Read Online A Shade of Dragon by Bella Forrest - Free Book Online Page B

too.”
    I grimaced, but I had no choice. It would become the big discussion of whatever event Michelle hosted next if I were to turn down her invitation to hot cocoa, and I wouldn’t be able to show my face again without it coming up.
    “That sounds good,” I lied. “Is that okay with you, Theon?”
    “Of course,” he agreed, though he was frowning. “We need to go back in the direction of the Blackstone Collection in any regard, to return those Stylus pens, don’t we?”
    “Right.” I smiled with more relief than I wanted to be evident. He was telling me in a very subtle way that he would be staying with me and not venturing off with Michelle to continue his holiday-shopping experience over some hot cocoa. “We’ll meet you over at the rental stand, Michelle. Let us get off our gear.”
    When we returned to the bench to unlace our skates, Theon didn’t hesitate. “Michelle Ballinger, of the Boston Ballingers,” he said, clearing his throat. “You do not like her.”
    “It’s complicated,” I answered, depositing my ice skates off to the side and tugging my black, high-heeled boots back on. “A lot of history there.”
    Theon nodded and slid his feet back into his own footwear: deep blue suede moccasins, which I could now see were lined with the same chestnut-colored fur as his vest. Unlike my own fur-lined moccasins, purchased from an Ugg shoe outlet and now ruined with ocean water, his looked like they’d been made by hand. The stitching was crude, and the thread didn’t match the suede. I was still trying to figure out who the hell Theon was—traveling royalty from some exotic, yet impoverished land?—when I realized that he had stood. I started and stood with him, blushing. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long. I have to get back to my dad’s at some point today, anyway.”
    Theon’s reaction was crestfallen. We ambled together toward the rental shack, where Michelle waited.
    “My dad was really disappointed that I had to leave at all,” I explained.
    “Of course,” Theon replied. “Care for her family is an important quality in a woman.”
    My cheeks were hot as Michelle approached us. “So, Theon,” she chirped, taking his other side. “How are you liking Maine?”
    “In spite of your harpy infestation, I may have found what I was looking for,” he replied nonchalantly. Harpy infestation?
    Michelle didn’t take the bait. She was far more practical than the sultry clothing and sex-kitten vibe portrayed, and likely understood that questioning his statement would appear to undermine her interest in him. Her sexuality was wielded with the intent of being nothing but a powerful tool, often as a means to an end—and, before she had blossomed so fully into a woman, we had bonded over our shared pragmatism. Now, however, it seemed we’d invested in entirely different methods. “Did you come up here with Nell? Meeting her family for Christmas?”
    “We only met last night, in fact,” Theon informed her. I winced. Michelle would see this information as a green light. “And yet—”
    “She didn’t even think to mention me?” Michelle asked, weaving one of her arms through Theon’s. “She must have taken one look at you and known that you were my type.”
    “I thought you and Andrew were getting serious,” I commented.
    Michelle gasped and pointed a manicured nail. “So you did have your phone last night!”
    “Excuse me.” Theon extracted his arm from Michelle’s. “You seem perfectly capable of walking, my lady.”
    Michelle blanched, but she was nothing if not resilient. It only took a second for her to recover. “Well, Nell, since you ‘don’t have your phone’”—she used air-quotes—“there’s going to be a Christmas Eve bash at the lake house tomorrow. Everyone’s going to be there, even Andrew, if you want to talk to him, and I’m sure everyone is hoping to see you there.” She winked. “Especially Andrew,” she whispered loudly—rightover Theon, as