Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Being awkward isn’t the same as being dumb.” He lifted his gaze. I smiled at him. “And I happen to like awkward. I think being awkward is just moments when our true selves get so excited to appear that the energy gets tangled up. It’s just who you are, and that’s something to be proud of.”
“That’s a different way to look at it. I like that. Oh, fuck!”
Blake jerked backward as Winston leapt off his lap. There were eight tiny holes in Blake’s pants, right where Winston had been stretching his paws.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “That’s his way of saying I’m right,” I said as Blake rubbed his thigh.
“What happened to you being a bodyguard?” he asked jokingly. He leaned back into the couch, placing a gold velvet pillow on his lap. He fiddled with the tassels. “Anyways, you are right. I’m going to try and use that. Just to keep myself calm if I do feel myself spitting out word salad.”
Blake was such a fascinating mosaic. On the outside, he presented as a handsome and confident guy, the son of the Vice President, someone who had become used to playing a certain role in front of millions of eyes. That appeared to be a mask. Underneath was someone who lacked the confidence they projected, chewed away by anxiety and self-doubt.
Maybe I could help build it back up?
“You’ve said you love to draw, right?”
“I do,” Blake answered. He narrowed his eyes, unsure of where this was headed.
“Do you have your work here?”
“I do…”
“Show me,” I said. “I want to see your masterpieces.”
“They’re hardly masterpieces.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” I stood up and offered a hand to help him. He took it, his grip closing around mine. My heart did a tiny leap that I tried to ignore. It happened quite often when Blake was around. But he was my client, and he had way too much on his plate to focus on the horny dragon fawning over him.
“Come this way, then. They’re in my bedroom.”
Oh… Maybe I should have asked him to bring the paintings to me.
Chapter 8
Gay At The Gala
Blake
The Kind Gala was in full swing.
It was held inside the White House. I sat at a full table by the front of the stage, flanked by Xavier and Warrick. They wore similar suits, clearly tailored and clearly expensive. Xavier looked a little more comfortable in his than Warr did. He kept fiddling with the collar and rolling his shoulders back. As if he wanted to shed it off like snakeskin. On the other side of Warrick was my best friend, Cassius, who couldn’t stop asking questions about how dragons lived.
“Do y’all ever get scared of heights?” Cassius asked. “Like when you’re flying?”
Warr chuckled. “No, I don’t think that’s a thing for us.”
“Interesting. What about swimming? Can you swim in dragon form?”
I interjected. “Where are you coming up with these questions?”
“I’m curious,” he said with a shrug.
“We can. It came in quite handy for my brother some months back.”
“What happened?” Cassius asked.
Before Warrick could explain, a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Verona, one of my father’s aide. “Sorry for interrupting, but the vice president is asking to see you.”
I stood, excusing myself from the table. Xavier followed my lead. He walked through the crowded atrium with me. He was patient as donors and politicians stopped me to say hello. They were all empty hugs and hurried goodbyes. It was all part of the act I’d learned to perform since I was a kid. My dad was lucky I liked to play it. There were other high-profile children who did the complete opposite. I was never found with coke in my bag or driving drunk down a country street. I stayed far away from scandals. Being a good boy suited me.
“You’re good at schmoozing,” Xavier said as we followed my dad’s aide, Verona, down a wide hallway lined with portraits of previous presidents.
“Huh?” I asked. “I hadn’t realized you were paying attention.”
“Nothing escapes me.” He grinned at me. He had a smile that quirked to one side—the right—and made a dimple appear in his cheek. It felt at odds with the massively powerful dragon I knew lurked directly underneath. I liked that about him. There was a duality to him that really intrigued me.
It certainly didn’t hurt that he had some of the sexiest lips I’d ever seen in my life. They were pink and plump and had the nicest little Cupid’s bow at the center. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fantasize about how they’d feel against my lips.
Or against anywhere else on my body, for that matter.
“Thanks,” I said. I glanced ahead at Verona, who typed away furiously on her phone. “It’s something I got used to pretty quick. I can talk to people in that kind of environment, but then when the guardrails of fundraising and galas are taken away, I tend to turn into an awkward mess.”