Even if he looked like he’d rather jump out the back windows than be here.
She stifled a giggle as Dante made an absurd pose and the other dragons glared at him.
“So now that I’ve set the standard, the rest of you should just try not to disappoint yourselves in falling too far below me.”
“Wow, what an ass,” Robbie said. “Sorry.”
Ella just grinned as Dante looked over his shoulder and winked at her. She liked that side of his personality, the over-blown ego that seemed to get his friends all stirred up and yet comfortable at the same time.
She knew the real Dante, the one that came out with her when they were alone, who was much more sensitive, much more complicated than anyone could know.
And she was fine with keeping that Dante to herself.
Citrine stared over at her and cocked his head before gesturing to himself with a wry smile and nodding at Robbie as if to accuse her of creating his current situation.
Ella just smiled. “You look good, Citrine,” she called out. Dante glared for a moment, and she laughed. “Dante, of course I like you the best.”
Her mate puffed up again and Adrian peeked around him to look at her. “Why don’t you come over here and justify why you deserve Dante?”
He earned a hard slap up the side of the head from Dante at that, and Sever and Citrine both laughed.
“I told you all, stop with the physical violence!” Robbie yelled at them, shaking her pen in warning as if it was a lethal weapon. “Women do not find it attractive, despite what you may think.”
There was grumbling all around as Robbie shook her head.
But looking over at Dante as he pulled Adrian out of his chair and threatened him, and Adrian smirked and laughed in his face, and Sever got between them and broke it up, Ella had to laugh.
The three of them began to laugh as well, punching each other on the shoulders and going back to talking as if nothing had happened.
Ella still had a lot to learn about Dante and his world and the other dragons, but it was something she was very much looking forward to.
That, and building a life somewhere, whether it was here or up in the mountains where they’d fallen in love.
“Come join us!” Adrian called out. “We don’t bite. Well, not unless you’re naughty.”
Robbie’s right eye twitched as if she was totally out of patience. “These weirdoes…”
Ella laughed, touching her friend’s shoulder to calm her down. “It’s all right,” she said. “Let’s just go talk and have fun. It’s past work hours.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Robbie said, checking her watch.
“If you get to know them outside work, who knows, you might like them.”
Robbie’s eyes darted to Citrine. “I doubt it.” But she didn’t sound sure.
Ella’s eyes were on Dante, as she led the way over to him and snuggled under his arm, raised just for her. His rock-solid side was warm and comforting, his arm around her like a shield.
She sighed happily.
“That doesn’t look too bad,” Robbie said. “Now if only we had more like him.”
“You do,” Dante said, pointing at the others. “You just have to find the right women to bring it out in them. Like I found mine.”
“Ew,” Adrian said. “Get a room.”
“Speaking of rooms,” Dante said. “I’ll be moving out of the penthouse.”
“To where?” Sever asked, cocking his head.
“Another penthouse,” Dante said, tightening his arm around her and grinning down at her mischievously. “I need privacy for all the things I’m going to do to my mate.”
She flushed and elbowed him in the side as the others laughed, and Robbie shook her head.
“I told you, weirdoes.”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ella said, looking up into Dante’s eyes as his faced flushed with pleasure at her words.
She leaned up on her toes to kiss him and he came down to meet her as the room went quiet around them. But she didn’t care, throwing her arms around her dragon and kissing him like nothing else mattered.
Wolf whistles sounded from the dragons around her, but she ignored that as well. She wasn’t worried about any shenanigans that arose from helping Dante find his friends mates. As long as she had him around, she felt she could do anything.
He was the dragon, but with him by her side, it somehow felt like she was the one who had wings.
I hope you enjoyed this first book in the Date-A-Dragon series! If you enjoyed Dante and Ella’s story, I hope you’ll leave a review to help other readers find it. I really appreciate all your support.
Thanks again so much, and make sure you are signed up for my newsletter here so you can be first to hear about the next dragon’s shenanigans: http://eepurl.com/bgG7Kf