Chapter Seven

Ashrac

TAKING TIME OUT to make the female happy ruined my schedule. She’s a strange one with her ridiculous glasses and choice of clothing. Her lack of fear impresses me, though. Is she mate material? I don’t know. I’ll see how she cooks and if she can manage to stay out of my way for the next few days while I work.

I’m in the process of creating a circuit on a new mini board I hope will stand up to the electromagnetic bursts that keep the dragon realms from complex machinery, when she walks in. She’s in the same dumpy clothes as earlier with her hair in that ridiculous bun that must hurt her head. And of course the glasses. She might actually be semi-passable without them. The glass is so dense it makes her eyes look like an owl’s and not in an attractive way. There are also food stains on the front of her shirt, which are unappetizing. She’s not very good at being female.

My mind flashes to Jewel, Tahr and Pepper’s daughter. Now there’s a woman. Too bad she’s not kidnappable or she’d be in my castle right now. Jewel knows how to attract male attention. Her mother is beyond distraught. Oh we—

The female interrupts my thoughts. “His highness’ meal is served in the dining room,” she states with sass.

The pinched look around her mouth is gone. “I’ll eat here in the lab. Go fetch.”

Oops. I think I see steam, or at least her face is red enough to produce steam. Before I turn around, her nose pinches up again and she sniffs. I ignore her and go back to work. She can be mad at my back. It cares as much as the front of me.

I’m sure she hears my growling belly from where she stands and I don’t care. Work before food. I don’t have time for niceties or a bath at the moment.

“Your lunch is downstairs, and if you think I’m climbing the stairs again to bring it to you, you’re out of your filthy dragon-breathing mind.” With that, she turns on her heels and marches from the room.

“Humph.” I shrug and go back to work. It’s more than an hour before I lift my head after a long insistent growl from my stomach. “Damn,” I mutter and decide to go to the dining hall and eat, which is a real pain in my ass. Maybe I need to put the rules in writing for her. I understand people learn in different ways and maybe she needs a visual. I don’t think she’s the smartest female I’ve met. Far from it.

I enter the empty dining hall and look around. A plate of food rests on the table with a full table setting. I roll my eyes because it’s completely unnecessary. I walk over, pick up the bowl of soup, and spill part of it down my throat. Fire flairs in my chest. No, not just fire, red-hot pleasure and I’m delighted. There must be a ton of hot peppers in the soup. The woman has passed the kitchen test. That still doesn’t mean she’s good mate material, but at least she isn’t a total failure.

I slurp the last of the soup down, grab a handful of crackers, and walk out without touching the vegetables. I run into the woman in the hall before I hit the lab. She appears nervous and I have no idea why. She finally looks up when I quietly say, “Good food.”

“Good?” she questions in obvious consternation.

“Good heat level. Only my mom’s cooking is better.”

“You like it hot?”

“Yes. I’m a dragon, of course I like it hot,” I answer impatiently because I need to return to the lab.

“But, umm, I poured two cups of hot peppers in yours.”

I nod. “Maybe add a third next time and it will be as good as Mom’s.” I walk away, leaving her with her hands on her hips in her food-stained shirt looking perplexed. At the door, I glance back over my shoulder. “I desire a bath after tonight’s dinner. See to it.” I don’t wait to hear her acknowledgement. I’m beginning to think this might work. If her domestic skills continue to shine she might be worth keeping.

When I reach the lab, I go back to my current project. I’m standing over the pieces of an iPhone when the image of Flora pops into my head. I don’t understand why this happens, because it’s not like she’s beautiful or has a great body. Hmm.

I find her interesting.

In my college years I attended university in Earth’s realm. There were beautiful women everywhere, but none really caught my eye. I dated and even slept with quite a few. The interest waned almost immediately and I moved on. Since college, I’ve buried myself in my lab and come out only when I can’t take the same four walls anymore. That’s when I go on scavenger trips to find the items I need for experimentation.

What are her eyes like behind those glasses?

The screwdriver I’m using slips and the tiny screw falls to the floor. “Shit, damn,” I say and I start searching. It doesn’t help my mood when I lift my head and it hits the side of the counter. “Damn, shit,” I mutter this time. I’m still screwless; the damn thing is lost.

She must have some type of figure under the ill-fitting clothes. She must.