Adrian

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Reese Briden turned out to be nothing like I’d imagined. I had no idea the woman from the boat was the same woman the human resources department hired as my new manager of the hotel’s interior design. I’d been out of town and hadn’t had a chance to interview her but trusted my people and they knew the required qualifications and type of employees I needed for this project. I did glimpse at her resume this morning prior to the meeting, and although her lack of work experience concerned me, her interior design samples were outstanding. My instincts told me she would be perfect for the job. Even my dragon sensed it, and I had no doubt in my mind that she would be the right person to decorate the rooms of my hotel. Though I had no idea she’d be the beautiful damsel I’d rescued from the ocean, even if I caused the accident in the first place.

When I saw her by the elevator this morning with all that coffee spilled around her, I’d recognized her instantly. Though, the shock of seeing the beautiful woman I’d rescued the other morning standing in the lobby of my office building rendered me damn near speechless and I hadn’t even inquired about who she was or why she was there. A mishap that I’d chastised myself for as the elevator doors closed with her on the wrong side.

But wow, when I opened the conference room door and saw that round, firm ass of hers sticking up, I about swallowed my tongue, and the dragon did a flip-flop in my chest. At first, I thought she was just delivering coffee, but then when Larry said her name, I about choked and struggled to compose my excitement.

Ever since my nose nudged against that sweet ass of hers in the water, shoving her toward that boat the other morning, I’d been unable to think of much else. It had been difficult getting her out of my mind. The way she stood on the edge of the boat, soaked to the bone, staring at me, dark, auburn strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, as I scolded her in my dolphin voice for being so careless, though I knew it had all been my fault that she landed in the water in the first place. Her eyes had widened with clarity as though she understood everything I’d said. I’ll never forget the sweet tone of her voice when she shouted thank you before I swam away.

To my surprise, turning back to help her had all been the dragon, the beast residing within me. The one who would normally never give a rat’s ass about a female or any other human being in distress, especially while mid-flight, coaxed me to turn around. Normally, nothing, not even a female screaming would have caught his attention. It was obvious the crew on the boat realized she’d gone overboard, so they likely would have figured out how to save her on their own. There really wasn’t any good reason for my dragon to insist upon rescuing her. Yet that’s exactly what happened ... the moment the screech pierced his ears, he’d jerked his head toward the sound and headed back into the water to shift back to my milder self.

When I was in dragon form, he had total control of my mind and body. And when Reese screamed, something inside him jerked alive. An emotional tidal wave larger than the one he’d created when he took flight flowed through his core, my core. We were one in the same, yet different. And from that moment, we haven’t been the same.

I knew something was strange in the meeting when motion and a gasp from the sofa jarred me from the sweet reminiscence of my dolphin snout on her firm derrière. I focused in time to see Larry’s coffee cup tilt over. It almost seemed forced as hot java spilled onto his lap. I’d glanced at Reese, a somewhat satisfied smirk on her face as she’d sat still while the others grabbed napkins to blot up coffee from the table. The same look she’d worn when that youngster who’d plowed into her by the elevator suddenly tripped and fell flat on his face. Something stirred inside me, but I’d shaken my head at the absurdity.

However much I wanted to shrug off the idea as coincidence, it was completely possible that Reese Briden had some supernatural elements to her that needed further researching.

I almost wished the woman standing before me was about forty years older, with short, gray hair and was somebody’s beloved grandmother. Not the beautiful creature I’d been thinking about for the past two days. Though, now that I found her, I wasn’t about to simply ignore the chemistry igniting between us.

Yes, I felt it. Had she? The fact that she was in my employment should deter my desires, but it was difficult to ignore her stunning green gaze as she perused the room. I sighed, remembering the vision of her standing on the edge of the boat, her hair dripping, her clothes wet and clinging to each and every voluptuous curve on her body.

Glancing at the tan leather sofa to my right, I pictured her lying there, her blouse opened, her breasts bare, nipples tight and still wet from the attention I was giving them. I towered over her, bracing one arm on the back of the couch, the other on the edge of the seat, while I pressed into her again and again at a punishing pace ... I needed to know how she tasted.

The dragon within me shifted with amusement and caused a flutter in my stomach. Though probably keeping my dick in my pants was the better choice here. At least for the time being.

I pivoted on my feet and headed for the door, then paused as the impulsive side of me surfaced. That damn dragon.

“I’ll need you at dinner tonight.”

“What?”

“Dinner. You do eat dinner, right?”

“Yes.” She swiped her hair behind her ear with her finger, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Good then, I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“But, I ... may have plans.”

I unintentionally scowled. “May or do?”

“Do. I do have plans.” She brushed her hand through her hair again.

I took a few steps toward her, not too close, just close enough to get a dose of her delicious scent. I wanted to reach out and finger the strands securely immured behind her ear, freeing them so I could revel in their silky texture.

“Cancel them, if you can.”

She took a step back, shaking her head, ready to say no. “I can, but I—”

“It’s strictly business, Reese.” Unless you want something more? The beast in me prompted. “I’m going to need to go over the schedule of events for each phase of the design work, and that’s the only time I have available to do it.” She’d been about to object, and I couldn’t let her do that. There was definitely something extraordinarily special about this woman that needed to be explored. Maybe savored.

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Good, then I’ll pick you up at your place at seven.”

I was ecstatic that she’d agreed to have dinner with me, but I had to remind myself that it was business, just as I’d said. I needed to keep things professional between us. That was the honorable thing to do, and I’d like to think I was an honorable man, but, damn, my attraction for her was overwhelming and my dragon was extremely attracted to her, and he was making things difficult and becoming more uncontrollable by the minute. Keeping tonight as strictly business was going to be a challenge.

I no sooner left her office and headed toward my own, when Janet, a stocky woman of around forty-two, approached me, breathing heavily, clearly out of breath from hurrying to find me.

“Adrian,” she huffed out.

“What’s up?”

“Victor Rossi is waiting outside your office to see you.”

“Tell him I’m busy.”

“I did, but he insists on speaking with you right now. I’m sorry. I couldn’t get him to leave.”

Realizing Janet was no match for the ruthless likes of Victor Rossi, I yielded. “It’s fine, Janet. I’ll deal with him. Make a dinner reservation for two tonight at Café Portofino around 7:00.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath, clearly relieved, and headed toward her desk.

Victor Rossi was the last person I wanted to see. What the fuck did he want? We’d been friends once, but that was a long time ago. He was a womanizer who never worried about starting up a new relationship before ending the current one he was in. He still insists that we are friends, no matter how much I discouraged him.

“Victor.” He rose from his seat as I headed to my office. “To what or whom do I owe this unannounced visit?” I ignored his outstretched hand and flipped the light switch to dim the ceiling lights. I liked to keep my office lights low. I found it calming not to have the light blaring down on me while I worked. Or in this case, confronting a difficult situation.

“Adrian. Ole’ pal. Happy new year!” Victor held out his hand again, but I ignored it and headed to the chair behind my Venetian red, mahogany desk, leaving him standing in the doorway. He pretended to dismiss the snub as though it was nothing but a joke and sat on the brown leather sofa against the opposite wall of my office.

“What do you want, Victor?” I wasn’t in the mood to play nice with him today. I had more important things on my mind, like dinner with Reese Briden.

“I heard you have a new interior designer. And I hear she’s quite a looker.”

I glared at him. How the fuck had he heard about Reese so soon? “You really need to stop snooping around here.”

“I wasn’t snooping. Just happened to overhear your team discussing her in the hallway on my way here.”

“She is none of your concern.”

“Well, regardless, I came to tell you about a new investor I had lunch with last week. He’s interested in your hotel and wants to set up a time to talk.”

“You don’t really expect me to trust any investor that you’ve recommended, do you?”

“Oh, come on, Adrian. How long have we been friends? Of course, you can trust me.”

“I don’t recall us ever being friends. At least not since you left me hanging dry with the hotel project and stole my girlfriend. So, as for friends? That would only be in your sick imagination.”

“You know I had no choice about the project. It was a family obligation. I had to honor my family. As for the girl, I believe her name was Lissa and she never really was your girlfriend. She was just someone you dated. Once.”

He was probably right about the girl. It had only been one date, and then he’d moved in. I supposed if she’d been that into me, she wouldn’t have gone out with him, but damn if I was going to let it go. Why she’d chosen him over me was beyond my comprehension. Not that I cared much about the girl, but my dragon wasn’t into forgiveness, even if she meant nothing. My ego had been bruised to think she’d considered him better than me. Victor had won, and my dragon hated to lose even though there wasn’t really anything to win.

Still, he was a philanderer if there ever was one. Victor was a good-looking guy, with a full head of light brown hair, straight nose, slim but muscular physique and he had a different Victoria Secret worthy model on his arm at every party he attended, including my last New Year’s Eve party. He’d crashed the party, and I’d been pissed, but creating a scene by asking him to leave would have only caused gossip and gossip was one thing I didn’t need. Not with the first phase of the hotel about to launch.

The intercom buzzed, and I pushed the answer button. “Your reservations for Café Portofino are confirmed for seven tonight.”

“Thank you, Janet.” I released the button and glanced at my unwelcome guest. Shit. “Are you finished yet?”

He folded his hands in his lap and smiled. “I was hoping with the new year we might let bygones be bygones. The past is in the past, Adrian. Why can’t you move on?”

“You’re right.” I stood and walked to the door and held it open. “Let’s move on. Let’s start with you leaving my office.”