Page 15
“Wait.” Rowan frowned down at his tan, hairy fingers holding Milo in place. It looked kinda pretty. The contrast. Rowan wasn’t an artist, but he could appreciate the visual of it. His claws were out, the tips digging into Milo’s skin, creating little divots in the flesh.
“I will stab you in the eye with a cocktail umbrella,” Milo said, tugging against his hold.
Rowan let go but his eyes stayed glued to the marks his claws had left on Milo. Five dots of pink. What the fuck was wrong with him?
“Can we talk?” Rowan asked.
Milo glared at him before shaking his head. “I have nothing more to say to you.”
Rowan scowled, dropping his moody gaze to his drink. He didn’t even like bourbon. All his dad’s successful dragon friends drank it, so he defaulted to ordering it, but Milo mentioning cocktail umbrellas had made him think of colorful, sweet, fruity drinks, and now he wanted one really bad.
“I don’t like bourbon,” he said, looking up.
Milo looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “That sounds like an ish-you not an ish-me. You’re still paying for it.”
“No, yeah.” Rowan nodded. “I’m gonna pay, of course. Just…thought I’d mention it…”
Why? Fuck him if he knew. It just felt important to let Milo know that his personal choice of drink wouldn’t be that. He frowned at his glass again then picked it up, swirling the ice cubes in the amber liquid until they clinked together.
“What would you get?” Milo asked suddenly.
Rowan looked up, blinking at him in confusion. “What?”
Milo rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t burden yourself with the need to appear strong and cool and whatever other boring ideas you have in your head. If you ordered a drink to enjoy it, not to send a message. What would it be?”
“A four leaf clover,” Rowan said without a second thought.
“Huh.”
“With an umbrella,” Rowan added, because apparently, image didn’t matter anymore.
“Huh,” Milo said again, and it didn’t sound mocking at all.
“Come on, baby!!” someone called from the other end of the bar. “You said you’d come talk to me!”
Milo rolled his eyes again and turned his head to the side. “I said when hell freezes over too, Jackson, but apparently you forgot that part.”
Rowan watched in abject horror as Jackson’s smile slipped from his face. He downed his drink in one large gulp and stood up, palms braced against the sticky bar top as he bent his knees, clearly readying himself to vault across the bar and reach for Milo. Who had already turned away from him again. Who didn’t see that he was being targeted. Who was standing in front of Rowan with his back exposed and vulnerable to someone who appeared unstable and volatile.
Jackson’s leg was already over the bar top when Rowan pushed his stool back, bracing himself against the bar.
He saw his claws digging into the flat surface, piercing the granite as if it were made of paper as he rose from his seat.
The sleeves of his shirt were pushed back, and bright red scales emerged from beneath the hairs on his forearms, glistening in the dim lights.
His vision shifted from barely seeing in the muted lights to tunnel vision fixated on the man frozen in place, half on top of the bar. Rowan’s vision focused, sharpened, drawing an invisible bullseye clear across the man’s chest.
His back arched, wings exploding and unfurling around him to the sound of ripping fabric. Chairs were thrust aside to make room for the rest of his massive form, the full dragon inside him twice as large as his usual hulking stature. His throat burned, smoke billowing from his nostrils.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Milo’s voice fought its way through the noise in Rowan’s head.
Rowan blinked and saw Milo craning his neck and staring at his chest, barely covered by the tatters of his destroyed shirt. He wished he knew what to tell him, but he had no idea how to respond. He’d always been in control. Always kept his cool and his dragon restrained due to his sheer size. He wanted to explain. He felt this aching need to reassure, but all that came out of his mouth when he opened it was a burst of fire that traveled down the smooth top of the bar until it reached the hem of Jackson’s jeans and licked over it.
Notes:
RAWR! XD
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