“Why not?”
“Because…” She paused, clearly searching for reasons to deny him. “Because I have decided to mate with one of mine. I do not want a dragon.”
Banking his instinctive, explosive reaction to her challenge, toothless as he felt it was, Vael skimmed her bare arm with his palm. He didn’t touch her, but held his hand close enough to feel their shared heat when he coaxed, “Then there is no harm, is there? If you won’t Choose me again, why not let me apologize in my way? You’ve made up your mind, after all. Wouldn’t you let a friend make it up to you?”
Helovedher little growl. He was fairly sure it wasn’t something that came naturally to elementals. She must have picked it up from her clanmates. He was glad she did. That tiny, kitten’s growl made lust skitter down his spine as readily as her sparks did.
Finally, after a long, stubborn silence, she begrudgingly asked, “What will you do?”
Vael let his grin spread. It was one part relieved and one parthungry.“Nothing painful,” he promised. “I just want a date.”
ChapterThirteen
Hele wonderedif she’d made a mistake.
Alex would not have said yes to this.
Her sister would have brushed Vael off and flown out the door, entirely unbothered by his pleas for forgiveness. Hele wondered if that was the right way to handle this situation or simply her sister’s preferred method.
Truthfully, she wasn’t sure aboutanythinganymore.
What shedidknow was that shedid notwant to go. For all her big talk, the idea of leaving Vael to return to her lonely little dwelling made her insides curdle. It would have been even worse to return to her parents. She did not want to have to explain to her parents why she was upset.
She felt too tender inside. It was like she had been pricked all over by tiny needles and now she was raw. All she wanted to do was curl up in a dark room, bury her face in Vael’s neck, and bestill.
That was not what he had in mind for theirdate,though.
After kicking off her remaining shoe by the door, Hele followed him warily through his dwelling. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that it was much nicer than her little apartment, cute though it was.
For one thing, it washuge.For another, the muted tones of the furniture and the soft green walls felt like him in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on. Everything felt soft. Comfortable. Calm. Except…
“How long have you lived here?”
Vael guided her down a hall that opened up into a spiral staircase. She did her best to keep her eyes from wandering down his naked back, but it wasn’t easy. The eye was naturally drawn to the swish-flick of a tail, particularly when it rested above a tightly muscled backside.You should not look at him that way,she stubbornly reminded herself.He isn’t your mate.
It was easier said than done. She’d been ogling Vael since she first learned what oglingwas.Trying to stop herself now was simply unnatural.
“I bought the original dwelling a year ago and have been renovating and adding onto it ever since.” He glanced over one broad shoulder to give her a hopeful, searching look. “What do you think of it?”
Even when she was angry at him, Hele couldn’t bear to crush the hope she saw shining in his eyes. “It is a very nice dwelling.” She skimmed her palm over the smooth metal railing. “But it doesn’t feel very…”
He paused mid-step and waited for her to draw even with him. His tail looped loosely around her leg, briefly distracting her. A rush of tingles washed through her. Vael had gone from never touching her to almost constant skin contact. She knew that she should not relish it, but she did all the same.
Touch waslovely —but only when Vael did it.
As was his new habit, he leaned in close and pressed, “What? Is there something wrong with it?”
If there was one thing she learned very early on, it was never to insult a dragon’s dwelling. Staring down at the dark purple tail gently caressing her ankle, she carefully answered, “No. Nothing is wrong with it.”
His tail gave her a quick squeeze. Hele’s eyes moved up, over strong calves, thick thighs, a fascinating cock, a muscled waist, and finally to his frowning face. “It’s okay, Hele. You can tell me.”
She scuffed her bare foot against the edge of the step. “I don’t know if this is the right way to say it, but it does notfeellike you have lived here for a year.”
There was a strange sort of stiffness to the air in the house. It didn’t feel as lived in as her parents’ dwelling, or even Alex’s. While Hele did not necessarily know whatmadea house feel lived in, she felt its absence all the same.
Instead of being offended, Vael simply smiled ruefully and hovered his big, warm palm over the small of her back, urging her onward without really touching her — save for his tail. “That’s because I don’t actually spend much time here. Haven’t had a reason to. I usually sleep in the barracks.”
Hele blinked. “Why? If you didn’t want to sleep in your dwelling, why did you buy one?”
