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Bree
“What?” Dominic and I asked simultaneously.
Frankie tugged her glasses out of her hair, leaving some strands sticking up in odd directions. She chewed on one end while her gaze flicked between us as she concocted some hair-brained idea. “Yeah, this could be good. If you win, dragon boy, she’s gotta agree to this date.”
“See, I knew we were friends.” Dominic winked at her.
“And when he loses?” I asked, hands on my hips. Not that I was entertaining this crazy idea.
His chuckle was low and seductive, teasing my nerves into a frenzy. “Oh, darlin’, I never lose.”
Traitorous warmth flooded through me. I quirked an eyebrow, ignoring my body’s reaction to the best of my ability. “First time for everything, right? Just like a woman saying ‘no’?”
He ambled toward me, slow and sure, and his intense gaze held me captive. “What do you want in the unlikely scenario I lose?”
I held my head steady as I looked into his deep amber eyes. “For you to stop harassing me.”
His gaze dipped to my lips, and it was a real struggle not to lick them nervously. “Is that what you want?”
No. Yes. Maybe? I was swimming blind here. What I wanted was a fantasy, a fairytale, a figment of my imagination. I wanted the impossible, which meant what I wanted didn’t matter. What I needed was to forget this man ever existed.
I raised my chin defiantly. “Yes.”
His eyes searched mine before he gave a clipped nod. “Deal.”
“Oh, this is gonna be so much fun.” Frankie waved a hand toward the front door. The deadbolt sparked with a violet light and slid shut with a thunk. “Lemme get my doodad.” She hurried back into her office.
“Wait here.” I held up a finger to stop Dominic from closing the gap between us and rushed after Frankie. I closed her office door behind me and leaned against it. “What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.
She made a pfft noise as she rustled through a desk drawer. “Oh please, this’ll be a piece of cake. You’ve watched him fight for years, kid. You know all his tells, and he has no idea what he’s in for.” She cackled.
My resolve was crumbling. “I know I just agreed, but I can’t do this. I can’t let anyone know what I am and definitely not him.”
“Found it.” Letting out a whoop of excitement, she held up a dull grey rock and beamed like she’d found a fabled pearl of Tethys. “You can with this.”
“How is a rock going to help?”
“This little beauty is an oath-keeper,” she explained. “You’ll both swear to keep the details of the fight between us and neither of you will be able to discuss it with anyone else. It’s like the equivalent of a magical NDA.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, remembering Dominic mentioning those letters during the massage. I hadn’t known what he meant, but I was sure Marissa would have so I’d played along. “A what?”
“Non-disclosure agreement. Humans love ’em, but ours are more ironclad, just without the iron.”
“He’ll still know about me, Frankie. What I am.” A shiver ran up my spine, but I didn’t know if it was from fear of him finding out or desire.
“But he won’t be able to tell anyone about it. The knowledge’ll be useless. Now come on.” Pushing me out of the way, she pulled open the office door and headed out.
I ran a hand over my face, not quite sure how I got myself into this mess. Somehow it was all Marissa’s fault. Again.
Forget three cleanings. She owed me a month.
Back in the main gym, Frankie strode purposefully toward the ring while pointing toward the supply cabinet. “Yo, dragon, grab a bucket of water and bring it over.”
Amazingly, he didn’t question the command. While he set the flower bouquet down on a bench and did as she asked—well, demanded—I followed after my boss, ducking beneath the ladder-style ropes and onto the ring’s padded flooring.
When Dominic joined us, hefting the filled bucket and setting it down in a corner, Frankie held up the rock. “Once I activate the oath-keeper, none of us will be able to discuss this fight with anyone else. Capiche?”
Dominic glanced at me and nodded, a smile on his beautifully full lips. “Capiche.”
