Page 46 of The Dragon's Mate Proposal

He frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just went space cadet for a moment there,” I said sheepishly. “What were you saying?”

“That you must be getting hungry.” He pointed at the sky, where the sun was setting lower. “It’s getting late. You were there for a long time.”

His eyes ran over my face and hair appreciatively as he said it. I bit my lip, trying not to blush at the blatant attention. It was the most forward he’d been since …

“I suppose I could eat before we head back,” I mused thoughtfully.

Leaving didn’t sound overly appealing just yet. The day had been nice. Very nice. Even just walking around with Cade had been enjoyable. Peaceful and relaxing, without the sweating and hard work that had filled the past week. Not that I minded, seeing the house slowly come back to life was a reward in its own way, but this was different. Filling.

Cade guided us to a little alley restaurant, where we sat at an outdoor table. He pulled my chair out for me and acted all the gentleman as we ate, accompanied by the unnecessary flickering light of a trio of candles. There was still plenty of sunlight, but neither of us objected.

We drank and laughed and ate, and through it all, Cade kept staring at me over the candlelight.

“Do I have something on my face?” I asked finally.

“No, why would you think that?”

“You keep staring.”

Cade’s eyes flickered with something deep and raw, almost primal. My stomach tried to do backflips, but it was too full and instead fell on its face.

“That’s because of how amazing you look,” he said, his voice nearly a growl as a gust of wind sent the candles into a frenzied dance. “The time at the spa certainly served to highlight your natural beauty.”

I clamped my mouth shut so the frog in my throat wouldn’t escape.

“Shall we go?” he asked, standing in one smooth motion and offering his arm to me.

Wordlessly, I nodded, slipping my hand through the opening and resting my fingers on his forearm. The muscles there were like corded steel, firm and hard, yet his skin was soft and warm. Welcoming. Making me want to snuggle in deeper to his side.

“Hey,” I said as we left the restaurant, heading toward one of the designated landing/takeoff spots. “Is this safe?”

“Is what safe?” Cade asked, looking around sharply.

“Uh, you know. If we’re leaving right now. Should you drink and dragon?”

“Drink … and dragon?” he repeated, coming to a halt. “What does that mean?”

“You know. Drink and fly, I guess? Is that safe? I don’t have a seatbelt, don’t forget, and you had several more beers than I did, mister. Or has the alcohol made you forget already?” I smiled to make sure he knew I was teasing.

“Drink and dragon,” he said again with a matching grin, understanding what I meant. “Ha. That’s a good one. But no, you’re perfectly safe. It takes much more alcohol than that to affect a dragon’s thinking. Our metabolism is much faster than yours.”

I recalled the difference in size of our dinner plates. Or brunch. Or any meal he’d eaten.

“Okay,” I said, accepting his logic and letting myself be led onward once more, ignoring the side-eye many of the passersby gave us.

A part of me wondered if Cade ever noticed. If he did, did he care? It couldn’t be easy, having his people scrutinize him so much just for being with me.

“Besides,” he said, pulling me past the outlined square of stone. “We’re not going back tonight.”

I perked up. “We’re not? You didn’t mention that before.”

“You didn’t ask,” he said, flashing a wink at me that once more tied my stomach into knots.

“Well, then, where are we going?”

“I got us a hotel for the night,” he said, gesturing ahead. “I thought you could use a night off completely. Including from sleeping on the floor.”

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