The Dragon’s Aide (Charmed Away Temp Agency #2)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Maverick was seething by the time he reached Taron’s office. His assistant, a siren who Maverick did not get along with due to her using her magic on Avery last year without his consent, narrowed her eyes at his approach and pressed a button on her phone to alert Taron of his arrival.

“You can go right in,” she said tersely.

She obviously didn’t want him standing around by her desk. Since Taron pissed him off by demanding this, he was billowing smoke and it seemed to upset people. The only person it didn’t seem to bother was Isaac. He just did his magic snap thing and made it all go away. It was a convenient thing for his assistant to be able to do.

Ignoring her glare, he went straight into Taron’s office. The little shit was sitting behind his desk with his feet up on the surface, the epitome of relaxed and completely unprofessional. Maverick wouldn’t be caught dead acting that way.

“What?”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be that way. You know I’m just trying to help.”

Maybe, but Maverick didn’t need help. Things with Isaac were fine. Back to normal. And Maverick didn’t want Taron sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Still, he promised to update Taron and maybe, if Taron knew, Ozen would let it go.

“Sit, sit. Do you want something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” Maverick growled, sitting in the chair opposite Taron. It was sometimes difficult to recognize the man at a quick glance. He was a shapeshifter and liked to change small pieces of his features for the fun of it. Today, his eyes were too wide, like a cartoon, with thick eyelashes that he kept batting innocently. If he was trying to distract Maverick, it wasn’t working.

“So… How’d it go last night?” Taron asked when Maverick didn’t immediately offer an explanation.

“It went fine,” he gritted out.

Taron nodded slowly. “Yes, I could make that assumption, given that he was back this morning and didn’t seem any worse for wear. But I’m going to need more of an explanation than that.”

The refusal must have been written on Maverick’s face, because Taron sighed. “Look, Mav. I know I don’t always come off as serious, but I’m trying to help you. Losing your temper like that with your assistant is cause for dismissal. No one wants that. Least of all me. You are one of my closest friends and I value the work you do here. I told Ozen I’d handle whatever happened, but I can’t report back nothing. I need to know you did what he asked and that your assistant feels safe enough to report you if he felt in danger.”

It was weird, seeing Taron act seriously. Maverick wasn’t sure he liked it. But he understood what the shapeshifter was getting at. He wouldn’t share all the details, but he owed it to his friend to be honest.

“I went to his apartment like we discussed and apologized properly. It wasn’t… a straightforward conversation. Apparently, I’m not the only one with a temper. But we came to an understanding. This morning was proof of that.”

Taron nodded, but didn’t interrupt, gesturing with a wave of his hand for Maverick to continue. Maverick bit back a growl.

“We discussed why he didn’t report it. He felt that he was just as much to blame as I was, and was worried about his job. He wants to be a lawyer. The kind of experience he is gaining here is good for his resume.”

Taron pursed his lips. “Okay, I can see how that would make him feel reluctant. And you’re sure it had nothing to do with him being afraid of you? No offense, but you can be a little scary sometimes.”

Maverick huffed, but didn’t argue. It wasn’t his fault most people found his dragon to be intimidating. He didn’t do it on purpose. If he did, they’d be shitting themselves instead of just scurrying away.

“He was very adamant that he was not afraid of me and could handle himself.” He even challenged Maverick to a fight, but Maverick wasn’t going to mention that part. It would only lead to more questions, like why Isaac wasn’t dead yet. Usually, that kind of challenge would be met head on. He wasn’t sure why his dragon went the other way, but he wasn’t going to start complaining about it. Angry sex was a much better way for both of them to deal with their issues than actual fighting.

His mind strayed back to the night prior. Maverick usually preferred more docile partners in bed. It was dangerous to challenge his dragon. But Isaac was the opposite of docile. Even on his hands and knees, he was demanding, and he took what he wanted. Including Maverick’s knot. He had to fight off a shudder, remembering the tight squeeze of Isaac’s ass on his knot. He couldn’t remember the last time someone took it. Maverick wasn’t a small man, by any means. Taking his cock alone was sometimes too difficult for his partners. Taking his knot was a whole other issue. But Isaac not only took it, but demanded it. Maverick couldn’t think straight from the assault, and when his knot slipped inside, he came instantly.

His cock swelled in his slacks, hidden only by the way Maverick had his ankle propped on his opposite knee. He was grateful this meeting was with Taron and not Ozen. The incubus would be able to tell immediately where his thoughts had strayed and would never let him live it down. Taron was blissfully unaware, grinning widely at him.

“Did he really say that? Do you think he could actually cause any damage?”

Maverick considered it with a frown. “I’m not sure. He is strong enough to circumvent Brennus’s influence. And when he’s upset, I can feel his magic in the air, much like others can feel my dragon’s displeasure. He’s not weak.”

He didn’t spend a lot of time around mages, so he couldn’t be sure how to measure strength, but he’d felt Isaac’s magic in the air when they’d had their standoff. And the shock Isaac gave him when Maverick grabbed him without permission hadn’t been gentle, either. Which still begged the question as to why his dragon didn’t destroy the little mage. It was an act of aggression and Isaac made a challenge, but the dragon was more interested in fucking him stupid than fighting back.

“I might need to check him out myself,” Taron said thoughtfully. “We only had a quick introduction, and I’m curious.”

Maverick growled his displeasure at the thought of Taron spending time with Isaac. He didn’t want the male anywhere near his assistant.

Taron waved away his annoyance. “I won’t chase him away. I know he’s been a big help to you. I just want to talk to him. I want to know if he’s actually that powerful or just plain cocky. Either way, I like it.”

The thought of Taron chasing Isaac away hadn’t even crossed his mind when he growled. He just didn’t want Taron near Isaac. He felt oddly possessive of the little mage since their interaction the night prior. It might be a little addictive, having someone brave enough to take him on.

Isaac was annoyed at how quickly his attempt at putting Maverick in a better mood was thwarted. He’d hoped by feeding the man, he’d be less of a grouch. And for a minute, it looked like it was working. Even when Isaac pointed out he was staring, Maverick didn’t start billowing smoke or lose his temper. It was a step in the right direction. But then Taron called and all that effort went straight out the window. Maverick left a cloud of smoke in his wake, and Isaac had to deal with it before he could get back to work. The man was a walking fire hazard.

Luckily, there wasn’t anything time sensitive that Maverick needed to get done that afternoon, so the interruption wouldn’t have a huge effect on the day. Isaac answered some emails from different departments, letting them know Maverick would get back to them as soon as possible, then went back to doing research on the sites the research team sent him for their project.

While he was in the middle of going through information on one of the smaller sites, the phone on his desk rang, and he answered it without hesitation.

“Mr. Van Buren’s office, Isaac speaking.”

“Isaac, hi!”

Avery’s voice made Isaac perk up. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to his favorite author since the first time, and it disappointed him on some level. “Hi, Mr. Hawksley. Can I help you with something?”

“Oh!” Avery hummed a happy sound. “I really like whenever people use my new last name. We’ve been together for over a year, but it still makes me happy.”

Isaac smiled. A year wasn’t long to supernaturals, but Avery was human and until he mated an incubus, his lifespan was shorter. A year to him felt long. He’d change his way of thinking after a few hundred years.

“Well, I’m glad. You should enjoy every part of your mating. Not everyone’s so lucky.” Isaac thought immediately of his siblings, but he pushed the thought away before it could latch on. Thinking of them just made him sad.

“So, is there something I can do for you?” Isaac prompted.

“Right! I was going to ask if you wanted to get a coffee sometime. I want to hear how it’s going. I know Maverick sometimes has trouble keeping assistants long term.”

Probably because he was such a grouch. Thankfully, Isaac could handle anything the dragon threw at him. And he didn’t see the harm in having coffee with Avery. As long as he was careful not to mention their hookup. That might be worse than talking about the incident.

They made tentative plans to meet later in the week. Isaac’s schedule wasn’t always straightforward, sometimes lunch meetings or a heavy influx of paperwork made things difficult, but Avery seemed to understand why Isaac was so wishy-washy about it. Hopefully, they’d be able to meet up soon, because Isaac wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to make friends with his favorite author.

He was just finishing up for the day when he got an email alert on his computer. Not a work alert, thankfully, because working late wasn’t possible with his class schedule. Instead, it was an alert from one of his professors.

Ugh.

Professor Larson was a pain in the ass. He thought he was infallible in all things. It didn't matter if someone brought in fucking proof that what he was saying was wrong. He was the professor with years of experience and they were the students and they had to listen to him. Not only that, but he absolutely hated Isaac and any other student who didn’t go to law school full time. He thought his class was more important than anything else, and if the students didn’t give it one hundred percent of their attention at all times, then they were going to fail. Point blank, no exceptions.

With a heavy amount of trepidation, Isaac pulled open the email and read it through.

Class,

There have been a significant amount of students arriving after the set class start time. If you cannot be bothered to show up on time, then you shouldn’t be rewarded by still receiving credit. From now on, I will be locking the classroom door at exactly 6:00 pm. Anyone who arrives after that will receive a zero for attendance and will undoubtedly fall behind.

You have been warned.

Isaac’s gaze flicked to the clock on the monitor. Thirty minutes. It took him twenty to get to campus and another five to get to the classroom. And knowing Professor Larson, he’d lock it early just to screw with him. If he wanted to make it, he had to run.

Shit.