My heart fluttered oddly. It wasn't like me to get so nervous. It must've been all the cameras.
I stepped up onto the platform, trying not to notice the thickness in my throat or my uneven heartbeat. But I wasn't about to bow my head and defer to some cocky alpha. I held my chin high and met Crimson's ruby gaze straight on.
"Good evening, Taylor," he said with a smile.
"Evening."
He gestured to the chair opposite him. "Have a seat."
As we both sat, my eyes roamed across Crimson. He wore a different suit tonight, a striking blood-red blazer with a black pullover and matching red tie. I couldn't lie, he pulled off suits better than anyone I'd ever seen. He was smoking hot.
A sharply dressed waiter came by to silently deliver a menu and water. I noticed he didn't hand a menu to Crimson.
"You're not eating?" I asked.
He gave me a coy smile. "How sweet. Are you worried about me?"
I arched a brow. Annoying handsome bastard.
"Not so much worried as confused," I said.
He shrugged. "I don't need a menu when I know it all by heart. It's the typical dinner fare the staff serve at the castle."
I snorted, then looked down at the menu so I didn't have to meet his intriguing ruby eyes anymore. "Of course you're a dragon and live in a castle."
"Where did you expect me to live? In a shack?"
"No, I just shouldn't have expected a dragon to have so little humility."
He sounded amused. "You wound me. Are you always so cold to your dates?"
"I don't date," I said bluntly.
Crimson tilted his head, pausing for a second. He fingered the stem of his water glass. "And yet, here you are."
"I didn't ask to be chosen as the winner of your little challenge."
"True," Crimson conceded. "But youdidask to be part of the—" He paused, then sighed as if saying the next words physically pained him. "—Dragonfate Games, did you not?"
I looked back up at him. "Actually, I didn't. My friend tricked me into entering my name."
Crimson's brows shot up in surprise. Then he let out a soft, genuine laugh. "I see."
"What's funny?"
He circled his finger around the rim of his glass. "This whole charade wasn't my idea, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"My lizard-brained brothers put me up to it." Crimson smiled at me in a peculiar way, like we shared an inside joke. "I wanted nothing to do with the dating show. In fact, I vehemently shot the idea down... only to be outvoted."
I blinked at him. That wasn't what I expected, so I didn't know what to say.
"Oh," I said.
Crimson grinned, flashing his perfectly white teeth. "Really, Taylor. You think a man of taste like myself would desire a gaudy game show like this?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the kobolds—the director, I thought—give Crimson the middle finger.
