Ashley wore her usual black trouser pants and button-up shirt, this time a dark blue. He tried his best not to glance to her round hips, or to lust after the breasts he ached to palm. But in the end, he couldn't resist a peek.
She was so fucking perfect. No other female would ever compare to her.
And his dragon promptly sent an image of them sucking one of her hard nipples into their mouth, and Wes said, Do that again and I'll put you in a mental prison.
Fine. But it's all your own fault, not mine.
His beast settled down just as her voice filled the room and he focused solely on her face. "You summoned?" she drawled.
The fact she didn't comment on his eyes only bespoke how accustomed she was to being around dragon-shifters. One of the first rules of politeness was to not ask about what an inner dragon said, unless you knew the person well enough. He gestured to the chair in front of him. "Yes, I did. So take a seat."
She crossed her arms and remained standing. "I don't have a lot of time right now, Wes, what with ADDA coming to collect their new prisoners. What do you want?"
"I need another favor." She raised her dark brows, but he pushed on before she could say anything. "Given what happened to Ryan, I'm not sure if ADDA will let him stay. But I need you to find a way to make it happen so he can mate Gaby."
She searched his gaze a second before answering, "That's going to require me calling in a lot of favors. Which means I'm upping my request from the last time you asked me to work my magic."
He resisted a sigh. "I already said one of the males will participate in the charity auction for orphans, and spend the evening with whomever bids the most. What else do you want now?"
She bobbed her head. "Yes, you gave me that. But now, if I do this, I want you to be the volunteer up for auction."
He blinked. "Me? You're joking, right?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "Why would I? Just think how much more money would come in for not just a night out with a dragonman, but a clan leader. And since the cause is to help orphaned dragon-shifter children, I don't see why you'd say no."
His dragon spoke up. She seems eager for you to say yes. Maybe she wants to bid on us.
Dream on, dragon. Wes focused back on Ashley. "Will ADDA even allow it?"
"It's not against the rules. It's also only for one evening, one which won't take place for quite a few months down the line. Your clan should be secure enough for you to leave for a few hours by then, especially if I'm helping you."
Some might think her arrogant, but Wes had seen Ashley work a miracle or two over the years with ADDA. She had more connections than anyone else he knew or ever met.
His dragon chimed in again. Not only will it help the charity raise funds, we could spend a night in Reno. I can't remember the last time you left PineRock.
Wes remembered—it'd been almost four years ago, before he'd become clan leader.
And if he were honest with himself, he missed the occasional trip to the busy city, full of lights and noise he'd never hear here in the isolated wilderness. Not to mention watching the humans in the city was always amusing to him since they were similar to dragon-shifters in many ways, but different in others.
Wes made his decision and grunted. "Provided PineRock is safe and I can establish adequate security, I'll do it. But if another major incident or emergency crops up, then you'll let me send one of my other clan members in my stead."
Ashley smiled and put out a hand. "I'll take that deal."
Wes wanted to avoid touching her skin since it'd stir up his dragon, but he couldn't afford to upset the human right now. So he reached out and took her hand. The instant her warm, soft skin touched his, electricity raced up his arm and down to between his legs.
He could also hear Ashley's heart rate skip up at the same time her pupils dilated a fraction.
Fuck, she felt the connection, too, which made resisting her all the harder.
Before his dragon could suggest something ridiculous, like kissing her, he let go and retreated to behind his desk. "Thank y
ou. If there's anything else I can do, let me know."
She searched his gaze a second before replying, "I'll keep that in mind."
With that, Ashley turned and walked out of his office.
Once the door clicked closed, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. While he was grateful that Gaby might get to keep her human for good, Wes wasn't looking forward to the auction.