Something else grew more pronounced, too.The hard and undoubtedly large evidence of how much he liked what I was doing pressed into my backside.
A knock echoed on the door.
I flew off his lap like a cat thrown into water.
He didn’t move.He stayed where he was, his head tipped back, his eyes closed, and his hands fisted on each side of him.The air around him shimmered.
“Don’t run,” he warned as I stood beside him, considering just that.“It would be safer for whoever is outside that door if you stayed right where you are.”
The door opened, and two servers came in.One carried a large tray with covered plates.The other carried drinks.
“We’ll eat over here,” Konni said without opening his eyes.
They set everything out on a low table in front of the sofa.The one server’s gaze flicked to the unmistakable bulge in Konni’s suit pants.Her lips twitched, but she kept it together.
I was so focused on them that I jumped a little when Konni’s fingers captured mine.His eyes were still closed when I glanced at him.
“Use the call button on the tablet if you need anything,” the server said.“We won’t be back to check on you.”
I nodded, waited until the door closed behind them, then said, “I’m hungry and don’t want to sit on your lap anymore.”
The direct approach was something I’d learned from my friend Wrenly.Her mate’s strong desire for her—and I meantstrong—would crumble with one little pout and a rumbling stomach.Her needs always trumped his.Not because he didn’t prioritize himself but because he loved being the reason she was blissfully happy.
While I would rather remain ignorant of Konni’s level of devotion to me—liar!—I needed to do something to keep some distance.If I landed in his arms again, I’d end up mated for real.What he was packing was no joke, and I wanted a taste badly.
He opened his eyes to look at me.The pure gold was so pretty I could have climbed right back into his lap to stare at it up close.
“Okay.Eat.I promise to behave.”He patted the cushion next to him.
“Trust is like time.Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.”
“I know.”
Since he seemed to take me seriously, I sat next to him.He pulled one of the plates toward him and uncovered a delicious-smelling steak, artistically resting on a small pile of glazed mushroom risotto, with asparagus stacked prettily against it.
“Cutting your steak doesn’t count as feeding you, right?”he asked as he picked up the knife.
“I can cut my own steak.”
“I’d rather not give you a knife.”
A surprised laugh popped out as he quickly cut my food for me.
“I’m not mad at you.We both know I started that.”
“This isn’t about you touching me.You can do that any time, anywhere, and I will never be angry with you or stop you.Actually, I want that very much.”
He passed me the plate with the cut-up steak and a fork, then uncovered his own meal.
“I want you to stop doing so much for yourself and let me do things for you.Simple or hard, it doesn't matter.I want you to let me in.”
“And letting you cut my food up for me is letting you in?”
“It is.”
I hadn’t viewed it like that, but now that I knew what he was doing, I wasn’t sure I should allow it.
“Nothing good will come from leaning on you the way you want me to, Konni.I’m not wired like a normal person when it comes to accepting help.I keep a mental tally of how much I receive.If it starts to add up to too much, I’ll either feel the need to pay it back?—”
