Page 38 of The Dragon King's Assassin

Chapter Eighteen

The Dragon King stormed into an empty room. Everything was cream and gold, from the velvet drapes to the fabric on the furniture. Within it, Taroc became impossible to ignore, though I suppose that was the case in every room he entered. This time, however, he was especially so. Granted it could have had something to do with the fact that as soon as I shut the door behind us, he grabbed my tunic and shoved me against a wall.

“Did you do it?” Taroc demanded. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes narrowed, and his teeth bared. That look said he was thinking of adding some splashes of blood-red to the decor.

Ren ran to the other side of the room and hid under a couch.

“Did I do what?” I tried to twist away, but he only tightened his hold.

“Did you flirt with Lord Crushei?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I shoved at his chest. “Let me go right the fuck now, Taroc.”

“Did you?!” he roared.

“No!”

The King just stared at me, nostrils flaring.

“Why would I do that?” I took his face in my hands and gentled my tone. “First of all, he was a prick. Second, you fuck like a wild thing. Third, you keep choosing me to fuck. Conclusion, I would never risk that by flirting with some skinny asshole with antlers. I mean, he can't even suck dick. Those things would get in the way.”

Taroc blinked. His lips twitched.

I dropped my hands. “Go on, you can laugh. I won't tell anyone.”

The King released my shirt and shook his head. “You truly didn't encourage him?”

“Again, why the fuck would I do that? No, I didn't flirt or encourage his interest in any way. The guy was obviously baiting you. Which leads me to the question, is he one of the people you've angered?”

His face shifted into epiphany. “Fuck. Yes, he is.”

“Well, there you go.”

“You think he's the one who hired you?”

“I didn't say that.” I held up my hands. “I think it's possible. It would certainly explain his interest in me. He could have been testing me, not you; trying to see if I knew his identity. But I don't know that for certain. All I'm saying is that he had a reason to fuck with you, and when he was presented an opportunity, he went for it.”

Taroc grunted pensively, and Ren crept out from beneath the couch. She ventured over to us and stared at her master, waiting.

“Renraishala,” Taroc said gently and crouched. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”

“She's trained to kill; you didn't scare her.”

“You're trained to kill, and I scared you.” He scratched the dog's head and stood.

“I'm slightly smarter than a dog.”

“Are you?” He cocked his head at me, his lips twitching.

“Ha-ha.”

“So you're saying it's smart to be scared of me?” The King sidled closer and skimmed my hips with his fingertips.

“Uh, yeah.”

He chuckled and moved even closer. “So if Ren wasn't scared, why did she hide?”

I cleared my throat. “She knew you were upset and didn't want it to transfer to her.”

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