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Ebony shrugged, clearly unfazed. “Any other questions, Min, before we move on?”
“Yes, actually, I do have one. How do we explain the sudden nature of our relationship?” Min asked. “Especially in light of the policy change on land buyouts. Won’t it look rather suspicious?”
“It’s in the script. You’ve been dating for seven months in secret.”
“Why did we keep it secret?” Min asked with a little frown.
“Humans dating monsters is still… not exactly frowned on, but… not encouraged, I guess,” Ebony explained. “It’s realistic that you might have kept it under wraps until you were certain of your deep feelings for one another. Especially with your surname being Westwind. It’s still unusual for a high-breed human to shack up with a monster.”
At that, Minerva felt bound to speak up. “I’d like to just be clear that I have no issue with… with… I mean, I wouldn’t be at all ashamed to be dating you, Ethan, if it were real, even though it’s not. I am not humancentric, or monster phobic in my dating preferences. I have actually considered it before… I got very close to dating a griffin once, so… er…” She pushed her glasses up her nose in dismay at the total knots she was tying herself in.
Three sets of slightly bemused eyes zoomed in on her.
“I don’t think I made myself very clear,” she mumbled, cheeks burning.
When she glanced up, it was to see Ethan looking… almost touched.
“I got the gist of what you were saying, Min. And I appreciate it.”
“Thank you,” she mouthed, trying to gather herself back into sensible Minerva again.
But the truth of the matter was, since this big green, gorgeous dragon had walked into Adina’s office that day, it felt like sensible Minerva had flown out the window.
And it didn’t look like that Minerva would be back any time soon.
CHAPTER 9
“Ihope you’re comfortable with everything we discussed,” Ethan said as they stood outside Min’s bedroom door later than evening. “Ebony is a great publicist, but she can be a little… enthusiastic with her ideas at times.”
He wished he could see her eyes better. Damn, if he could only take those thick frames off, he’d know what she really felt.
Still, she smiled, and it seemed genuine. “Everything was totally fine with me. I would have said so if it wasn’t. I knew that this would involve us touching, obviously—if we were in love we’d…” She took a breath, her smile a little too bright. “And now I guess we both have to learn our lines before tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t want a slip-up on our first public engagement.” She glanced down at the papers in her hand, and he watched with pleasure as with her free hand she twisted a curl of her bronze hair and tucked it behind her ear. He was getting to enjoy her little idiosyncrasies.
“We could have a practice run in the morning together, over breakfast, if that suits you?” he suggested.
“Just a cup of tea for me.”
His lips quirked. “Ah yes, tea. I must not forget your morning routine.” He nearly made a comment about her unicorn pajamas, but stopped himself. “There’s one other thing I wanted to check with you. If I were to loop my tail around you in the interview tomorrow, are you okay with that? It’s not a human gesture of affection, but dragons do show affection with their tails in committed relationships.”
A long moment of silence ensued, in which he hoped he hadn’t gone too far.
“Perhaps you should just, um, show me what you mean.” She wasn’t looking at him, and two little swirls of color rode across her cheeks.
“What, now?” Surprise mingled with a frisson of excitement.
“It’s as good a time as any, I guess.”
Ethan suddenly felt like a gauche teenager.
She smiled at him encouragingly.
Stroking a horn, he took a step closer. Tentatively, he let his tail reach out and curl around her waist. He made sure he gripped her gently, sensing the soft indent of her waist, the feel of her ribs rising with her breath.
“How’s that?” he asked. “Not too tight?”
She made a little hum. “That seems quite loose. How close would you hold me if—if I was really your mate?”
Ethan’s scale tips tingled. “Do I have permission to show you?”
