“Sorry.” I cleared my throat.
“If you're not my mate, I'll still want to be with you.”
“What?” I whispered. “But you left Geris.”
Gravely and with an intensity in his gaze that pinned me in place, he said, “You are not Geris.”
My heart burst into rapid beating and heat rose in my cheeks. “No, I'm not.”
“I would marry you today, if you'd have me.” Rian waved a hand toward the display of bands. “And it would give me great pleasure and pride to put a pair of those bands on you.”
“But I can't put a pair of them on you.”
“You can put a pair of rings on my finger. Other races do that.”
“Today?”
Rian stared at me for a few long heartbeats. “Yes.”
Then I snapped out of it. “We can't do that. We don't even know how this will work. You want me in the castle, and I can'tgo there. You have a kingdom to run, and I have a business. You—”
Rian yanked me into his arms and kissed me. He kissed me until I melted against him and all of my doubts flew away. He kissed me until my mind went blank of all but him and my heart forgot that he wasn't the only resident. He kissed me until I wanted to marry him.
And when Rian pulled back and stared at me, I almost said yes. I nearly went to that display and chose a pair of bands. But as soon as his lips left mine, the doubts returned. Reality came back. I couldn't marry him like this. If I did and then I wasn't his mate, I'd be living in fear for the rest of our days together. The possibility of another man coming to take him from me would hang over us and sour our love even more than my current fear was doing. No, unless I was truly his mate, I couldn't commit to him.
And Rian saw it in my eyes. He sighed and said, “Why don't we start with a necklace?”
I smiled in relief. “I love necklaces.”
Rian drew me down the length of the glass case until we came to a display of chains, pendants, and collars. He pressed a finger onto the glass directly over a thin band of gold studded with emeralds. “Look at this. They match your eyes.”
I looked, then flinched. A collar. No, I couldn't allow him to collar me.
“Not that one,” I murmured. “It looks uncomfortable.”
“All right. What about this one?” He pointed at a delicate gold chain hung over a swooping display.
A pendant dangled from it—another emerald, this one slightly paler than the last and set in gold. The jewel was the size of my thumbnail and round, with a band of glittering diamonds around it.
“That doesn't just match my eyes, it looks like an eye,” I said.
“You are correct,” the saleswoman said from her perch. “That piece is called The Inner Eye.”
“TheInnerEye?” I asked.
“Yes, it's a Graen design. They believe the symbol opens a third eye in your mind, one that grants you clarity and vision beyond your natural senses.”
“How entrancing,” I murmured as I looked back at the pendant. The jewels sparkled, seeming to wink at me.
“Do you want it?” Rian asked.
“Yes, I think I do.”
“Why don't I bring it out for you to try on?” the woman suggested. “Then you'll be sure.”
“I think he's sure,” Rian said with a grin. “But he'll be putting it on immediately anyway.”
“Lovely.” She got up and came over with a ring of keys. After opening the case, she hooked the ring back on her belt, then pulled out the necklace and handed it over, holding it between Rian and me to not assume.
