Thea Harrison - Dragon Bound

That must have been the right thing to say, because both men relaxed.

“Well, now that you ask,” he said, “safest thing would be for you to hang out in the penthouse.” She sighed. He went on, “But I can see how that wouldn’t appeal. Next best thing, stay in the Tower. We’ll follow orders and take you out if you really want to go, but I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, and to be blunt, I don’t think Dragos does either.”

She turned thoughtful. Dragos’s brief struggle with something had not just been her imagination. He had reined in his own impulses and opinions to allow her at least some freedom of choice.

Rune continued, “Also, sometime today I’d like to go to the gym and run through some safety pointers with you.”

She refocused on him and nodded. “Okay. I’ve taken classes that should help with that.”

“I know about them classes. Cardio Kickboxing,” said Graydon. “Turbo Dance. I watch the infomercials.”

“You’re not helping, Gilligan,” Rune said.

She smiled. “How about this? If you don’t mind, I would like a tour of the Tower.” They both nodded. “I would also kill for a Starbucks soy vanilla latte if that isn’t too much trouble. There’s got to be a coffee shop close by. And I have to have new tennis shoes. Mine got trashed. I’ve got about twelve hundred dollars in my savings account if I can just get at it. Then, maybe after Tricks and I have lunch, we can hit the gym.”

Rune dug in his pocket and pulled out a card. He put it on the table and pushed it to her without a word.

She stared. And stared.

An American Express Black Centurion card. With her name on it.

A half-dozen emotions shuttled through her at high speed, starting with offense. Was he trying to pay for her, like she was some kind of whore? Was this to keep her widdle self entertained while he was busy, until he got tired of her and decided to get rid of her? She gripped shaking hands together and took deep, measured breaths until she found some self-control.

As she calmed she remembered what Tricks had said. Dragos was a man and a dragon, which meant he had communication issues.

Amusement was the last emotion to shuttle in to the station. It braked hard and stayed. Dragos wasn’t treating her like a whore. He was trying to give her a treat.

The gryphons were watching her with their game faces on.

“That card is so wrong I don’t even want to talk about it. It’s kind of fun to look at, but it’s wrong.” Moving as though the card might explode on her, she put one finger on a corner and pushed it back to Rune. “Look, all I want is a couple hundred dollars of my own money, a latte and new shoes. Okay?”

Rune smiled a real smile this time as both he and Graydon relaxed further. “How about I loan you some money until we can get you access to your bank account? There’s a Starbucks on the ground floor, along with some other shops, a CVS and a decent restaurant.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Just then a slender dark-haired man burst chattering into the conference room. He was the personal shopper, a Wyr-mink named Stanford. “Hi, girlfriend, it’s nice to meetcha. Look at what I got for yoo-hoo. A black Dolce & Gabbana satin robe, ooh, it’s going to look so stunning with your hair and coloring.” He put a Saks Fifth Avenue box in front of her, opened it and, with a dramatic flick of his wrist, shook out the robe. “Go ahead and feel it, honey. It’s divine.”

Pia listened to the Wyr’s incessant chatter. She looked at the robe. From Saks. She pressed fingers to the skin over her right eyebrow, where a headache was beginning to throb. She asked, “Hi there, nice to meet you too. Stanford, how much did that cost?”

The shopper stared at her as if she had sprouted horns. “Cost?”

“And why did you get it for me? I have a fine robe already.”

Graydon cleared his throat. He tapped her arm. She leaned over and he whispered, “I think the boss wants you to have something that’s more than a tiny scrap of pink that barely covers your ass. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a lovely ass.”

She jerked back and stared at the gryphon. “Excuse me?”

The huge man’s cheeks darkened. He raised a finger. “Not that I meant to say that or to notice or anything. Fuck. I mean, I get it about the card, but if I were you, I’d think about letting the boss give you a robe. You know, ’cause sometimes things happen and us guys are around without a whole lot of warning. And I don’t think he’s okay with us seeing you wrapped up in that cute little pink handkerchief.”

She ground her teeth. After a moment she said to Stanford, “Thank you for getting me the robe. It’s beautiful.”

The Wyr-mink beamed. “Atta girl, now we’re talking. Let’s get down to some serious shopping. You and me, honey. I’ll help you look like a queen!”

“Stanford,” she said, regarding the little man. “Do you get paid on commission or on an hourly basis?”

His nostrils pinched and he shook his head. “Oh, I don’t do commission, honey. Unh-unh.”

She turned to Rune. “Got any cash I can borrow right now?” He dug out his wallet and handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “Can I have the card back too?” He raised a tawny eyebrow and handed her the Centurion card.

She turned to Stanford and gave him the cash and the card. “I want two things, please. First, I want you to take the cash and buy me a pair of size seven New Balance running shoes, and bring them back here with the change. After you do that, I want you to take the card and stock up every food bank in New York.”

The little man paled. “Every food bank? In the city or in the state?”

Her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t think of that. Let’s do every one in the state. How soon can you be back with the shoes?”

“I’ll have them to you this afternoon,” Stanford said. His face had turned glum.

“Thank you.” She looked at Rune, tongue between her teeth. “He did say I get anything I want.”

The gryphon grinned. “He sure did, didn’t he?”

They stood as Stanford slunk away, and the two gryphons took her on a tour of the Tower as promised. They had relaxed enough to chat, which made everything more endurable. She got a feel for the general layout quickly enough.

The penthouse floor housed Dragos’s private quarters. The painting that had snagged her attention the night before was indeed a Chagall, and it sat across the hall from a Kandinsky. Aside from the bedroom suite they occupied last night, there were two other bedroom suites, one of which was draped in heavy construction plastic, undergoing repairs that were being done under the close supervision of security guards. The penthouse kitchen looked like something out of a professional cooking magazine. It was next to a dining room that could seat twelve large Wyr in comfort. There was an extensive library with two skylights, battered, comfortable leather furniture and over twenty thousand volumes on a wide variety of subjects. The library also had a glass case that housed the older, more fragile books.

The living room area was like their bedroom suite, with one wall comprising floor-to-ceiling windows interspersed with French doors. It had two fifty-inch plasma televisions at either end of the room, several sitting areas with sofas and chairs and a bar that was comparable in size to the one at Elfie’s. Only sentinels and selected kitchen, security and domestic staff had access to the penthouse floor.

The next floor down held the large communal areas for key personnel, like the executive dining room, the teleconference room, the gym and training area, Dragos’s personal offices and a large meeting hall. Below that were quarters for the sentinels and certain executives and Court officials and guests from other Elder demesnes.