“No. I mean from scratch. I’ll make the pasta too,” Declan said, looking slightly affronted.
Wendy turned to me. “Did you know your boyfriend was a chef?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said. Declan and I had been tiptoeing around that subject for months, and had yet to make things official.
Now, hours later, after eating and getting Wendy back to the academy, Declan and I sat at the table in the small kitchen of the new house I was renting. Even though I was still a student at the academy and a member of the coven, I’d decided to separate myself from the place in my downtime to finally become my own person. I’d gone directly from living in a pack to living at the academy, and I wanted to experience living as an adult.
“So,” I said. “I think we need to talk about something.”
“Uh oh,” Declan muttered with a grin. “That’s never good.”
“Stop,” I said, laughing and playfully smacking his arm.
“All right, all right. What’s on your mind?” he said as he poured more wine into our glasses.
I took a sip, then said, “This is going to sound like something a middle schooler says, but…do you want to be my boyfriend?”
Declan paused, his glass halfway to his mouth. “Huh?”
“You heard me. I’m asking you to be my boyfriend. Like, forreal.”
He carefully set the glass down, an odd grin on his face.
“Uh, sorry,” he said. “I guess we didn’t talk about this because I assumed the answer.”
“What did you think it would be?”
“I just assumed we were having fun and enjoying each other’s company. I thought you’d want someone else eventually.”
That statement made my heart ache. What did he mean? Why would Ieverwant that?
“I’m quite a bit older than you,” he said. “Don’t you want to be with someone younger?”
I let out a sigh. “That’sthe problem?” I reached over and took his hand. “Age doesn’t matter to me. The person inside does. Besides…” I raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I’ve always had a thing for handsome older guys and girls with pretty smiles. You mark off one of those at least.”
“You’re serious,” he said—a statement, not a question.
“I am, Declan. I want you. I’m pretty sure I wanted you a few hours after I met you last year.”
A smile crept to his lips. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I felt the same way. In fact”—a more serious expression settled on his face—“I think I fell in love with you last year. Never thought it could happen that fast, but it did.”
In all the time we’d been together, those words had never been spoken. I’d been too afraid to say them because I feared he didn’t feel the same way. Hearing that come from his lips made me lightheaded and dizzy in the best way. My heart slammed, anda flush of heat spread across my chest, neck, and cheeks as I grinned goofily.
“You love me?” I whispered.
Nodding, he reached out and cupped my cheek, stroking the skin below my eye with his thumb. I’d finally discarded my fake glasses a few months before, no longer needing the crutch of the perceived safety of them to feel comfortable. “I do. Do youreallywant to be with me?”
“I do,” I blurted and jumped into his lap, kissing him.
Declan kissed me back, wrapping me in his arms, running his hands up and down my back. There was always something intoxicating about feeling his tongue move over my lips and teeth, probing deeply into me. It was almost more intimate than sex itself.Almost.
We embraced for a long time, the whole world melted away as we became one. After a long time, Declan finally pulled away, panting for breath.
He gave me that cocky grin that always melted my insides. “So, does that mean you love me too?”
“I love you,” I whispered, running my thumb across his lips. “I love you so much.”
“Then let me take care of you.” He stood, lifting me like I weighed nothing.
