“Sorry, I know this date has been a bit messy,” he said, scratching his neck with one hand while the other rested next to mine, grazing it, not grabbing it.
“No, it’s been fun.” I glanced up at the stars above us.And I only checked my phone three times.
“Ivy, I know we’re not mates, but I…I really like you.” He exhaled, his breath smelling like mint. I was sure he’d flossed, too. Maybe unlike Lucien. “I admire you a lot as a person, and I feel very proud of you.”
He stopped, grabbing my hands in his and facing me. I looked up at him, taken aback by what I read all over his face.
“If you decide to share more of your precious time with me…if wedatedate,like a couple…” He cleared his throat. “I’ll show you that it’s worth it. I’ll make you feel good. So good.”
I opened my mouth, but he didn’t let me say a word.
“You don’t have to answer me now. I know you see me as your non-fated mate with benefits.” He paused. “For now.”
“Sillas… I’m not a wereball game that you can win or lose.”
You’ve already lost, unfortunately. You are not my mate.
He slid his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and rocked forward.
“And you have much better things to do than share your big brain with us mere mortals,” he teased, and I joined him.
“My brain’s the typical three pounds, like most!”
“Maybe a tenth of a pound more, just to contain that info I didn’t know.”
“Maybe yours weighs less.”
“Ouch!” But he took a step closer, eyes fixed on my lips, his palms sliding back and forth over mine. He whispered, “So pretty under the stars… and during the day too”
We were under a large pine tree, an umbrella shielding us from the gaze of the sky, while his eyes shone with their own supernatural magic.
“Give me a chance.”
The great wereball player blushed, and it broke my heart.
Then Sillas’s fingers caressed my cheek, and even if there were no sparks or heat, I could feel him scanning my face, his gaze lingering on my lips.
A heartbeat later, he leaned forward, our noses touching, breaths mingling, lips fusing. And, like we had many Sundays before, I kissed him back. He took me back to his apartment, our Sunday night spot, and he showed me just how much effort he was willing to put to make this work, many times over.
And just this night, just this time, we were more than NMWB.
CHAPTER 16
YVAINE
Apiece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses. However, damage to neurons can have a great impact. For example, during a stroke, blood cannot get oxygen to the brain. As a result, brain cells can die, and abilities in that particular area of the brain can be lost. Similarly, Parkinson’s disease occurs when cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra start to die?—
“Yvaine!”
Lachlan barged into my room with his typical grace, interrupting my nighttime reading of theNeurology Journal.
My idea of a downtime book.
I used a wrinkled grocery receipt as my makeshift bookmark.
“Where’s Lachy?” He was already digging through my drawers of medical books, fake human body parts, and surgical equipment.
“In the closet, right door.”
