Chapter 173: Fight For You

Maverick knew exactly where this was coming from, an instinctive growl rumbling from his chest.

It was about the confrontation with Rhydian yesterday.

"Maverick...?" Aria’s voice turned cautious at the sound.

"Rhydian Drakhar is dangerous, Aria."

"I had the situation under control yesterday until you provoked him."

"This isn’t Feral we’re talking about, Aria. It’s a fucking dragon. Rhydian could have incinerated you on the spot and there wouldn’t have been enough left of you to find." The mere thought of it made Maverick’s stomach twist all over again. "Do you have any idea how scared I was for you yesterday?"

"I’m well aware of what he is, Maverick," Aria said, frustration beginning to creep into her voice. "But things wouldn’t have gone the way they did if you had only kept a level head."

Maverick stepped closer until their bodies were touching, another growl vibrating through his chest. "He was coming after what was mine."

"Exactly what I’m talking about right now," Aria pointed out. "He wasn’t hurting me. He was just giving me some jewelry—"

"Which was an invitation for courtship, Aria?!" Maverick’s voice rose before he could stop it, and from the way Aria’s eyes widened, he knew there was a hundred percent chance her roommates were aware of his presence now.

"How do you expect me to react when I see my own mate accepting a courtship gift from another male? Put yourself in my shoes, Aria."

Just like that, Aria went speechless. When he put it that way, she could understand why he had reacted so badly. If she had walked into a room and found another woman offering Maverick something that amounted to a marriage proposal in her culture, she couldn’t exactly promise she would have smiled politely and minded her business.

"I only accepted the jewelry because I was scared he would hurt me if I refused," she confessed.

"I know." Maverick’s anger receded almost as quickly as it had risen. He knew Aria hadn’t understood what the jewelry meant, and holding that against her would be unfair.

"I understand," he said.

"But why would Rhydian do that?" Aria asked, the question clearly bothering her. "Doesn’t he hate humans? Why would he..." Her face scrunched at the thought, as if even saying it sounded ridiculous. "...propose to me?"

Maverick’s expression became guarded as he clasped her cheeks between his palms.

"I don’t know what’s going on in Rhydian’s head either, but I think he’s playing some kind of sick game." Maverick’s thumbs brushed slowly over her cheeks, his hold possessive despite the very conversation they were having.

"Maybe he’s decided to toy with a human for a while and discard her when he gets bored. Maybe humiliating me by going after a member of my House is part of it. Whatever his reason is, I don’t trust him, Aria."

Goosebumps broke out across Aria’s skin wherever his fingers touched, and her pulse picked up. Just like that, it became annoyingly difficult to lecture him about being possessive when he was holding her face like she already belonged in his hands.

"But don’t worry." Maverick’s voice lowered as one of his hands slipped from her cheek to the side of her neck, his thumb lingering beneath her jaw. "I’ll beat the crap out of him tonight for your sake."

Aria’s breath caught as he slowly traced her neck in a way that made her pulse stutter. Maverick had to feel it. There was no way he couldn’t, not with his thumb resting so close to the frantic beat of her heart, and the faint curve of his lips told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

"Every punch I land in that arena will be dedicated to you," Maverick promised, his gaze dropping briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes. "Consider it my way of making sure the Drakhar Lizard understands that making a move on my mate is a very bad idea."

Aria should have been telling him that beating another man senseless was the exact opposite of the rule she had just given him. Instead, the mention of the fight fueled her imagination.

She pictured Maverick in the arena tonight, probably bare-chested, his body slick with sweat as he fought. She could already imagine the muscles of his arms tightening with every punch, the hard planes of his chest rising with each breath and the strength behind every movement.

Except Maverick wasn’t the only man her traitorous imagination placed inside that arena. Rhydian appeared opposite him just as easily, equally bare from the waist up, those broad shoulders and powerful arms on full display as he faced Maverick.

She had seen enough of the dragon prince to know exactly how much strength that body concealed beneath his clothes, and her mind was suddenly far too interested in discovering what the rest of him looked like without them.

Aria snapped out of the thought with such a start that she jerked beneath Maverick’s hands, horrified by the direction her imagination had taken. She had only just agreed to give Maverick a chance and was already picturing another half naked man? There had to be something seriously wrong with her.

Maverick’s brows furrowed as he felt her tense beneath his touch. "What’s wrong?"

Aria avoided his eyes.

"Do you really have to fight him tonight?" she asked instead, the embarrassment fading beneath the more genuine concern. "I don’t want you to get hurt."

His thumb dragged back along the curve of her cheek until it hovered dangerously close to her lips. "I don’t plan on getting hurt, little wolf-tamer."

Aria raised a brow at the nickname. "Really?"

Maverick chuckled, his eyes lowering to her mouth. "Although right now, I’m starting to think the wolf-tamer deserves a little taming of her own. Preferably with my mouth."

Fuck.

Aria’s stomach did a nervous little dance as heat rushed straight to her face.

Did he have to say it like that while staring at her lips, as if he were already imagining exactly what he wanted to do with them?

Moreover, she was supposed to be the one teasing him, not the other way around. Maverick had finally remembered how to flirt, and Aria wasn’t sure she liked how effective he was at it. Now she was the one struggling to meet his eyes while heat burned beneath his wandering fingers.

So Aria rose onto her tiptoes instead, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him before her courage could leave her.