The dragon in Rux’s chest surged with approval. “Finally.” He stood. “When?”
“One of us should go. Today.” Mabon glanced at Urien. “Make actual contact with him and have a conversation. We need to find out what he likes, what he wants, and whether he’s…”
“Whether he’s interested in dragons who’ve been leaving gold bars on his doorstep like deranged crows.” Urien turned from the window. “That conversation?”
“We don’t tell him about the gifts.” Mabon’s tone went firm. “Not yet. We just...talk to him. Like normal people having a normal conversation in a coffee shop.”
Rux’s dragon was slowly going off the plan. He loved the idea of talking to their Treasure, but he didn’t like hiding, didn’t like pretending, and he definitely didn’t like anything that involved not claiming their mate immediately. But Rux had learned something over the years – patience…sort of…to a point anyway.
“I’ll go.” The words came out before Rux fully thought them through. But they felt right. “I saw him first. Mydragon recognized him first. I should be the one.”
Mabon and Urien exchanged one of those looks where whole conversations were compressed into a single glance.
“Are you sure?” Urien’s blue eyes searched his face. “You won’t accidentally tell him we’ve been watching his cottage?”
“Or that we know his schedule?” Mabon added.
“Or that we followed him home from the coffee shop?”
“Or that we’ve been leaving gifts worth thousands of dollars?”
Rux scowled at both of them. “I can have a normal conversation.”
“Can you?” Mabon’s eyebrow rose. “Because just last month you told Mrs. Channing you couldn’t meet her nephew because you were already mated to two males and waiting for your fourth.”
“That was different. She was being pushy. Besides, she suggested herDerek would make a very enthusiastic fourth, so clearly it wasn’t that weird.”
“We don’t need a Derek, we need a Sam. What are you going to do if he smiles at you? If your heart stone pulses?”
Rux’s dragon preened at the thought.
“I’ll handle it.” He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I’ll go in, order coffee, and make conversation. Simple.”
“Simple.” Urien didn’t sound convinced.
“Normal.” Mabon looked even less convinced.
“Human.” Rux headed for the door before either of them could talk him out of it. “I’ll be completely…human.”
His dragon rumbled with anticipation. How hard could one conversation be?
/~/~/~/~/
The bell above the door chimed when Rux pushed into the Daily Bean.
His dragon surged immediately. Every instinct screamedmine,Treasure, claim, protect -but Rux forced himself to breathe and get his feet to move at a normal human pace instead of launching across the café to vault the counter.
He’d seen Sam dozens of times since that first moment through Harrison’s window - through the Daily Bean’s front glass, from the Range Rover parked down the street, through his cottage windows while Sam cooked dinner or wrote at his laptop. It had always been from afar, separated by glass or darkness or the careful distance required to avoid looking like the stalkers they definitely were.
This time, there was no barrier or distance. This time, Sam would actually know he existed.
The shop smelled like coffee, cinnamon, and something sweet baking in the back. Eight tables were scattered across warm wooden floors, and the windows took advantage of the morning light. A glass cabinet displayed pastries and muffins, and beside the menu board,a chalkboard listed the week’s specials and…
Rux’s eyes caught on the staff schedule. Right there, in public, posted for customers to know who’d be working when. Sam’s name was clearly on there, with a list of days and times beside it.
I knew it.They’d been watching the cottage, tracking patterns, and yet Sam’s schedule had been displayed in a public spot for all to see the whole time. That made them perfectly innocent…well, mostly innocent.
Sam stood at the espresso machine, explaining something to an elderly woman in a purple coat. His voice carried softly and patiently across the space.
