Chapter 3

Yeosin

“Alana, I’m taking my break,” Henry called from the front of Pink Ivory Coffee Bar. “You’re on register!”

After wrapping a pink apron around my waist, I pushed some hair off my forehead and hurried to the front of the shop to ring out the next customer. Henry had a bad habit of taking his break when he didn’t want to chat with guests.

As I stepped out from the back, I lifted my gaze to meet the one and only Luciano. I bit back a grunt because he wasn’t the nicest guy around and headed to the front with a forced smile on my face.

“Would you like your usual?” I asked, trying to keep eye contact with his intense brown eyes.

With a gruff nod, he pulled out his black card and tapped it on our card reader.

“Oh, actually,” I said, typing on the machine as quickly as I could to get his order in before the card reader could shut down on me again today. So much for going home and relaxing after getting my money. “One second.”

I tucked some hair behind my ear, heart pounding hard inside my chest, and inhaled the scent of cinnamon. Warmth suddenly gathered between my thighs at the aroma from the coffee machine behind me, and I cursed myself because ever since last night my body had been acting fucking crazy.

The screen turned black, and I reached for the plug to restart it.

“Sorry,” I mumbled to him, not daring to peek up.

Luciano was the grumpiest regular that I had ever met. Not mean per se, but I don’t think that I had ever seen him smile once. All he did was grab his coffee, find an empty table in the corner of the shop, and leave after I closed up.

Heat crawled up my torso from that sinful place between my thighs and curled around my nipples from the cinnamon aroma, making them stick right up against my shirt and command full freaking attention from underneath my pink apron.

My cheeks burned, and I tapped on the screen furiously to start it up for the fourth time today. God, why hadn’t I at least searched for my bra back at that house before I ran away with a card that I couldn’t even use and the thoughts that I might actually be pregnant plaguing me?!

“S-Sorry,” I stuttered. “We need a new machine.”

When I peered back up at him again, he stared back with the blankest look of all looks, his dark hair tousled slightly.

The screen finally lit back up, and I quickly typed in his total.

“Okay, you can tap your card now.”

“Are you sure?”

My eyes widened, because those were the first words that I had heard him speak in a long time. I had almost forgotten the sound of his deep voice drifting through my ears. Except right now, there was a bit of mischief accompanying it.

Was he cracking a joke?

“Yes,” I said, tucking some more hair behind my ears and playing with the end of my sleeve, which had a small hole in it. Maybe later, I could visit some shops downtown and pick out some new clothes with the card that beast had given me. “It’s working now.”

When Luciano tapped the card on the card reader, a loading circle popped up on my screen. I chewed on the inside of my cheek and nervously tapped my fingers on the counter, just wanting this interaction with him to be over already.

The circle swirled and swirled and swirled and swirled until the screen finally turned off.

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No,” I mumbled.

God, out of all customers that this can happen to, it had to be Luciano!

“I’m sorry,” I said, forgoing the machine entirely and running to grab him a black coffee, so I didn’t piss him off anymore. I didn’t want him to hate me more than he did. It was bad enough that Henry left me during rush hour. There was already a line forming behind Luciano.

After grabbing a cup, I filled it to the top and hurriedly clasped on the lid.

This would have to do. I’d take it out of my paycheck if I needed to. I mean, I had the money now. Well, sorta. I still didn’t have the cash to pay back the Dragon Clan, but I had enough for coffee. It was cheap here anyway.

Just as I was about to hand it to him, some hot coffee sloshed over the side of the cup and burned my hand. Pain shot up and down my fingers, making them shake. I set the coffee cup on the counter in front of him and grabbed a rag to my right, placing it over the wound and grinding my teeth.

“Fuck!” I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut. “That stings.”

Almost immediately, Luciano reached for my burned palm, but I pulled it back.

“No, no. It’s okay,” I reassured him, biting back all the pain. “I’m fine. I’m fine!”

Even though I wanted to literally burst out into tears…

Once my hand stopped shaking uncontrollably, I grabbed the coffee cup, refilled it, and made sure the cap was on tight so it wouldn’t spill on me again. I tightened my burned hand into a fist, holding it behind my back while handing him the cup.

“Have a great day,” I said with a trying smile.

Because his day sure had to be better than mine.

Luciano stared at me for a couple moments, lingering longer than he usually did. Then he clenched his sharp jaw, his eyes blazing the way they usually did when he was angry, and he walked to his usual table.

What is wrong with him now?! Is it because I spilled his coffee? Did I stain his suit?

The next customer walked up to the register, and I pulled my gaze away from Mr Grumpy to see my favorite regular here to save the day. Brent Haines, a brilliant software engineer who worked at Midnight Security Headquarters down the block, and he wasn’t too bad on the eyes either.

“Don’t let him freak you out,” Brent said. “He can be a big ole softy.”

“Who?”

Brent nodded over to Luciano.

“Luciano?” I asked, my brows shooting up. “A softy?”

Brent leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Just kidding. He scares me too.”

The aroma of his cologne drifted through my nostrils, and I gently pressed my thighs together, letting out a small giggle. It was the same smell of cologne from earlier at that beast’s penthouse.

Is Brent secretly the beast? If he was, then why didn’t I smell that cologne last night? And that musky scent wasn’t what was making my pussy ache earlier. No, it was that scent of cinnamon that was doing all sorts of things to me.

“So, do you have any plans for tonight?” I asked, trying to get as much information out of him as possible. I didn’t think that Brent would be a billionaire, or be able to afford a ten million dollar night of sin with me, but… maybe?

At least, if he thought that I was onto him, then maybe he would come clean.

He cracked a smirk and placed his forearm on the counter. “Why, you wanna do something?”

“Oh, uhm,” I said, cheeks burning. “No.”

“I’m free tonight, if you wanna grab a couple drinks.”

Fuck, why did I have to get myself into trouble?! Tell him no, Yeosin, because we have–

“Sure,” I found myself saying because I was a damn people-pleaser, which was how I got in trouble with the Dragon Clan in the first place. But I mean, drinks with Brent couldn’t be that bad, right?

Plus, I needed something before deciding whether or not to meet that beast again. I wasn’t required to do anything more. He only paid for one night. But a deep primal part of me might’ve wanted to see him again.

“Sure,” I smiled. “I’d love to.”

Authors Note: Dragon Clan you say 👀