Gold(15)

And there was that odd look in Ella’s dad’s eyes again.

“What?” Dante asked the group. “Am I not welcome without your gorgeous daughter?”

Grace threw back her head and laughed, breaking the tension. “Of course you’re welcome. Here, you take a seat, and I’ll get you a plate.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” he said. “I’ll help myself.”

“No, I wouldn’t think of it.” Grace insisted, getting up and asking his input as she served him some kind of roasted poultry and vegetables.

He thanked her and purposefully seated himself next to the fiancé, hoping to intimidate the other male. Ben just gave him a smile. How was it that this dope could scare Ella?

They were eating and maintaining awkward conversation about Melanie’s job when Melanie suddenly set down her fork with a thud and turned to him with icy blue eyes that were a younger version of her father’s. “So how much is she paying you?”

“Ella!” Ron hissed.

“We’re all thinking it! I’m just asking.”

Dante lowered his fork and tried to keep rage from rising in his chest. He could honestly say he wasn’t being paid because they were on a barter system. Besides that, paid or not, it was unbelievably insulting to Ella for them to assume she couldn’t be naturally matched with a man like him.

He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin and replaced it on his lap, considering his words.

This was his mate’s family. He wanted to be civil.

On the other hand, anyone who insulted a dragon’s mate deserved to feel that dragon’s fire.

“Why would you think that?” he asked Melanie coldly.

“Oh, come on,” Melanie said. “She couldn’t get someone hotter than I could. I mean, look at her—”

“I have,” Dante said. “Extensively.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip and then bit down softly on it to make his point.

Melanie grimaced. “You can’t be serious. Tell him, Ben.”

Ben looked vaguely offended. “You just insulted me, and you want me to tell him he’s too hot for your sister?”

“For Pete’s sake,” Melanie said. “Am I going crazy? This is Ella we’re talking about.”

Dante slammed his hands down on the table, making it rattle as he stood.

“Aren’t any of you going to defend her? My hell, this is your daughter. You should know her even better than I do. How smart she is. How beautiful. How unique. If you can’t, I’m taking her and getting out of here.”

“How much is she paying you?” Melanie repeated.

Dante locked eyes with her, giving her a long, slow perusal that made her blush. “The one who would have to pay me to date them is you.”

Then he excused himself and left the table, leaving Melanie sputtering and Ron and Grace gaping.

He heard mayhem break out, Melanie’s parents chewing her out as she argued, and by the time he reached the stairs, he felt Ron’s hand on his shoulder.

“Wait,” the older man said. “Hold on. Let me apologize.”

“For…?” Dante said, raising an eyebrow.

“I should have said something sooner. We’ve let Melanie run loose too long. But we do love Ella. In fact, I’m ashamed to admit I was wary of you because I thought you might be using her.”

Dante’s face tightened, but Ron put up a hand.

“Hear me out. It’s not because I don’t think my daughter is beautiful and deserves the best in the world. It’s because she hasn’t ever brought someone home before, and when she did, I thought it would be someone more like… her.”

“How?”

“You know, someone who doesn’t really care about outer appearance. I mean, it’s fine that you look… like you do. We were caught off guard and assumed the worst, but I swear it was out of misguided protectiveness, not a lack of respect for our daughter.”

“Not on Melanie’s end.”

“Give us a chance to do better with dealing with that,” Ron said.

“Fine,” Dante said sharply. “But get this through your head. I’m attracted to your daughter. And I’m the one who has to work to deserve her. Not the other way around.” He lifted his chin haughtily, waiting for Ron’s response.

He laughed. “Good man. Yes, I figured that out in the way you talked about her. Remember, I married her mother, and they are so similar.”

“But different,” Dante said.

“True,” Ron said.

Dante held the other man’s gaze for a minute, sizing him up. Finally, he sighed, deciding to give them all another chance. “Okay. But if anyone else decides to disrespect my mate, I won’t tolerate it.”