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I’m suddenly aware of my skin, aware that his eyes flit to my lips, and then travel down my body. I know I’m making it up in my head, driven by my earlier awareness of my body. It makes me feel vulnerable—so vulnerable that I have to mentally shake off the thoughts and focus on what’s in front of me.
“I still wanna go home,” I admit as I reach for my laptop.
“Why?” he scoffs. “Did you want to go back because of James?”
I place the laptop on my lap and frown. “James?” I ask, looking up and noticing the flicker of contempt in the man’s eyes.
“Your lab partner?” The smirk is gone, replaced by a firm line set on his lips as he clenches his jaw. “Or is he more than that?”
That question bears the weight of an internal crisis, visible from the way his jaw pulses with anger and his nostrils flare. Is that jealousy?
No! Of course, not. It would be absurd to think that a magnificent creature who doesn’t possess an ounce of humility could be envious of a human. Scoffing as I shove aside the hideous thought, I shake my head.
“James is nothing but my lab partner. A work colleague,” I explain blankly.
“Good. Then you have nothing to go back to,” Aragon smirks. “You did say you don’t have any family.”
There it is—that reminder that he isn’t human. He doesn’t have a heart.
“... But you’re gonna have to do damage control,” he goes on to say. “Your lab partner isn’t convinced that the bone doesn’t belong to a dragon.”
“Why do you think I’m gonna agree to do your dirty work?” I ask, implying more than just the damage control. Having babies for the dragon shifter is dirty enough.
“Because the fossil you found is in my possession,” he claims. “You want to study it, and I wanna know where you found it.”
“So you still wanna make a deal with me?” I raise a speculative brow.
“Yes,” he concedes. “The island’s lab is well equipped, and now you have the tools you need to continue your research. You will want for nothing while you remain here.”
“While I remain here and give you what you ultimately need from me?”
“Like I said before…” Aragon drags his eyes over my frame, settling on my face. “... That’s still up for debate.”
I roll my eyes as I turn them to my laptop screen. “You’ve met James?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“Just that you were involved in a car accident, and you’re recovering at my place,” Aragon reveals, lingering at the bedside. “And that you’re adamant to prove that the fossil doesn’t belong to a dragon; that’s why you took it with you.”
I turn my face to him. “Your place? Who does he believe you to be?”
Aragon clears his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing with tense uncertainty. “Your erm—your boyfriend.”
A long moment of silence passes, in which I stare at the man in disbelief. My boyfriend?
That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard. Yet, it’s the only alibi that might work.
“Right,” I sigh as I open up to my emails. “I’ll get him to believe it isn’t a dragon bone.”
“It’s a deal, then?”
I nod, avidly avoiding looking at the man while I type out an email to my colleague. “For now, yes. But this doesn’t mean that I’m having your babies.”
“Good,” Aragon grunts, prompting me to finally turn my gaze to him. He stands there with his fists curled at his sides, eyes vengeful slits as he glares at me. “It’s not like I want you, anyway.”
He purposely drags his eyes over my body as if to show me that every time I caught him ogling, it was only to drive in his disgust. A shiver courses down my spine in awareness, relief only coming when he leaves the room.
