Seven days to spend together and resist the attraction blazing between us.
Though a heady mix of anticipation, dread and excitement rushed through me, I stated, “I can do it. Can you?”
“Baby, I’ll still be standing tall when you fall.”
A slow smile bloomed. “Challenge accepted.”
Chapter
Fifteen
End every adventure with laughter. And a souvenir.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
DAY ONE
Isquared off with Taron.
As reluctant seven-day roommates who absolutely would not, under any circumstances, become romantic, we’d come upon our first battlefield challenge: dinner. A long, dark wood table stretched before us, burdened by a feast fit for a royal celebration—or a final meal before execution. Roast pheasant glazed in honey and thyme beside buttered root vegetables, blackened trout with lemon slices, wild rice wrapped in grape leaves, crusty bread still warm from the oven, and a decanter of spiced plum wine that glowed like liquid garnets in the candlelight.
Fall for him while he remained unfazed by his attractionto me? Hardly. Let the games begin. “I’m ravenous,” I purred at him. “So hungry I could eat a human.”
“Someone is playing with fire,” he said, gripping the back of his chair with both hands. His glimmering gaze swept over me, leaving a slow burn in their wake. “That dress should be illegal.”
I’d decided to make things interesting. My gown was silk and dreams, a deep rose gold beauty that clung to every curve and shimmered with a faint metallic sheen. It dipped low in the back and barely contained me in the front, with a high slit running up one thigh. And don’t even get me started on my jewelry, each piece selected for maximum luring. Dangerous attire, considering our objective––resisting the attraction blazing between us. But then again, hehadissued a challenge, and I did accept.
“Youareillegal,” I told him, loving and hating how annoyingly gorgeous he looked. More so surrounded by the opulence of the dining room. A vaulted ceiling soared overhead, etched with faded frescoes of dragons and newborn stars. Gilded candelabras glowed romantically, their flames swaying in rhythm with an unseen breeze. The walls were clad in rosestone veined with gold, and a massive hearth blazed at one end, casting flickering light over every powerful inch of him. “But hot enough to be worth the jail time,” I added, blowing him a kiss.
He grinned and caught the kiss mid-air…then pressed it against his lips.
Flutters erupted inside me. We’d both showered. Separately. (Obviously.) Taron wore the armorless garb of a dragon warrior. Black leathers that molded to his legs, a white tunic laced at the collarbone, and a mantle of scaled fabric draped over one shoulder. His damp hair curled slightly at the ends, and the light caught the glint of an oldscar along his cheekbone. Oh yeah, he was annoyingly gorgeous. Seeing him in the traditional clothing of my people made something warm bloom in my chest.
End the flirting. End it now.“Aren’t you going to pull out my chair?” I asked, batting my lashes at him, decidedly not ending the flirting.
“No,” he replied, a teasing smirk ghosting his lips. “It wouldn’t be fair to you. You’d fall for my gentlemanly charm and be unable to help yourself.”
“So, being ungentlemanly is actually being gentlemanly.” I tsked, doing my best not to enjoy our banter. “Seems you’ve created a quandary for yourself, professor.”
“Good point. Allow me to remedy this.” He strode around the table and performed the gentlemanly act of seating his companion.
“Sucker,” I muttered, sinking onto the cushion as unhurried as a flame burning over silk.
He chuckled, a rasp of sound as he pushed the chair forward, leaning closer. His chest brushed my shoulder. The heat of his nearness…his delicious scent… With my heart doing a ridiculous little flutter, I squared my shoulders just enough to let the deep V of my gown do its job.
He went still and quiet, then made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. Pupils blown wide, he returned to his spot and eased into his chair. “Baby, I’m giving this round to you,” he said, yanking a napkin into his lap with more force than necessary. “That last move was killer.”
“Thank you.” I preened, both the endearment and compliment intoxicating. “But look who’s talking. I’m still buzzing from the brush of your body against mine.”
He chuckled again, the sound of this one lower, washing over me in heating waves that would have melted my knees if I’d still been standing.
Two servants appeared, their tunics trimmed in rose-gold thread. With practiced grace, they filled our plates from the platters on the table, delicate bone china with dragons in an endless chase around the rim, before rushing off and vanishing through a hidden door.
“Remind me,” Taron said as he collected his silverware. “What is tonight’s goal again?”
I let my smile develop a wanton edge. “Survive.”
“And the rest of the week?”
