Tipping The Scales: Knox (Mate Craze)(12)

“Before we go in, do you want to give me a clue as to what you’re looking for in there?”

She squinted against the sun. “Maybe. I mean, what if you’re on the inside and try to derail all of my work?”

I blew out a heavy breath. “That sounds like a lot of work. I’m a little busy.”

“Busy doing what? I don’t know what you do other than glorified camping.”

I gasped in shock. “Glorified camping? Really? I’ll have you know that survivalist skills training is a big deal. The zombies are coming. Just you wait. I am a man of many talents.”

If zombies came, I’d eat them.

Just saying.

She smiled and took another sip of her coffee. I was pretty damned sure there wasn’t any left. She was milking an empty source.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to find out another day.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, knowing she was watching. “I offer private survival lessons as well. Sleeping under the stars, a fire crackling against the night wind, a tent for two.”

She smiled and it reached her eyes, making them almost sparkle in the sunshine. “You offer that to all the female tourists?”

I sat up and leaned forward, the tip of my nose almost touching her cheek. The wind blew in from the mountains. It smelled like the trees that grew up there, majestic enough to hide us in dragon form yet beautiful enough to admire from afar. Her scent almost knocked me back to the bank.

She was tangerine and honey and everything I loved.

“I offer that to no one except you, Kallie.”

We stayed there, close enough but still so far apart for a few moments until I heard someone clear their throat behind us. It was Liam. I only knew it from the tapping of his tiny man shoe on the steps.

“Excuse me. This is not a make-out place. The drive-in theatre is that way.” He pointed in the wrong direction. Dumb ass. “Even for you, Alph-Knox.”

For someone who claimed to be the smartest in town, his elevator clearly didn’t go to the top floor.

Kallie sat up straight again, flattening some non-existent wrinkles on her crisp button-down shirt and clearing her throat. She was trying to look professional-up for the task.

Liam was on my short list-again.

“We were just discussing how to sneak in and steal all of your files in one swoop, Liam. We had to whisper, that’s all.”

“Well, whatever. The whole town is looking at you. Good job on that.”

I ignored the snide remark and stuck out my hand to help Kallie up. She looked at the damned thing like she’d never been helped up before.

Maybe she hadn’t.

I knew the whole town was looking at us. They wanted to know about the visitor that the Alpha was more than interested in—the human, to boot.

“Kallie needs some information, and you’re going to give her access to whatever she needs.” I allowed some of my Alpha power to filter through my voice, commanding his allegiance.

His eyebrow said it all, but knowing Liam he wouldn’t be so easily subdued.

“All access? Just what other secrets were you sharing with this female?”

Kallie scoffed beside me. It hadn’t escaped my attention that she still hadn’t let go of my hand. I could barely hear myself think over the throbbing—all the throbbing and pulsing.

“Don’t act like a dick, Liam We aren’t in high school anymore.”

“Fine. Whatever. Come on in. It’s not like there’s a line.”

He stomped back inside, letting the glass door shut behind him with such force that I thought the glass would shatter.

Kallie stepped up two stairs and turned to look behind her. “You coming?”

I wanted to, but at the same time, I didn’t. I was afraid that if she looked at me long enough I would spill all of the secrets Liam was eluding to—maybe more.

“You’ve got this. Liam is going to let you in. I guess he’s not so bad after all. Go do what you have to do. Can I see you later? Maybe lunch?”

She was already focused on whatever she was searching for. “We’ll see. Thanks for this morning.”

I raised the hand that she was still holding, whether she realized it or not, and kissed her palm—mostly for me, but a little for her.

“Don’t work too hard. Liam will get the idea that you’ve got a crush on him and are using his position to get close to him. Then I’d have competition. It would suck—for him.”

She struggled with giving a response to that one. Her gaze went everywhere but on me.

“Well, I’ll get what I need to and get out as soon as possible then.” She muttered the words while walking away from me, but I heard her loud and clear, and my dragon did too.



Rhi and Samson were hovered over a roaring pile of smoke.

“Looks like things are going well here,” I said, slipping my sweatshirt off and dropping it onto the nearest boulder.

“I’m teaching her the basics, and then she’s going to try for herself over there, her very own fire,” Samson said with a confident edge which was pure farce. He couldn’t have his very own fire if it wasn’t for the dragon breath roaring beneath the surface.

“I see. Enjoying all of this, Rhi?” I asked after she’d blown her bangs away from her face out of fury for the third time in the few minutes I’d been in range.