Dragon Ugly (Dragon New Year) (6 page)

When he did look up she sucked in a breath as her heart stumbled in its rhythm. The same eyes that had gazed at her in Red’s looked at her now, wide with surprise. His tempting lips parted and she glimpsed a hint of his white teeth. His gaze darkened to the shade that reminded her of the skies at dusk. He cleared his throat, introduced himself, and gave them the specials without looking away from her. She felt as if she was under a lamp with so much attention on her. She shifted in her seat in an attempt to dissipate the energy that buzzed throughout her body. Jezebel and Anna said something but she didn’t catch what. All she saw was Brent.

“And you?” he asked, voice raspy.

It took a moment before she found her voice. “Mozzarella sticks,” she said at last, her voice just as low and husky as his.

He nodded. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

Her gaze slid down to take him in. His uniform shirt was tight enough to see the definition of his pecs, and his pants were baggy, but not so much that she missed the slight bulge at the fly. So he felt it too. Satisfaction purred through her. Her wolf lifted its head, lazily surveying the situation, as a dense heat filled her body, starting at the center of her torso and extending outward to slip down her legs and along her arms.

She remained silent, taking in the knowledge that she’d found him without even looking for him. The fact that he was a server at her favorite celebration spot was a bonus, she guessed he’d only started working there recently. She’d never seen him before and Louisa had never really discussed her new servers with her. He was probably part of the trio that Louisa had mentioned over a lunch last week. She had had some sort of naughty New Year’s party with three sexy dragon shifters. Dragons
.
The word set off a bell as she inhaled deeply, taking in the soft scent he’d left behind.

The water aroma made sense now. He was a water dragon and a damn gorgeous one. It didn’t bother her in the least that he’d spent some time with Louisa. Louisa was with Tor now, in a serious relationship. Which meant that Brent could be all hers. But did she want him to be hers? That was a question for later.

Her wolf didn’t care in the least. It was just happy about having no competition. She went over the information that Louisa had given her on the men. Louisa had said they were flirty and very popular with the female customers, and Carissa could see why. He was handsome, for one thing, and there was a sense of confidence in him that she was drawn to, a stability that she couldn’t identify. It wasn’t associated with earth. That was her element. Most of the men Carissa saw around town were bulky, as if they spent more time at the gym than doing outdoor work, but Brent’s body was athletic and lean. He was quite young, but that didn’t matter to Carissa.

She couldn’t help but wonder about his tan. Did it go all the way down, or did it stop at his waist and start somewhere above his knees? Desire flared in her stomach, increasing the temperature of her skin. A breeze did nothing to cool her down. Sweat beads formed at her hairline as she thought of stripping him out of his clothes and exploring every inch of him. Instead she took a sip of water and prayed that the drinks would get here. She didn’t understand what was going on with her.

Louisa appeared, as if summoned, with a tray of beverages. “Sorry about the wait. It’s been a madhouse. Brent’s good. I’ll be back later to check in.”

She dropped off her glasses and left, disappearing into the crowd before anyone could say anything. Carissa took a sip and sighed at the sweetness before the alcoholic burn hit and slid down her throat. The heat filled her stomach and lit a match under her already growing desire. A few more pulls on her drink and she was in a nice, safe, warm bliss. Once it was half-empty, she wasn’t hungry anymore; she wanted to sleep, to curl up around Brent and feel all that strength against her. A small smile curled on her lips when Brent returned carrying a tray of their appetizers. Her reserve drifted away as the alcohol took its course.

Her stomach rumbled again but she ignored it. All that mattered was that he was back. She gave him her best smile as he set her plate down in front of her. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

He’d also given her a plate of fries, which made her grin even more. “How’d you know?” she asked.

“Lucky guess. Enjoy your meal. I’ll be back.” He took back the platter and wandered off, much to her annoyance.

This time Jez did comment. “Cute, but too young for me. A bit stringy. And a server? No.”

Carissa rolled her eyes and dived into her plate of mozzarella sticks. Jezebel and Anna were both from well-to-do families, Jezebel from the vampire community and Anna from the witches. They both dealt with men who wore suits worth more than Carissa’s car and made more in a year than she could in a lifetime. Carissa’s parents, on the other hand, always lived with what they could afford. Carissa made do with what she had. She wore second-hand clothes and never had brand name sneakers or labels. Money had always meant security to her.

It didn’t put her off that Brent worked as a server. Carissa worked three jobs to put herself through college, and saved all her extra money for the shop. As much as she loved shopping, she only spent what she could afford to lose, and splurged when there was a sale. She always made sure her spending wouldn’t interfere with her ability to make her rent or car payments.

Despite what Jezebel and Anna thought, servers were hardworking people who did a lot more than most saw and put up with things that would have made Jez and Anna quit after an hour on the job. Scentify was their first experience working anywhere. As much as she loved her friends, sometimes their attitudes rubbed her the wrong way.

“Just because he’s a server shouldn’t put him off limits,” Carissa started. “He works hard, and puts up with a lot of crap.”

Jez just shrugged. “But is he going anywhere? Does he have ambition?”

Anna didn’t say anything. She was busy taking apart her onion bloom.

“I take it you don’t want any kissing tonight?” Carissa teased.

“I have been dreaming about this damn thing for weeks. I’m going to enjoy every buttery, herbaceous bite.” With that, Anna dived into her plate.

Jez sighed. “You guys and diets. I’ll never get it.”

Carissa laughed. “Must be your vampire side coming out.”

Jez rolled her eyes. “It’s garlic that’s supposed to scare away vampires, not onions. Besides, not all myths are accurate. Otherwise the dragons would be hoarding the jewels and kidnapping virgins—so you’d be fresh out of luck in that department.”

“How do you know?” Anna demanded. “I could be a virgin.”

“And I’m Joan of Arc,” Jez shot back.

“You’re at least old enough to have met her,” Carissa ducked and concentrated on her food. A smile played on her lips. It had been so long since they’d just had fun. Work had taken its toll on them.

Jez said nothing, which to Cari meant that she was plotting on a way to get her back.

Brent returned to check in on them and refilled their drinks before checking on his other tables. The brief contact only added fuel to the fire inside of Carissa. Her arousal continued to simmer. She tried to ignore it as she ate and kept a watch out for him. When he came to clear their plates, he took their soup and salad orders. He gave her a wink before going off, making her feel giddy. For once, her cautious nature did not take over and try to analyze what was going on. All was bliss as far as she was concerned. She took her friends’ teasing in stride and settled into her chair to take in the beautiful night around them.

Brent came back with their second round of food. “Enjoy. You’ll love the Festival berry salad. It’s our most popular.”

“I’m sure I will love it.” Carissa gave him a nod and was pleased when his smile grew to show off his teeth. Again she glanced down at the front of his pants to see the bulge was still there.

He caught her staring, and winked again, mischief sparkling in his bluer-than-blue eyes.

She winked back, without even a blush of embarrassment at how forward she was being.

He leaned toward her. “I’ll be back.” He turned slowly and she enjoyed the view as he walked away.

Jez and Anna said nothing for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. “Do you want us to leave or would you just like to take him here and now on the table while we watch?” Anna teased.

Carissa sighed. “No. A, I’m not an exhibitionist; and B, you still haven’t gotten your dinner yet. But if you start irritating me I may have to throw you both into the lake,” she joked. That set both women off even more.

“Look at her. She’s afraid that we’ll steal her man,” Anna chuckled.

Carissa shook her head. “You two don’t even have a chance.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder, which made them guffaw to the point that they both almost fell off their chairs. She found herself smiling at their mirth.

Louisa came over, a tight smile on her face. “You guys doing okay?”

Jezebel and Anna managed to get themselves under control and nodded.

“Yup, they’re just being dorks because Brent and I are flirting.” The last bit was blurted out and she waited to see Louisa’s response.

Louisa gave her a genuine smile and her shoulders came down, stress fading away. “Good. He’s a great guy. Hard working, a total sweetheart.” Someone called Louisa’s name and she groaned. “Gotta go.”

“Good grief, it’s almost ten and it’s still packed in here. Maybe we should have kept the shop open a bit longer?” Anna looked at both Carissa and Jezebel, and she nibbled on her bottom lip.

Jezebel shrugged. “No worries. We’ll keep the shop open later than usual tomorrow. Tonight, we relax.”

Their second course arrived, and Brent rushed off with an apology. “Sorry, can’t stay. Some clubbers have come in and they’re a bit rowdy. This night needs to end
now
.”

A pang of regret hit Carissa. The restaurant was becoming chaotic. Louisa and Brent rushed around going from table-to-table while people kept coming into the main dining room. It didn’t look like they would be able to spend any more time together, except for those in-between moments while he delivered food, cleared plates and took orders.

“On second thought, I’m glad we didn’t keep the store open. Can you imagine dealing with all that?” Anna shook her head. “Don’t need that headache, not in the least. I would spell the whole place to calm down but I don’t want the backlash from the Witch’s Council.”

A cry went up as a man got into a headstand and seemed to be drinking out of a large cup. Carissa could only shake her head. A sense of claustrophobia began to creep up on her. There were just too many people and too little space. She shifted in her chair and tried to relax. Drinking more wine seemed to help, but she wouldn’t be able to drive home at this rate. With a sigh of reluctance, she pushed away her glass and picked up her water.

Jez frowned. “What’s wrong?”

For the first time since she met Jez, Carissa envied her friend. Vampires weren’t that affected by alcohol. Werewolves metabolized it at half the rate that humans did, but it would still take time to sober up, and she had no desire to stay here with all the revelers. The decibel level increased as the music volume was turned up and people got on the dance floor. Carissa watched some young people doing the latest moves, while others just did whatever they wanted. It would all be amusing if she didn’t think that it could lead to a fight. She winced as one dancer began to punch the air all around him, barely missing his fellow dancers.

Carissa dove into her salad and sighed in pleasure as the tartness of the fruit and crispness of the baby spinach rolled over her taste buds. “Mmm, delicious,” she said around a mouth of food.

Once, she looked up to find Brent glancing in her direction. She gave him a nod of approval. Tension filled her just looking at him. All around him, people were barely behaving. More keg stands were going on and more dancers were hitting the floor. Louisa looked like she was going to shift at any minute. Agitation swirled on the air, and tugged at Carissa’s wolf. It wanted to shift too, and stop whatever it was that was causing the irritation.

Elemental forces danced on the atmosphere. She could taste the smoke and the tang of metal, but under it all was the soothing calm of water, clean, cool, and safe. She latched onto that feeling and looked over at Brent once more, gratefully. The wolf backed off, but only by a bit. She focused on her food again, taking great pleasure in every bite, alternating between her wine and water.

By the time Brent was able to get back to them, it was almost eleven, and Carissa was feeling the call of a nice hot bath. She would sleep well that night—that much she knew—only to start all of this again on the morrow.

“We are
so
not going anywhere unless we absolutely have to this week,” Anna commented. “I’m already getting a migraine and I’m
this
close to hexing the table next to us. I swear to the goddess, if one more person starts to do a keg stand I’ll zap them with a lightning strike.”

Cari smiled. “Now, now. Do no harm. That’s what you witches say, right?”

“Hey now, be thankful vampires don’t have the magic witches do,” Jez purred. “I’d have started tearing out their throats with just a thought an hour ago.”

Anna laughed. “Oh, to be quick and dangerous and able to lengthen my nails at a thought or a wink. The power, the
power
!”

Carissa rolled her eyes. “Down, both of you. I don’t think I have enough money to bail you out.”

Jez shook her head. “Don’t need bail. I can just glamour us off the hook. So, feel like being dangerous this week?”

“You just want to get frisked,” Anna teased.

“Handcuffs and a uniform? Yes, please.” Jez took a sip of wine before flashing her fangs.

“And here I thought you were a snob,” Cari grinned.

“Well, I can make exceptions. But only a few. A girl’s gotta have standards.” Jez turned back to her own meal.

They fell silent, but the mood had been lifted, if only at their table. Everywhere else it just seemed to get more and more raucous. Brent made it over to them eventually and took away their plates. He didn’t flirt this time, but he did give her a small nod and a smile. “Sorry about how slow things are,” he said. “It’s a madhouse. I hate to ask this, but would you guys mind taking a doggie bag for your desserts? With all the people here the kitchens are backed up and going crazy.” Worry filled his eyes.