"No, no, don't ring Lily. If you do, she'll be here right away and hover protectively. She may have only just met you, but she has a way about her when it comes to helping those who need it."
"You still haven't told me what I should do," she stated.
Standing up, he took a few steps closer to her. "I'd prefer for us both to stand."
As she glanced up to meet his gaze, she snorted. "So you can tower over me and try your best to intimidate me?"
"No, because you have too much energy to sit down and stay still."
She blinked. "How do you know that?"
He brushed a section of hair over her shoulder. "You keep tapping your hand against your side and shuffling your feet. And given your former profession, lounging around doesn't really seem your style."
She opened her mouth and closed it again. Rhydian was far more perceptive than she'd given him credit for.
However, as he searched her gaze, she forgot about that and drew on every bit of strength she possessed not to look at his lips. The full lips surrounded by a late-day stubble. A stubble that would rub against her tender flesh and make her wet and needy for him.
Rhydian's voice was husky when he said, "So now that we've established how I'm a master of reading body language, let's talk about earlier when you proposed your boxing match."
"I wouldn't call you a master of body language as it seems to be a recent development. Otherwise, you would've noticed my irritation the first time we met."
He raised his brows. "Do you really want to debate this or talk about what you can do to be more accepted inside the clan, even if only slightly?"
She wanted to needle him for some reason—probably because it was fun—but she managed to keep herself on topic. "Okay, then what's this grand idea of yours?"
"Do you like me, Delaney?"
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
His finger rose to her cheek and lightly traced it. Her heart rate sped up as heat rushed between her thighs. Rhydian's voice somehow made her hotter as he said, "I think you fancy me, Delaney Murphy. And if that's true, it'll make my suggestion easier."
It was hard for her to concentrate with Rhydian's finger on her cheek and his heat so close. Never would she have pictured him as such a charmer, but she was definitely falling under his spell.
Stupid dragon-shifter powers of seduction. They should be illegal.
"Rhydian, what is all of this about? I don't like beating around the bush, so just tell me straight what you mean."
His pupils flashed, and since this was the first time she'd seen them do so up close, she noticed how they came to sharp points at the top. As they grew round again, the middle fattened out.
They reminded her of cat eyes.
Rhydian replied, "If you agreed to be my mate, then the clan would mostly back off. Not everyone, but enough to make your life easier."
Of all the things she would've guessed, Rhydian proposing that she become his mate hadn't been one of them. "Wait, what? What do you mean agree to be your mate?"
"You wanted to know what my dragon suggested, and that's it. And don't worry, I wouldn't kiss or touch you unless you asked me to."
As Rhydian stared at her with his heated gaze, his pupils flashing rapidly, she doubted him not kissing or touching her would last long. Not because he'd go back on his word, but Delaney didn't think she could maintain a platonic relationship with Rhydian for any period of time.
But to marry him? It was all so sudden.
She didn't want to hurt him, but she needed some clarification. "Say I agree to it." She swore Rhydian growled, but she pressed on. "And it doesn't work out. Is there any sort of dragon divorce? Because if not, then I'll have to find another way to make my stay here easier."
His voice sounded tight to her as he replied, "It's rarer since so many pairings have been, historically, between true mates. However, there is a process for it."
She hadn't even thought about true mates. "Is that why you're so attracted to me? Am I your true mate?"
He didn't hesitate. "I'm fairly sure you are, yes."