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The first smelled to hit him was a strong scent of lavender, which was far too overpowering to be added to any dish. Which meant Dawn had probably brought along some lavender oil to mask the scent of the food.
She hadn't been kidding when she'd said she would try to disguise the smells. He didn't know if she'd just been thorough or if she'd received a lot of suggestions from Sasha Atherton.
Blake could hear her opening containers and finally wheeling the tray table toward him, the lavender smell growing even stronger. She said, "I know I'm not supposed to touch you, but I need to hand you the spoon. Can you handle that?"
The craving to feel even the slightest brush of her skin against his surged through his body. Even if his dragon woke up and he had to bloody fight off his beast, Blake didn't care. "Yes."
"Okay, here goes."
A spoon was pressed against his hand, and he waited for it…yes…the slightest brush of her fingers. It wasn't more than a whisper of heat and softness, but it was one of the most erotic caresses he'd ever experienced, thanks to the blindfold.
Maybe he needed to keep the scrap of material and use it on Dawn later, after the frenzy was over.
Yes, he was starting to think of much more than just the frenzy now.
All too soon, the touch vanished
, and he did his best not to pout at the loss. He was a grown male, for crying out loud.
Dawn's voice filled the room. "Feel the edge of the little table thing and move slowly toward the first container."
As he followed her directions, he willed the food to not be terrible. Maybe with time, it would be easier to disappoint Dawn. However, in the here and now, he didn't want to upset her.
His usual penchant for honesty was being tested.
Regardless, he found the first container, clumsily tried to scoop some food and moved it toward his mouth.
Dawn knew the food-tasting and food coloring was immature. And yet, it was the perfect way to have some fun and not worry too much about awkward silences since Blake would focus on the food, and then they could talk about it afterward.
It also gave her a chance to study Blake for a bit.
With his eyes covered by the dark material, his face looked a little more rugged. And not just because of the stubble on his cheeks.
It took her a second to figure out what it was, and then it hit her—his eyes were almost always wary, as if someone was going to ask him something uncomfortable.
Probably something to do with his dragon.
Gah, Dawn wanted to see him shift so badly, knowing full well it might scare her a little at first. And yet she knew that couldn't happen until after the frenzy since Sasha had explained that a dragon-shifter needed to embrace their inner beast to change forms. And that was impossible with a dragon roaring to claim their true mate.
As Blake lifted the first spoonful of a dark purple concoction to his mouth, she pushed all other thoughts away and focused on the piece of cutlery at his lips.
Lips that were firm and yet soft, she remembered. Their accidental kiss seemed a million years ago already.
He finally swallowed the food and thankfully didn't blanch. Sasha had helped her make everything, but there was still always the chance she'd put in too much salt or cooked it too long. "Well?"
He tilted his head, the light highlighting his short hair. Not too short—she could still run her fingers through it—but not overly long, either.
She was a bit of a fool, really, studying a blasted man's hair. That must be what happened to a woman who hadn't gone on more than a few dates in over a decade.
Blake finally spoke. "I want to say tomato soup, but a sort of spicy variety."
She smiled. "Ding-ding, you're correct! I've never made it from scratch before, and it's a little lumpy, but you're still right. I can't wait for you to see what color I made it."
He raised his eyebrows. "Can I take this blindfold off now?"
"Try at least one more, and then we'll see. It's kind of fun watching you fumble about."
He muttered, "So much for my bloody PhD."
