Page 22

"In three weeks or less. Your father wants gumbo from that place on Magazine. I want to see you… and I have someone I want you to meet."

My spine straightens. "I don’t want to meet anyone."

"Ekon Lunet, you’re thirty-two years old. You have no wife or mate,” she begins, listing off my transgressions. “Every time I ask, you tell me you’re looking for your mate. Well, you don’t act like it.”

“Ma—”

“Be quiet. A woman is talking,” she interjects.

My mouth slams shut because I know better.

“Your father thinks you're lonely, but I think you're stubborn. You think bachelorhood is the way, but it’s not.”

“Ma—”

“I said quiet. We’re coming, and you’re going on a date when we get there even if I need to beat you with a switch.”

“Ma—”

“Shut it, Ekon,” she hisses. "I've already arranged for Zoey to meet us there. She's a lovely girl who is a dragon shifter. She's from a good family with excellent breeding potential—"

"I'm not breeding with Zoey," I snap, shaking my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Yue move. Her eyebrows are damn near at her forehead. She's not even pretending to ignore me anymore.

"If you refuse Zoey again, then you'd better have a mate to introduce us to," my mother says. "Three weeks, Ekon. And if you don't, we're going to have a very serious conversation about your trust fund." She hangs up.

I stare at my phone, my heart pounding.

"So," Yue says slowly. "That sounded fun."

I stare at my phone. "My parents are coming in three weeks."

"I gathered that."

"And if I don't have a mate to show them, my mother is going to set me up with someone named Zoey and probably cut off my trust fund."

Yue winces. "Yikes."

"Yeah." I run a hand through my hair, forgetting it's still full of salt.

"We'll figure it out," Yue says. She stands up, wringing water from her coils. "I'll try the spell again tomorrow night. Maybe it'll work better when I'm not magically exhausted."

"Yeah. Okay." I move toward her, ringing out her curls.

Suddenly, I'm aware of how small her bathroom is and how close we're standing. Water drips onto Yue's shirt, adding to the mess of it that's already there. Her shirt, tight as hell, clings to her curves.

"You should go," she says, but she doesn't move.

"Yeah. I should," I reply, yet neither of us moves.

A vibration roars through the area, breaking the spell. Yue's eyes snap, and she pushes me toward the door. "Go home and rest before I curse you for real."

My wings burst through my shirt the moment I'm outside, and I launch myself into the air before I can do something stupid like go back and kiss her.

The fog is thick this morning, wrapping around me like a blanket. I fly higher, trying to clear my head. With salt in her eyes and water dripping from her coils, Yue looked... incredible.

Mid flight, tingles spread over my body, and I know Yue is using my dick to masturbate, but that’s not the important part right now. I gnaw on the inside of my gums, trying to get my head in the game. My dick wants out, but my brain rattles. My mind won’t settle.