Page 44 of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human
Smiling, I twirled around showing off my new outfit. Part of me was a little worried about what he’d say when he found out we had gone on a shopping spree with his gold, but the way his eyes kept roaming over my body gave me the distinct suspicion that he didn’t give a damn.
“Why do you look so damn happy?” I laughed.
He tugged me into his lap and toyed with my gold bracelet. “Why shouldn’t I be? I was half worried you would flee while I slept. Yet here you’ve returned, with food no less.”
Unable to resist, I reached up and coasted my fingers down the strands of his silver hair. Even disheveled with sleep, he still looked irresistible. Honestly, it was unfair. How’s a girl supposed to keep her wits about her in the face of a jawline that strong? “If I left, who would keep me in my fineries?”
He grinned. “Does this mean you’ll finally tell me where you live?”
“Hmm, not yet.”
“How about a last name?”
I gave a light slap to his shoulder. “Easy, big guy, you haven’t even taken me on a date yet.”
“How presumptuous of me.” He slid my sleeve up to my elbow and kissed at the skin below the bracelet. The gentle caresses sent flutters all the way down to my toes. “Why don’t we see what kind of taverns Kirkwall has to offer?”
“I could go for a drink.” Understatement of the century. I was half counting on Alexis to be a bit of a buffer between us. Being alone with Dante in all his… everything, had me feeling a little lightheaded. Nothing a bit of liquid courage couldn’t fix.
“Excellent,” he said, helping me to my feet. “Hopefully, the food is halfway decent as well.”
I took his arm as we headed out the door. “You just ate a whole chicken dinner.”
He chuckled and a sharp fang poked out of his upper jaw. “If I had to survive on your meager human portions I’d be dead in a week.”
“Is that how you lost your horn? Too little food and they just start falling off?”
“It was cut off in battle during the hydra attack.” His response was believable, yet the red tint in his ears told me otherwise.
“No it wasn’t.”
“Cherry, if you’re psychic just tell me.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “And reveal all my secrets? Never.”
“Fine,” he said, sheepishly. “I may have gotten my head stuck in a ravine after flying under the influence.”
Laughter bubbled in my throat. The thought of a mighty dragon, drunkenly crashing into a ravine was too much. “So you’re just stuck like this?”
Dante shrugged. “They shed every fifty years anyway, so it will grow back sometime next spring.”
With the sun waning in the distance, the streets of Kirkwall came alive as everyone flooded the area looking for a night of drinks and fun. Coliseum vendors wore huge signs promoting tonight’s match. They stood on crates and shouted over the crowd detailing the fight of the century. People flooded toward them, laughing and placing bets.
I doubted Dante would be as easy to pull away as Alexis if he got pissed off about their business practices, so I dragged him further away from the vendors and into a tavern called The Real Golden Vine.
He eyed the sign above the door and cocked his head. “Do you think that implies the existence of a fake Golden Vine?”
“THERE IS A FAKE GOLDEN VINE!” A man shouted from behind the bar. His meaty hands furiously scrubbed at the counter with his rag. His face was adorned with a mustache I imagine most men could only dream of; and it added to his dramatic demeanor as he huffed out his irritation.
Several patrons lining the barstools collectively groaned and waved him off. “Don’t start on that nonsense now, you old bastard!”
The barkeep swatted at him with his rag. “The man asked a question. Questions deserve answers,” he argued. Wiping his hands on his shirt, the barkeep motioned for us to have a seat at a table. I looked to my companion, who shrugged and made his way over. Dante pulled out a seat for me before taking his own.
“Somebody go get Viti before this one gets going,” another man at the bar said. He ran a hand through wild red hair while he sipped his drink. Clearly having fallen victim to the story too many times prior.
“Viti is busy!” the barkeep barked back, then turned to a younger-looking man waiting tables. “Jenson, get these two the house special!” Jenson rolled his eyes, but did as he was told.
“Dammit, Neil, it’s been a year already, let it go.”
