Page 18 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

Not because she was wrong. He knew she wasn’t, but because agreeing with her and encouraging that spark would have pulled her closer into his world, and that was the last thing he could afford.

He exhaled a long stream of heat into the night and banked hard over the water as frustration burned through him.

He had seen the flash of disappointment she tried to hide and the tightening of her expression as she reined herself back into professionalism. He hated the necessity of it, hated that he had been the one to put that look on her face, hated most of all that part of him had wanted to do the exact opposite.

She’s an asset, he told himself again, clinging to the logic because it was safer than anything else. A strong addition to the company. Nothing more.

Mine.

His jaw clenched.

“No,” he said again, more forcefully this time, as though repetition might make it true.

By the time he finally descended and landed in a controlled arc back onto the deserted stretch of shoreline, the decision had already been made. It wasn’t the one his dragon wanted, but the one he needed. It settled into place with the cold precision that had built his empire.

If he couldn’t trust instinct, he would rely on information. And information, unlike instinct, could be controlled.

The next afternoon, he closed the door of his office so he could take a phone call with no interruptions.

The private investigator came highly recommended, was discreet to the point of invisibility, and expensive enough that Chance didn’t bother negotiating. This was not an area where he was willing to cut corners, not when the questions circling Randi had begun to multiply in ways that made him uneasy.

“I want everything,” Chance said, his tone even as he sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled in front of him and the city skyline framed neatly behind his shoulder. “Background, education, prior employment, personal associations. Basically anything that stands out.”

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. “Anyone specific she’s connected to?”

Chance hesitated for just a fraction of a second before answering. His mind drifted to the memory of ink against skin.

“And there’s a tattoo on her wrist,” he added, voice tightening slightly despite himself. “I want to know where she got it, what it means, and why she has it.”

“Understood.”

When the call ended, Chance leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly as the weight of the decision settled over him. Digging into Randi’s past was not something he would have done lightly under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances, and she was not a normal variable.

If she was tied to something or someone that could threaten him, his company, or the fragile control he maintained over his other nature, he needed to know.

And if she wasn’t…he pushed the thought aside before it could take shape. It didn’t matter and he would push her away regardless. Harder this time.

Final.

Because whatever this pull was, whatever dangerous curiosity had begun to form between them, it would not end well if he allowed it to grow.

It never did.

He pushed Randi from his thoughts as he drove the following morning to check out a new property. Clearwater greeted him with bright sunlight and the faint scent of chlorine that lingered even outside the gates of the failing water park, the once-popular attraction now showing its age in peeling paint and outdated structures. Its potential was buried beneath neglect and poor management decisions that Chance fully intended to capitalize on.

He stepped out of the car already shifted into work mode. His attention scanned the property with a practiced eye as he assessed layout, traffic flow, renovation costs, and rebranding opportunities in a single, fluid sweep.

“Mr. Parelli.”

The voice caught him off guard. He turned and there she was.

Randi stood a few feet away with her sunglasses pushed up into her hair and a tablet tucked under her arm. She was dressed in sensible heels, slacks, and a TimeOff polo. Her posture was just stiff enough to suggest she had not expected this pairing any more than he had.

“Where’s Celia?” he asked before he could stop himself. The question came out sharper than necessary.

“Food poisoning,” Randi replied, her tone edged with something that might have been satisfaction if he didn’t know better. “Last-minute change. You’re stuck with me.”

His dragon stirred at that, an almost smug flicker of approval that he immediately ignored.