“That’s so sad, Loch. I’m sorry.”
I lift her chin and turn her head to me.
“I’d live another thousand years just the same if I knew you were waiting for me.”
She smiles sadly, then shakes her head. “You’re so dramatic.”
I place my hand over my heart. “I’m romantic.”
She takes a drink of water and side-eyes me. When she sets the glass down, she turns in her chair to face me. Her knees graze over the side of my thigh and it sends a shot of lust to my cock.
Yeah… the bond is extremely sensitive right now.
“When’s your birthday?” she asks, smiling at the prospect of learning more about my life.
“October 25th. What about you?”
“I turned forty-two on April 24th.”
Her hand rests on the counter, and I reach for it, weaving my fingers with hers. “Happy belated birthday. I’ll make sure we plan an extravagant celebration for your next one.”
She smiles, her cheeks coloring pink. It’s clear my little mouse hasn’t been cared for much of her life. She hasn’t been spoiled, pampered, or worshipped like she deserves. Me doing the bare minimum of celebrating her birthday makes her shy away as if she believes she shouldn’t be honored for the milestone.
Everyone deserves the royal treatment for living another year. It’s why I go all out for my own birthdays.
“Tell me all the things you love,” Farrah says, lifting her head with determination following that moment of self-doubt. “Favorite color, food, music, movie, tv show, place you traveled… everything.”
I hold up my free hand to tick off the list she gave me. “Favorite place: Banff National Park in Canada. It deserves more credit than it gets.Dexterfor the TV show, but only the first few seasons. Favorite movie:Speed, because I love Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Modern band: M83. But Igor Stravinsky was a badass who was ahead of his time. Food: I’m simple, and I could eat New York pizza all day, every day. And my favorite colors are fiery red and yellow.”
Farrah scrunches her nose. “Redandyellow? Why both?”
“Because it’s the color of your hair. The color you were born with and the one you feel safe in.”
She rolls her eyes again. She’s never really annoyed by me because every time she does the move it’s with a smile.
I expand on my color choices. “Red and yellow because I’m cursed to the night, yet every time I fall asleep, I dream of the warmth of the fiery sun and a smile that lights up the darkness. My dreams are the only time I feel loved and wanted. It’s the only time I didn’t feel alone. Now I’m certain it was you in my dreams all along with your red hair and sunshine smile.”
Farrah groans. “Loch, you can’t keep saying these beautiful things to me.”
My cheeks ache with how much this woman makes me smile. “Why not, my little mouse?”
She fiddles with her nearly empty water glass. I stand and grab it for a refill. Once done, I set it in front of her then kiss her forehead, inhaling her sweet scent as I do—it’s my favorite thing.
“Because you’re all but professing your love to me and it’s been aweek. I can’t—”
Her voice breaks, and I open my arms. She leans into the hug, halfway out of the stool.
“I’m not rushing you, Farrah. I will never push you to do, or say, something you don’t want to or are not ready for. I told you, I’ve waited a thousand years for you. I can wait a thousand more.”
She huffs a laugh against my chest but doesn’t respond, so I keep talking.
“Supernatural beings are more open to the pull of a fated mate bond. We spend decades—centuries—hoping for it. We feel the magic of it more than a human would. So, it’s easier for us to accept.”
Our serious conversation is cut off when Potato jumps onto the counter and starts sniffing around our sushi.
“No. Nope. Absolutely not,” I say, releasing Farrah to stand and grab the chonky cat to set him on the floor.
“Aww. Don’t be mean,” Farrah says to me.
