“I’m so sorry, si…Victor,” I spat quickly, correcting myself, “It’s not that it’s funny, it’s just that, well… yes, all of Lundaria knows your type. That’s why I helped sneak my friend Nellie into your party; she wanted to be your next girlfriend.”
He grunted softly, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Yes, I suppose she does fit the bill.”
A strange feeling blossomed inside me at hearing him speak about Nellie like that. Was that… was that jealousy? If he was my mate, that would be normal.
But I hated being jealous. I didn’t have it in me to compete for a man’s attention.
My expression must have appeared pretty crestfallen, because now the Premier was widening his eyes in shock. “Oh, Sage, I didn’t mean I preferred her to you. About my so-called type…” He took a deep breath, his gaze and fingers landing on my scar once more as he spoke. “Four years ago, on Sanguiel’s Night, I was sitting on a parade float when the most wonderful perfume I’d ever scented wafted faintly in the air. I knew at that instant I was smelling my mate. I stood up immediately, scanning the crowd to see where it was coming from, and at the time, I thought I saw her. She was swallowed up quickly by the surging spectators, and even though I jumped off to find her, she’d already disappeared.”
I closed my eyes, the feel of his touch on my scarred skin leaving me both overheated and shivering at the same time. His voice was hypnotically soothing. Could he sing? I bet he could sing.
“Ever since then, I’ve only dated people who looked like the woman I happened to glimpse, the woman I thought I’d scented. Blonde with tan skin. As though maybe I could find her that way.” He chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief. “All this time, I was wrong. I should have been searching for a woman with curly brown hair, a dash of freckles, and skin as pale as the moon. I might have met you sooner.”
He leaned forward, inhaling my omega perfume from my throat. “Mmm, yes, that’s it. I can’t believe I’ve been such an idiot.”
I knew alphas tended to prefer Nellie to me when we were standing next to each other, so I shouldn’t have been surprisedto hear that was the kind of woman he’d assumed must be his mate after smelling me, even if it did kind of sting to think your mate would overlook you in a crowd…
Wait.
“I didn’t go to the Sanguiel’s Night parade four years ago,” I said.
The Premier froze. “What do you mean? I smelled you.” He sniffed my neck again, as though he needed to make sure.
“I mean, I wasn’t there. I hate parades, and Sanguiel’s Night is right before finals. I was probably in a library, studying.”
His mouth fell open slightly as he thought. “You don’t mistake your mate’s scent.”
I didn’t think that he was lying, but his story didn’t quite make sense. How could he have picked up my scent when I wasn’t even there? “Maybe you did see Nellie,” I said, trying to think of an answer. “We hang out all the time, so it’s possible my scent rubbed off on her.”
He scraped one of his fangs along his bottom lip.
His lips. Why was I staring at his lips? I couldn’t fight my instincts any longer, and I leaned forward to sniff him. I wanted to know his scent better. I wanted to get hit with that mate lightning.
I took a deep breath, and it was…
Fine.
Rosemary, a hint of musk. Nice, but not mind-blowing.
Why wasn’t my mind being blown right now? The Premier got a whiff of me off someone else in a crowd of thousands and became obsessed, and I had him right next to me and felt barely anything. Was everything I’d heard about finding your mate exaggerated?
Or maybe Iwasdefective.
The Premier, at least, was very excited by my action.
He lifted my chin with a finger and smiled. “Committing me to memory, darling? Don’t worry, I’ll never be gone for long.”
“Is this your house, then?” I asked, looking around the place. The whole city was spread below the large windows, meaning we must have been pretty high up. “I thought you lived in the Premier’s Mansion?”
“I do,” he replied. “This is your new apartment.”
“O-oh,” I said, my cheeks blushing. “You mean, I can still live on my own?”
That wasn’t so bad, then.
He tilted his head as he considered his answer. “Yes and no. Food will be prepared and sent up through the dumb waiter from a kitchen downstairs. Housekeeping will visit once a week for cleaning and laundry, and I’ve assigned you round-the-clock security detail. And while I officially live at the mansion, I will spend the daylight hours here with you before leaving in the evening to return for work.”
I took in more details of the space. It was modern, with clean lines and little decor. The walls were white and bare, and all of the furniture and bedding were gray or black. Long, heavy, light-blocking curtains hung open in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking downtown Noctis.
