Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) by Terry Bolryder

thought he might pop off and cause trouble.
    He could, but he wouldn’t. He’d already learned the other night that he could hold off his dragon for her.
    Still, the guy better watch it.
    “So, Bill, do any of these dogs look like what you’re looking for?” she asked.
    The man finally stopped ogling Hallie long enough to look at the cages in a bored motion.
    A thought from the creep finally came into Luc’s mind. The man didn’t really want to adopt a puppy. But he would enjoy hurting one.
    Luc stood abruptly. “You’re not adopting,” he snapped furiously, walking over to stand between Hallie and the pets and the red-haired jerk.
    The man just folded his arms over his massive belly and sneered. “You’re just a volunteer. I think it’s up to the employees to make that call.”
    “I…” Hallie looked between them. Then she sighed and took Luc by the arm, hauling him into a corner and lowering her voice to a whisper. “What are you doing? You know we need every adoption we can get.”
    Luc shook his head. “Not that one. Trust me.”
    “What is it?” she asked.
    Luc didn’t know if he wanted to tell her. The thought that someone would hurt animals was a gross one, and he wished he could get the man’s nasty thoughts out of his head. So why share it with her?
    “I just don’t like him,” he said.
    “Luc…” She sighed. “You don’t have a right to get jealous when we don’t even know what this is.”
    “What what is?” he asked, perplexed.
    She gestured between them with her hands. “This. You know? We work together, and I’ve only just met you, and yes, we went out on a date…”
    “We did more than that,” he said tersely, looking over to make sure the other man wasn’t watching. “I think we did enough that you should be able to take my word for it when I say someone is a creep.”
    “Is he a creep, or are you just jealous?” she asked. “Because so far, I don’t have any reason not to trust Bill. He has been a donor a long time.”
    Luc’s mouth twisted. “So you’re going to trust him over me?”
    “What choice do I have?” she asked, folding her arms. “You aren’t giving me any information.”
    “Should I have to tell you exactly why every time I don’t want you around a man?”
    She shook her head. “You aren’t my boyfriend, as far as I know, so you don’t get to tell me when you do or don’t want me around a man. Last night was fun, Luc. But it doesn’t give you the right to control me.”
    Luc frowned. Something was wrong with the whole situation. She wasn’t being her usually bright, sunny self. She was defensive toward him. “Is this because I left last night?”
    She flipped her hair. “Because you left? How about because the second we finished, you literally jumped out the window? That was a big deal for me, and you didn’t say anything. You didn’t—”
    He leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him back. “No,” she said. “You can’t solve this one like this. You can’t just kiss a problem away.” She looked around him. “Besides, I’m at work.”
    “What is it you want?” he asked. “I feel like I’ve done something wrong, and I have no idea what it is.”
    “Look, Luc, I really like you. But you need to decide what you want. What we are. Because I can’t do things like we did last night and watch you disappear through the window. I need someone who is going to stay.”
    He blinked, too stupefied by what she’d said to notice she was walking back to Bill, the douchebag. Then he did notice.
    She was talking to him again, and she saw Bill reach up to put his hand on her arm. She drew back politely, and Luc slumped on a bench, looking at Bastien.
    Bastien raised his head, looked in Bill’s direction, and hissed, and Luc grinned.
    “I’m with you, buddy. He’s gotta go.”

10
    H allie was discussing adoptions with Bill in the front waiting room when the door opened with a clang.
    Luc strode through, and she put a hand to her