The Dragon's Bidder (Tahoe Dragon Mates 3)

Perhaps, but then it'd only give him one drink before kicking him out.

Such were the stupid rules dragon-shifters had to live by in the US.

He gestured ahead and made an effort not to be a dick again. "Then lead on, my lady."

She grabbed his hand. "Since I know where we're going, follow me. And don't let go. I don't need any of the losing bidders from the auction rushing up and attempting to steal you away."

Her skin against his made both man and beast hum. It was dangerous to hold her hand, but right then and there, someone would have to cut off his arm before he released her. "I won't let go. Should I pinkie promise or are my words enough?"

Snorting, she murmured, "Pinkie promises aren't very leader-like," before she guided them out of the casino and down the street. All the while Wes wondered if she was anywhere near as affected by them holding hands as he was.

His cockstand wasn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Behaving for even a few hours around the female was going to be harder than any clan leadership trial.

Ashley tried to be casual about holding Wes's hand, but sparks raced down her arms and ended between her legs.

It was embarrassing enough that he could probably smell her arousal—damn dragons and their super noses—but it also made her realize how attracted she was to him.

Dangerously so.

And now she'd proposed bringing alcohol into the mix? Ashley was going to have to

be careful or she might end up doing something extremely stupid.

She spotted the bar she wanted, Deuces Wild, and reluctantly released his hand to head inside.

The second she stepped into the warm room filled with music and conversation, quite a few heads turned toward her. However, their gazes quickly moved over to Wes, many of them turning suspicious.

Glancing to Wes, she noticed he'd already put on the mandatory pin of a dragon with outstretched wings on the front of his jacket, the one he had to wear inside human establishments and meetings that weren't run by ADDA.

She hated the dragon outline in bright orange against the dark color of his blazer and wished she could toss it into the trash.

But hiding a dragon-shifter's true identity was against the law, and she didn't want to have Wes carted off to jail. Because even if he could manage to keep his eyes from flashing to hide his identity, the owner of the bar had a part-time dragon-shifter security guard, one who sat incognito in the corner, who would be able to tell.

She gestured with her head toward the bar. The reason she'd picked this place was because she knew the owner and most of the bartenders. After all, she'd been the one to convince Natasha to open her doors to dragon patrons and even get her part-time dragon security guard position approved.

And as luck had it, Natasha was behind the bar tonight. The woman with brown skin and black hair streaked with blue smiled at her before saying, "Given the fuck-me heels and dress, I don't think you're here on business tonight, are you, Ash?"

Natasha's eyes darted back to Wes again as Ashley resisted smoothing her skirt. If Wes had noticed the revealing black dress, he hadn't said a word. She replied, "No business tonight, but it's not what you think, either, Tasha." She gestured toward Wes. "I won him in the dragon orphan auction and came here for a few hours of fun."

Natasha studied Wes and smiled slowly. The action made Ashley grip her purse tighter to keep her arms in place. Otherwise, she might try to thread an arm through the dragonman's to signal Wes was off-limits.

Even though that wasn't technically true.

The bar owner said, "Welcome, dragonman. As long as you don't break the rules, we'll get along great. What'll you guys have?"

Wes looked over at Ashley. "What are you drinking?"

If Ashley were playing it safe, she'd go for a light beer. But screw that, tonight was special. So she said, "Long Island iced tea, extra strong."

Natasha snorted. "Careful, as my extra strong can make even linebackers wobble on their feet."

Ashley shrugged. "For the next few days, I'm on vacation. So what the hell?" She glanced back at Wes. "You?"

"Whiskey, neat."

Yes, she could see him drinking whiskey when he was alone, sipping to help take the edge off his stressful job.