“A flight—it’s a bunch of different flavors of mini-milkshakes.”
“Oh, let’s get that! That way we can choose a favorite.” He wasn’t hungry, but…he knew that Talon was right, and more importantly, he wanted to make Talon smile.
Perfect. Talon did give him the grin that he wanted—bright and happy, those eyes lighting up. And then he got a kiss right on the tip of his nose. “Let me call and order a flight. We will figureout what else you want. This should have enough fat and protein in it to start.”
He didn’t know enough about nutrients to know why that was important, but it still made him all wrinkly nosed.
As far as he was concerned, most food was like fish. It just didn’t taste very good, and it was salty, and he didn’t like it. That was why he had been given the tuna in the tower, no doubt. It was to punish him for being something they didn’t want him to be.
“Nope.” Talon took Mercury’s chin between his thumb and forefinger gently urging Mercury to meet his gaze. “We’re not going to think about the tower. We’re not going to think about what happened for right now. Anything that happened before right now is off the table.”
He scowled in mock anger because he thought that sounded like a wonderful idea. “For how long? What if I want to talk about it?”
“Then we’ll talk about it later, but not when we’re having milkshakes.” Talon reached for the house phone with his other hand, never looking away from Mercury. “Hey, I need to order a flight of milkshakes. Let’s do chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Oh, and maybe caramel. Uh-huh, no that’s perfect—just like bigger than a shot but smaller than a full milkshake.”
He had to grin because Talon just asked for things that he wanted and people gave them to him. It was sort of baffling to Mercury.
“Thanks. Yeah, cookies and some… Yes! Charcuterie would be great.”
He waited for Talon to hang up before he poked a finger into the middle of that broad chest. “I thought you said we were just getting milkshakes.”
“We are getting milkshakes, but I’m super hungry, so I thought I would get some meat, cheese, and cookies too.” Thoseamazing eyes all but glowed for him, and Talon waggled his eyebrows. The scales in the middle of his forehead sort of popped out as his brow wrinkled up.
How such a huge, imposing warrior could be cute, Mercury didn’t know, but it was the truth. Talon was adorable.
“Well, perhaps I will try a nibble of all of it.” And if he did that, then he would probably sleep for another twenty-four hours at least. But that was okay.
Talon shook his head, but he never stopped grinning. “You’re such a little prince, my Mercury, my mate. You’re a wonderful, hailee, you know.”
“And you’re a fine braaken. Do you think sometime soon we could go outside? I saw the mountains when we first got here, and I know there’s a lake, but I’ve seen so little.” Mercury picked at the coverlet because he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to ask for things like that.
“Babe, we can do anything you want. This is a safe place. It really is. I know there was a lot of shouting when you first woke up, and I feel awful about it. So does everyone else, believe it or not. But trust me, you’ll like it here.”
Mercury wanted to believe Talon’s words, but he had never found a safe place in his whole life. Everything for him was fraught with danger because of what he could do. He didn’t shake his head; he wasn’t going to be obstinate, but in his heart of hearts, he didn’t believe it.
Talon reached up with one hand and cupped his cheek, thumb rubbing over his cheekbone. “Sooner or later, I’ll prove it to you. And if I don’t, we’ll find a new place to be together.”
Tears stung his eyes, because if Talon was willing to leave his family and friends just for him, then he deserved for Mercury to try and fit in.
It wasn’t like it was hard. He wanted to fit. He wanted to do this. He wanted to be okay.
“Milkshakes, meat, and cheese—right?”
In other words, please. I want to try to do this as much as you want me to try and do this.
Relax, hailee. This doesn’t have to be hard. We don’t have to make it hard.
Shaky breath and he nodded. “I don’t want it to be hard either.” He leaned against Talon’s chest and closed his eyes. “Do you think one day, we’ll be able to make love together?”
“I sincerely hope so. I ache for you, hailee. I was made for you.”
That was what he needed to hear. And he was so glad that he got to. He lifted one of Talon’s hands up and kissed his knuckles. “Thank you, braaken.”
“You’re most welcome. I already love you so much. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel in a week, or a year.” Talon kissed his nose. “Thank you for waking up and talking to me.”
“I wanted to. I was…frustrated and angry, you know?” He thought that was fair to share with his mate. “I want to be…someone you want to be with.”
“You are. Never doubt that. And I don’t think for a moment anyone sees you as bad, love. They simply worry about everything new. I accused them of being as hidebound as our old keeps.”
