Page 22 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

Niemrin waved a hand. “Fine. You’re not completely hopeless. But maybe showing her yourentire hoardthe first time she comes over is a bit much? You know humans don’t evenhavehoards.”

“Yes, it’s very sad. I assume that’s why humans who are mated to dragons are so happy.”

I returned to cleaning a string of diamonds, imagining it bouncing against Elle’s breasts while I fucked her, gems glinting as she screamed.

The diamond set was the most valuable thing in my collection, but not the most expensive. I reluctantly placed it in one of the pedestal display cases, but not the most prominent one.

Niemrin seemed to think this over. “They are, aren’t they?”

“So, obviously, she should understand that I am a good potential mate.”

“Oh, you’re still thinking of ‘potentials’?” Niemrin said with a smirk. He stopped trying to touch my jewelry and instead examined my organization system.

I grunted. “She’s human. She probably hasn’t made up her mind yet.”

Much of the advice I’d read about human intimacy referenced allowing women to control the pace of sex. None of that made sense to me—what if both people were women? Or neither?—but since I had no interest in pressuring her into anything she wasn’t ready for, it didn’t matter.

Exchanging gifts was just as important as sex, and I was a master at that.

Niemrin laughed. “But you have.”

I shrugged. He knew how it was. Dragons didn’t do things by half measures. I’d seen enough of Elle to know that she was a good match for me. Little would change that.

But talking to Niemrin had helped me get my head around the situation. I always felt more settled after a conversation.

“Have you mentioned Elle to your family yet?”

“No.” I moved on to the shelves, which held my less expensive jewelry. Incomplete sets and single pieces, mostly.

“They’ll want to meet her.”

The shelf would look more balanced if I put the onyx crownthere, but its price meant I had to place it one shelf lower. I frowned.

“I’ll introduce her in a month or two.” No way would I take her around my parents, or, worse, my brother, until I was sure I had her locked down. The fact that courting provided a convenient excuse to avoid family functions was a bonus.

Niemrin grunted. “If you take her out in public before introducing her to your family, they might get offended.”

For dragons, being seen together in public—like at dinner or a party—meant a couple was seriously courting rather than engaging in a casual, private affair. Having our first date in a public location had been disconcerting when I knew Elle was still undecided.

My parents would react like I’d burned down half their house and rolled around in the ashes if they’d heard about my coffee date before I introduced them to Elle. My sister Tikalass would complain about how everyone still treated her like a baby even though she’d been a legal adult for a full year.

Udar, my brother, would be the only one who wouldn’t act pissed. He’d be all suave and charming and probably use the situation to cozy up to Elle and try to take her for himself. He did things like that—or tried to—all the time.

If he learned I was hunting a specific piece of treasure, he’d swoop in on it first. My diamond set was so valuable because I’d had to fight him for it, sneaking around, bribing the auctioneer, feeling like I was smuggling it back to my lair while he watched with greedy eyes.

I’d done all my preparations to claim Kilinis in secret so he didn’t take that, too.

And the worst thing was, no one else seemed to notice. They thought Udar was charming, ambitious,smart. That he so often ended up with what I wanted was considered a coincidence. Our parents always claimed that of course we had similar tastes. We were brothers.

Even Niemrin didn’t see it. The one time he’d met Udar, he’d called himengaging. Now he was looking at me expectantly, wanting an explanation for my otherwise rude behavior.

“What if I introduce Elle to my family, and she changes her mind?” Udar would recognize her worth straight away—a pretty human with dragon fire—and want her even if hedidn’tlove taking things from me.

If he succeeded, my parents would switch from endless calls and texts about running Kilinis—something I could silence—to showing up on my doorstep so they could subject me to an endless stream of humiliating lectures on why I was too inadequate to hold on to a mate, all with a heaping side ofjust be more like your brother.

“Come on, Az. You’re rich. You’ll treat her like gold. Why would she change her mind?” Niemrin clapped me on the shoulder. “If she’s everything you say she is, she’ll know that you’re the best.”

She would be here any minute. I wiped down one last counter, making sure everything sparkled for her.

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