Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Diana

I have two spare bedrooms in my penthouse. One is a little bit larger, so I like to save it for when family members come to visit.

The other is smaller, but it still has an en suite bathroom and a queen-size bed. The problem is the bedspread is pink, and Dragon Locke is decidedly not a pink kind of person.

I feel like I should redecorate it in black and concrete. Something that matches the color of Dragon’s aura, as my cousin Ava would say.

Luckily, the bedspread is the only pink thing in the room. The rest of the items are pretty neutral—light oak furnishings, including the headboard, and two off-white armchairs upholstered in velvet. This is also the room where I display my eclectic collection of art that I’ve collected during my travels.

There’s a beautiful painting of a carousel coming to life that I bought in Saint Louis, a bold print of a turquoise octopus I purchased in Virginia Beach, and an exquisite photograph taken over beach umbrellas in multiple colors that I got when I was visiting Sarasota, Florida. I doubt that Dragon has much of an eye for art, but?—

I stop myself. He’s literally in a band. I caught him humming a tune of his own composition when he was having dinner here last night. If any man I’ve met would have an eye for art, it might just be Dragon Locke.

Not that Dragon is a man that I would…

I shake the thoughts out of my head. I remove the pink bedspread, fold it up, and store it in the linen closet. I’ll order a new comforter in some neutral color, but for now, I take a brown fleece blanket out of the closet and put it over the bed. I wish I had something black, but brown will have to do for now.

Everything else is in order. I even have shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste in the bathroom for guests.

Now I just have to wait until he gets here. I don’t have his number, so I can’t call him. I don’t want to call him anyway.

He’s so difficult to talk to.

I stand in the doorway and take a look around the room. At the oak nightstand, the driftwood lamp, the tall dresser, the walk-in closet.

It’s not perfect, but it will do.

Especially considering that Dragon is staying here for free. If he were staying with any other friend, he’d have a couch to sleep on at best.

Then I glance at the door.

It only has an indoor lock, which I think is fine for him.

But I’ll have a key lock on my own door by the end of the day. Anyone can open an indoor lock with one of those little tools, and it’s not that I don’t trust Dragon. I don’t think he’s a rapist or a murderer. I wouldn’t allow him to stay here if I did.

But the fact is that I don’t know him, so I’ll be cautious.

I head back to the kitchen and grab my phone from the counter to call maintenance for my building.

“Maintenance,” a voice says.

“Hi, this is Diana Steel in the penthouse. I’d like someone to come up today and install a key lock—no, make that a digital lock—on my bedroom door.”

“Of course, Ms. Steel. I can have someone there by two p.m.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

I end the call and?—

My intercom buzzes.

Can’t be Dragon already. It’s barely past nine a.m.

“Yes?” I say into the intercom.

“Morning, Diana. It’s me.”

His husky, low voice sends a shiver through me. I steady myself and lean into the intercom. “You’re early.”

“I can come back later if you want.”

“No, it’s okay.” I clear my throat. “Come on up.” I push the button to open the door.

Good thing I was up early and got his room ready.

I suppose the next thing is to call security and let them know I’ll have someone else living here. He’ll need a key that will work for my place and the front entrance.

I sigh.

I hope this isn’t a big mistake.

The only reason I offered him my apartment in the first place was because he insinuated that I wouldn’t want to be associating with the likes of him. Because I’ve been constantly scrutinized because of the privilege I was born into, I immediately went on the defensive and assumed he was calling me an uppity bitch. So, to prove that I wasn’t, I did the “logical” thing and opened my home up to a complete stranger.

Well, almost complete stranger.

I take a seat on my couch and enjoy my final moments of total privacy.

A few moments later, he knocks on the door.

I open it. His long dark hair is pulled back into a low ponytail this morning. I force back a chuckle. Rock stars and their long hair. I don’t get long hair on men. My brother Dale wears his hair long, and his wife loves it. Most women do. But long hair on a man has never been my thing.

Except on Dragon. I have the strange urge to pull the band out of his hair and watch it flow over his broad shoulders.

And damn…he has broad shoulders.

He’s only about six feet tall, which is short to me since my father and brothers are all over six two, but his mere presence makes him seem bigger.

I open the door and gesture for him to come in.

He carries a medium-sized duffel bag—camouflage print—and a backpack. That’s it.

Imagine having everything you own in only two bags.

“I’ll show you to your room,” I say.

He nods and follows me.

I open the door. “It locks from the inside so you can have some privacy while you’re in here. You’ve got a queen-size bed, and here’s your en suite bathroom with a tub and shower. There’s some shampoo and toothpaste in here, but you’ll need to get the rest of the stuff yourself.”

He nods again.

I swallow, cross the room, and open the door to the closet. “And here’s your closet.”

He drops his jaw. “A walk-in closet?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck,” he says. “I’ve never had one.”

“Well, you do now.” Though I doubt he has enough clothes in those two bags to fill it.

His eyes are wide, but his face remains motionless. “This is great.”

“Glad you like it.” I inch toward the hallway. “Go ahead and get settled in. I assume you’ll get your own groceries and make your own meals. I’ve cleared off a shelf in the pantry, and I’ll do one in the fridge for you.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.” I turn and start to leave.

He clears his throat. “So about compensation.”

My heart flutters. Why is every conversation with this man so unsettling?

I turn around and paste a smile on my face. “Don’t worry about that. You just concentrate on staying sober, and you’ll of course be responsible for your own meals and toiletries.”

He frowns. “I’ve got to pay something, Diana.”

I blink. “What can you afford?”

He takes a deep breath and fixes his eyes on the floor. “Well, not much at the moment. But I plan to start taking private students for drumming. And then of course, once Jesse and Rory are both back from their honeymoons, the band will start performing again.”

“Then let’s just leave it for now.” I turn again, but I stop. I crane my neck back into the room. “By the way… Where exactly are you planning to take students?”

“Not here. Don’t worry.”

I look around. “Where are your drums?”

He takes another deep breath and looks out the window toward the mountains. “They’re still at the Pike place, in the garage. If I get any students, I’ll rent a studio and drums here in the city.”

I nod. “Good enough.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing anyway. You know, to practice.”

“Good.”

That means he has enough money to at least do that. Brianna told me that all the band members got a signing bonus of ten thousand dollars when they agreed to open for Emerald Phoenix in the UK and Europe, but I doubt Dragon was compensated much after that since he only performed once. They had to bring in a substitute drummer.

“Okay, then.” I place my hand on the doorknob. “Go ahead and get settled. I’m going to go down and talk to security about getting some keys for you. We use key cards here. You’ll have one for the main building so you don’t have to use the intercom every time you want to come up, and it will also get you into this penthouse.”

“One key for both?”

I clear my throat. “Yeah. We’re on the cutting edge of technology here.” I regret the words as soon as I speak them. They sounded pretty condescending.

But he doesn’t seem to take offense.

“I appreciate it,” he says again.

“You’re welcome,” I say with a little bite in my voice.

His eyebrow twitches, but he doesn’t say anything. He just leans down and opens one of his duffels.

I shake my head and leave the room.