
There was a long pause. A hint of mirth spread through my mind. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew he was smiling—or wanted to.
“You.”
I stopped dead. He was taking me shopping? Rhyse?Me? What was going on?
The giant dragon man lost his control and did something I hadn’t thought I would hear anytime soon. He laughed.
“Come on!” He waved between chuckles.
I raced after him to catch up.
“You’re taking me shopping? Really? For what?”
“I thought that might get you moving,” he said, still laughing softly to himself.
“Duh. Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? OfcourseI’m up for shopping. Especially if it’s for clothing. I appreciate you lending me yours, but …” I gestured at myself.
Unsurprisingly, Rhyse’s clothing had been far too big for me. We’d modified one of his shirts, cutting off nearly half its length and tying a large knot in the back to help tighten it up. His pants had holes sliced around the waist, and a piece of fabric had been threaded and then tied up as a belt.
It looked like the tracksuits of the ‘90s had come back with a vengeance. In sweats material. Whatever anyone said, it wasn’t a good look, and I was desperate for some proper clothes.
“That’s not the goal of this trip,” he said. “But we’ll see what we can do.”
“What else do I need?” I asked, frowning.
“A bathing suit.”
I scoffed.
“What?”
“You just want to see me in a bikini,” I said. I started to roll my eyes at him but stopped short as a wave of something hot and intense washed over me. Thick, powerful, and—
Oh my god. Is he getting turned on at the idea of me in a bikini?
Rhyse snarled audibly, and the heated blanket that had begun to wrap itself around me disappeared in an instant.
“You’re fucking confusing,” I said. “Make up your mind. Do you hate me or not?”
Then I walked past him, leading the way until we entered the village.
“This one,” Rhyse said as we neared the market at the center.
He pulled open the door and gestured for me to proceed inside.
“Pick whatever you want,” he said just a bit grumpily. “Janos will come out in a moment. He’s always slow.”
“I can hear you,” a voice called from the back as a barrel-chested dragon with a thick black goatee and an unruly mane of matching hair strode from the back, clad in a brilliant yellow and turquoise shirt.
“Janos. Whatever she wants, put it on my account, okay?”
