Rhuron's Bride (Crystal Glass Dragons 1)

He pressed on, “This isn’t your life anymore, let’s enjoy this afternoon.” I was flustered, unsure how to breach the topic of me possibly not staying with him. He was beyond attractive, and sure I wanted to help, but I couldn’t just ditch my life. I had a job, an apartment — things that a person couldn’t just drop and leave.

I thought about the potted rose he brought back to me, and my guarded expression relaxed slightly.

He was really trying. I could see growth.

Maybe if I just gave it more time, I could figure out what this was. There was no denying that my body wanted him, and the more time we spent together, the more I realized my mind wanted him too. Besides the manner in which we met, he’d been patient, sweet almost. He’d even offered me access to the plants of the kingdom, something so thoughtful it had taken me off guard.

“What about Tierner?”

“I’ll have the driver go pick him up and show him around town,” Rhuron voiced. “The best way to get used to these people is to be among them, right?”

“Right.” I smiled awkwardly.

Hopefully, Marie would forgive me eventually for missing shifts while I was off ‘sick’.

“There’s a bar my boss told me about, it’s part of a hotel.” I suggested. Within minutes we were there, and I was acutely aware of how many eyes were on Rhuron.

He’s hot!

I knew he was hot — he wasbeyondattractive. That wasn’t exactly something I could ignore, but having it confirmed by every woman in the bar was a little humiliating. The woman behind the bar, slightly younger than me, looked more than interested. I felt jealous.

That didn’t make any sense, did it?

Why should I be jealous?

The feeling was there, though, like a vice-grip on my mind compelling me to take his hand or do something else to mark him as my territory.

Ridiculous.

My cheeks felt hot from embarrassment as we slid into stools at the bar.

“What kind of alcohol do you drink?” I asked curiously.

“Mostly mead,” he nodded. “I don’t see it on this menu…”

“That’s because it’s usually only served at ren fairs.” I laughed as the bartender approached for our orders. “How about a fruity cider, then?” I tried to remember what mead tasted like from the one time I’d ever had it. Thick and sweet, almost like beer but not quite. The bartender took down his order unphased by how strange he was acting. “And a vodka and sprite for me,” I said, folding away the menu. She set to work making our drinks, and I tried to relax.

“So, after this, people are considered mates?” he asked. He lowered his voice to be discreet, but all it did was deepen, making my heart beat a little faster.

“Um, well no, usually people have to have a couple meals together,” I said quickly.

She handed us our drinks, and then turned to help another customer.

“She’s not a shifterorhuman,” he murmured.

I leaned forward, trying to keep my voice low. “She’s a witch.”

“How can you tell?” He frowned.

“The tattoos.” I discreetly pointed to her arm. He nodded and watched her with me.

“Why isn’t she in medicine? he asked, picking up his cider. “All of our witches are.” I patted his arm, trying to make him quiet down a little. I didn’t want to offend any nearby witches.

“People don’t just follow careers based on their magical abilities out here,” I whispered. He frowned, and then nodded like he understood, placing his glass gently back on the table. I hadn’t considered that there could be any people besides dragon shifters in the kingdom. I wondered what other kinds of people there were.

“We’ve had more than a couple meals together,” he countered what I said earlier.

“What?”