Gold(19)

“Three knockdowns.” Dante agreed.

The man smacked his gum and folded his arms smugly. “Not gonna happen, though.”

“Aren’t you a good salesman,” Dante muttered.

“What?” the guy asked.

“Nothing.” Dante put his money down and picked up the first of the three balls he’d purchased. He narrowed his eyes at the bottles. He should probably hold back on his strength, as the ring only constrained him from taking dragon form, but didn’t make him much weaker. If he aimed at the bottom of the bottles, it should be fine if he did a light toss.

He wound up and tried to lightly toss the ball at his target, the middle of the three bottles on the bottom of the stack.

Despite his attempt at restraint, the ball was lighter than he thought and shot forward like a rocket. It plowed right through the bottles with a huge crash and then straight through the back of the tent with a loud ripping sound. The booth began to wobble, and Dante felt his face go pale as Ella slowly looked up at him in shock.

“Damn you, look what you did to my booth!” the man shouted, looking at the hole.

Dante just stared at him blankly until Ella stepped forward with her wallet. “I’m sorry,” she said. “He doesn’t know his own strength. Is this enough?” She set money down.

Dante slowly snapped out of his panic at the fact that he could have given himself away as a dragon. “I can pay.”

“Shush,” she said, taking his arm and pulling him with her away from the booth as the man counted his money and glared darkly. “That was worth it just to watch his face. He probably actually profited, considering how cheap that booth was and the fact that he spends all day ripping people off.”

“I’m glad you think so, although I failed to get you the dragon.”

She waved a hand. “It’s fine. Thanks for trying.” She stopped in the middle of the walkway, letting the crowd flow around them. “What was that back there? I mean, how hard did you throw it?”

He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Not hard.”

“You must be really strong,” she said. “I thought you were just a pretty boy. I guess there’s more to you after all.”

He snorted. “These arms aren’t full of water. What did you think?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what I thought. You keep surprising me. I still don’t know anything about you, either. We ought to change that…” She trailed off as her eyes fixed on something ahead of her.

“What is it?” he asked.

She clutched her fish in one hand and her candy apple in the other and stepped back against him, bumping into his chest.

He looked to see a group of men coming forward, about Ella’s age.

What was it about the men in this town that turned his confident, sharp-witted mate into this nervous, scared creature that seemed to always be waiting for the hammer to fall?

The guy at the head of the group looked her way and stopped, a grin lighting his face. He cocked his head and walked forward, and Dante stepped in front of her protectively.

“Ella!” the guy said. “Long time no see.”

The man was as tall and as muscular as a shifter male, and Dante didn’t at all like the look in his eyes. Like Ben and Cliff, he had dark hair, but that was where the comparisons stopped. He had nicer features.

“John,” Ella said nervously, stepping forward to stand beside Dante and steeling herself.

“Wow,” he said, coming closer. His eyes moved to Dante. “And you brought a dude. That’s a shock.”

Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Watch it. That’s my woman you’re talking about.”

“And you are…?”

“None of your business,” he said sharply.

“What is he even wearing?” John asked to titters from his friends. “You going to some business meeting? Aren’t you afraid to get cow dung on your duds?”

Dante resisted the urge to punch the fool. “Come on, Ella. Let’s go.”

“Hey, wait,” John said, turning to follow them as they tried to pass. “We haven’t gotten to catch up for old time’s sake.” He reached for her, but Dante stepped in front of him with a snarl.

“Woah, “John said, putting up his hands. “Easy. Geez, Ella. This guy is out of control.”

“Only when dealing with jerkwads,” she snapped back at him.

John’s gray eyes went dark. “I don’t need to hear that from you, fatty.”

Dante felt his fist go through the other man’s face before he’d made a conscious decision to do it. John was knocked back off his feet and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.