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Gabriel Wilde is a reluctant dragon leader and now, a reluctant dad. Since he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, he enlists the aid of his trustworthy (and admittedly hot) PR manager, Talia Tatsuya.
Which is all fine and dandy until his dragon decides she’s their fated mate. Damn it, Gabe doesn't want one of those, either...
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“You know what I like about you, Talia?”
“I can hardly wait to hear.”
“Well, you’re hot, but that’s not what I like about you. In fact, that would be annoying if I weren’t getting laid on the regular. Because then I might be interested in trying to hook up with you, and you strike me as someone who isn’t into one-night stands.”
“You’d be right on that count.”
“Plus, you’re kind of feisty, which makes me think I might be interested in more than just one night, and we both know that’s a big, fat no in my book.”
Feisty? That one deserved another giant eye roll. “Yes, I am fully aware of your intention to never sleep with the same woman twice.”
“So, anyway, what I like about you is your ability to talk back to me.”
“Er…”
“But not today. No talking back while I explain the ground rules.”
“There are ground rules? For what?”
“You living here.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask—”
He lifted a finger, cutting her off. “No talking back.”
She snapped her mouth closed and crossed her arms. A wisp of smoke curled from one of her nostrils and drifted toward the ceiling.
“There we go. Okay, so, here’s my bedroom.” He waved his arm in an arc and then ushered her back out into the hall. “And these are bedrooms all along here. You need to decide which one we should put Ruby in, taking into consideration the possibility that I might bring home a screamer on occasion.”
Talia’s mouth opened and closed a bunch of times before she found her voice. “You’re kidding me, right?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want her to hear that. My kid’s world and what my dick and I do at night are not going to associate with each other. Besides, I don’t want the idea that she might hear to screw with my mojo while I’m in the middle of—”
“Stop.” Talia lifted her hand, palm facing out. “Just stop. Let me give you some ground rules, Gabe.”
He arched one sleek black brow.
“Ruby is your child. That makes you her father. Which means you are now a role model. You need to start acting like the kind of adult you want her to become.”
He wrinkled his nose and looked at her like she was a specimen under a microscope. “My parents didn’t do that for me.”
“Which is precisely why you should do it for her. So she doesn’t become like you.”
“Ouch.” After a small pause, he asked, “So what are you saying?”
“No screamers here. Not so long as she’s living under your roof.” Or me. No way could she handle being in the vicinity while Gabe hooked up with some no-name woman, whether she could actually hear them or not.
“No screamers. So if they’re loud, I gotta go to their house or a hotel or something.”
“No staying out all night. You have a child waiting at home now.”
“I don’t need all night. Just a couple hours.”
She gnashed her teeth. “Gabe, I don’t think you’re understanding me. You are going to have to curb your one-night stand habit. You need to focus on your child. On developing a relationship with her. On helping her adjust to living here. Even though her previous life was a terrible one, I still ripped her from the only home she ever knew. She’s bound to have adjustment issues.”
“That’s why you moved in.”
Talia shook her head. “I am not raising your daughter for you.”
“No, but you can help.”
“I can. And I will. But I, too, have conditions. If you bring a woman here—or if you stay out all night instead of coming home to your daughter—I’m leaving.”
“When you say leaving…?”
She stabbed at his chest with her pointer finger. “Don’t push me, Gabe.”
He stood so still, it was like he was frozen for long seconds, until his lips curled into a scowl and he snapped, “Fine.” Then he slapped her hand away before whirling around and heading down the hall. “By the way, that’s your room.”
He pointed at the one next to his. And then he stalked down the stairs.
Great. Just great.