“So, you finally decided to come back from your honeymoon and rescue me from these turds, is that it?”

Ella’s eyes widened at Robbie’s words and she turned around to look at the dragons, who were circled around Dante, eagerly questioning him about his mate and their vacation together.

“It wasn’t so much a honeymoon,” Ella said. “It was more just us going out to my sister’s destination wedding that she wanted the whole time because Dante sort of…crashed hers.”

“I see,” Robbie said, eyes glinting. “And she was happy?”

“Yes,” Ella said. “Thanks to Dante’s untold riches she was able to have the wedding she always wanted. And Dante has promised me a honeymoon of our own a little later. Although, frolicking on white sand beaches with him wasn’t too bad.”

Robbie’s dark eyes twinkled as she raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, I suppose these guys do have their charms. Although there is a lot I don’t understand about them. Like why they are doing this when they seem to have plenty of money without it. And why they’re so…sexy. I swear, I haven’t seen even shifters this sexy.”

Ella bit her lip, wishing she could tell her friend the dragon’s secrets.

Ella had suggested Robbie for the job because of all her contacts, she was sure that fierce, confident, wolf-shifter Robbie was best to keep these guys in line.

But now they were all in a funny situation, because neither Robbie nor the dragons seemed to know about the other’s shifter status.

And it wasn’t Ella’s secret to tell. She’d found out about it when she and Robbie had been in college together, and she’d seen Robbie fighting a shift. She’d told Robbie it was fine, that she’d grown up in a town with shifters. The two women had been fast friends ever since.

Ella folded her arms and turned to look at the men with Robbie, from the edge of the room where they stood. “So, are they whipped into shape?”

Robbie shook her head. “Nowhere near as much as I’d like them to be. Adrien has been much easier to deal with than I thought. In fact, I think we’re kindred spirits. It’s Citrine I’m having a hard time with.”

Ella had to fight the urge to laugh. “Citrine?” she asked disbelievingly. “You’re having trouble with Citrine?”

“Yes,” Robbie said. “Weird name and all.”

“That’s odd,” Ella said. “When I met him he was the nicest.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like that I put him to work on the floor. But with Dante gone, the men needed someone to guide them. Now that Adrian is a little more polished, and we have no more open houses and much better guidelines for guest behavior, we don’t need him as much.”

“And yet, he’s still there,” Ella said.

“And why shouldn’t he be?” Robbie asked. “It’s just more revenue and a better rep for the company having him on the floor as an option. He’s not really open for being hired though. He told me he gets to pick his clients.”

“Interesting,” Ella said, looking over at him, leaning back with a calm yet repressed expression as he looked up at Dante. He’d gotten a haircut, and his dark hair now framed his face a little better and fell to just mid neck, rather than brushing his shoulders and falling over his back.

His golden eyes, almost orange and a much warmer color than Dante’s, were focused and vaguely irritated.

Dressed in a black suit that matched his dark hair, she had to admit he looked rather exotic and was a good addition to the group.

Even if he looked like he’d rather jump out the back windows than be here.

She stifled a giggle as Dante made an absurd pose and the other dragons glared at him.

“So now that I’ve set the standard, the rest of you should just try not to disappoint yourselves in falling too far below me.”

“Wow, what an ass,” Robbie said. “Sorry.”

Ella just grinned as Dante looked over his shoulder and winked at her. She liked that side of his personality, the over-blown ego that seemed to get his friends all stirred up and yet comfortable at the same time.

She knew the real Dante, the one that came out with her when they were alone, who was much more sensitive, much more complicated than anyone could know.

And she was fine with keeping that Dante to herself.

Citrine stared over at her and cocked his head before gesturing to himself with a wry smile and nodding at Robbie as if to accuse her of creating his current situation.

Ella just smiled. “You look good, Citrine,” she called out. Dante glared for a moment, and she laughed. “Dante, of course I like you the best.”

Her mate puffed up again and Adrian peeked around him to look at her. “Why don’t you come over here and justify why you deserve Dante?”

He earned a hard slap up the side of the head from Dante at that, and Sever and Citrine both laughed.

“I told you all, stop with the physical violence!” Robbie yelled at them, shaking her pen in warning as if it was a lethal weapon. “Women do not find it attractive, despite what you may think.”

There was grumbling all around as Robbie shook her head.

But looking over at Dante as he pulled Adrian out of his chair and threatened him, and Adrian smirked and laughed in his face, and Sever got between them and broke it up, Ella had to laugh.

The three of them began to laugh as well, punching each other on the shoulders and going back to talking as if nothing had happened.

Ella still had a lot to learn about Dante and his world and the other dragons, but it was something she was very much looking forward to.

That, and building a life somewhere, whether it was here or up in the mountains where they’d fallen in love.

“Come join us!” Adrian called out. “We don’t bite. Well, not unless you’re naughty.”

Robbie’s right eye twitched as if she was totally out of patience. “These weirdoes…”

Ella laughed, touching her friend’s shoulder to calm her down. “It’s all right,” she said. “Let’s just go talk and have fun. It’s past work hours.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Robbie said, checking her watch.

“If you get to know them outside work, who knows, you might like them.”

Robbie’s eyes darted to Citrine. “I doubt it.” But she didn’t sound sure.

Ella’s eyes were on Dante, as she led the way over to him and snuggled under his arm, raised just for her. His rock-solid side was warm and comforting, his arm around her like a shield.

She sighed happily.

“That doesn’t look too bad,” Robbie said. “Now if only we had more like him.”

“You do,” Dante said, pointing at the others. “You just have to find the right women to bring it out in them. Like I found mine.”

“Ew,” Adrian said. “Get a room.”

“Speaking of rooms,” Dante said. “I’ll be moving out of the penthouse.”

“To where?” Sever asked, cocking his head.

“Another penthouse,” Dante said, tightening his arm around her and grinning down at her mischievously. “I need privacy for all the things I’m going to do to my mate.”

She flushed and elbowed him in the side as the others laughed, and Robbie shook her head.

“I told you, weirdoes.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ella said, looking up into Dante’s eyes as his faced flushed with pleasure at her words.

She leaned up on her toes to kiss him and he came down to meet her as the room went quiet around them. But she didn’t care, throwing her arms around her dragon and kissing him like nothing else mattered.

Wolf whistles sounded from the dragons around her, but she ignored that as well. She wasn’t worried about any shenanigans that arose from helping Dante find his friends mates. As long as she had him around, she felt she could do anything.

He was the dragon, but with him by her side, it somehow felt like she was the one who had wings.

* * *

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this first book in the Date-A-Dragon series! If you enjoyed Dante and Ella’s story, I hope you’ll leave a review to help other readers find it. I really appreciate all your support.

Thanks again so much, and make sure you are signed up for my newsletter here so you can be first to hear about the next dragon’s shenanigans:

Sincerely,

Terry

Have you read my other dragons?

If you’ve read the other metal dragons, have you read my Awakened Dragons boxed set? The complete series starring the gemstone dragons, the precursor to the metal dragons:

The other metal dragons are here:

And if you’ve read all of those, I have my very first dragons, my Dragons of New York, here. BEWARE! These dragons share a mate between each pair of them, and these books have sexy menage. My only menage series.

If you’re not in the mood for dragons (gasp) or you’ve read all my dragons, I have a new bear boxed set on sale too here, plus a sample on the next page: