Ivore
His footsteps echoed throughout the lobby. The huge space was empty, even the front desk devoid of anyone. Why bother with security when the building was filled with dragons? It mostly lay empty now, unless someone decided to use it. Like now.
Ivore was pacing, continually looking at his watch. It had been two days now since he’d been thrown out of Violet’s house, and he was going crazy being unable to see her. The entire way home he’d cursed himself, angry at his own idiocy. Why had he thought it was a good idea to kiss her? Especially after the way she’d reacted to a simple hug just a few days earlier? It made no sense to kiss her like that.
But oh no, macho-man Ivore the ice dragon didn’t have to obey the rules of emotion. Nope, fresh off his fight with Malkin’s goons and high on testosterone he’d taken the leap and locked lips with her the first moment he could. It was his own fault that he hadn’t been able to see her since, and that fact made him even angrier. There was nobody else to take his fury out on besides himself. That always made things worse, when you knew you’d gone and screwed up.
So Ivore had spent the night drinking himself into a stupor and convincing himself that texting or calling her was a Bad idea, emphasis on capital B. He’d refrained, however, and the next morning he’d taken it upon himself to continue searching for a new home for her cupcake shop. He’d found it, and that was why he was now rather impatiently waiting for Violet to show up, so that he could give her the good news. From a distance.
If his own decisions angered Ivore, Violet’s actions left him utterly confused. It was obvious to everyone that she was interested in him. Everyone that was, except for Violet. As best he could tell she was doing her absolute best to convince herself that she wasn’t. What he couldn’t figure out was why. Their kiss had not been a one-way thing. Not at all. She’d kissed him back, and she’d used tongue as well. Ivore hadn’t dreamt that.
But just as things were getting heated, she’d freaked out and ordered him to leave, as if he’d committed a crime. It just made no sense! Where was he going wrong? The moment had been there, he knew it. The tension between them had jumped, their eyes were locked, and both of them were holding their breath. That was the moment.
Yet it hadn’t been.
He was at a loss for what to do with his mate. The only idea he’d been able to come up with was to continue on as business professionals. It was going to be hard, but if he wanted to be around his mate, it was all that he could expect. Something was better than nothing, and perhaps in time she would be more comfortable opening up to him.
Noise poured inside from the street as the door opened behind him. Car engines, the squealing of old brakes, and even a horn somewhere in the distance all reached his ears. Ivore kept walking for several more steps, his back to whoever had come inside. Taking a deep breath he finally turned around, willing himself to remain calm and not do anything dumb like blatantly check her out.
She was wearing black pants made out of some sort of stiff material, not the stretchy stuff that looked real good. A long dark red shirt that showed off precisely no skin below her neck and a light jacket completed the ensemble. Her dark purple hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Ivore got the point even before she shoved her hands in her pockets as they approached.
“Hi.”
Violet nodded. “Hi.”
For several seconds neither of them said anything. Then, like a balloon popped with a pin, they both spoke at once.
“So I was thinking, and—”
“What did you want?”
He stopped. “I wanted to show you a solution to a problem.”
Violet shuffled her feet. “What sort of problem?”
“A business one.” He put a subtle emphasis on the middle word, hoping she’d pick up on the point he was trying to make.
The stark frown that creased her beautiful features eased somewhat, allowing her eyes to open further, revealing the bright golden-brown coloring that he was obsessed with. She still didn’t say anything, but her demeanor changed just enough to make it clear he should continue.
“I have a solution to the location. Something that will work, and doesn’t leave a loophole for Malkin to somehow stick his fingers into it. Plus, the location is amazing.”
Violet crossed her arms in front of her. “You do?” It wasn’t much, but he could tell that her curiosity was working on the stern façade she was holding in place.
“The best part about it is, I think we can realistically start work on it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow. You’re joking, right? This is a joke?” She looked over her shoulder at the door, as if contemplating leaving.
“No joke.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
Violet faced the banks of glass that wrapped around the exterior of the building. “Where? I don’t recall seeing anything for rent here.”
“No, not there.” He pointed at the ground. “Here. In the lobby.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Ivore?”
“Listen, this lobby is huge. It was designed to be a showpiece for the building, more than able to handle the hundreds of units that were originally put in. But after the military renovated the building, it’s only going to hold maybe a hundred d—people at best.” Ivore barely caught himself in time.
He didn’t tell her he thought that it was unlikely to be that many, let alone more. From what he’d gleaned the search for sleeping dragons was getting harder and harder, even with the scientist-dragon Kyen helping lead the military’s search teams. Dragons were masters at hiding, and nobody knew just how many of them truly had gone into the deep sleep. But he couldn’t tell her any of that. Not yet.
“So what are you suggesting?” She seemed open to the idea, which excited him. It was going to work. He knew it was going to work.
“So what we do, is we simply take over this entire section.” He pointed.
“Ivore, that’s prime real estate. It’s right on one of the busiest roads in town. There’s nothing but other shops up and down the road here. High-end ones. Are you sure you can get that?”
Now he revealed his final bit of information. “I already have.”
Violet shook her head. “No way.”
“Absolutely. Look at this place, it’s not needed!”
Violet swung her head around the lobby, and he knew she was forced to admit the truth of it. The lobby was trapezoid-shaped, growing smaller on the sides as it headed toward the elevator at the back. But the door wasn’t centered. In fact it was far off to the right, for whatever reason.
Ivore had gone to the head of the dragon program, Colonel Mara, and expressed his idea to her. She’d taken one look, and as soon as she’d heard it was for his mate she’d given it her stamp of approval. Buoyed by her support he’d immediately contacted Violet. Now all that remained was for her to give the approval.
“You’re serious?”
He gave her a mild glare. “Yes, I am. And I wish you would stop doubting me. Whatever my faults may be, I don’t think I’ve given you any reason to doubt that I’m anything but sincere and truthful.”
Violet hurriedly looked away. He’d seen the shame in her face as her eyes pinched slightly, annoyed at herself. Ivore was willing to put up with a lot for his mate, but there came a time where he had to stand up for himself as well. Just because it seemed too good to be true for her, didn’t mean it was.
“So we’ll have the left side of the lobby here?” she asked, her voice still tight, but loosening as she spoke.
“Yes.”
“Wait. Is the store going to be in the lobby? Like will people have to enter the building?”
“Nope. We’re going to remove some of the windows and it will have a direct entrance to outside.” He let a smile play over his face now.
“I can’t believe you got permission for that.”
“Well, I did. And not only that, but we have permission to put four tables outside on the sidewalk. That, the location, the rent will be cheap, plus I know that everyone here liked your cupcakes. It’s a perfect setup. What do you say?”
Violet looked around, dazed, but then abruptly fell silent. Her shoulders hunched over and she started biting at her lower lip unhappily.
“Is something wrong? I thought this is what you wanted.”
Violet shook her head.
“I don’t understand. Where did I go wrong?”