Chapter 15
The next day brought a thunderstorm with lightning flashing over Lumi Lake and rain pounding the cobblestones of Acorn Street.
Fewer people than usual ventured to the diner to eat, but Jildarin was nonetheless cheerful as he prepared a few staple dishes while experimenting with new mushroom recipes.
He was also perfecting plantain- and banana-based desserts, both because he had an excess of each to use and because the elven queen was from the south, where plantains and bananas originated. Thus, by his logic, she would adore both. The way he prepared them, she might.
Between checking inventory and ordering supplies for the elven gardeners who would resume work on the roof when the weather improved, Rylana stepped into the kitchen to try a few samples.
She also intended to apologize to Jildarin.
During the night, it had occurred to her that they were only concerned about being evicted because of her family.
“Tomorrow,” Jildarin informed her as she enjoyed her samples, sweet aromas of frying coconut, plantains, and melted chocolate all mixing in the air, “new mushrooms will have sprouted. We will find the enchanted morels.”
He handed her a fork with a slice of a banana dipped in chocolate on it.
“You think so?” Rylana accepted the treat, never hesitating to chomp down something with a chocolate coating.
“The foraging book says that mushrooms often sprout after a rain. Moisture seeps into the forest floor, creating the perfect environment for them to fruit and emerge.” Jildarin raised his eyebrows.
“That sounds right.” She’d only skimmed a few of the pertinent chapters but had observed before that mushrooms were more plentiful after a rain.
She paused to eat the banana slice. Oh, that was good.
He’d added some kind of sweet spice mix to the chocolate that she wasn’t familiar with, and were those crushed pistachios coating the treat?
And tiny cacao nibs? With sea salt? Delicious.
As she returned the empty fork, she couldn’t keep from looking toward the counter behind him, wondering if he’d prepared more.
“Yes. We will forage early in the day, before the mushrooms grow soft and insects plague them.” Jildarin took the fork and pronged another chocolate-dipped banana slice. He turned, holding it toward her in offering. “You will accompany me for this important endeavor, yes?”
“Yes.” Rylana reached for the fork.
He drew it back. “You will not consume flavored water with the elf, correct?”
Why did that sound more like an order than a question?
“Not tomorrow during prime foraging hour, no.”
“Good.” Jildarin pushed the fork back toward her.
This time, he let her pop the second slice of banana into her mouth. He nodded, as if she were acting appropriately, then pronged one more slice with the fork.
“Tassani said he was busy, anyway,” Rylana said. “He wants to get together after the queen is gone.”
“At the diner, not the flavored-water dispensary.” Jildarin offered the fork to her again, but he watched her intently.
“If I say we would prefer the coffee shop, are you going to take that back before I can reach for it?”
“There is no reason to prefer the coffee shop. The fare here is far more varied, and it is delicious.”
“It is delicious. But we might like a little more privacy for our first date. And for Rolf not to be wandering past, asking if elves know they’re supposed to leave substantial tips.” Rylana reached for the fork.
Jildarin frowned and drew it out of reach.
Rylana lowered her arm. “Jildarin, are you using chocolate-dipped bananas to manipulate me?”
“You’ve informed me that you prefer when I do not give you orders.”
“So, you’re bribing me instead?”
“I am rewarding you for acceptable behavior.”
“Like not having coffee with Captain Tassani?”
“I do not trust him. He leads the elves who were assigned to hunt your comrade.”
“But he’s not after Sylin now, and since when are you that concerned about her welfare?”
“You are concerned. Further, the elves were also attempting to take you for interrogation.”
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten. But I don’t think he’s after me anymore. He’s…”
Jildarin’s eyes narrowed, his frown deepening.
“The queen gave him orders to leave Sylin alone,” Rylana said, “and he seems willing to obey her.”
“He may be disingenuous. He may attempt to kidnap you if you join him for an unsupervised outing.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t want to kidnap me. All he wants is…” She shrugged, having no way to read Tassani’s mind. All she knew was that she no longer got a hostile vibe from him.
“To have recreational coitus with you.”
“I don’t think he’s decided that yet.”
“He has decided,” Jildarin said without hesitation.
“Even if that’s of interest to him, it shouldn’t matter to you, right? You’re not interested in that.”
“No, it is illogical for a dragon and a human to mate when they cannot have offspring.” He frowned down at his body, as if he were telling himself that as much as informing her.
When he looked up, there was a crease to his brow.
“Elves and humans are, however, genetically similar enough that they can sometimes produce offspring.”
“I’m not going to have babies with him. We’re just getting coffee.”
“Should you enter a state of motherhood, your maternal obligations might distract you from your duties as a partner in the diner.”
“I’m not entering a state of motherhood.”
“Sometimes, as a result of recreational coitus, offspring are spawned.”
“Jildarin. I came in here to apologize to you, and you’re being a pain in the ass.”
Frowning again, he looked at and touched his butt. Then he leaned to the side to look at hers, though he didn’t presume to touch it.
“It’s an expression,” Rylana said, certain he’d heard her use it before. But maybe he hadn’t been paying attention then. For good or ill, she seemed to have his full attention for this conversation.
“For what would you apologize?”
“The landlord is threatening to kick us out. That’s my fault.” On the way back the previous night, Rylana had told Jildarin about her conversation with her father and her new suspicion that her brother had been responsible. “It’s my family’s fault, but they wouldn’t be bothering you if not for me.”
“That is likely so. But my family would not be bothering you if not for me.”
“They tried to light me on fire.”
“Correct. Did you not find that bothersome?”
“I did, but you don’t need to apologize for that. It wasn’t your fault.”
“And it is not your fault that your kin plot against the diner.”
His simple statement made a lump form in her throat, and Rylana forgot her exasperation with him over the recreational coitus conversation. On impulse, she stepped forward and hugged him.
“Thank you for understanding,” she said.
She was about to step back, figuring he wouldn’t appreciate the hug, but he set the fork down and returned her embrace, even leaning his chin against the top of her head. His hand came up, and he brushed his fingers through her hair, eliciting instant awareness and pleasure within her.
“I will accompany you to visit your brother,” he said. “Together, we will convince him to leave our diner and our landlord alone.”
“All right, but you can’t threaten to incinerate him.”
“No. He is your kin. As I’ve informed you, even among dragons, it is not considered appropriate to threaten kin with a fiery demise.”
“Humans have the same policy. You have to find other ways to convince family to do what you want.”
“I could bring the fork with chocolate-covered bananas.”
Rylana laughed softly and snuggled closer, wishing…
Jildarin slid his hand through her hair again. “As I observed before, this is appealingly soft. And it smells… I have detected this scent in the lavatory.”
“Yeah, if there’s not time to go to the public baths, I wash my hair in the sink. Also the rest of myself.”
He brushed his chin, or maybe his nose against her hair, and a shiver went through her.
Was he… inhaling her scent? The memory of their kiss sprang to mind, and she was tempted to lift a hand to the side of his strong neck, perhaps to push her fingers into his hair to see if it was soft and appealing.
“It is floral,” he decided.
“Jasmine and rose hips is the shampoo scent.”
“Yes.”
A possible reason for his suspicion of Tassani came to mind. “Jildarin? Is there a chance you think our kiss in the park… wasn’t a mistake?”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. He didn’t move at all. She caught herself hoping that he would pull her tightly against him, lower his mouth to hers, and tell her that he didn’t care if being with her was a good idea or not, that he wanted her.
But he took a deep breath, released her, and stepped back. “No. It was a mistake, as further acts of intimacy would be. The elves are not the only ones who represent a danger to you.”
“You’re worried your female kin will be back and go after me.”
“I am. You are assisting me greatly in making the diner popular and prompting persons from all the intelligent species to come and consume the food. Many are realizing that dragons can offer more than fire and fangs to the world. I cannot allow my kin to slay you.”
“I don’t want that either, but—”
“Come. We will convince your brother to leave our building alone, and then we will acquire the enchanted morels and create a dish that the elven queen will not be able to resist. She will carry word of our diner back to the south, and soon all elves in the world will know of the excellent food a dragon is capable of creating.” He nodded firmly, grabbed the fork with a slice of chocolate-dipped banana on it, and strode for the door.
Though she was disappointed their hug had ended, Rylana agreed that they had tasks they needed to accomplish. She followed him out into the vestiges of the storm.