The Dragon's Mate Proposal (The Dragon Overlords Book 3) by Riley Storm

Author:Riley Storm [Storm, Riley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: High House Press
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Samantha

“I don’t have a penny, but I’d give one for your thoughts,” I said, glancing over and up at Cade.

He’d been unusually quiet since we left the spa, but it wasn’t the usual moodiness and silence that overcame him while we worked on the house. It was different. More pronounced yet he was also more present, in a way. The thoughts about his family and past took him elsewhere, but it kept his mind at the front.

The back of his hand brushed against mine as he twisted at the waist. The movement pulled his gray shirt taut against his body, revealing the outline of his pecs and the repeating ripples of abs that disappeared below his belt. I knew from experience they continued on, though I tried to push that thought aside.

My fingers insisted on reminding me of what it felt like, however, and a tingle ran down my spine. I blinked it away as best I could, focusing on the fact that Cade’s lips were moving.

“I’m sorry, pardon?”

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.

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