Wes waved her on. "After you."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how to handle you being nice to me. Keep it up, and I'll have to work extra hard to provoke you until I bring out the man I want to spend the evening with."
Ashley wanted him to argue and trade barbs?
As she walked ahead of him, he quickly pushed that thought aside and took the opportunity to study her ass and hips while no one else was around.
His dragon blasted a thought about taking her from behind, but Wes ignored it. He had to keep some boundaries.
So he fell back on words. "So now you'd rather I be a bastard and start an argument?"
She glanced over her shoulder, and a tendril of hair came loose from her updo, lightly caressing the bare skin of her shoulder. Damn, he wondered which was softer—her hair or her skin.
Raising her brows, Ashley replied, "I've called you a bastard before, but in reality, you aren't one, Wes. Just be yourself and don't dare walk on eggshells around me now, of all times."
He grunted, unsure of how to take the compliment. "You're a strong female who can handle her own. I won't fucking treat you like a porcelain doll."
She smiled, but quickly turned away from him to reach for the theater exit door. The sudden loss of her gaze made him want to reach out, turn her around, and lose himself in her eyes again.
He resisted a sigh. Yes, it was going to be a really long fucking night.
Once Ashley opened the door, sounds from the main casino floor filled the air—old-fashioned slot machines clicking, various game-like spinning sounds, and even a few winner bells.
Add in the chatter and music blasting from some corner in the building, and he wanted to cover his ears against the racket.
The bombardment reminded Wes why he stayed away from Reno. Dragon-shifters had supersensitive senses, and there was too much fucking noise.
Ashley stopped just outside the door and faced him. Despite all the human, food, and various other smells he didn't want to think about, hers surrounded him, her female musk making his cock hard.
Thank fuck his blazer covered it up.
She spoke quietly, knowing he'd hear it despite the noise. "How about we forget clan and ADDA politics for the night? Pretend we're on a first date."
Even though his dragon screamed yes, Wes asked, "Is that wise?"
She rolled her eyes. "Then what should it be? Act as if we're two guys out on the town? That may be a little hard as I refuse to be a wingman for you to pick up some human chick to bang."
He swore there was jealousy threaded into her voice, but he didn't dare hope. "Being clan leader takes up all of my free time. As soon as my evening with you is up, I'll be heading straight back to PineRock. I have no desire to go looking for a female. They're huge wastes of time."
Wes nearly winced. In his past experiences, when females only wanted a night with him because he was clan leader, they had been disappointments, yes. But he shouldn't have said that to Ashley. He actually looked forward to spending time with her.
"Well, isn't that nice," she drawled. "Females are a waste of time. You aren't very good with words when you talk about anything but clan politics, are you?"
His beast piped up. You're screwing this up.
You think I don't know that? Even though it shouldn't matter.
Ashley placed a hand on his arm, and despite the shirt and blazer, her touch seared his skin.
And for a few seconds, they stared at each other again, everything else fading away until all he heard was her breaths and her heart beating.
What he wouldn't give to kiss her, just once, and see if she lived up to his fantasies.
But since kissing her on the lips would set off a mate-claim frenzy—a nonstop sex marathon that lasted until she was pregnant—not even a playful kiss could be on the table.
Wes finally took a step back, dislodging her grip on his arm. The action snapped him back to the present. "Just tell me where you want to go, and I'll try to be fun."
Ashley rolled her eyes. "Fine, Mr. Stick-to-a-Plan. There's a bar nearby, one that allows dragon-shifters."