Sever glanced at Dante as he sat languidly in a chair across from him.

Dante’s golden, aristocratic beauty was the opposite of Sever’s cold, gray appearance, his square features, his huge build. But then, Sever had been raised with warriors, whereas Dante had been raised with the aristocracy.

Dante used to have long hair, as most dragons did, but he’d cut it, and he and his mate seemed to prefer it that way.

Sever had kept his braid, and he was proud of his platinum-gray hair, shaved on the sides, pulled back and long on the top, and hitting almost mid-waist.

It meant there was at least part of him that still felt like a warrior.

“So you’re really going out to the butt crack of nowhere?” Dante asked. “For someone you haven’t even met?”

Sever nodded, patting the letters he’d been carrying in his breast pocket for some time now.

“But you don’t… I mean… It could be anyone? What if it’s a trap?”

“She needs me,” Sever said flatly. “It would be nice to be needed again.”

“We need you,” Dante insisted, but he didn’t sound convincing. Both Dante and Adrien were busy with their new mates, and their boss Citrine had left on a quest to get his mate and their former manager back. The club was still being repaired, so they weren’t holding interviews or hiring out as dates.

It was a good time for Sever to just disappear.

And something about these letters kept pulling him back. He couldn’t put it out of his mind from the first time he’d read them. Citrine hadn’t known what to make of it, and he’d said he didn’t really think he wanted to send a dragon far away with a client that couldn’t be bothered to show up for an interview.

But Citrine had been too stressed running the club to really pay attention to the small undercurrents of things the way Sever always did.

Sever felt something when he read this woman’s letter. He could sense her fear over something. And when she’d described her ranch, her land, the wide-open spaces and beautiful weather, he’d felt transported there.

Like it was where his heart wanted to go.

Which made it all the weirder, because his heart hadn’t been feeling much of anything lately.

Not since his quest for revenge had failed and he’d realized the woman he’d been avenging, whom he’d thought was his mate, had never existed at all.

Well, she’d existed, but not in the way he’d thought. And deep down, he knew the truth was too painful to even be contemplated.

An escape sounded like just the right thing.

Besides. Someone needed him. That was a powerful incentive to a dragon who’d felt alone too long. Yes, he’d had his team and other dragons around him, but he’d felt far from them. He’d grown up halfway with the coarse metal dragons and spent the second half of his life with the noble metal dragons, always straddling both worlds.

There was only one time it had felt things were working, and that was when he’d had Amelia.

But he hadn’t really had her, had he?

He ran a hand through his hair, making a few locks fall from his braid around his face. He needed to stop thinking about it. He needed to just forget.

He needed to feel needed again. He needed to stop seeing the pity in Dante’s and Adrien’s eyes. Yes, they’d all been tricked, but he’d been the most foolish, and he didn’t know how to forgive himself for that.

As a result, he’d just sort of shut down, settled for watching his friends find their mates and be happy.

The dragon that had been attacking them was captured, and they wouldn’t need Sever’s help watching their backs now, so there was no more reason to stick around.

He pulled out the letter again and unfolded it.

Dante darted forward and snatched it out of his hands. “Let me read it.”

Sever made a lame swipe at it to get it back, then sighed. “Fine.”

Dante scanned it, golden eyes narrowing as he read. Then he tossed it back on the desk. “Boring. I’m not sure why you’re so intrigued by it. We have all the wealth in the world, so you don’t need a free vacation on her ‘ranch.’ And she has a child, so that complicates things.”

“Why?” Sever asked, sitting back and folding his arms.

Dante pouted. “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s just because I have limited experience with children and don’t know what it’s like having one underfoot. Perhaps you are different?”

“Maybe,” Sever said. He didn’t mind children, and having one around would just make it that much easier for both him and the woman hiring him to remember to stay professional.

After all, he was going out to help her, maybe protect her, nothing more.

“Why do you think she wants to hire you?” Dante asked, leaning back on his chair again. “I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?”

“It just seems odd,” Dante said. “She doesn’t talk about any event, just that she needs a man’s presence around for unknown reasons. Doesn’t she know how odd that sounds?”

Sever supposed it did sound odd, but at the same time, he was going to follow his gut on this one.

He’d been wrong before, but he’d never been this sure. He was supposed to answer this letter. Something was out there waiting for him, maybe a new purpose in this world where everything was upside down and everything from his old life was gone.

He didn’t really hope to love or be loved again, but he did hope to be useful.

If there was something going on, some reason she needed a man’s protection, he was happy to provide it.

To escape Date-A-Dragon, his friends, his life, and his future. And most importantly, his past.

He stood, walking around the desk and passing Dante. Dante followed him as he walked outside the office.

Sever stopped, putting a hand on Dante’s shoulder. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me thus far. We’re friends, right?”

Dante nodded. “Always.”

“I need to make my own decisions on this one,” Sever said. “I’m sorry.”

“When are you leaving?” Dante asked.

“Today,” Sever said. “I just came in because Citrine said he’d booked the flights.”

“That’s right. You already informed him and the oracle that you were going.”

“Right,” Sever said.

Dante frowned. “I doubt he ever would have allowed it if not for the fact that he’s so intensely busy going after Robbie.”

Sever shrugged. “That could be it. But either way, I’m going.”

“All right,” Dante said, clapping Sever on the back. “Keep in touch.”

Sever nodded, stepping over the construction supplies in the hallway as he led Dante outside.

But despite Dante’s request to stay in contact, Sever didn’t think he really would.

After all, he was doing this to escape.

Dante and Adrien would be happy enough without him.

He needed to just disappear.

* * *

Lori was still getting used to the long, arduous walk out to the mailbox at the end of her dusty, unpaved drive. Flat, arid land with sparse trees and shrubs lay in all directions, and at the end of her drive was a dirt road leading into town.

As much of a town as Cate’s Creek was anyway.

But she’d been here for more than a month now, and she was adjusting. Plus, there were some definite benefits to her new life in the middle of nowhere, and weren’t writers supposed to have peace and quiet anyway?

She looked up as a mini dust devil swept its way across the road, dragging a small tumbleweed with it. It made her pause for a second, and then she continued on her path to the mailbox, which creaked as she opened it.

She was surprised to see an actual letter, not spam mail or fliers, and pulled it out with raised eyebrows. The address on the front was written in beautiful, navy-blue script, and the slight sheen of the envelope paper made it appear expensive.

With a little thrill, she knew who this might be from. Was it possible?

She tore into it, impatient to find out if her hunch was right. She unfolded the letter inside, made from matching high-end, slightly shimmery paper, and read eagerly.

Dear Lori,

I will be heading out to Cate’s Creek momentarily and wanted to take a moment to jot down a few words to make sure we have a similar purpose. I intend to help with whatever is needed and am looking forward to a nice break on your ranch. I am willing to act as a stand-in husband, but I hope we are on the same page that this is a strictly for show relationship and my actual services don’t extend beyond being your platonic friend. We can discuss more details when I arrive.

Sincerely,

Sever (Date-A-Dragon Employee)

Wow. She’d really done it. She’d hired a male escort from the only company she’d found on the internet that hired out long distance for good amounts of time and gotten him to come out for a free vacation rather than any form of payment.

She still couldn’t believe it.

The walk back to the old, log-cabin-style house she’d inherited, which was badly in need of repairs in some places, went faster due to her being in a daze as she contemplated the letter.

As she reached the wood steps to the substantial porch, the front door swung open.

Taylor Wilson, age twelve, with shaggy, shoulder-length blond hair and dark-blue eyes just like his father’s, grinned at her. “I made sandwiches.” His eyes caught the letter in her shaking hands. “What’s that?”

She sat at the table with him, looking at the slightly sloppy sandwiches, which were dripping jam and peanut butter down the sides. He’d really tried. She felt a bit guilty, knowing he was still trying a little too hard with her. After being shuttled around from house to house for so long, he was afraid of losing another home. But he didn’t need to worry.

She was never letting him go.

She picked up the sandwich and took a huge bite. “Mmm, good,” she said. “Awesome job, Taylor.”

He flushed, looking down, and then picked up his sandwich. There was a nice breeze, and the window in the kitchen was cracked, so they just sat there for a moment, enjoying it.

Finally, Lori knew she couldn’t wait any longer. “We’re going to have a visitor for a little while,” she said.

His eyes widened in alarm. “Why?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong? It isn’t Aunt Flora, is it?”

“No, no,” she said, fighting back a smile. She’d met Aunt Flora when she’d gone to pick up Taylor after she’d gotten notice she was now his legal guardian, and remembering the unpleasant woman’s sharp grimace, she could understand Taylor’s alarm. She put out a hand over his smaller one. “I told you I’m keeping you with me from now on.”

“Forever?”

“Forever,” she said.

“Why is someone coming? Aren’t we fine here, just us?”

“You know some of what has been happening,” she said. “I’ve tried to shield you from it, but you understand that the people coming out, the other stuff, it’s no accident. These aren’t simple pranks.”

He nodded. “I guess so.”

“So I asked one of my guy friends to come here and help me out. He’s going to pretend to be my husband.”

“Why?”

She felt a little guilty for lying to Taylor and saying Sever was her friend and not just a hired helper, but it was already a weird situation, and she didn’t want him worrying more than he had to.

For once in his life, the kid deserved at least the appearance of stability, and darn it, she was going to give it to him.

“Because the guys around here, and the people in town, they don’t respect a woman alone. They’re… harassing me, and I think they’d back off if they knew a man was around. It’s unfair, but that’s how things work sometimes.”

“I wish I could get them to back off,” Taylor said. “So who’s this guy?”

“You’ll like him,” she said.

“Will he like me?”

“How could anyone not like you?” she asked warmly, giving his hand a squeeze again. He pulled back from her, looking nervous about the situation despite her reassurances.

Maybe he was picking up on Lori’s nervousness despite her attempts to hide it.

“Anyway, we have to do something,” she said. “Otherwise, we can’t stay here.”

Taylor gave her a short glare, and she understood. This was the last thing he had of his dad’s, and he wanted to stay here. Too bad everything here seemed set against them.

Still, she’d never been one to run, and she wasn’t about to start now.

The sound of wheels rumbling over the dusty, uneven road in the distance made them both look up. Taylor got up and looked out the window.

“Is he coming today?”

She got up and opened the front door to look out. Her heart was hammering, and at first, she was worried it was someone from the town coming to harass her again. But the truck was white, shiny, new and upscale, despite being covered in dirt.

A rental truck most likely, driven a half-dozen hours from the nearest airport. Could it be…?