Captivated (The Dragons) Read Online Free PDF Page B

least, and I felt his regard sweep through me like I was a few inches off from a straight up interrogation.
    His lips were small but lush, like they were made for eating juicy, exotic fruits, and he had a medium build, muscular but not obnoxiously so. I couldn't see his abs, but I was sure they were probably of the washboard variety.
    I took note of how thoroughly I was checking the men out in the motorcycle club and was sure a flush met my cheeks.
    “Miss Rios. Please,” he welcomed, gesturing easily to the seat in front of him.
    I slid into the space across from the president of the Dragons, ridiculously hyper-aware of my every move.  He had an unsettling effect on me (and probably everything around him).
    “The Pres” was the consummate, understated Alpha. Unassuming, observant, and extremely intelligent. I had no doubt he'd already drafted a mental profile that probably fit me to a tee.
    “Drink?”
    “Um. Sure. White Russian with soy?”
    The long haired girl at his side, who I'd just barely noticed before he drew attention to her, retracted a stylus from beneath her mobile and jotted something on its screen. She went back to whatever she'd been doing on it after that, never raising an eye to meet mine.
    I guessed she was his assistant.
    Just how deep were the Dragons' pockets?
    “I hear you're something of an herbalist? Vinnie used to comment on that a lot.”
    A twinge went through me hearing him mention my cousin, and I had to remind myself that he was being indulgent. He didn't have to extend a chance to any of Vinnie's relatives to clean up his error. In the eyes of justice, my cousin, by all appearances, had stolen from him.
    His dark eyes hung on me, smooth and intent on my answer.
    He was pretty and powerful, very like a dragon.
    “I've dabbled enough. Mostly with herbal cough syrups and various salves. Deodorant, also.” I shut up right there, as I was beginning to move into babbling-idiot territory.
    “It's just a casual interest then?”
    “I wouldn't call it casual.”
    Why did I feel like everything I was saying might be the wrong answer? And did it matter? I was already in this as deep as I could be in it.
    “Thank you.”
    I nodded to the server delivering the White Russian to me, and she disappeared from my side like the wind. She wasn't wearing the same kind of uniform as Sue. You wouldn't even know she was a server by looking at her. Did he have his own separate “girls?”
    Did they do other things for him, as well?
    “Link says you've gained some ground on the books you're studying?”
    There was a trace of impatience in his voice. It was well-concealed, but I could feel it. I could also see it tucked to the back of the intensity in his gaze. Someone had taught him never to reveal himself.
    He behaved like a person who'd learned self-discipline from a very early age.
    I sat up a little straighter.
    “Yeah. There are some glyphs that older herbalists and apothecaries use.”
    A slight grin appeared at his cheek.
    “Not the well-known sorts, surely.”
    He was already following me, and he didn't seem put off in the least. That was good.
    “No. Definitely not during certain eras.”
    “And what dots have you connected with these glyphs?”
    “Well, plants have a kind of...”
    My eyes averted to the table as I gathered my words.
    “Spirit?”
    My gaze met his.
    “Yeah. The herbs I was asked to pay special attention to are associated with elements that fit the properties of the original... elixir Link mentioned like a glove.”
    The president's grin deepened.
    “Drug, you mean.”
    I shrugged. “Yeah.”
    “And you think you can figure the right proportions of the ingredient we're missing?”
    “To replace what Vinnie took? I'm pretty sure I can.”
    The president didn't reply right away, his gaze making it clear that he was considering everything I'd said. I didn't know if I'd convinced him that I was capable of mixing up a good alternative to go with the base they already had