Page 38 of A Delicate Conquest

“And?” The confident, slight upturning of her lips was devastating.

“You’re… impressive.”

“What makes you say that?”

“For you, a human, to experience all this in a short period, to adjust so quickly and then somehow gain the upper hand over me… is impressive.”

“But if I really do have the upper hand, isn’t it just because you let me?”

“Yes.No.See? You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

Driving me insane.Her curious combination of confidence, intuition, and honesty was going to be his downfall.

He’d never met anyone so unafraid to show their genuine self.

Were all humans like this?

She placed her hand on his knee, her touch sending a warm, electric ripple through him. “Mavrel, I wasn’t expecting any of this. I have to admit, when I met you in Garner Tower, I thought you were awfully nice in spite of the circumstances, especially considering who I worked for at the time, but I didn’t think anything would come of it. I’ve thought about you a lot since then, but it was more wishful thinking on my part. To say I was surprised when I received the invitation to come up here would be an understatement, but I didn’t have to think too much about it. I was kinda hoping I might run into you, catch your eye, strike up a little conversation, and get to know you better. I wasn’t expecting this… thisMating Feverthing to happen so fast, but here we are, learning to run before we can walk. What choice do I have but to go with it? Besides, you make it possible. I can’t explain why, but I feel so comfortable around you.”

“You havenoreason whatsoever to feel uncomfortable around me.”

“That’s exactly it. I even accidentally conjured a naked image of you, and you didn’t flip out. So if anything’s impressive, it’s the fact that you make me feel safe.”

Warmth hit Mavrel’s cheeks, spreading to the tips of his ears. Nobody had ever said anything like this to him before.

And as aroused and heated as he was, her words made him want to do right by her.

To be noble rather than ruthlessly pragmatic—as he would have been in the past.

He was beginning to understand how the formidable First Division had fallen.

More than anything else, he wanted to protect this fragile, beautiful, innocent creature from all the terribleness of the Universe.

He placed his hand on top of hers. She was right. Why overanalyze it? Why not just give in? “Safe enough to ask me anything, hmm? You should be. I’m at your mercy right now.”

“So, you don’t mind if I…” She glanced at the holo of him again. Mavrel silently cursed the infernalSylth.

Why had it given him such a serious expression, as if he were irritated?

But it was obvious she liked what she saw, and that alone filled Mavrel with irrational pride.

He’d never been the subject of anyone’s admiration before. The fourth son of a Noble House, he’d often been overlooked in favor of his older brothers.

They were dead now, as was his father.

House Yrixis had been given the option to surrender.

And Mavrel had chosen his side—a long time ago.

That was the way of things.

Mavrel forcibly erased the darkness from his thoughts. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to soften—well, everything except for his infernal cock. “Beatrice, if it pleases you, you can stare at this image of me for as long as you want. Any questions you have, you can?—”

“Is it really… likethat?”

His eyes narrowed. He curled his fingers around her wrists and held her gently. “Iswhatlike that?”

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