He frowned down at the plate. “I thought this looked familiar. Caro’s work?”
“She boxes me up a few extra meals each week. I wish I could say I spent my time whipping up home-cooked meals on the stove while Tomás played sweetly at my feet, but…” Her voice trailed off. “Well.”
“You’re doing an excellent job.”
There was no sarcasm in Corin’s voice, no matter how hard she hunted for it. “I guess once I’m your mate I’ll have someone else doing the cooking anyway, right?”
“An army of chefs at your beck and call. If that’s what you want.” He twirled spaghetti onto his fork. “There’s noonce you’re my mate.You already are. Anything you want is yours.”
“We don’t have to make it official, first? I know that whatever the claiming ritual is, it’s out of the question, but there isn’t anything else?” Her cheeks heated as she remembered a particular wine-fueled conversation with Felicity, and belatedlyconnected the dots with what Corin had said they could under no circumstances do.
Fuck.Damnhis magic.
“You are my queen. I will not allow any dragon to refute that, regardless of whether we have carried out the claiming ritual.”
Corin’s eyes were burning. Unfair. How was she meant to concentrate?
She’d managed to keep her mind on her work all the years she worked under him—no, not under him like that, brain, stop it—but now she couldn’t keep her thoughts straight. He’d never looked at her like this back then. That was part of it.
And now she knew what it felt like when the fire in his eyes engulfed his self-control.
She shivered.Down, girl. Shoulders down. Chest out. Breathe and focus.
And remember, he’s feeling the exact same way you are.
She closed her eyes briefly.Okay. That last point doesn’t actually help things. Except…
He’d been in a terrible mood earlier. And she could guess why.
“Your investigation is going nowhere?” she guessed.
“Worse. They sent through the report.” He sighed. “I can’t make head or tail of it! Pages and pages of—”
“Can I see it?”
He pulled out his phone, then hesitated. “You’re not my assistant anymore. No translating spreadsheets to make your boss feel better.”
“This is all for my own curiosity. Don’t worry.”
He sighed and handed his phone to her. She raised one eyebrow. “No disclaimer on how this is restricted information?”
“You’re my mate,” he said, as though that outweighed NDAs. “But this isn’t what I planned for this evening. I’m meant to be wooing you.” Corin made a frustrated noise. “Which I feel I was doing well at, before I started whining about my own day.”
“You were. But please. These days, the most intellectually strenuous thing I do all day is reset my boss’s email password. My brain is dying of boredom. So please.Please.Give me a problem to solve.”
“Can’t I bother you in another way?”
That was a low blow. She aimed lower. “We’re meant to be working on the stolen treasure problem together, aren’t we?”
A muscle in his cheek twitched. Okay, she got it. Even with all his grand proclamations, it was still hard for the big bad dragon to give up any control.
The same way it was hard for her.
She prodded him. “Talk.”
“Very well. Give me your feet.”
“What?”
