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Payton’s eyes skirted around marking the single exit out of the room. It was behind Jaygen and no doubt made him even more skittish. The scent of fear perfumed the air from the human and Jaygen was starting to think Arden chose the wrong one to welcome Payton into their ranks. One of the pixies would have been better.
The human’s eyes landed back on Jaygen, he sat up straighter and placed his hands on the table. “Um, Arden gave me a job.”
“Yes, but what I’m asking is, are you running, or are you here for something else?” Jaygen asked.
The human’s shoulders rose and anger had his brows pulling down and a frown on his face. At least the scent of fear dissipated.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Years of practice helped keep Jaygen’s facial expression neutral. The human was definitely feisty, and Jaygen’s tiger approved. Humans were either weak and pathetic or arrogant pieces of shit. The human before him didn’t seem to fit into either category.
Jaygen stayed silent, staring Payton down. The human broke eye contact instantly. “I’m just here, okay? I don’t want to talk about the why.”
It was the truth, and Jaygen didn’t detect any hostility from the human. And his instincts weren’t telling him Payton was a threat to them or the bar. Jaygen relaxed a bit more and nodded. He wouldn’t press for more details. At least for now.
“Finish up your tea.”
The human opened his mouth, and it looked as if he was ready to argue, but Jaygen leaned back and dared Payton to protest. Jaygen had no problem forcing it down his throat. The human picked the cup up once more, his lips in a frown as he gulped down more of the tea as if it was a shot of tequila.
“Why is it so gross?” He drank more of it before sitting the cup on the table. There was still a little left.
“Finish it all,” Jaygen said, his voice pitched lower.
The human visibly shivered and glared at the cup and then at Jaygen. He stuck out his lower lip as if pleading with Jaygen to be lenient. Jaygen was almost tempted.What the hell?Jaygen never gave in. It was the reason he was Arden’s right hand at the bar. He was just as strict as the dragon shifter and yet the human’s bottom lip quivering and his big brown doe eyes had Jaygen reconsidering. He was more of a threat than Jaygen gave him credit for.
“Come on, be a good pretty boy and finish it all,” Jaygen said, his tone softer now.
The human’s cheeks colored a sexy red. Slowly, he picked up his cup and downed the last of the tea with no further protest.
“Good.”
The human beamed at him for a split second before he shook his head. Jaygen filed the information away as the human responded to a stern voice but practically radiated at simple praise. “Did you know most paranormals can tell when someone is lying to them?” Jaygen said nonchalantly.
The human went stock still like a deer in headlights. He barely breathed. Jaygen relaxed further allowing a smile to grace his face.
“Look, Arden has hired you and that’s great and all, but I won’t tolerate a liar amongst us. It’s fine if you don’t want to tell your story, it's yours to keep. But don’t lie. It’s better to say you’d rather not talk about it.”
The human audibly swallowed as his eyes darted around and landed on the door again. The thought of the human running shouldn’t have been so appetizing but Jaygen was a predator at the end of the day and he’d react to such things as one. Jaygen tampered back the growl that threatened to escape his throat. The smell of fear wafting off the human teased him. His tiger paced around, waiting for an opening to give chase.
The human blew out a breath and finally relaxed in the chair. He tapped an unknown beat on the top of the small table. His gaze was solely focused on his slender fingers as he sat there in thought. Jaygen wasn't going to rush him, he meant what he said. Everyone had a story and not everyone wanted to share, but lies led to potential threats which could result in deaths.
Brown eyes full of resolve met Jaygen’s. “My name is Porter.”
“And do you prefer male or female pronouns?”
Porter blinked at him. “They’re all fine. I like who I was born as. I just like to be pretty, that’s all.”
Jaygen smiled.“See? That wasn’t so hard. Now come, pretty boy. I still have work to do so the faster I get you to your room, the faster I can get back on the floor.”
That gorgeous blush colored Porter’s cheeks again. “Wait, that's it?”
Jaygen nodded. “Like I said, your honesty is all I wanted. You did good telling me instead of continuing to lie.” Jaygen leaned forward. “And nothing you say here will ever leave this place. We protect our own.”
Porter was glowing from the small praise and a toothy smile appeared on his face.
Jaygen stood and Porter followed, and before Jaygen could make it a step, Porter’s slender fingers gripped the sleeve of his suit and stopped him. Jaygen looked back at the shorter man and lifted a brow in question.
“Uh, thanks for the tea. Those drinks tasted great, but next thing I knew I could barely stand,” Porter said.
