She immediately shook her head. Her eyes jumped up to his.
He blew out a breath, his firm jaw clenched briefly. “One day? Will you tell me?”
Rose considered it and then finally answered. “Yes.” One day, she would feel comfortable enough to share all her thoughts with him. Or so she hoped. She’d seen the way mated pairs were in the Kingdom of Silk, the devotion they had to one another. Rose wanted that. She’d never seen it until she’d been taken by the Damarians. Her own parents had divorced when she was young.
“Thank you.”
They spoke long into the night, covering everything from treasured childhood memories to dreams for the future. The longer they talked, the more Rose relaxed. She was startled to realize hours had passed while enjoying easy conversation with this man who would be her mate.
Every now and then, she’d catch him looking at the tattoo on her arm. And he was doing it again. “May I touch you?” He motioned to the snake. “I’ve never felt anything as soft as your skin.”
She nodded and offered her arm. Talbot traced it reverently with one finger, causing Rose’s breath to hitch at the contact.
Before her eyes, his hand shifted again, taking on a scaled texture. Rose looked up to see patches of smooth green and black scales speckling his neck above his shirt collar.
“Can I?” she whispered, fascinated. At his nod, Rose gently brushed her fingertips over the scales on his skin. They were cool and supple, gliding under her touch.
Rose jerked her hand back, cheeks flaming. But Talbot only watched her with an unreadable intensity that made her heart race.
“Sorry,” she stammered. “I’ve just never touched a —”
“Snake?”
“Man,” she said at the same time. “Or snake, for that matter.”
“There is nothing to apologize for.” Talbot captured her hand, scales fading back to normal flesh. “You are my mate. I welcome your touch. And I like knowing you’ve not touched another man. I’m going to risk the assumption that it means a man has not touched you either?”
Rose shyly met his gaze, the air suddenly too warm. “You’d be correct.” There was an attraction between them she could not deny. She saw the answering heat in Talbot’s green eyes. “I’d rather not even risk assumptions because then I’ll feel dumb, so I’m just going to ask, what about you?”
“No, a man has never touched me either,” he said with a completely straight face.
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. She’d totally walked into that one. “That’s fair.”
Talbot chuckled, the stoic face dropping away as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “I will not lie to you. I have been on some dates over the years. I’ve had a couple of serious relationships, but I ended them both as soon as it was clear to me that neither was my mate.”
Rose felt the green-eyed monster of jealousy attempting to settle in her gut, but she didn’t want it there. Talbot was a supernatural being who’d been alive for a long time. What were the chances in all that time, however long it was, he’d never find a woman attractive and act on those feelings? Zero. That’s the answer. Zero chances. Unfortunately, reminding herself of this only helped a little. She wished she hadn’t asked because now she’d constantly wonder if he compared her to anyone in his past.
“I’ve upset you.” Talbot’s deep voice startled her out of her thoughts.
“No,” Rose answered quickly, but then shook her head at herself. “I mean, I’m feeling things I’d rather not, but that’s not on you. I can choose to let your past make me insecure, or I can choose to let it go and give us a real chance.”
“I hope you’ll choose the latter.”
“Me too,” she said softly. She stared at him long enough for it to become awkward. Quickly clearing her throat, she managed, “I should get some sleep before I do something embarrassing.”
Talbot chuckled. “I’m sorry I kept you up. I find the idea of being separated from you, even by a wall, displeasureable.”
Rose bit her tongue to keep from pointing out that if they stayed in the same room, she just might allow him to dopleasurablethings.What the hell is wrong with me?She stoodup so quickly that she felt dizzy for a moment. Talbot balanced her as he stood, too. She had to tilt her head back slightly to look up at his face. “Thank you for a nice evening.”
Every visible piece of skin shifted briefly, scales covering him. She blinked and his human flesh returned. “Apparently, strong emotions make my beast want to come out and play,” he teased her. But she also heard an eagerness in his tone.
“Nico mentioned that you’d be able to fully shift now into your snake form.”
“You and Nico talked a lot,” he said, his tone a little chilly.
“Don’t be jealous of Nico. Surely, after this evening, you can tell I have no interest in anyone but you.”
“Jealousy is new, and I find it a difficult emotion to curb. I won’t promise that I can keep it under control at all times, but I will promise not to kill Nico. Unless he does something that warrants it.”
