Lindy sighed as she shut down the accounting software she was using and turned off the computer in her office, locking the door behind her as she went into the main garage. Between nearly being crushed by a broken shelf and having the thought of the wall of muscles that was her newest employee stuck in the back of her brain, it had been a pretty exciting day.

She went up to Mike and got an update on his work, asking about his wife and their new baby, before looking for Magnus. But the tire patching job and oil changes he’d been working on only a half hour ago were finished, according to Mike.

So where was the Rent-A-Dragon?

On a hunch, she went into the back garage. Maybe he was piddling around with something back there or reorganizing the shelves.

But as she came through the doorway, she saw the hood of the old, rare car open, with Magnus hunched under it, looking at something intently.

“What are you doing!” Lindy rushed over to the other side, heart racing at the possibility that Magnus had wrecked her one shot of not being poor forever.

Instantly, Magnus stood upright, bumping his head on the edge of the popped hood, then turning to face her, cool as a cucumber.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, oil stains on his hands. Under the hood, it appeared as though he’d just been replacing a few of the old rubber hoses, which had long ago worn out.

Nothing broken. Thank heavens.

“What’s wrong? You’re not supposed to be in here,” she said emphatically, though the longer she looked into his light-green eyes, the harder it became to hold on to her anger.

“I finished the other work you gave me, and Tommy didn’t want me helping him, so I figured I’d make myself useful,” he said, crossing his arms, making the muscles in his forearms and biceps bulge. Just a wall of muscle.

If it had been anyone else, she would have flown off the handle, just like her dad. But Magnus was a lethal combination of capable and hot. And that cocky grin he had as he looked down at her, that powerful jaw peppered with five-o’clock shadow that she wanted to run a hand over just to experience what it felt like.

Magnus’s grin widened a little, and she turned away to hide her embarrassment.

The fact of the matter was she was paying Magnus a lot less than her full-time employees, and he was already doing twice the work they did in a day. So hot or not, Magnus was pretty amazing.

“At any rate, don’t do that again,” she muttered. “It’s my project. It needs to be worked on by someone who knows the car and can do it justice.”

Magnus closed the hood gingerly, then pulled the tarp over it, and Lindy tried not to imagine his muscles as she heard shuffling.

“It is just a car, you know. All cars work pretty much the same once you look closely enough,” Magnus said, sidling up beside her. She could practically feel the warmth emanating from him.

“It’s more than a car. It’s my future.”

It’s my hope.

She’d started to walk for the door when Magnus came in front of her, surprisingly quick for a man of his size.

“If that’s the case, I apologize. Let me make it up to you.”

He practically filled the doorway, and it was a wonder he didn’t knock his head on the doorframe he was so shockingly tall.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“How about we go get dinner? I know a place that’s perfect.”

“What about the others? I need to make sure they’re on track,” she replied, feeling her resolve weaken beneath his gaze.

“Those guys are both in the middle of their work. They won’t be done anytime soon. And I’m sure they’d both jump at the opportunity to get home early,” Magnus said, not backing away even an inch. “And besides, I haven’t seen you eat anything all day. You must be starving,” he added, raising an eyebrow.

Lindy’s stomach growled lightly in response, and though she tried to keep any reaction from him, his mouth cocked to the side in the slightest grin, as if to say, You’re not hiding anything.

Oh well. It couldn’t hurt, given that the alternative would be eating leftovers at home while Perky, her overactive Pekinese, took his evening siesta after barking at passing cars all day.

“Okay, but this is just me getting to know my employee-slash-coworker, right? Don’t go getting any ideas.”

Magnus just nodded and moved to let her through the door, following close behind her, and she told Mike and Tommy they could clean up and head out for the day. And as she locked up the place, she felt a tiny thrill go through her at the thought of going out with Magnus.

It wasn’t a date. It was just a work thing.

Right?

* * *

Magnus knew exactly where he wanted to take Lindy on their first “date.” Even if she saw it as just going out to eat with an employee, he saw it as so much more.

Their first chance to be truly alone, a chance for her to get to know him and maybe let him in just a little.

He’d never thought his mate would be so standoffish. Maybe he just had to get her away from work to get her to open up.

He opened the door to the tavern-style eatery that reminded him somewhat of rustic bars from his time, with its old-world decor, sailing paraphernalia, and real wood furnishings.

He liked to eat in the basement, where things got raucous, but with a woman on his arm, he supposed it would be better to take a table upstairs.

She sighed in relief as they stepped into the tavern, and he looked at her curiously.

“I was worried it would be somewhere fancy,” she said, fiddling with her casual button-up shirt. “I wouldn’t want to be out of place. Plus, I can’t afford anything nice, so—”

He gave her a sardonic glance. “What makes you think I would let you pay?”

She grimaced. “What makes you think I would let you pay?”

He ushered her to a booth where a waiter was setting down menus for them and sat across from her, despite his temptation to sit on the same side. “Fine, then. I’ll order my food, and you can order yours.”

“Fine,” she said, tight-lipped. She’d taken off her hat in the car, and her pretty blond hair was still in a ponytail. Her face was clean of smudges, and her gorgeous features were more obvious. Her stubborn little chin, small but full mouth, and soft, naturally flushed cheeks all made him want to look at her forever.

He couldn’t have designed a better mate.

When the waiter came, she nervously ordered a water and the smallest thing on the menu. A salad.

That wouldn’t do. Whether it was because she was watching her weight or her budget, he didn’t like her denying herself anyway, and he intended to see that she didn’t.

So he ordered nearly everything on the small menu, a wide grin on his face. The waiter seemed surprised but folded up the menus and left.

Magnus turned back to Lindy, who was gaping at him. “What the hell was that for?” she asked. “Are you that hungry?”

“Maybe,” he said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

“This better not be some kind of backhanded way of buying food for me,” she muttered.

“And if it was?” he asked, leaning forward to look in her cautious blue eyes. “What’s wrong with trying to take care of you? What’s wrong with me changing your tire?”

She gave him a guilty look, and he realized she did remember him from that night, even if she hadn’t said so. “Thanks again for that.”

He felt somewhat pleased that his mate remembered him but unsure why she would try to hide it.

“Why do you hate it so much when people help you?” he asked.

She shrugged, avoiding his gaze as she drank the water the waiter had set in front of her.

Magnus sighed, wondering how long his mate would stay a locked vault. Would alcohol help? He noticed her glancing wistfully at the bar and decided maybe a stiff drink was just what was needed.

“Excuse me. Back in a minute,” he said, standing and walking around the row of booths to the bartender. He didn’t know exactly what was good, not being much of a drinker himself, so he ordered a few different things, made a convincing excuse about not needing an ID (another reason he liked this somewhat shifty tavern; they seemed lax about rules) and carried the tray of drinks back to their table.

As he turned the corner, he saw a group of men right in front of the booth where his mate was sitting and let out a low growl.

He stormed up to the booth and set the tray down on the table, then positioned himself between the men and Lindy.

He folded his arms. “She’s taken.”

One of the men snorted. “As if we care.”

“Then get out of here,” Magnus said, surprised by the menace in his voice. He was generally a protective sort, but seeing other men around his mate took things to another level. “Now.”

“I got this, Magnus,” Lindy said, scooting to the edge of the booth and glaring at the men. “It takes three of you assholes to pick on one woman? Lame.”

Magnus bit back a grin as the men narrowed their eyes. He stepped forward, pushing them back before they could get any ideas. His mate was a feisty one, and he liked that, but she didn’t have much in the way of self-preservation, and that wasn’t a good thing.

“Whatever,” the guys said. “Not worth it.”

“We’ll get her later,” another said, making Magnus’s ears perk up. Later? What the hell was that about?

He waited until they walked out the front door, rudely slamming it behind them, and then sat across from her. It didn’t really matter what they said about later, because he was always going to be with her from now on.

With a dragon by her side, they didn’t stand a chance.

She was moping, resting her cheek in her hand as she stared at the tray of drinks.

He pushed it toward her. “I didn’t know what you’d like.”

She sighed. “Nothing.”

“Come on,” he said. “Don’t be rude. Let me at least buy you a drink. Or three.”

Her eyes widened. “Aren’t these for you?”

“I don’t drink,” he said.

“So you’re trying to get me drunk? That’s creepy.”

He cocked his head, letting his hair fall to the side. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. Does it make you more comfortable if I do?”

She nodded, so he grabbed a drink, tossed it back, and smiled at her. It was fairly impossible to get a dragon drunk, especially with modern liquor.

She grabbed a drink of her own and sipped it hesitantly, staring at him over it with suspicious eyes.

Somehow, everything his mate did was utterly adorable. Perhaps it was her smallness and chubbiness. Or the way she was so defensive, like a porcupine curling up with its spines out.

Regardless, he wanted to see the softness she was keeping inside.

When she finished her drink, he quietly pushed over a new one, and she drank it, much less hesitant now.

When she’d finished the second drink, she seemed much more relaxed and sank back in the booth with a sigh. She was a lightweight and already seemed slightly buzzed, probably because she didn’t drink very often.

“Thanks,” she said. “I know I can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“You aren’t a bitch,” he retorted, the word sounding ugly in his mouth. “A bit overly independent at times, but that’s all.”

She waved a hand. “I wasn’t always like this. Before my dad died, I was his princess. I loved working in his shop, making friends with the guys there. Everyone liked me more before I was the boss.”

“I’m sorry about your father,” he said. Dragons in his time left their families early to form crews with other dragons and get out and see the world, but he’d seen how close humans generally were to their family units, and he felt bad that something had happened to Lindy’s.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Shit happens. I just… yeah. I used to depend on someone a lot. And then I realized what a mistake that was, because eventually you end up alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“After my dad, there was a guy,” she said. “Someone who’d worked at the shop. I guess I was just out of it. He wanted to take care of me, and I was feeling really alone. My parents divorced when I was really young, and my dad was all I had. Anyway, this guy acted like he was going to make everything all right at a time I was feeling lonely.”

“Did he?” Magnus asked, already knowing the answer and wanting to know the bastard’s name so he could track him down and rid the world of him.

“No,” she said sullenly. “It was my fault, getting carried away and thinking he could really be interested in taking care of someone like me. What he really wanted was control of my dad’s business. I was overwhelmed with it anyway, and…”

“And?”

She flushed, looking as if it were painful to remember it. “He nearly ran the company into the ground. I didn’t notice until I went to withdraw from the company account that he’d been embezzling.” She shook her head. “At first, I thought it was a mistake. No one would do that, right? Not to the woman he was dating or the place he’d worked at for years. But he did.” She sighed. “I guess I look really stupid.”

Magnus was beginning to realize some humans could be more monstrous than shifters. “No. Not stupid. Trusting. I hate that he took that away from you.”

She gave him an embarrassed smile, one that melted his heart so it puddled down around his toes. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. You’re an employee. No, not even an employee. Just someone working temporarily for me.”

“A friend,” he said. “Come on. I met you before you hired me. You could just call me a friend.”

The food came, and she stared as the waiter had to crowd the entire table with the wide variety of dishes. Magnus pulled one toward him. “I love the fish and chips here, so I ordered two of those in case you want to try it.” He took a bite and grinned. “I highly recommend it.”

She blinked, looking tempted by the food but trying to avoid it. “You’re going to be so bad for me, aren’t you?”

He shook his head, pushing several of the plates toward her. “I don’t get it with you people in the modern world.”

“Modern world?” she asked, tilting her head. “Don’t you mean regular world?” She began to grab things and put them on her plate, which relieved him because it meant she wasn’t too focused on his slip.

“I just mean you—I mean we have so many conveniences, yet you try not to avail yourself of them. This food is extremely delicious, and I’ve already paid for it, and I see no reason for you to hold back.”

“I’m always holding back,” she said, picking up an onion ring and slipping it into her mouth, chewing slowly and closing her eyes. “If I’m not holding back, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

He pushed the last drink toward her, liking how alcohol made her a little more honest. He wasn’t worried about her getting out of control, because he was here to protect her.

And besides, she seemed to like drinks.

She took it and put it down eagerly and went back to eating. She was cute when she was relaxed and gave him a soft smile. “You’re right. This is nice. You know, after Ed ripped me off, I just acknowledged I was going to be alone. I just focused on rebuilding trust with the other employees.” She sighed. “But that wasn’t easy either. I feel like no one trusts me to do things, even though I worked alongside my dad all my life, except the years I was in technical school.”

“I think you’re very good at what you do,” he said. “I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t.”

She shrugged. “Sometimes it feels like people think I only run it because of my dad, not because I’m qualified. Sometimes I think the same thing. And honestly, with things like this…” She gestured in the direction of the door where the men had gone out. “I feel overwhelmed sometimes. But I can’t show it or it just looks like weakness.” She put her head in her hands. “I can’t afford to look weak.”

He reached out and raised her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You aren’t weak. It isn’t weak to let people help you. Tell me more about those guys.”

She pulled away from his hold, flushing. “They’re from the biggest rival auto shop in town. The funny thing is, though, they were never that bad before. Lately, I get the feeling they’re getting more aggressive. They come to work and try to cause trouble or, like you just saw, follow me around.”

Now that she mentioned it, they had to have someone watching her to know where she’d gone after work.

He didn’t like that thought at all.

“What do you mean they’re worse? What did they do before?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. Trying to steal clients, trying to offer to buy me out when I didn’t want to sell. But they weren’t this… physically aggressive. Sometimes I worry they’re going to vandalize the shop.”

That was his last concern compared to her safety, but he just listened.

“And the shop is all I have. Even though it’s not doing well, it’s all that’s left of my life with my dad. And all I know how to do. And it’s mortgaged to the hilt. And now that I’ve hired you, if things don’t start to look up, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She put her head in her hands again, and he got up and slid into the booth with her, putting an arm around her.

It wasn’t about her being his mate anymore. It was just about empathizing with this good human woman. Seeing that she needed comfort. That meeting her own needs was more complicated than he ever could have thought.

As she cuddled in against him, seeming grateful for his strength, he felt warmth flood through him. Helping her with her problems made the anxiety in him, the guilt of the past, fade away.

If only he could do this forever.

But she sat up, looking embarrassed. “Thanks for listening. I don’t know what got into me. I’m usually so closed up. Especially with hot guys, and—”

“Hot guys?” he asked, amused as he pushed her another plate of tasty fried foods and took a long moment to glance at her luscious, curvy figure.

“You know what you look like,” she said. “I’m not going to feed your ego. You’re way out of my league.”

He leaned back in the booth, a laconic smile on his face. “Or maybe I’m just another one of those things you could have, but you’re denying yourself.”

She stopped chewing and stared at him, an adorable, embarrassed flush reddening her face. Then she shook her head and looked away. “Stop teasing me.”

“I’m not,” he said, leaning into her and tilting her small chin with one finger. Her feminine little face looked up at him, shocked. He leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the side of her mouth, lightly licking away a crumb on her bottom lip.

Then he sat back, just to enjoy the little shudder of pleasure she made as she looked up at him. She squirmed slightly, and he laughed, getting up and going back to his side of his booth before he could be more tempted.

He hadn’t been able to resist taking a tiny taste of his mate, but she was quite drunk, and despite the fact that she now looked quite hungry for him, he wasn’t going to take any more.

With a cute, reluctant sigh, she focused back on her food, and he picked at his, watching her.

He noticed her sneaking looks at him and wondered how much of this she was going to remember tomorrow.