9. Chapter Nine

Iwas in way over my head. The wobble in my step as I raced back toward my room, locked the door, and tried to catch my breath, proved it.

His voice replayed in my head, "We're not finished, Little Mouse ..."

I wasn't sure about the Little Mouse thing, but the rest was enough to start a fire in my gut. The anticipation of his kiss, the taste of his mouth, and being left out to dry had me on the edge of my bed.

I hadn't wanted him to stop. What was wrong with me?

I hardly knew the man—dragon shifter—whatever you wanted to call him, and I was lusting after him like a teenage girl.

Sliding my palm down my face, I walked over, slid the rest of the nails back into their holes, and let my curtains fall. I listened to their excitement about the rescheduling of the ball, and how they wanted to try different dresses because The Dragon Prince hadn't given them much attention the time before.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. He'd been here ... with me. For the first time in my life, I felt important. Even if his interest faded, I was good enough for The Dragon Prince to take a second look.

Dumping the clothes into the dryer, I hurried toward the sink to finish the breakfast dishes. The step-monster had taken the girls to some kind of dress shop on the other side of town, and I was thankful to have the morning to myself.

Sasha knocked on the door as I put the last dish into the cabinet. She stormed in like a woman possessed, holding several magazines in her hands while attempting to hold her cell phone and a bag of donut holes.

"These should help."

I looked down at the Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and Vanity Fair. "What in the ... Sasha I don't have time to read these—,"

"If you have time to sneak The Dragon Prince into your room and kiss him, then you have time to scan these articles. They will help you with your lack of ... experience."

"Fine. I'll put them in my room and maybe I'll have a chance to look at them."

I went to grab them, but she pulled them away. "I'll do it because I don't trust you not to throw them away."

"I don't have long. I need to get down to the restaurant. Helena popped up on me the other day, and I can't risk her getting suspicious."

Sasha sighed. "I wish you could just move out and live a normal life. The Dragon Prince could walk into the front door without having to sneak in like a kid and bang you against the closed front door."

"You and me both," I whispered, shoving my things into my purse. "Thank you for the magazines—,"

"I came over here to hear about this in person. You gave me some lousy details over text. How did he smell?"

She leaned her elbows on the kitchen counter giving me her undivided attention "He smelled like nothing I've ever smelled before. I don't know how to describe it, to be honest. It's woodsy, dark, and alluring. It wasn't his smell that lured me the most. It was his dragon's eyes. They were dark, and it twisted something deep down inside of me that I didn't know existed."

Sasha's eyes widened. "When are you going to see him again?"

I shrugged. "We didn't set a date. We're not dating, Sasha—,"

"You might as well be," she said, opening the bag of donut holes. "You're such a Negative Nancy, Amara. I know your life has sucked since your dad passed, but maybe have some hope, huh?"

The truth of her words hit me hard in the chest.

My attitude had gone downhill since my father passed. This wasn't me.

"I'm sorry," Sasha said, reaching over to hug me. "You know I say the first thing that comes to my mind, and I don't always think about the outcome. It's something I'm working on."

I snorted. "Right, you've been working on that since I've known you, I won't hold my breath."

She smirked. "It's a work in progress, Amara."

"I've got to go," I said, grabbing the keys and opening the kitchen door. Sasha followed me out, while I locked the door behind me. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked behind me.

"What's stopping you?"

She grabbed my elbow to draw my attention. "Have you ever not taken your pills? Ya know, to see if you even hallucinate anymore? If you didn't need them you wouldn't need to live here. You can keep up with the restaurant living somewhere else."

The fear Stepmother put inside of me about my condition had scared me into never missing a pill.

"I don't know, Sasha—,"

"It's just a thought," she said with a shrug. "Something to think about."

She walked with me to the diner, gabbing on about the ball and how the champagne had been the best she'd ever had. "I'll text you later," I said. "The rush will be here soon."

"Remember the magazines are under your bed. Read. Them. Amara."

I blew my bangs from my forehead and left her with a determined glare. What would a magazine show me about kissing? I needed practice not someone on the other side of a computer screen dictating how my mouth should move.

"Hey, Frankie!" I shouted.

A blonde popped her head up from the other side of the counter. "Hey."

I stopped. The step-monster must have found someone up to her standards. It made sense; she was a very pretty girl. "Hi. I'm Amara."

"Sarah. Nice to meet you."

Sarah Matthews. I remembered her application. She could only work part-time because of school.

"You too. I guess I'm training you today?"

"Yup," she said, tying her apron around her waist. "I'm ready to learn."

"Good. It's not much to it. Just watch me, and you'll get it quick enough."

Thirty minutes later the entire place was packed. It wasn't the ideal time to train someone, but I took what was given to me.

Sarah kept up well, which surprised me because of her age. She was young, and the younger employees normally cracked at the end of day one.

The bell on the door dinged.

I turned to look over my shoulder, I saw him standing in the doorway with his brother, Damien, behind him. The sound in my voice stuck, blocking my airway, and making me cough loudly on air.

Then the coffee pot in Sarah's hand shattered on the tile.

An uncomfortable silence settled over them as Dorran walked toward a booth closest to me and sat down. He cleared his throat loudly, and the place fell back into normalcy.

"That's The Dragon Prince," Sarah whispered into my ear.

"Yeah, I know, um, can you grab their drinks? I need to check on some food."

It was a lie. All of it.

I needed to get out of Dorran's line of sight. It was warming my skin and making me squirm. "Wait—,"

I didn't wait, I raced toward the kitchen, checked on my nonexistent food, and walked toward the bathroom. Seeing him in private did wicked things to me, but knowing how he tasted in public, made it hard to think.

I splashed water on my face, trying to gather the nerve to walk out and face him and his brother when the door opened.

Dorran filled the doorjamb.

My gaze shifted toward his in the mirror. Dorran shut and locked the door behind him. "Are you hiding from me?"

"I just needed a moment."

Dorran tsked under his breath. "Shame on you. The little new girl is struggling to keep up out there."

"She'll be okay."

Dorran walked over and placed both hands on the sink on either side of me, his mouth a hairbreadth away from my ear. "Why are you suddenly shy? You weren't shy when you asked me to kiss you on your step-sister's bed, were you?"

Turning to face him, with a plan to tell him to leave immediately, he kissed me.

It was different from before.

No hesitation. It seemed he couldn't miss his chance, and I was glad for it. My mind wandered to the magazines sitting on my bed. Maybe I should have brought them with me...

Dorran laced his fingers around the back of my neck, angled my mouth, and demolished me in every sinful way possible. My legs grew weaker the more he deepened our kiss.

His mouth was soft but firm, controlling but giving. Everything inside of me melted. I was glad for the sink holding me up, and his strong coiled forearm wrapped around my back.

His tongue snaked into my mouth, and an embarrassing squeal left me. Dorran must have liked it because his wings burst from his back, the tip hitting the lightbulb above us, and shattering the glass around it.

His wings protectively curled over us, providing an umbrella to the rain shower of glass, all the while he screwed my mouth with his tongue.

A pressure built in my stomach, a desire bone-deep pooled in between my thighs. Tightening his fingers into my hair, he lifted me to the sink, placed his palm on the curve of my ass, and pulled me toward him, his fingers pressing into me.

It was all too much. I felt tingles shoot down my body, and I felt lighter than I ever had before. Was I floating? Because it felt like it.

I'd gone from never being kissed to making out in the bathroom. Dorran groaned deeply, his chest vibrated, and I forced myself to pull away and hide my face from him.

He gently turned my face toward him. "I'm sorry. That was too much."

I swallowed and dared a glance at him. His emerald eyes were wide, curious, but the sly smirk told me he'd enjoyed that just as much as I had. "I need to get back to work," I whispered.

Dorran didn't budge. "What if I'm not finished tasting you, Amara?"

"Too bad," I whispered, slipping down against his chest, I maneuvered my way around him, and toward the door. "Better get back before me, so I can take your order."

Dorran walked around me, pinching my chin before disappearing down the hallway. I let go of the breath I was holding and touched my fingertips against my lips.

He was so good at that.

The lightweight feeling in my legs slowly drifted away and normalcy took its place.

When I made it back to the kitchen, I found Sarah watching their table from behind an open menu. "Thank God you're back," she hissed. "I thought I was going to faint if I had to speak to them again."

"Come on. We'll take their order, and then check on table 6."

Dorran kept his gaze on me until I made my way over. "What can I get you two to eat?"

"Umm, what's good here?" he asked.

I narrowed my gaze in an attempt to keep from smiling. "The burgers are good."

"Vegetarian," Dorran said.

Damien gave him a crazy look. "Since when?"

"I was joking," he said. "I'll take the chicken sandwich with a side of fries—,"

"Amara."

My stepmother's voice sent a chill down my spine. When I turned, she was red in the face. "Please, come here."

I handed Sarah the pad and walked over toward her. Before we could get to the hallway, she grabbed my upper arm and jerked me around the corner.

Her dark hair was in a sweaty bun, and she looked rundown, to be honest. "Why in the hell didn't you text me that Dorran was here? I had to run here after I saw someone post about it on social media. I could have sent Zella or Stasa here to meet him one-on-one. Why are you so stupid?"

The word normally did not get to me.

I'd been called worse.

But this time it crawled over me like a snake.

"Would you have rather I made The Dragon Prince wait while I called and made sure you knew to send your girls here?"

She locked her jaw tight. "I want you to do what I say when I say it, got it? Now move."

She shoved past me and walked toward their table.

When I made my way to the kitchen, Dorran was staring at me from around my step-monster. "I'd like to have my server back, please."

Helena paused but gestured me over to his table. When she didn't move, he gestured for her to leave us be. Reluctantly, with a smile, she walked back toward the kitchen.

"Tell the cook I like my burger well-done, Little Mouse."

I gave him a quick nod while backtracking toward the kitchen, avoiding my step-monster's gaze. Not five minutes later my stepsisters raced into the restaurant, and I felt my heart sink into my stomach.

They looked plucked out of one of those magazines Sasha dropped off for me. I'd never wanted to toss a piece of pie at the back of their heads more than I did at that moment.

Let the sideshow begin.