I wasshockedhow well we meshed. Everything we decided was easy. Well, ninety percent of it. Things she wanted, I didn’t care about either way or agreed on. She didn’t care about my things or agreed. Each time, we smiled at each other and kept listing what we wanted for the house.
The only place I absolutely put my foot down was when I realized she didn’t know how to swim. That wasdangerouswhen she was a target and yes, she had to learn.
Plus, I wanted a damn pool if she was buying a damn estate.
“Yes, I suppose lions do like water,” she finally mumbled. “I’ve seen it enough in nature shows now.”
I melted. She’d been watching nature shows trying to understand me better?
Shit, I was falling behind then and needed to talk to the guys at work that I knew were vamps. I needed to understand my girl too.
It got awkward after dinner and when it was normally time for me to go. I realized she wasn’t rushing me off since she knew I wouldn’t get in trouble anymore… And she was probably never going to be able to make the first move or suggest anything.
“Can I stay?” I hedged. “Nothing funny but—just sleep.”
She cleared her throat. “A goodnight kiss before bed is more than acceptable.” Then she seemed to realize that she didn’t answer the question. “Yes, of course you can. We’re going to be living together soon after all.”
It sounded a bit abrasive, but it was her adorable awkwardness like she wasn’t trying to make it a big thing when we both knew it was a big thing. I wasn’t sure if it was for herself, me, or both.
Knowing Aurora, probably both.
“Can I ask something I probably shouldn’t?” I hedged when we were getting ready for bed. She was finding an extra toothbrush for me and distracted, so I figured it was the best time while she was already moving about.
She chuckled nervously. “We’re going to mate. I don’t think any topics will be off the table soon.”
I frowned. “No, that’s bullshit. You’re still your own person and can always tell me no. There are some things about my childhood I don’t know I’ll ever want to share. Not because of you but because talking about it gives it energy and power over me and I just want to leave it in the past. Talking about things can help or hurt.”
She froze in what she was doing before moving again. “I’ve told my doctor the same. Some things, like my younger sister’s death, I’ve accepted and processed. Talking through something monstrous just gives the monsters more time to hurt your heart.” She found what she was looking for and handed me a toothbrush. “Ask.”
“What does your husband look like?”
She blinked at me for several seconds before letting out a nervous chuckle. “Of all the things I might have…” She let out a weird sigh, almost a mix of laugh and sigh. She moved out of the bathroom and towards her closet. “I’ve seen depictions of trollsmore handsome than Kenneth. There isn’t one attractive feature on him.”
“What?” I whispered, shocked to hear that.
Honestly shocked I was so fixated when she’d been forced to marry him but… She’d been his for like a fucking century and sometimes it was hard for me. Now that we were going to mate—I was struggling.
My lion was. She had been someone else’s. Our mate had been.
Hell, they weren’t even divorced. He’d tried to kill himself and was in a coma. We were going to mate while they were still legally married.
Yeah, my lion had issues with that.
Fine, I did as a man too.
She frowned at me. “I never chose Kenneth, Creed. I was sold to that cretin. Yes, he’s as physically repulsive as his personality and brain. I thanked the gods repeatedly that the girls didn’t have any of his features. Well, Ellie has his nose, but that’s fine with the rest of her mother’s beauty.”
I stood there in complete shock as she talked about how ugly her husband was. Okay, so that was a relief when I knew she found me attractive.
She blushed when I was shirtless.
So this really could work, right?
“Don’t laugh,” she muttered when I finished brushing my teeth. “I know it’s not actual bed attire, but—I wasn’t raised or allowed to wear what women wear now. I know everyone’s been pushing but—”
“I haven’t,” I reminded her.
She stuck her head out of the closet and smiled. “No, you haven’t, and I appreciated that.” She let out a slow breath and then stepped out. “And I appreciated how you simply complimented the way I looked in those jeans, notthe comments others made.” She looked uncomfortable and I realized Xavier must have said something about the jeans.
