Chromium Dragon Read online

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  She led him to the kitchen, and he dropped it in the sink. She assured him that the kitchen staff would take care of it in the morning.

  Reluctantly, he left it there and followed her out of the restaurant and up the stairs that led up the side of the building.

  She didn’t offer the room to just anyone, but she trusted her gut on it, and her gut said this man was a good person. She just had a great feeling about him.

  She wasn’t swayed by his semi-hidden beauty. Nope. Not at all.

  She opened the door to the apartment and motioned for him to go in.

  He did, folding his arms and looking around with a small frown. “It’s tiny.”

  She wrinkled her nose as she followed him inside and shut the door behind them. If the guy had wanted to attack her, he’d had all sorts of opportunities before. And besides, she had her taser on her at all times.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

  “I told you I’m not a beggar,” he said, and the princely way he looked around the apartment made him seem like someone who legitimately had been in nicer places and was shocked by the state of this place.

  She rankled at that, and her hands clenched into fists. “You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”

  He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “So is it now I who have offended you?”

  “No,” she said, flustered. “I just… spent a lot of time fixing up this place. That’s all. I’m not used to having it insulted.”

  His expression softened. “I didn’t insult it. I simply said it was tiny.” He reached up and bumped his hand on the ceiling, showing how close it was to his head. “Then again, a lot of things are compared to me.”

  She propped her hands on her hips. “Oh, and I suppose you’re used to living in a mansion.” She ran her eyes down his body, taking in his ragged appearance. “That’s why you always show up looking like you’ve been on the wrong end of a fight.”

  “I’m never on the wrong end of a fight,” he said, drawing to his full height cockily.

  They were at an impasse, and she could practically feel the heat in the room, the rising tension, as if there were sparks between them.

  They were good at setting each other off; that was certain.

  But this was a good man, one who’d defended her and her place and been a gentleman so far. And he was right. Compared to him, everything was tiny.

  “I’m sorry it’s so small.”

  “I’m sorry for being rude.” He looked to the side, and she realized he was flushing slightly. “I don’t always understand social mores, but I will avoid mentioning the size of the apartment in the future. My goal is to protect you and the restaurant. I do not need deluxe commodities.”

  She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh because he was being insulting again without meaning to be. “I see.”

  He was back to checking out the room. “I will need to call someone. Let them know where I am.”

  She raised an eyebrow. Who would that be? A woman perhaps? “Okay. Do you need a phone?”

  He pulled a phone out of his pocket, and she was surprised to see that it was a newer model. “I’m fine. Just need to make sure no one is worried.”

  She frowned, wondering where he would usually be. A shelter maybe? Who was she to judge? Still, if he really did have somewhere to be and someone who was expecting him, should he really be staying?

  He sent her a stubborn look over his shoulder, almost as if he expected her to fight him on it. “I’m staying.”

  She shrugged. “All right, if you want to. But honestly, I can take care of myself.”

  He snorted in disbelief, and she faced him, eyes widening. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She sputtered at his arrogance. “This is my place. I’ll be the one giving the orders.”

  He tilted his head, a wicked smile lifting one corner of his mouth. “Oh? And what do you want to do?”

  She tightened her hands into fists. “I’m going to bed. You should do the same.” She whirled on her heel and heard his low, sexy laughter behind her.

  When the door was shut and she was headed to her apartment next door, she tried to tell her heart to stop pounding.

  No man had ever given her commands like that. She was always used to running things and being in control. So why, despite her feigned offense, did she find it a little… sexy?

  She let out a snort of frustration and got ready for bed, deciding the handsome stranger wasn’t worth another thought until the next morning.

  Chapter 3

  Chromium woke up to the smell of breakfast and stretched, trying not to be bothered by the smallness of the walls around him.

  He hadn’t known living quarters for humans could be so small. The mansion was adequately built for men of his size. This apartment, not so much. He felt he almost had to duck going through doorways.

  He couldn’t wait to move his mate to a more suitable location. They could still keep the restaurant, but they could buy a nearby building or something. Renovate it.

  He could make plans later. Right now, he had to get down and make sure his mate was okay.

  He’d been surprised when she’d offered to let him stay, almost as if it were out of pity, but if she thought he was some kind of transient, he would clear that up with her today.

  Last night, all that mattered was being allowed to stay near so he could protect her because the men he’d been forced to release were probably going to come back.

  He’d explained as much to Cobalt when he’d called him.

  Cobalt had found the whole situation worrisome, but that wasn’t surprising. He’d been on Chromium’s back ever since he’d found out Chromium was leaving the mansion on secret excursions into the human world, against the oracle’s orders to stay at home.

  But he’d also promised to keep Chromium’s secret, and as Cobalt was the closest person to Chromium in the world, Chromium knew he would keep to their agreement.

  Cobalt had also agreed to make excuses for why Chromium was staying in his room, namely being sick and wanting to rest. He said he could probably only keep up that lie for a few days, which figured because Cobalt was a terrible liar.

  It was one of his best qualities.

  That didn’t give Chromium much time to figure things out, though.

  He gathered up his muddy clothing from yesterday (having slept naked, as usual) and wondered what he was going to do about his state of dress. He decided to maybe see if there was a store nearby, but when he opened the front door, he saw a neatly folded pile of clothing in front of him, along with a note.

  Borrowed this from my cousin. He’s a big guy, too! Hope these fit.

  —Helen

  He folded the note with a smile, thinking of her face last night. So generous, so sweet. He didn’t think she had a mean bone in her body, and that probably got her in trouble.

  Which was fine. He had plenty of mean bones in his.

  He took the clothes to the bathroom, scowled at the tiny shower, and then hopped in and washed off as quickly as possible. Then he dressed, looking in the mirror at the clothing and hoping it suited him well enough to be seen in Helen’s restaurant, because that’s where he planned to be for the rest of the day.

  Satisfied, he straightened his collar, tied his hair into a loose braid, and took a deep breath, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

  Would Helen like him? He hadn’t been able to get a good read on her yet, but she didn’t seem too affected. Not in the way he would expect.

  So far, he’d seen that human women seemed to fall rather quickly for dragons.

  And didn’t his human friends (mates of his dragon brethren) say that being able to cook was a huge boon when winning a female? He rolled up the sleeves of his collared shirt and walked out the front door, locking it behind him with the key he’d found on the counter.

  It was a beautiful
day, and to Chromium, that meant a rainy day with water glistening on the sidewalks and pavement in the human world, the storefronts shimmering and glittering as raindrops bounced off.

  He put a hand up to cover his head as he walked down the stairs into the main restaurant and smiled when he saw Helen there, standing over a booth and taking orders. He walked in through the customer entrance, and she gave him a beaming smile and held up a finger to let him know she would be by in a minute.

  He nodded and took a seat in a nearby booth, letting his eyes be drawn to the kitchen.

  They’d passed it the other night, and he was itching to get his hands on some of the equipment in there. It was the biggest kitchen he’d ever seen, and he could only imagine the kind of mate-pleasing things he could make in there.

  A moment later, Helen was coming back to him, tucking a notebook in a black apron she had tied around her waist. She was wearing a green polo and black slacks, and more than a hint of generous cleavage peaked out at her collar where one button was undone.

  He guessed that such a generously built woman would never be able to do up that button.

  He smirked as his eyes roamed over her, confirming everything he’d previously thought.

  Sumptuously holdable.

  Her blond curls were held up by some sort of clip, and for the first time, he noticed small signs of stress beside her eyes. Barely noticeable, but Chromium was nothing if not attentive.

  That was the benefit of doing more listening than talking.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, tucking a curl behind her ear with a sigh. “We’re slammed today, and my sous chef called in sick. We’re making do with a kitchen worker, but…”

  “I can help.”

  She cocked her head, puzzled, but then turned him down with a smile. “That’s really sweet of you, but it’s fine. We’ll manage, and the room is yours either way.”

  “I can cook.”

  “I’m sure you can, sweetie. But it’s fine. We have it under control.”

  Hmph. She didn’t believe him. It rankled him deeply for some reason, but that was fine. People had rankled him before.

  “Can I at least see the kitchen?” he asked casually.

  “Oh, sure. And I’ll introduce you to Mario, our head chef. Though, I warn you. He’ll be a little grumpy today, given the stress.”

  Chromium just nodded and followed Helen closely as she went into the kitchen. She greeted a heavy-set man with handsome features, dark hair, and a mustache, and he turned and waved.

  His expression faltered when he saw Chromium. “Who’s this?”

  “A friend,” Helen said. “He’s staying upstairs.”

  Mario shook his head. “Another one of your projects. Well, keep him out of here. I need room to work.”

  Chromium narrowed his eyes, not sure he liked this man much. But if Helen trusted him…

  “Sorry, but I also brought another order,” Helen said, tacking a page from her small notebook onto a metal rack above what looked like a food serving window.

  “Great,” Mario said. “Just what I need. Understaffed, with more orders than usual.”

  Helen smiled apologetically. “I know.”

  “It’s fine. We’ll get it. Even if I have to make every dish myself.”

  “What about Jenny?” Helen asked. “She said she could help.”

  “Hasn’t shown up yet.” Mario shrugged. “Of course Steve would be off today.”

  “He’s sick…” Helen wrung her hands.

  Mario’s expression softened, and he moved his hand in a shoo-ing motion. “It’s fine. Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

  Chromium liked him more now.

  Helen had to go back to the dining room, and Chromium pretended to follow her but then turned to go back into the kitchen, hoping she wouldn’t notice in her rush to get to the table.

  Ignoring Mario’s questioning look, he walked to the paper Helen had just hung up and pulled it down, looking it over.

  “You have any cooking experience?” Mario asked.

  Chromium nodded.

  “Big guy, huh? Not a big talker?”

  Chromium shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well, can you cook eggs?”

  Chromium nodded again. “What kind?”

  “So you can talk.” Mario smiled. “Just a basic scramble. Milk and cheese and chives are there. This is your test.” He gestured to a small box on a shelf. “And get yourself gloves and a hairnet.”

  Chromium got to work, picking a place for himself in front of the griddle and adjusting the temperature. Mario was right. This was a test.

  But it wasn’t a test to please Mario or prove himself in the kitchen. It was a test to see if he could actually prove himself worthy to his mate.

  Helen had taken a couple more orders when she looked around and realized Chromium was nowhere in sight.

  That was odd.

  She whirled on her heel, headed for the kitchen, and saw him leaning over in front of the cook station next to Mario.

  What in heaven?

  She strode back into the kitchen and shoved the door open angrily.

  “What’s going on here? Mario, he isn’t supposed to be on the grill.”

  “He has a hairnet,” Mario said, pouting. “And he knows how to cook. He has serious talent. Taste these eggs.”

  She looked in shock to see that Mario was holding a plate of eggs and there was a little around his mouth. She sighed, rolling her eyes because she didn’t have time for this on a morning like this one.

  She took a fork and grabbed a bite of eggs, just to humor them so she could get back to work, but when the food touched her mouth, she couldn’t help closing her eyes and letting out a sigh of pure pleasure.

  She opened her eyes self-consciously, tossing the fork in the sink as she tried to compose herself. “Well. I take it back. You can cook. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I did.” Chromium folded his beefy arms and cocked his head.

  “I mean, where you studied. You have to be trained.”

  He shook his head. “I just like cooking for people.”

  Mario laughed. “Maybe for the best ones, it can’t be taught.”

  “Oh please, it’s just recipes,” she said stubbornly.

  Mario raised an eyebrow at that, knowing Helen couldn’t cook much at all.

  Oh well.

  She put a hand to her hair. “Well, he doesn’t have a food handler’s permit.”

  “We can get him one. And I’m watching his prep.” Mario gave her a pleading look. “We could use the help.”

  “Fine,” she said. “Just this morning. Just until Steve is back.”

  Mario nodded. “And I’ll only have him on sides.”

  She eyed the eggs hungrily, feeling her stomach grumble, and was surprised when Chromium handed the plate over, watching her intently.

  Why did she somehow get the impression he’d made them specifically for her? She took another bite, realizing she really shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.

  But she should go out front and check orders…

  “Eat,” both men said at the same time, then looked at each other in surprise.

  Mario put a hand on Chromium’s shoulder and laughed. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, C.”

  “C?”

  “That’s what I’m going to call him,” Mario said. “His name is ridiculous.”

  She looked over to see if the big man was offended, but Chromium just shrugged. He did that a lot.

  She scarfed down the eggs, trying not to be aware of him watching her and bemoaning the fact that she had to rush through such an amazing dish. Then she put the plate in the sink and turned to Chromium.

  “Thank you. That was delicious. And if you’re willing, of course we’d appreciate the help.”

  Chromium nodded, his blue eyes almost glowing in the florescent light from the kitchen. Even in a hairnet, he was handsome in an almost otherworldly way.

/>   She flushed as she headed back out to the dining room, making sure everyone’s drinks were topped off and checking to see if anything else was needed.

  She had to admit a part of her was able to calm down knowing that Mario had capable help, even if she had to wonder how this handsome, perfect chef had fallen right into her path.

  Was he some kind of fighting, cooking angel who dropped right out of the sky?

  She shook her head at her own imaginations. He was just a guy down on his luck who happened to cook, and she’d do best to keep her head out of the clouds about it.

  Chapter 4

  She’d enjoyed it. Enjoyed his food with a look of pleasure on her face that made the dragon in him hungry to pleasure her in so many other ways.

  He wanted to take care of her every day. Make her make sounds of pleasure with every meal he cooked for her and then more intense sounds at night.

  He was a visual dragon but also very keen on sound, and the sounds she’d made while eating his eggs were sheer heaven.

  He’d always suspected he would be overbearing as a mate. His need to care for others, to please them and provide for them as well as protect them, had always verged on the too intense.

  Still, his feelings for her surprised even him.

  He focused on helping Mario with cooking, since he knew that would most help Helen. Mario had told him there would be a break to prepare for the dinner rush, and Chromium hoped to be able to spend more time with Helen then.

  He obeyed every order, something he was used to from serving in the dragon guard, and enjoyed learning even more about food and cooking from Mario, who, despite his odd name, was a very normal male who Chromium became easy friends with.

  He told Chromium about the other kitchen staff he might meet. Jenny, who helped in the kitchen washing dishes and was hoping to move up to sous chef if she could be more reliable. Steve, the usual sous chef who was a bit of “diva,” whatever that meant.

  Chromium looked forward to meeting all of them if they were an important part of Helen’s world.

  He already felt he fit in here.

  But how did one go from cooking in a restaurant and occupying a spare room to telling a human woman that she was destined for him and that he was a dragon from another planet?