As Winter shook his head in dismay, while a chuckle escaped me that I couldn’t stop for the life of me.
Then his gaze flicked around the bar—and he tensed right up.
Zayn frowned, and followed his line of sight.
“Eyes off my boy, motherfuckers. Or get gone.” He hissed at them, his fire briefly sparking in warning. “I’m not as well-mannered, so keep that in mind. Zayn Riene. Look it up if you need to.”
He glared at them with disgust, then returned his attention to us.
“Really?” Winter spoke, shoving his hand through his hair.
“Assholes like that need a jolt, Win. You can’t always just let it lie.” He gestured at me. “Evira making a stand would’ve come off way too dangerously aggressive with the whole dragon nature thing. Plus, it would have announced her as the dragon princess, something she doesn’t want people knowing. So, yeah, I had to.”
“Fine,” Winter grunted. But there was a spark in his eyes. And then he even added, “Thank you.”
Zayn winked, but didn’t bask in it.
Then he turned his attention to me. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Really fucking sorry, Evira. I never intended to be, or to disrespect you. If you want, we can do this again, like a do-over, so this first date thing isn’t tainted by—”
“No. It’s all okay,” I assured him. “Things happen. Are you okay, though?”
“It’s all good. I just had something to attend to that couldn’t—well, wouldn’t—wait.” His gaze roamed over me. “By the way, you look gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling out at him.
He went to slide into my side of the booth, then stopped, and looked at Winter’s side. “Should I—which side is better? I mean, if I slide in next to you, I’ll be right there, but not facing you. And if I slide onto this other side—”
“My side,” Winter spoke. “Then you can face her while talking, no awkwardly turning your head every few moments.”
“Yeah, all right.”
Winter went to get up, but Zayn was already sliding in, his eagerness and nervousness both getting the best of him.
“Should’ve waited for me to get out,” Winter told him.
“You’re leaving?” Zayn and I asked in unison.
Winter stilled. “It’s your date.”
“You’re already here now,” I said.
“Yeah. Might as well stay, right?” Zayn added, winking at me, as we worked together.
“Okay. If you’re sure it’s not going to be strange?”
“Our whole dynamic is strange, Win. Evira kissed Vaxan earlier, so add that to it as well.”
Winter’s gaze shot to mine. “You did?”
“Yeah.” I pressed my fingers to my lips. “It was… really nice.”
“Nice?” Zayn chuckled. “More like primal heat colliding.”
“Brazen as ever,” Winter said.
“As if you don’t love it.”
Winter actually laughed. “Infuriating chaos machine.”
