I let out a weak laugh. “You make it sound noble. It just feels like my brain is a wasp nest.”
“That, too, is very normal,” she says, and I can hear the smile now. “Look, Lyn…no one is asking you to decide the whole future tonight. He is only asking you to come to dinner and be yourself.”
I make a face at the mirror. “Have you considered that ‘myself’ is a terrible idea?”
“Yes,” she says. “And I still like you very much.”
CHAPTER 27
KAELION
Dinner goes…surprisinglywell.
I don't know what I expected—Shahar’s teasing, Solvi's excessive enthusiasm, Lyn's awkward perfection. I fell into it faster than I would have liked, maybe. I felt too comfortable with my mixed family, with how Lyn sat with Solvi on the sofa after dinner and let Solvi show her all her drawings…with how Flicker seemed to warm up to Lyn now that we weren't sneaking around.
I have no idea why I was afraid. Hadn't had time to interrogate it as Shahar helped Solvi pack an overnight bag so she could take her to stay at a fancy hotel for the evening, as Shahar winked and said good night.
And now…we’re alone. Me and Lyn.
And I am…incredibly nervous. Because I'm wondering if all of this was only appealing to her when it was a secret, when there was excitement behind sneaking into my bedroom, begging me to fuck her…
This is mundane. Comfortable.
Does Lyn Walkerlikecomfortable?
“Your kid is so fucking cool,” Lyn says from the sofa—a glass of Jotun mead in one hand, a stack of Solvi's drawings in the other. “She has real talent. I would have beensojealous.”
I let a bemused smile curve my lips, coming over to sit on the other end of the sofa. “You liked to draw?”
“I liked the idea of drawing, but I was never able to commit to anything I wasn't good at,” Lyn laughs. She shakes her head and leans forward to put the drawings down on the table. “I had an artist's soul, but none of the skill…or willpower.”
“Funny,” I murmur. “You're the most stubborn person I know.”
She snorts, then she glances across the room to where Flicker is snoring in her bed. Lyn bites her lip, thinks about it…
Then she slides across the couch and straddles me.
I let out a low, rumbling sigh as her thighs settle on either side of me—as her hands smooth over my tendrils, making them twitch. I tilt my head up to kiss her, and she moans against my lips.
Mine…
“Tell me this isn't a mistake,” she whispers.
I pull back just slightly, brow furrowed. Her eyes are wide at first, but they flick away from me in a heartbeat. “What?”
She bites her lip. It makes me want to drag my tongue over the spot, to taste her, to command her mouth to kiss and moan instead of voicing these endless hesitations…
“This,” she says, gesturing around. “Me. Here.”
“I don't get to make that call,” I tell her.
She groans. “First time you've ever decided not to be bossy and of course it's when I desperately need advice.”
“I can't give you advice when I'm not an impartial actor.”
“Boo.”
“And it sounds less like you’re asking for advice and more like you’re asking for orders.”
