Fired by my Grumpy Dragon (Grumpy Monster Bosses #3)

TWENTY FOUR

Loren

“Who hurt you?” I lean my elbows on the table and study Kivrayn’s face. He pissed me off in the cab with that snarky comment, but his following statement got me thinking.

Doesn’t want a mate. Is always angry and defensive. Hot tempered. Doesn’t trust people.

“What are you talking about?” He takes a long sip of his drink without making eye contact.

“Who hurt you? Come on. Seriously. We’ve got time to kill.”

“And you think I want to spend it with you psychoanalyzing me?” Kivrayn laughs.

I shrug. “Suit yourself. Maybe we can talk about why you really want Jenny’s collection.”

“Keep trying. Or better yet, let’s just be quiet and not talk at all. Are you even capable of that?”

“Nope.” I laugh at his scowl and swirl the straw in my gin and tonic, bumping the slice of lemon against the side of the glass and making the ice cubes clink. I feel remarkably lighthearted. There’s something about the fine art of pissing Kivrayn off that’s starting to become like a game .

“God you’re infuriating. If we must talk, why don’t you tell me what I can do to convince you to give up and go home?”

I consider. “I’m not sure yet. You know, the more I get to know Jenny, the more I care about what she wants. I’m not even sure she knows what that is yet.”

Kivrayn rolls his eyes. “You two are like two peas in a pod, if that pod was filled with itching powder and explosives.”

I snort laugh. I can’t help it. The more I see how much I can piss him off, the more I start to see how funny he is. Like incredibly funny. The best part is, I don’t think he means to be. He’s just so grumpy.

Sheesh, it’s amazing what a few really great orgasms can do for your outlook. Pretty sure I was not laughing at his unwitting jokes a few weeks ago. Which makes my mind drift back to... “Come on. Why don’t we just fuck while we’re both here in London? I don’t know why you’re being so weird about it. I promise I won’t fall in love with you or anything stupid. OK?”

“No.”

“Why not? You know the sex is good, and it’s not like we work together anymore. We don’t even have to see each other when we get back to Heartstone.”

“You sure about that?” He’s leaning back in his chair, arms folded across his broad chest, watching me.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it seems like everywhere I go, there you are, popping up like a case of herpes. ”

“Excuse me, I think it’s you who pops up wherever I go and—” I bite back my retort as the waiter brings the food. It looks like a whole cow got chopped up and grilled for us, the wooden board it’s served on is so big. The waiter lays it on the table with some condiments and sides, and we’re left alone again.

Kivrayn helps himself to a large slice and grunts as he takes a bite. “Well, at least one good thing has come out of today. This might be the first good meal I’ve had in England.”

I laugh and take my own bite, then moan at the flavor. It’s soft and tender and melts in my mouth, with a smoky, charcoal edge that only enhances the meaty taste. “You’re not wrong about that.”

We eat for a while in silence. It’s too good to spoil with sour words. When I’m finally full, I sit back and look over the table. There’s still a ton of food left, but thankfully Kivrayn doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon.

It’s strange to watch him eat. He has good table manners, but his teeth are sharp and each bite of steak he takes reveals their pointed edges and sends a little shiver through me.

“Seriously, though. You’ve never had a girlfriend or a... mate? That’s what supes call it, right?”

He growls. “No.” After a pause, he adds, “Dragons mate for life.”

Oh. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that. God, I can’t imagine anyone being able to put up with him for the rest of their life! Guess it’s lucky he doesn’t want a mate.

“I still don’t see why we can’t fuck, though. ”

“Enough!” Kivrayn roars.

The restaurant is quiet. Everyone else in the room turns to look. Actual flames shoot from his mouth and scorch the meat in front of him from medium rare all the way to really well done.

I take a sip of my drink, cool as you please, like nothing happened.

Eventually Kivrayn growls. “You are completely impossible.”

I shrug. “I know. You may as well give up now and save some time. I’ll wear you down in the end.”

“Ha!” His laughter sounds more like a bark of anger at first. It doesn’t end there, though. Soon Kivrayn is leaning back in his seat, clutching his belly and laughing uncontrollably.

From the corner of my eyes, I catch the other patrons of the restaurant and several staff watching him warily.

Finally he slaps his hand down on the table with a thud. “Oh you. Fate. The universe. You’re all out to get me, aren’t you?”

I blink. He’s really wound tight today. He might need this more than I do. “You need to loosen up.”

He gives a long-suffering sigh. Standing, he fishes out his wallet from his trousers and throws a stack of cash on the table. I mean cash! Who carries cash these days?

“Yes. And that won’t happen until I close this deal and head back to Heartstone and away from you.”

Just when I think I’ve seen his lighter side. Why does he always have to bring it back to a problem with me? I stand too, all my cool lost in the face of his unrelenting bad attitude. “What is your problem? God, I can’t believe I thought I could talk to you.” I push my chair back and storm from the restaurant, not caring that I left him to pay the whole bill. Why should I? Clearly he can afford it, and he was nothing but unpleasant the whole time.

I’m already searching for a cab by the time he follows me onto the street. “Where are you going?”

I wave one down, but the driver ignores me. With a little huff of exasperation, I begin walking along the sidewalk. “Away from you. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“No you’re not.” He grabs my arm, but I manage to pull it away.

“Yes I am. What are you going to do about it?”

He lets out another roar, and this one makes my heart rate jump. A frisson of excitement runs through me.

He still hasn’t answered. So of course, I push my luck. “Go on. Tell me. What are you going to do about it?”

Kivrayn looks like he’s about to explode. Smoke wafts from his nostrils and his face is a deep, dark green.

What’s a girl supposed to do?

I run. I find myself forcing down the urge to giggle wildly as my feet carry me across the pavement and around a corner.

Night is coming on. The sun has dipped below the horizon, and everything is the hazy gray of twilight. The street I dart into is narrower. Darker. There are parked cars and dumpsters and a cat which darts out of my way, ears pressed back against its head.

When I glance behind me, Kivrayn is gone.

My breath catches in my throat .

I know he’s following me. I just know it. My spine tingles with the sensation of being chased.

I slow my running to sneak a peek up above me at the sky, and it’s my undoing.

As I dart between two parked cars, he appears in front of me. Strong hands clamp around my wrists, and I’m twisted and slammed against the hood of an SUV. Kivrayn’s breath scorches my ear and raises goosebumps all down my neck. “Don’t ever run from me again.”

He’s squeezing the air from my lungs. Air I was short on anyway after running. Behind me, his hard, hot body is pressed up against me, forcing me against the cool metal of the car. I still manage to choke out the word, “Why?”

“Because I will catch you, and this is what I’ll do every. Fucking. Time.” He wraps a fist around my hair and uses it to haul me higher over the hood. My eyes sting from the pull on my scalp. A moment later my skirt is pushed up above my waist. My ass and pussy exposed.

Kivrayn kicks my legs farther apart. His hand slides between my pussy lips, and I realize at the same time he does just how wet I am.

“Tell me you don’t want this,” he growls. “Tell me you don’t need me as much as I fucking need you.”

I’m silent.

I can’t tell him that without lying, and it suddenly seems very, very important that I don’t lie right now.

Another low growl. Teeth against my shoulder. I shudder. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this turned on in my life. Between my legs, my pussy throbs in anticipation. My cunt aches to be filled .

I almost moan aloud at the sound of his belt buckle jangling.

When he enters me, it’s not slow or gentle. He plunges to the root in one swift thrust.

I gasp.

He groans. His breath is rough and ragged against my ear. “The only fucking peace I get from this is when I’m inside you.”

Another brutal thrust as he withdraws and slams back inside me.

I don’t have the ability to focus on his words or understand what he means.

My legs are shaking. He has me on tiptoes, my face pressed against the metal of some stranger’s car in a back alley behind the restaurant. Where anyone could walk around the corner and see us.

And I don’t fucking care.

All I care about is the next thrust and the next. The way his hand tightens in my hair. The way the other grips my hip. But most of all—most of all—the desperate needy growls coming from him as he plunges inside me.

Over and over, as if his life depends on it. He’s using the upper cock. The lower rubs against my clit. Ridges drag against my sensitive flesh.

Kivrayn pulls me back onto my feet, grip on my hair forcing my head up, arching my back. I brace against the car as he uses my pussy, pulling me back onto his cock again and again. “I should be able to resist you. I should. But I can’t. ”

He reaches around and gives my clit a vicious pinch. My mouth hangs open. I can’t even scream. Pleasure invades my body so suddenly, my head spins.

“I can’t.” Kivrayn wields my pleasure like a weapon, leaving me breathless. He spits the words like an accusation. I can’t answer, and even if I could, I couldn’t form the words to ask him why he’s acting like I did this deliberately, like I asked for this. The way chemistry seems to sizzle between us ever since he kissed me!

If anyone is to blame for the reason we’re right back here again with his cock buried deep inside me, it’s him. After all, he’s the one who fucked me first. Who showed me it could be like this.

I tip over the edge into my orgasm right as he does. Kivrayn collapses forward against my body, his hands covering mine on the body of the car. My pussy pulses around his throbbing cock, then sharp teeth sink deep into my shoulder.

There’s a blissful moment where I’m floating on another orgasm.

Kivrayn stiffens. He stands, withdrawing suddenly from my body. “Fuck.”