Adrien let cool water run over his body, enjoying the tingling thrill of it, the way it made him feel more awake.

He needed to be awake, given that Robbie was now out there talking to Kelsey.

His greater than average hearing assured he could catch every word without even trying to.

He listened as Kelsey once again repeated the story of him coming to her rescue.

Even hearing it, he felt it had to be someone else they were talking about. Not that he was the kind of cad who could stand by while a woman was assaulted, but just that it was weird that he’d been paying enough attention to her to even know to come to her rescue.

It was definitely something to think about, and Adrien liked to think.

Most of the time, it was better than feeling.

He tilted his face back, letting water pour over his eyelids, cheeks, nose, lips, and jaw. It was a new day. Another day in this stupid time where he had no idea what his place was. Another day to think about everything he’d lost.

Another day to deal with stupid humans.

Kelsey wasn’t a stupid human, though. He had to admire her ingenuity at coming in here for warmth in the first place. And the way she’d walked in and claimed food, told them off as needed, that set fire to his loins.

He loved a feisty woman. That was probably why he got along with Robbie. That and he loved the way she got under Citrine’s skin.

Those two would probably end up mated, he thought, even if neither of them realized it.

They were a perfect pair.

He’d often wondered if there was a perfect pair out there for him. He’d had doubts about any of his crew matching with a human until he’d met Dante and his mate. They seemed wonderful together. That gave him hope for Sever. But as for himself, he’d never found a female he could get along with.

Perhaps if there was a dragon female, like the one Emerald had mated, then he could mate with her.

But he’d never heard of one.

And besides, it felt wrong to even think of it somehow, because when he did, Kelsey’s face came to mind as if rebuking him.

Was she his mate? That would be an interesting act of fate. He reached back and squeezed water out of his hair, then shook his head back and forth, spraying droplets around him as he turned off the showerhead.

She’d clearly showered this morning. Her hair was short, curly, and framed her face nicely.

He’d been surprised by the pure green of her irises, the curled, long lashes that lent her otherwise straightforward features a vulnerable look.

She had full lips and a pretty mouth, a jaw that was a little strong for his usual taste, but a chin that signaled strength.

Her body was still doing its best to hide in that baggy sweatshirt she’d been wearing, but he could make out solid hips and large breasts.

She had an overall solid look to her, the strength of a tree that had been made to stand against the wind.

He wanted badly to know what she’d been through to land her where she was.

He had a begrudging respect for surviving the way she had, compared to many of the privileged women who came into Date-A-Dragon, thinking their money entitled them to more than a date.

His eyes narrowed as he thought about the daily staff meeting and appointments that would follow.

He was tired of being trotted out like a prize horse. He was a dragon. He should be ruling things from a castle, taking tribute, going on midnight raids to defend his territory.

He should have power. Right now he had none. Less than none. Forced to act servile, to endure indignities.

The ring on his hand, which couldn’t be removed in any way by himself, brought another wave of bitterness through him.

He needed to be a dragon again. He needed access to his powers. His treasure. His wings.

The thought of flying with Kelsey went through his mind, and he took a step back in shock. No, she had nothing to do with his dragon form, did she?

With a human mate, how was that supposed to work? She would ride his back as if he were a common horse?

But thinking of it, carrying her through the clouds, wasn’t half as awful as he’d thought it should be.

He felt a headache coming on as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped his robe around him, trying to think of anything to get the image of their stupidly sappy flying fantasy out of his mind.

But even as he dried his hair with a hand towel and began to retie his bandage, he couldn’t shake a rushing feeling that he was falling down quickly with no way to slow his descent.

Kelsey, a woman who had nothing to her name and who didn’t seem to think much of him, a human, was probably his fated mate.

* * *

“What exactly am I watching?” Kelsey asked, leaning back in the comfy office chair she’d been given and looking up at the TV screens Robbie was studying with a clipboard in her hands.

“I let Citrine run the pre-appointment meetings,” she said. “I’m trying to stay as hands-off as possible now that I’ve given them a lot of training.”

“Why do they need a manager?” Kelsey asked. “Citrine seems pretty nice.”

Robbie gave her a sardonic look, dark eyes twinkling. “That’s the problem. He couldn’t control them at all. Especially Adrien.”

“Why do they do this?” Kelsey asked, watching Citrine point at Adrien and hold something up on his phone to show him. Adrien just folded his arms and turned away, making Citrine turn an unflattering shade of red. “Does it pay that well?”

Robbie shook her head. “I haven’t really been able to figure that out. They are picky with clients and turn down almost everyone. Meanwhile, the overhead on this building is sky high. No, they have money, so it’s not for that.” She shrugged. “It’s not really my business, though. As long as they pay me, I’m good. Still, I admit to being curious.”

“Do they just like women to fawn over them, then?” Kelsey asked.

“No,” Robbie said. “In fact, Adrien, in particular, hates it. I’m not even sure why—if he just has problems with women or what.”

“Is he gay?” Kelsey asked.

“I don’t think so,” Robbie said. “Not that I’ve asked. I get along with Adrien in a way. Better than the other ‘dragons’.”

“Dragons?”

“This place is called Date-A-Dragon,” Robbie said, lowering her brows. “That’s another mystery. But they refuse to change it.”

“What’s their reasoning?” Kelsey asked, liking that she was in the middle of a mystery.

“That they’re so hot it’s mythical,” Robbie said, rolling her eyes. “But anyway, what’s your story?” She studied Kelsey. “I’m more curious about that. You come out of nowhere and get our resident misanthrope to fight for you. I can’t believe it.”

“I can’t either,” Kelsey said. “I don’t know what the answer is, except maybe he doesn’t hate people as much as he seems to. As for me, not much to say. I don’t really… I don’t know if I want to talk about it now.” She’d just escaped one nightmare after another; she didn’t really want to revisit them.

“I understand,” Robbie said. “But if you ever do feel like talking about it, I’m here. We could hang out, too. After all the time I’ve been spending with these crazy guys, some girl time would be very welcome.”

Kelsey sighed in relief that Robbie wasn’t going to ask any other questions and grinned. “Girl time. Yeah, I could use some of that.”

“We’ll go shopping,” Robbie said.

Kelsey opened her mouth to tell her she didn’t exactly have money for that, but Robbie held up a finger. “Oh, they’re getting started. Let’s watch.”

“Again, what am I watching?”

“I watch for any sign that they are behaving inappropriately with the women. Being mean or loud or uncouth in any way that would result in a bad review.”

“Bad review? This place has reviews?”

Robbie pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through it. “Here. Our reviews.” She giggled. “Read them.”

“Oh my gosh,” she said, scrolling through the reviews and stifling a snort. “Are these real?”

“Sadly, yes,” Robbie said. “You’ll notice they’ve improved since I got here. Since I stopped doing open houses also. They were too unorganized. Plus, the women were handsy, and that drove Adrien crazy.”

“Understandable,” Kelsey said. “It’s disgusting to be touched when you don’t want to.”

Robbie frowned. “Yes. I suppose so.” She checked her watch. “They’re almost ready for their first appointment.” She pulled out her clipboard again. “Looks like we have two women coming in today. One has a private appointment. The men will probably turn both down, though hopefully they can be polite about it. I wish I knew what criteria these men were using or what they were looking for. They seem to turn everyone away.”

That did seem weird.

There was a knock on the office door, and Kelsey sat up in attention. “Who’s that?” she asked Robbie.

Robbie raised an eyebrow at the door. “Who is it?”

“Dante,” a voice called back. “And Ella. Let us in. We have to see the woman who changed Adrien.”

“I didn’t change him,” Kelsey muttered. “And I’m not some kind of museum item.”

But then the door opened, and her jaw dropped at the couple in front of her. The man was some kind of golden angel, with beautiful blond hair in all shades, a tall, muscular build, and sinful golden eyes that tilted up at the corners.

Definitely made sense as one of Adrien’s associates.

“This is Dante,” Robbie said, standing and welcoming them in. “He used to work here. He’s an old friend of Adrien and Sever.”

At Dante’s side was a businesslike woman with dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She had a sharp look to her, but her smile at Kelsey was kind.

“I’m Ella.” She put out a hand for Kelsey to shake. “So you’re the one who caught Adrien’s eye. Congrats.”

“Is it such a big deal that he was nice to me?”

Dante looked at the monitors. “Damn. He really did get injured, didn’t he?” He turned to Kelsey. “And yes. Yes, it is a very big deal.”

Ella took a chair on the other side of Kelsey and kicked back, watching the screen. “Has the show started yet?”

“No,” Robbie said, grinning as she sat back in her chair. Dante sat on the other side of Ella, taking her hand. Kelsey noted the care he showed her with an odd feeling in her stomach.

What would it feel like to have a man act like that with her? Like the sun rose and set in her eyes?

She turned back to the screen because everyone else was watching avidly. What kind of business was this where even the manager and her friends were entertained by watching the men fail?

There was a lot here she didn’t understand.

She glanced up at the screen and saw Citrine go to the main club double doors and open it for two women to walk in. Kelsey sat up slightly, eyes narrowing, as she watched the two women walk toward Adrien and Sever.

One of them definitely had her eyes all over Adrien, and Kelsey didn’t like the way she was looking at him at all.

She heard popping noises from across the office and realized Dante had gotten up to make popcorn. When it was done, he poured it into multiple bowls and passed one over to her.

She munched it quietly, her eyes glued to the screen as the others laughed and chattered.

There was something about this situation that she just didn’t like.