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“You, too, Your Majesty.”
Then Edel turned and glided down the hall. Jessie watched her go, remaining at the door long after Edel vanished around a corner…because Orik hadn’t budged from his spot on the sofa. Naturally he planned to stay, to ferret out her contraband.
Steeling herself, she took in a long breath, let it out slowly, and then faced him.
His frown was deep, his stony gaze boring into her. He sat with his arms stretched out along the back of the sofa, his ankle resting on one knee. He’d loosened the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing a swatch of tantalizing tan skin. It rankled her to find his commanding presence sexy.
“Are we tohave it outnow?”
She couldn’t get a read on him, but at least he wasn’t yelling…yet. His words from the garden echoed in her mind.I know well how to make life miserable for one such as you.She stifled a shudder. Was she about to discover the meaning behind that threat?
His aura seemed benign, so she traipsed to join him in the seating area and sat across from him, mirroring his position by stretching out her arms and demurely crossing her legs. The gown’s shorter front left her bare legs exposed and his gaze dipped, as though he couldn’t help it. His aura fluttered.
She pursed her lips to keep from smiling.
“Where is the blade?” he asked, meeting her eyes with a cold stare.
That look was shiver-inducing. She examined her nails. “You’ll have it before you leave. Why don’t we just talk for a minute? Maybe you’ll learn something about me that will help you to trust me.” At the very least, maybe she could cool some of his ire.
“You are very bold for a human.”
“I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a compliment.”
“I prefer obedience.”
“Do you?” She was getting the sense that her brazenness excited him.Do I want him excited?She glanced at the barely concealed muscles of his arms and chest and the shadow of stubble along his strong jaw. He was all hard muscle and testosterone.Yes. Yes, I do.How soft would his lips be by comparison?
She shrugged. “Maybe I just want to talk with you?”
He was quiet for a moment, contemplating her. Then he seemed to make a decision. “What do you propose we talk about?”
All evening she’d been plagued by one question. “I’m curious,” she began. “June and Tristan, a human and a dragon, married…”
He lifted his mug to take a sip of his ale. “Mm.”
“How does that work, anatomically speaking? I assume all their bits fit together.”
He coughed into his glass as if he’d swallowed wrong, his eyes bulging. “What?” he grated.
“You know. Can he perform his husbandly duties with a human?” Tapping her chin, she added, “Although she’s not really human anymore, is she? So that begs the question, when she changed into a dragon, did her basic human form change as well? To accommodate his reproductive organs?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I canna be thinking about this.”
“I’m just curious if humans and dragons are compatible in that way.”
This time when he met her gaze head on, there was nothing cold about it. “And why would you be curious about something like that?”
She shrugged. “Aren’t you?”
Again his hand scraped along his jaw. His gaze raked her body. Nearly unperceptively, he nodded, then shook his head. “O’ course no’.”
Her pulse drummed hard for a moment before she regained her composure.He’s thinking about it, too.
Though his body was now tense, she could tell he was fighting to relax it. “Hasn’t crossed my mind in the least. Why would it?”
Liar. But she let it drop. “All right, then, what was it like growing up with royalty?”
He seemed relieved by the change in subject and leaned back into the sofa. “Like going from a world made of solid stone to one made of glass. Before, no one noticed me but my parents, and I knew my place in the world. After? It seemed there was never a moment of peace, always someone looking in, wanting to get close to the family, jockeying for position. I quickly learned to read when others were being insincere, which was most of the time.”
