Page 7 of Bronze Dragon

Three days in, no one even came near him, except Lance, demanding that Raf eat something each day.

"Alright, enough. What is the matter with you?" Lance asked, nearly inserting his body between Raf and what he was doing.

"What the hell? After nitpicking that I wasn’t doing this, you’re in my way?"

The snort that came from Lance rumbled like it came from the chest of a much larger creature. "I can practically see the steam coming out your ears. I thought you finished your contract?"

Raf was startled that his friend had allowed the sound of his dragon into the conversation; even if they were alone at the moment, the club wasn’t so private they could just let go. Unless it had been to make a point. From the way his friend stared, still awaiting an answer, Raf had to conclude it was the latter. "I did. That contract’s done."

"Then what?"

He rubbed a hand across his face, trying to find a way to say what was bothering him without sounding like a lovesick idiot. Probably not possible at this point. "I slept with this woman who snuck out while I was asleep, and I can’t get her off my mind."

Lance’s mouth actually started to gape open for the moment before he burst into laughter. "All of this, over a woman?"

Raf groaned. His friend’s brief escapades with the fairer sex all ended quickly before Lance moved on, so Raf knew how well his friend could relate—he couldn’t. "Dammit, Lance. There was something different there. I don’t know what it was, just that I want more of it."

"Was she a dragon?"

The question caught him off guard. "Uh, no. Human."

"Hmm." Lance’s eyes still glittered with merriment, but he actually paused to think about it, for which Raf was grateful. "If she’d been a dragon, it could’ve been your true mate."

Now it was Rafael’s turn to laugh. "That’s a fairy tale."

Lance flashed a grin. "I know. Mom swears by it, though, and it’s all I could think of. Since it’s not the case, surely you just need to find someone else to get your mind off whoever it is."

Raf started to object only to halt, frowning, his hand going to his stomach as he felt legitimately ill at the idea of anyone other than Ashley in his bed.

"What’s wrong?"

He shrugged, trying to push off the feeling. "Nothing. I’m just not feeling great. I swear she’s drugged me or something. I can’t believe how often I find myself lost in thoughts of her, completely forgetting whatever I was in the middle of."

"Alright, that’s enough. You. Me. Michael’s house. Once it gets dark, we’re going flying. You need to get out of your head, man."

Raf nodded reluctantly. "Fine. It’s a better plan than any I’ve got."

"Have you considered just hooking up with her again?"

He sighed. "I’m contractually obligated to stay out of Next-Gen Apptec’s affairs for a while. I don’t know how else to reach her."

Lance’s eyebrows rose. "You didn’t say she was part of that."

"The lead lawyer for their side. Gorgeous woman, even nicer after business hours."

"They’re all nicer after business hours." Lance brushed off the comment easily.

Rafael glared at him. "Have you ever even had a steady girlfriend? What would you know about it?"

"Not since high school." Lance rolled his eyes. "As if anyone needed to get tied down."

Raf dropped his head, his chin hitting his chest as he tried not to snap at the man. Lance was three years older, and ought to have a more mature attitude towards relationships. They weren’t wyrmlings anymore. "Surely you don’t plan to stay single forever, Lance. That’s ridiculous." Listening to make sure none of their human staff were near the office, he added, "You’re almost fifty. That’s hardly a time to stay in frat-boy mentality." Neither of them looked like they were in their late forties, but dragon aging was slightly different, and at 45, Raf thought he looked about thirty-five. Maybe even a couple of years younger. Early thirties. For that matter, Raf’s parents didn’t look like they were older than their forties, and that was partly by choice.

Lance snorted at the idea. "I’m still in my prime. I don’t have any plans to settle for someone just to get started making kids. We’ve hundreds of years for that. Why would you want to get shackled to someone at your age?"

"I didn’t say I’d marry her. Jeez, I just said I’d like to see more of her. She’s human, so it’s not like I’m going to see her long-term. What’ve you got against relationships?" Raf didn’t understand his friend’s viewpoint in the least. Endless hookups might be great when you were in college, but after that, it just felt like work.

"I—"

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