Loved by a Dragon (Mate Me Book 1)

9

Roxie awoke from her sleep, blinking away the blur from her eyes. She had a date with Xander in two hours. She couldn't wait, he made her happy. Just being around him lifted her spirits. He had told her her mom was wrong, and so was Mitch. He wanted to showcase her work!

But you heard Mitch, he said your work was mediocre and wouldn't sell. A grim voice told her. She shook her head and groaned. Xander had to be wrong. The Wright Family had been trading and dealing in art for generations. Why would Mitch have steered her wrong? They'd loved each other at one time.

She got up. Looking at the clock, she decided she had time to work on her painting. It was the only thing that calmed her down when she worried. She had an hour before she needed to get ready. Settling at her canvas, she dove in, not bothering to change or fix her hair. When the urge to paint flared, she couldn't stop. She added another layer to the clouds, working to match her photograph. Lost in her own world, she'd forgotten to set an alarm and jumped when Xander spoke.

"You are amazing." She dropped her brush with a squeak, Xander with his quick reflexes caught it before the brush hit her unprotected carpet. She looked at the clock, it read six-thirty.

"You are early," she accused, and he smiled.

"I had a hunch you would dive into your painting. One thing I find fascinating about you is your focus. I've been in the doorway for ten minutes and you had no idea." Xander swooped in and kissed her. She paused in surprise; he was acting so familiar around her.

"Sorry, one of my many faults as an artist. Since my parents already brought it up, it is part of the reason my ex Mitch left me." Roxie took her brush from his hand and put it down. She stood, looking up at Xander. She realized she only came up to his shoulder. Taking the time to admire him, she noticed he was in jeans and a different t-shirt from that morning.

"Mitch was an idiot. You are an artist. It comes with dating one and being married. You know they need their time to paint and focus." Xander leaned down and kissed her gently. She melted into his touch. His words made her feel as if he wanted her long term, he understood what it was like to date an artist. Releasing him, she turned away to hide her rising blush.

"How should I dress for our date?" Heading for her closet, she needed a moment to collect herself.

"Same as me, something you'll be comfortable sitting in for a long time." She looked over her shoulder at him and lifted an eyebrow.

"Pardon?"

"Just want you to be comfortable." He broke eye contact, which made her even more suspicious.

"Going to tell me where we are headed?" Grabbing her most comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. She walked over to her bathroom, purposefully leaving the door ajar to shower. She wanted to see if he could be tempted to sneak a peek.

"Are you okay if I neaten up your paints?" Why did her paints need storing? She'd only be gone a few hours. Maybe he was a neat freak like Mitch?

She remembered when they'd moved in together after the wedding. She'd been up all night, after satisfying Mitch's needs, painting. She'd crawled into bed twenty minutes before his alarm went off. She had the day off and planned to go back to sleep. That was until Mitch stormed back into the room raving about her studio being a disaster.

"Roxie get your ass up and clean your studio! You left paint open, brushes dirty in a cup of water on our brand new desk. Not to mention the drop cloth under your easel. I expect it clean when you are done painting. This is our home and you will take pride in the way it looks." It took her a whole minute to process what had just happened and to make her new husband happy, she got up and cleaned. He stood at the doorway, watching her clean, pointing out places she missed until the place was up to his standards.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off, dressed, and did her makeup.

"Xander do you..." her question trailed off when she saw all her work placed carefully around the room.

"These are amazing, but I thought you'd have more, I only see a dozen or so." He was standing by the first one she'd done post-divorce. It was a lightning storm she'd witnessed the night they filed the papers.

"My ex-husband got some, well most during the divorce. In exchange for not asking for alimony, Mitchell was supposed to sell my art at his gallery. I am getting ninety-five percent of the sale." She hadn't seen a penny yet from the paintings, which only confirmed her inadequacies.

"From that look, I can tell he has sold none. Do you know if he has them up at a gallery?" Xander wrapped her in a comforting hug. She breathed in his scent. It was like a fall evening when campfires were lit.

"Not one, and my lawyer checked on him a month ago, the paintings are displayed. Just goes to show Mitch was right about my talent."

"Hmm, could we talk more about this on our way to our date?" Xander suggested, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

"Sure, but wouldn't you rather talk about more interesting things?" She did not want to think about Mitch or her failure as an artist.

"We can talk about anything you want." Xander looked at his watch.

"We need to go or we'll be late." Xander smiled, holding out a hand. She took it without hesitation, letting him lead her out.

"Bye Evvy." Roxie waved to her friend.

"See you later." Evelyn waved back and winked, Roxie grabbed her purse and left the apartment. Waiting outside sat a black limo, the driver holding open the door. Xander led her over and let her get inside first. The inside had soft black leather seats with lowlights. Roxie smiled and said,

"All this for a first date?" Xander grinned, leaned over, and kissed her.

"I'm just getting started."

"Where are we going?" Xander handed her a bottle of water and grabbed one for himself.

"Rome." She gasped and choked on her water, coughing hard she gaped at him.

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