Just wait until I tell you you’re marrying me.
Far too soon, she lets go of me to grab her keys. “Well… I guess this is goodnight. I had fun, we should do it again soon.You know, if you want to.” Her cheeks warm slightly as she suddenly focuses on finding the right key to unlock her door.
A brief stab of panic has me scrambling. The article I read wasveryclear on this part. It was the determining factor on if the date was a success or failure.
Maybe she hasn’t been on any dates either and doesn’t know.
Before she steps inside, I blurt, “I’m pretty sure it’s customary to end a date with a goodnight kiss after you’ve been delivered unmaimed to your doorstep at the end.”
She pauses midstep before turning back to me, lips rolled in and looking like she’s fighting back laughter. “Oh, is it now?”
For a brief moment, I start to second guess myself, but swiftly squash down those useless doubts. They’re tiny saboteurs, out to wreck my first date, and I refuse to let them win. My plan was solid, practically cheat-coded for success. No, this is yet another failing of her useless mate not treating her right.
“Yes. Good dates end with a kiss, bad ones end with doors slamming, a drink in the face, or fighting. Here, I’ll show you.” I pull out my phone and start bringing up the article I bookmarked, but jerk my gaze up when her chilly fingers slide across my jaw. Rising on her tiptoes, she gives me a ghost of a kiss, the barest featherlight touch of her lips against mine.Just enough pressure to give me a taste and have me chasing after her as she pulls away, eyes sparkling with mirth.
“And what if I invited you in just to lock you in my basement and keep you forever? Does that constitute a good or bad date?”
My breathing turns ragged.If I wasn’t obsessed with this woman before, there’s no way I’d let her go now. She’s perfect.
My phone releases another wave of vibrations in warning, and reluctantly, I pull away. “Lock your doors, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Pretty sure of yourself, there. What if I don’t want a second date?”
I rake my heated gaze over her slowly, elated. “Want to skip right to the happily ever after? Smart. I’ll send you a copy of the paperwork.”
She chuckles as I walk away, and for a split second, I wonder if she was joking before I shake it off. Doesn’t matter. My girl had a brilliant idea and I’m going to roll with it.
She’llhaveto agree to move in with me if we’re married.
Chapter 14
Zayd
The threat’s still out there, and it’s driving meinsane.
I can barely sleep, and not just because of the cold. Every time I close my eyes, I get flashes of purple. Of soft hands, soothing, indistinct words, and the sweet scent of strawberry citrus.
And pain. So much blinding plain, the harder I try to recapture the memories, the faster my mind shuts down, but sends my protective instincts into hyperdrive with newfound determination.
That woman is soft, and kind, and…
Mine.
Glancing down at her doorstep, I frown. A dead bird and a couple of mice aren’t much, but should tide her over until I can hunt down something bigger in these damned, frozen woods.
After watching her home for hours, she eventually emerges, pulling to a sudden stop with a yelp. I leap up at the sound of her distress, and she stumbles back inside, clutching the door, but pauses a moment before slamming it shut in my face.
“Fates, you scared the hell out of me.” She places her free hand to her racing heart.
A low purr stutters to life in my chest, rusty from years of disuse. The thought of her afraid of me goes against every single one of my instincts. I was born to be a guardian, have been training since I could walk. Protection is in my blood.
Until you failed.The dark thought whispers through my mind, teasing the edges of faint memories. A phantom pain blooms in my stomach, so real I grunt and pull my wings in close to my body.
“Hey, easy,” that melodic voice I crave says, looking at me in concern. “Are you still hurt?” She starts to reach for me automatically before catching herself, almost as if she remembers at the last second that I could tear her throat out in an instant.
How the mighty have fallen. Even this small woman doesn’t consider me much of a threat. My family would be ashamed of me.
I’mashamed when I flinch at the barest graze of her fingertips against my cheek, jerking away automatically and baring my teeth.
