Adrien stared at the women in front of him with a growing sense of unease.

He didn’t like private appointments even on the best day, but after a hide-tearing speech by Citrine about his bad behavior, he was even less in the mood to deal with handsy human women.

And he recognized this one vaguely.

He didn’t know exactly when she’d been in here, but she had been, and a prickle ran up his back as she ogled him.

She was an older woman, middle-aged perhaps, and everything, from her carefully coiffed hair to her expensive handbag, bespoke money and what humans felt was class.

When she eyed him like a piece of meat, the predator in him reared up in outrage.

But right now he was defenseless, and if he didn’t please the powers that be, he would never get this ring off.

He detested everything about this situation.

What had he done in his past life, before being buried by an avalanche and waking up in this time, to deserve it?

It didn’t make it any easier that he knew Kelsey was watching in Robbie’s office. Dante liked to stay there with Ella and watch Adrien’s outbursts.

Today, Adrien was determined to behave.

He wouldn’t be mocked for an outburst, and he wouldn’t allow someone else’s classless behavior to make him lose his temper. After all, these were just human women. What could they do to a dragon, even one restrained as he was? For once, he would hold his tongue.

Part of him wanted to show Kelsey that he was better than the others thought he was.

Perhaps he had been a bit rude, a bit instantly judgmental with humans since awakening.

But when he and the other precious metal dragons had awakened, they’d been treated like trash by humanity. They’d had no idea how to survive, and without IDs and alone in a new world, they hadn’t been able to support themselves well. Even the precious metals they could produce seemed to only cause suspicion rather than appreciation.

Humans had looked at him as if they were better than him. As if he were nothing.

As a result, being forced to make nice with them while they tried to take advantage had been untenable.

Until now. Sending a smirk at the camera, he was determined to prove everyone wrong.

“Should we take this to another room?” Adrien asked, standing and extending a hand to the woman. She took it a little too long, trying to pull him forward slightly, though he held his ground.

She came forward to whisper in his ear.

“Yes. Another room, for certain.”

He jerked back, looking at her askance as he walked outside and down the hall with her. The room used for private appointments had a camera in it as well. Robbie allowed private appointments once a potential client had decided to hire a specific employee. He was almost positive he would turn her down after the consultation, but perhaps if he at least listened politely to her needs without any outbursts, he could get a good review from her.

That would get Citrine off his back for a minute.

All of this was completely ridiculous considering the things he could be doing in the world right now if he had his real powers.

But as it stood, the only power he possessed was the power to control his own reactions in the moment.

He pushed the door open for her and let her walk into the room first. He held a chair out and she sat, grinning at him. He took a chair across from her and took out his phone, clicking open a notepad.

“So what is your purpose in coming to Date-A-Dragon today?” he asked calmly, looking up at her.

The pure hunger in her eyes made a rock form in his stomach.

Dammit.

He took a long, steadying breath, determined not to let this affect him. “So you need an escort for an upcoming function?”

She scooted her chair forward until she was knee to knee with him. Then her hand wandered onto his leg, squeezing. “I need an escort, yes.” Her eyes met his suggestively.

He took another deep breath and scooted his chair back. The urge to react, to slap her hand away, to scream at her, rose in him like bile, but he pushed it down and focused back on his phone.

“If you could give me your scheduled date,” he said, keeping his tone neutral and professional. “Then I could…”

He trailed off as she shocked him by settling on his lap, moving suggestively. He jerked back, but her arms wound around his neck.

“Madam,” he said in a tight voice, too shocked by how far she was going to figure out exactly what he should do. He didn’t believe in hitting any female, but how exactly was he supposed to get out of this situation?

A vein twitched at his temple. Was this what happened when he tried to drop his prickly exterior and be polite to people? A snarl rose deep inside him as he glared at her face.

“Get off of me,” he said tightly.

“Oh, come on,” the woman said, again moving against him suggestively. He felt as if he would throw up. “A man like you, young, enterprising. I’m sure you have needs. Needs I can meet.”

“I highly doubt that,” he said drily, keeping his hands fisted at his sides. What was Citrine thinking about this? What did he expect him to do right now? Surely, this was the right time to yell and push someone off of him.

But given her position, he kind of wondered if he’d hurt her, trying to shove her off.

She reached toward his head. “And you’re injured. What a pity. Must be rough out there for a male escort. If you were mine, I’d keep you in only the best places. Nothing would ever happen to you.”

A snarl curved his lips. The idea of this human setting herself up as his protector when he was one of the most powerful beings on earth, despite his current situation, was completely disgusting.

“I’ll tell you just once more. Get off me,” he said tersely, keeping the last threads of his temper intact.

She reached her hand to his face, and he jerked back. “At least let me taste you before you make up your mind.”

Her lips came toward his, and as he jerked back as hard as he could, eyes wide as her grasping hands tried to jerk his face toward her, he heard the door slam open.

Thank heavens.

He looked over to yell at Citrine for taking so long but stopped when he saw Kelsey standing in the doorway, hands in fists, looking mad as hell.

What was she doing there?

* * *

Kelsey didn’t wait for anyone to tell her what was right. She didn’t need permission to pull this uppity bitch off the man who had rescued her.

The others might think whatever they wanted about Adrien, his snobbery, his cruelty.

But last night, he’d come to her rescue, and right now, she’d do the same for him.

She strode straight to the woman, who gave her only a bored glance before turning back to her quarry, and grabbed her by her Chanel-covered shoulders.

With a hard yank, she pulled her backward and off of Adrien. The woman shrieked and reached her hands back toward Kelsey, but Kelsey let go of her abruptly, and the woman lost her balance and hit the ground.

Kelsey brushed off her hands for dramatic effect as the woman glared up at her and then pushed herself to her feet. As she was about to gain purchase on her spindly heels, Kelsey stepped forward and planted her foot in the other woman’s stomach, making her fall back again with an, “Oof.”

“I suggest you stay down,” Kelsey said.

“This is outrageous,” the woman remarked, looking up at Adrien. “I could sue all of you. I could take your whole business.”

Adrien’s expression was implacable as he stared down at her, remaining on his chair.

“If you want us to hand over the tapes of your attempted assault, then sure,” Kelsey said, folding her arms and taking another step toward the cringing woman attempting to scoot backward away from her.

“He could have told me if he didn’t want it. He made no attempt to move me.”

“I told you to get off,” Adrien said lazily, but there was heat in his eyes. He hadn’t liked what was happening at all. Kelsey had been able to tell even on the cameras.

He’d been holding himself back, afraid to hit a woman. Well, Kelsey wasn’t.

Sometimes, someone had to.

“I demand you get away from me,” the woman said, shakily getting to her feet again. “This is my private appointment, and I don’t know what you’re doing in here.”

The woman looked over at Adrien, and to Kelsey’s utter shock, made a move as if to go to him again.

Oh, hell no.

Kelsey stepped between them in an instant, glaring the other woman down. The woman sneered at her, trying to get around her, but Kelsey put both hands on her chest, pushing her backward.

The woman stumbled but then lunged at Kelsey, raising a hand as if to strike her. Kelsey felt Adrien stand behind her, but before he could intervene, she struck out with a fist, hitting the woman across the face and knocking her down on the carpet, where she stayed, unmoving.

For a second, the room was quiet, but then the door opened and Citrine and the others rushed in, all looking down at the woman on the carpet.

“Damn,” Sever said. “That was harsh.”

Kelsey walked to the woman and crouched, looking her over. She was breathing fine.

“You can’t just knock people out,” Citrine said.

“She was being a super creep,” Kelsey said, poking her. “I get so sick of people who think they can use someone they see as beneath them.”

“I’m not beneath her,” Adrien snapped.

“She probably molests waiters and busboys, too,” Kelsey said. “Are you going to call the police on her?”

Citrine shook his head. “I’m going to wake her up and make sure she’s okay, then make her sign a legal waiver in exchange for us not calling anyone.”

Kelsey shrugged. “If you ask me, she deserves worse.” She looked at Adrien. “Are you okay?”

His expression was unreadable, his features all tensed up in confusion. But then his mouth twitched and he burst out laughing, holding an arm around his waist as he guffawed hysterically, standing in the middle of the room by himself, shaking with mirth.

She didn’t know what to say about that, as Sever passed her to go over to him.

“Are you okay, brother? That was a bit over the top.”

Adrien waved his hand, tears streaming down his cheeks, laughing too hard to talk. “That… she… knocked her the fuck out…”

Sever straightened, looking over at Kelsey. “That she did.”

Citrine gave them all an exasperated glare. “Can you all go out? Well, except Dante. If you could stay, please.”

Ella and Robbie were surprisingly fine with that, and she and Sever took Kelsey by the arm and walked out the door into the hallway, waiting for Adrien to follow.

He finally did, straightening and taking big breaths as he wiped at his eyes for the last of the tears. “That was amazing.” He looked at Kelsey. “You’re really something, you know that?”

Kelsey felt suddenly embarrassed. “She tried to hit me.”

“I know,” he said. “But…” He bent forward, leaning on his knees as he took deep breaths. “The way she just hit the ground like that. I won’t forget that anytime soon.”

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked Sever. “Maybe I was a bit hasty. Maybe I should have…”

Adrien came over and threw an arm around her shoulder, shocking her with the sudden contact. She looked up into his handsome face and wondered at his effect on her.

Yes, she wasn’t exactly into romance, but she was only a woman. When a man who looked like Adrien touched her, she’d have to be dead to not have a response.

He looked down at her with twinkling eyes, and for the first time, his silver irises almost looked… warm. “I think you acted perfectly. Thank you.”

She was about to respond when he released her and stepped back with his hands in his pockets, seeming pleased. He let out a long breath as Sever opened the door to the main club room and they all walked in.

Kelsey took a seat on the couch, rubbing her knuckles to make sure there was no pain. Luckily, there wasn’t.

“You okay?” Adrien asked.

She nodded.

“Good,” he said, sitting on another couch and leaning back in it, looking content. “I wouldn’t want you to be hurt trying to extract me from a situation that I was fully capable of handling.”

“Oh yeah? How were you planning to handle it?” Sever asked. “We were taking bets on you going off.”

“I was staying patient, no thanks to you so-called friends of mine.” He gestured to Kelsey. “Yet this human… woman stepped in and did what had to be done.”

“I don’t think she necessarily had to be punched,” Sever said. But his mouth twitched and his sparkling eyes hid a smile.

Kelsey sighed. “She was going to strike me, so I struck first. Plus, I don’t like people who touch things that don’t belong to them.”

All eyes turned to her at her strange warning.

“Oh?” Adrien asked, sitting up a little. “And who do I belong to?”

She felt a flush burn over her cheeks. She certainly hadn’t meant to imply she had any kind of ownership over him. “Yourself,” she said simply.

“I see,” Adrien said, leaning back with hands behind his head. “Agreed. Still, I think we’ve just found something we very much need at this club.”

“What?” Kelsey asked.

“A bouncer,” he said, glancing at Robbie.

Robbie let out a long breath. “I suppose so. Kelsey, what do you think? Generally, I’d prefer they got a verbal warning and a polite escort out, though.”

Kelsey thought about it. She liked the idea of being powerful, of paying Adrien back in the way he’d helped her. Keeping people from bothering him.

Though he was strong and powerful and masculine, he was at somewhat of a disadvantage in this situation, with women who didn’t have self-control.

Still, she’d never seen men inspire that kind of lust before.

She looked him over, and a little shiver went up her back. Yes, she could sort of understand how women felt. If she allowed herself, if she didn’t have more practical things to think about, she could definitely be attracted.

But right now she had to focus on keeping the apartment and finding a new place to land where she’d be safe on her own.

“Sure,” she said. “I can be gentle. Start with warnings.”

Robbie nodded. “You’re hired, then.”

Kelsey felt a warm feeling go through her at the words. The best words in the world. And she earned this job, hadn’t just been handed it by an agency.

She glanced at Adrien, who was looking over at her with a thoughtful expression, awaiting her response.

“Awesome,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “So when do I start?”

“Immediately,” Robbie said. “In fact, if you come to the office, I’ll have you sign a few things, and you can supervise the next appointment this evening. We’re having a whole group come in.”

Kelsey thought about working here in the club, watching out to make sure people stayed in line and followed the rules, and couldn’t help the wide grin spreading over her face.

How had she ever gotten so lucky?