Well, not exactly. The shop was ready for business, the curtains on the display windows pulled back, and the sign turned to Open. But there weren't any customers yet, so Arena was straightening the clothing racks while Raef was polishing a display case. They were also having an animated conversation.
About me.
“So that means they've gone on two dates!” Arena declared. Then she spotted me. “Good morning, Boss!”
“Good morning,” I said. “And we've only been on one date.”
Instead of blushing, Arena left the rack of scarves and hurried over to me. “What do you mean? I thought he took you out the night before last and last night?”
“We had a misunderstanding before what would have been our first date, and I turned him away.”
“You didwhat?!” Raef nearly screeched.
“That's why King Rianvar returned the next day,” I said to Raef. “To apologize.”
“TheDragon Kingapologized toyou?” Arena asked. “Whoa.”
“Yes, and he should be here any minute now. We're going out for breakfast. If I'm not back by closing, just lock up.”
“You're going to spend the day with him?” Raef asked, his eyes wide.
“Maybe.”
Raef and Arena looked at each other, then burst out into squeals of delight. They ran to each other, locked hands, and jumped up and down, their wings fluttering madly.
“What are you doing?” I asked and chuckled.
“One of us could be a Dragon King's mate!” Arena squealed. “An Argaiv!”
The words were like cold water thrown on my happy mood. A weight that pulled me down from my lofty height. Mate. I hadn't considered that. It's what Rontor was to King Dhrostan. Matehood had ruined my relationship with the man I loved. What if it ruined this relationship as well? Last time, I had fallen in love with the Dragon King's mate. What if I fell in love with the Dragon King this time and then he found his mate? Would that be ironic? No, that's not the right word. Tragic is what it would be. Yes, tragic and crushing.
As my employees continued to celebrate as if my mating the King was a certainty, I continued to sink. I sank so low under those terrible thoughts that I became the courtier version of me. The wary one. The seducer and submissive. The man who adorned himself for the King's pleasure and bowed to his every whim. The one who thought he was worthless comparedto a man with true power. I could feel my pride shrinking under the pressure of that illustrious Dragon magic. Mating magic. It wasn't something a Dragon could avoid. And they knew. They recognized their mates, usually through sex. Most Dragons moved on fairly quickly if their lover didn't bring on their mating magic.
When I had invented this new life for myself, one of the first things I decided to do was treat myself with respect first. Then, if no one else did, it wouldn't bother me. I would simply exclude them from my life. Part of this respect was a vow to only give myself to a man I cared about. I'm not saying that I had to be in love before I had sex with someone, but I didn't want meaningless sex anymore. I didn't want to bend over on some man's command, close my eyes, and hope he remembered to give me some pleasure too. Not now, when I was rebuilding my confidence and self-worth. That rule about caring for a man first worked well with all other men, but in light of the possibility of magical mating, it lost its shine. Got complicated.
Caring about Rian before bedding him could be a bad thing, even if he returned my feelings—which would be another of my requirements. Normally. If we both cared about each other enough to make love, but the mating magic didn't bind us, what we felt became irrelevant. A hindrance instead of a blessing. I'd seen the bond firsthand and knew exactly what it could do to a Dragon. And not just the Dragon. In the case of a mixed-race mating, the non-Dragon mate wasn't bound in the same manner, but they felt a powerful draw to the Dragon as well. Or maybe that had just been Rontor. Whatever the case, my relationship with Rian just became ten times more dangerous. I wanted to feel in control of my life, especially my love life since that was what had gone so wrong in my past. But with a Dragon,that was impossible. Neither of us would have much say over our relationship in the end. The magic had all the control.
The doorbell jingled and my employees instantly went professional, turning toward the customer to greet them.
But instead of the usual greeting, I heard, “Good morning, Your Majesty!”
Yanked out of my terrible, terrifying musings, I looked up to see Rian come striding toward me, nodding absently at my employees as he offered them a good morning in return. I had a second to compose myself before he had my hand in his and was kissing it.
“You look magnificent today, Galin,” the Dragon King declared, his pale eyes bright as they roamed my face, then the fall of my hair. “Stunning. Thank you for wearing your hair down. I've been longing to see it like this.”
“I'm glad you like it.” I looked him over. “You are very handsome today as well.”
And he was. The Dragon King's suit was impeccable, his cravat knotted in the latest style and accented with an emerald pin. He had a new top hat today, one of the finest felt with a green leather band, though he had removed it when he entered the shop, as usual. Black fur peeped out from the lining of his cloak, and his elegant hands were covered in leather gloves.
“Thank you.” He released my hand but only to offer me his arm. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished,” I said as I stared at him.
All of those worries melted under Rian's hot stare. I couldn't remember why I should be wary of him. My heart wasbeating too loudly, too fast. And it was focused on the Dragon King. Every beat.
“Have a good time,” Raef called after us.
“Oh, how rude of me!” I stopped. “Your Majesty, these are my employees, Raef and Arena. They are upstanding members of the Argaiv community.”
