For a moment, Adrien wondered if she had even heard him, given the blank look on her face.

Then she shook her head. “No. Too dangerous. Nothing good would come of it.”

“You getting what is yours would come from it. And we will also go set you up with a bank account.”

“They check your credit,” she said, a pained expression on her face. “I doubt I have any now, especially since I closed my last account. I was young, though.”

He knew how complicated banks could be. In fact, due to the way he and the other precious metal dragons had been barely surviving in the modern world before the other dragons had found them, he understood many things more than she would ever guess.

He’d been as good as homeless, hiding out in a wreck with his friends as they tried to figure out survival in a world where you couldn’t just trade in raw metals without drawing suspicion.

You had to trade metals for paper money, and you needed to use that paper money to pay for goods, but it all ended with one carrying a bunch of coins and garbage unless you put the cash in a bank and then used a little card with the money on it.

It was much easier. Now that Kelsey’s money troubles were over, he was sure she would appreciate the convenience. Plus, it would be fun to help walk someone through the same things he’d been helped with.

“You’ll see,” he said. “It’ll be fine. I was late figuring out banks, too.”

“Really?” she asked. “I thought you would have always been fine with them, given that you seem like you’ve always had money.”

“I’ve had some rough spots. At one point, I had to start all the way over. I had practically nothing,” he said. “Except for a few friends and a roof over my head, which made all the difference. So yes, I’m not judging how bad things have been for you. I just want to help them get better.

“But why?” she asked, exasperated, as the waiter came with their drinks. Scotch for him and some kind of fruity cocktail for her.

“What is that?” he asked. “Is it even alcohol?”

She nodded, pushing the glass to him. “You want a sip?”

He wondered for a moment about how easily she would share something as intimate as a glass with him, but as they’d already kissed, he supposed it was pointless to worry about it.

He took a sip and then passed it back. “That is delicious.”

“Do you want one?” she asked.

He eyed his scotch. “Yes. I think I do.” The next time the waiter came by, he ordered one. Then he turned back to their previous conversation. “So. Where is this restaurant and this Bernard? Or would you prefer to just break into your apartment and get your money?”

“I’m sure he’s found it by now,” she said sadly. “Besides, it’s fine. I can earn more now. I couldn’t put you in that situation. It’s a very rough group, and you’ve already been hurt once for me. I couldn’t let it happen again.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You saw that I am capable of handling myself with ruffians. I can be even more careful this time, since I know what I’m going into.” He rubbed the ring on his finger gingerly. “We can go after dinner.”

“Are you sure?” she said. “Won’t it ruin the night?”

He shook his head. “Seeing justice done can never ruin my night.”

“You just have very strong principles, don’t you?” she asked. “The others think you’re snobby and selfish, but actually, you just have very strong rules you adhere to, and you get angry when people go against them.”

He nodded, surprised at how well she’d nailed him when no one else saw past his walls. “I suppose.”

“So is it just that you’re trying to make things right for me because you think they’ve gone too wrong?”

He chuckled. “I think that’s giving me too much credit. I have principles, but I’m not that selfless. I’m doing things for you because I want you.”

She bit her lip. “Want me?”

He waved a hand. “Not only sexually. Not even primarily sexually. I want you permanently.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip. “Is that wrong to say? I feel that a man should state his intentions up front to avoid confusion later.”

She looked shocked. “I… don’t know. What do you mean, like marriage? You’ve only just met me. You barely know me.”

He sighed. “You’ve already understood me better than anyone I’ve met. Sometimes people just meet and it’s meant to be. We barely know each other, yet I helped you and you helped me. And when we kissed… you have to admit that was exceptional.”

She blushed a pretty pink over her lightly freckled cheeks. “I… suppose.”

“You suppose?” he asked.

She laughed and sipped her drink again. “Yes. It was nice.”

Nice. Just what every dragon wanted to hear about his lovemaking.

He needed a chance to show her more of what he could do, but he was determined not to scare her away by going too fast with it.

“Well,” she said. “I guess you’re right. We do get along. It just seems too good to be true. I don’t want another Bernard situation where I realize too late that there were strings.”

“That’s why I’m being open, and if you feel about me like you felt about Bernard, tell me now so I can stop humiliating myself and go back to being only your friend.”

She shook her head, her curls bouncing prettily. “No, I don’t feel the same about you and Bernard at all. But I do barely know you, and I’m going to be cautious until I do.”

“How could I make you less cautious?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I don’t know. You could tell me more about yourself.”

“Does it matter?” he asked. “There isn’t much to tell. I was born rich to a family who was distant, and now I’m not in touch with any of them. The dragons at Date-A-Dragon are my family now.”

She gaped. “Dragons?”

“Just what we call each other. An old inside joke from a time so long ago that it feels like another life.”

“School or something?” she asked.

“Or something,” he said. “Look, all you need to know is who I am now. I’m a man who works at Date-A-Dragon but has the money not to. I’m head over heels for you, and I’m going to find Bernard and get your money back, whether you want to come or not.”

She sighed. “I’ll come.”

“Fine,” he replied. Her coming made it easier to keep Bernard from denying everything, and Adrien could protect her from whatever might happen. Plus, it might be satisfying for her to see Bernard get his well-deserved beating.

“You’re really something,” she said, leaning on her palm and looking at him with soft, baffled eyes. So green they reminded him of fresh mountain grass.

“You’re the first person to say that like it isn’t a bad thing,” he joked, his eyes meeting hers for a moment. The heat that immediately flashed between them made him pull back, looking around for the waiter and their food.

When it did come, he enjoyed watching her lapse into silence, chewing her food with a level of enjoyment he envied. He didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed anything the way she savored the steak she’d ordered.

She finished chewing her last bite and swallowed, her expression effervescent. “That was amazing. I’ve never eaten anything so amazing.”

He could remember huge feasts being prepared in his past life, served in his castle. Some of the biggest delicacies, yet no meal had ever been nearly as satisfying as this one with her, where he’d barely touched his food because he was too busy watching her and didn’t want to miss a thing.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked.

“I’m not that hungry,” he said shortly. “Would you like it?”

She nodded. “A little anyway. I’d like to try it.”

He grinned, pushing his plate toward her. He’d never been one for sharing, the first to swat Dante’s or Sever’s hand away if they reached for his lunch. But with her, he wanted to give everything freely.

She nibbled a bit and then patted her stomach. “Full,” she said. “That was amazing, though. Should we get a to-go container?”

He signaled for the waiter and asked for the check and a to-go box, kind of impressed with himself for how good he’d gotten at living in the modern world.

This was his first date, but he’d been out to restaurants with the other dragons lots of times. Now he was especially grateful he had.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked. “Sometimes it’s like you go away in your mind.”

He nodded. “I do that a lot. Sometimes it’s one of the things people mistake for snobbiness.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “Your expression gets really intense.”

“I know,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, though. I can be a total snob. But I like to think that I have been getting better at it lately.”

“You’re already better with me,” she said. “The first time you looked at me, it was like you thought I was garbage.”

“You’re going to laugh, but I thought you were a spy or a stalker,” he said.

“What?” she asked, following him out of the restaurant and rubbing her arms in the cool night air. He quickly took off his jacket and slid it over her shoulders, walking along the sidewalk to enjoy her company a bit longer.

“Well, with my experiences with women in the club, I wouldn’t have put it past them to be stalking me. So seeing one parked outside the door, I reacted defensively.”

“So it didn’t even occur to you that I could be homeless?”

“I’m ashamed to say it didn’t,” he said. “Until I watched you from the window and saw you go into the alley.”

“You watched me from upstairs?”

“How do you think I saw that you were in trouble?”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “You just appeared like an avenging angel, the first mercy I’d been shown in a long time, and I didn’t question it.”

“I’m glad I was there,” he said with a little shudder. “You won’t have to worry about that again now that I’m around. So should we go find Bernard?”

She shuddered. “I suppose so, though I hate to ruin such a wonderful night. Dinner was amazing.” She put her arm through his affectionately. “Company was pretty good, too.”

Why did he feel he’d won some prize anytime she even touched him, let alone complimented him? Was this just what having a mate meant?

“It’s still going to be an amazing night. More amazing because we’ll be righting a wrong and erasing a painful slight in your past.”

“I don’t really need it erased,” she said. “But fine. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“So,” he said, turning them around to head back to the car. “Just tell me where this restaurant is, and we’ll head over there.”

She hesitated, her eyes going to the restaurants across the road, and he raised his eyebrows in shock.

“Wait,” he said. “Is that why you hesitated when we came here? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She folded her arms and looked down. “I just… You had planned this, and since were on this side of the road and I’ve always wanted to try this restaurant—”

“Fair enough,” he said, rolling his shoulders back. “Should we go over and talk to the knave, then?” He cracked his neck back and forth. He was no longer wearing his bandage, had only kept it on for one day, and he didn’t feel any ill effects from his scuffle. “Which one is it?”

She sighed and pointed to a small burger place that he never would have guessed held anything amiss. “There.”

“Good,” he said. “Let’s go.”