Flight Risk

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tavian

This was my chance. The time I had between now and when we landed should give me ample opportunity to work up the nerve to ask Kier out on a date. Or at least get to know him. Perhaps both.

I wiped my hands over my slacks once we were seated in first class. Normally, I settled into the first-class pod, put up the partition, and slept or worked when I had an overseas flight. That was not happening on this flight.

Kier sat next to me; a partition was available if we didn’t want to talk. I kept it open.

His eyes widened when he got to his seat. “This is bigger than my actual recliner at home,” he said. “More comfortable, too.” He settled into the chair and started playing with the controls. I smiled as he leaned back and sighed. He fiddled with the heated-seat options.

I pointed to the cabinet next to him. “There are extra blankets, pillows, and an eye mask in there. I think you can warm them as well, if you get chilled.”

He chuckled. “Can I live here?”

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I opened the messenger app to find a message from Thorne.

You owe me big time

Kier might not realize it, but there had not been an open seat in first class. I had instructed the airline worker to transfer Thorne’s ticket to Kier. Thorne would have to get over it. He could enjoy his next two days sightseeing.

B ook a hotel room. On me. Get yourself a hot date. If you have to pay for that, I’ll cover it.

The next reply came quickly.

Fuck off

Don’t blow this chance

I shut off my phone and tucked it away in my bag. Meanwhile, Kier sat next to me. He was sitting with his hands in his lap, just staring forward, like he was fighting the urge to fidget.

“Are you nervous about flying?”

He startled and looked at me. “No, I’m not. I’m just—I’ve never been in first class before. It’s a little overwhelming.”

“Why didn’t you book a first-class ticket when we went over there? The rest of the clan was up here. Was there not enough space?”

“There was plenty of space. I just couldn’t. That would be a silly extra expense for the clan. I was fine in the economy class.”

I huffed. “Kier, you know you’re a part of the clan, right? The minute you started working for us, living in our territory, living in a building we own, you became one of us.”

“You own my building?” His head cocked to the side in the cutest way, and for a moment, it was like I could see a flash of his wolf in his eyes. The dusty auburn color of his fur matched the red tint to his human hair.

Oh, boy. I licked my lips, unsure of what else to say. We owned a majority of the apartment buildings around the headquarters, and I knew exactly where Kier lived.

“Yes,” I said finally.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that.”

Great. Now he probably thought we were some pompous jerks. I was not doing the best at making an impression. Kier knew a lot about my family. It was literally his job, but he didn’t know me, and I intended to change that.

“So, did you enjoy your time overseas?” I asked. While I and the rest of the members of the clan had been attending the Dragon Flight Games, Kier had been absent from many of the festivities. When he was around, he was there in an official capacity. The young omega never seemed to let his guard down and enjoy himself.

“Yes, of course. Everything was great.”

“I didn’t see you hanging around the rest of us. Were you able to see any of the games?”

“A little. I attended the last competition and the opening ceremony, so I could coordinate with Valar. He’s the Ebonspire clan assistant.”

With each professional answer he gave, my stomach sank. I was getting nowhere and thinking maybe I should take a hint and leave him alone? “Did you do much sightseeing? I hope you weren’t working the whole time.”

His cheeks flushed. “I went to a couple of different bookstores and a few stationery stores.”

“Stationery stores, huh?” Hope sparked like a struck match. Finally, something personal.

“Yeah. I... I like pens.”

My brow raised. “You like pens?” I leaned closer. I needed every detail.

Having a very niche interest in such a minor item was not uncommon in my friend group. We were dragons, after all. We hoarded things. Some hoarded board games. Others hoarded random things, like my dad who hoarded wine corks. Me? My hoard collection was impressive and dual purpose.

“Yeah.” Kier lifted his bag and pulled out a small case. He opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver pen with a dragon etched into the metal. It sat cradled in the velvet case, and I resisted the urge to touch it. One should never touch another person’s hoard without permission.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Thanks. They didn’t have any wolves, but it’s probably a good thing anyway. This was a silly expense. I mean, it’s just a pen. It’s the only souvenir I got, though.”

“It’s beautiful. Will you use it, or is it simply a collectible?”

His cheeks flushed even darker now. “Maybe. I use certain pens for certain things, like... I have a Santa pen that I sign all my Christmas cards with, and a squiggly pen that I like to use on birthday cards, and a pen that doubles as a money clip that I use for writing checks. Silly things like that.” He shrugged until his shoulders nearly reached his ears.

I grinned. “That is so cool and not silly at all. I think it’s brilliant. I want to see all your pens. Do you have pictures?”

“You want to see pictures of my pen collection?”

It was cute that he called it a collection. It was a hoard—a beautiful one, if this pen was any indication.

“Yeah. Can you show me?”

“Sure. I keep a digital album of all of them.” His face turned beet red. “Sill—”

“Not silly. Smart. You have to keep records of all of them. That sounds like a smart way to do it.”

“Yeah, exactly. For insurance purposes. And also, because there are so many, I kind of forget what I have.”

I wanted to pump my fist in the air in triumph. More detail! This was exactly what I was looking for.

It started with the conversation about pens. From there, it went nicely into other topics until, eventually, Kier was laughing and talking with me like we were old friends. It was perfect, exactly what I was hoping for when I finagled him onto this flight.

He let out a yawn. After several hours of discussion, the lights in the cabin had turned off, and many of the people around us were sleeping. His head fell back against the pillow.

“We should sleep,” I said. “When we wake up, it’ll be morning in New York.”

“Yes, and then we have another flight to catch.”

“That’s true.” Thankfully, that one was a private flight for the group of us to return to the clan headquarters. I’d be able to stick close to Kier and continue our chat.

I grabbed the pillow from the overhead area and handed it to him, then put the blanket over him.

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes fluttering closed. “Do you need the blanket, too? We can share.”

If only they gave us blankets big enough for that. What I really wanted was to climb over to his area, close the partition, and hold him in my arms like he deserved. However, there was no way that would be comfortable for either of us.

“I’m fine,” I said, showing him how to put his seat down so he could rest.

I was one step closer to asking him on a date. Armed with all this new knowledge about Kier, I would have an easier time finding something to suit his interest.

Perhaps a tour of all the stationery stores in town? Or a special trip somewhere we could get him a custom pen.

First things first, my mate needed to rest. When we woke, I’d try my luck at asking him on a date.