“No. I just…I need to get to know you first. I wasn’t raised as a paranormal like you were. With all your customs and traditions. I wasn’t even raised knowing paranormals existed. I need to go slow. I’m not ready to meet your family.”
“So, you want to date me?”
“Yes.”
“All right. It’s a little unorthodox, but I think I can manage it.”
Lucas thought about that for several seconds. Unorthodox. The word made Lucas chuckle. “Are you serious right now? That’s how normal human beings start a relationship.”
Bennett raised one eyebrow as if to say he wasn’t a human.
“Yeah, okay.”
After that, there was an uncomfortable silence. “Mind if I hop in your shower,” Lucas hoped the guy would take the hint.
Bennett grunted a response that Lucas took to mean he could, but he never actually moved from the room.
“Can I get undressed now, please?”
Bennett’s eyes flashed to that of his dragon. Lucas was finally starting to understand that the eyes flashing thing meant Bennett was horny or protective of Lucas, not that he was angry. Lucas probably wouldn’t be so scared of him, but Bennett was so much bigger than Lucas. It was hard to think of him as anything but dangerous, especially after the vampires attacked him and killed Shawn.
“Alone.”
“Oh.” Bennett gripped his nape, kissing him quickly. When he pulled back, he said, “I can’t be very far from you right now. My dragon doesn’t like it.”
“Well, he’s gonna have to deal with it, Bennett, because I’ve had just about all the weird I can handle for one day,” Lucas said and pointed to the bathroom door. He wasn’t giving in and he tried to make his expression reflect that.
Bennett’s eyes widened with surprise and then he smiled. “Okay, baby. I’ll give you privacy.”
“Um…what about clothes?”
“I’ll lay them out on the bed for you.” Bennett kissed him one last time before he turned and left the room.
Lucas couldn’t help the smile that played on his lips.
Lucas got out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He tentatively opened the door and peeked around the corner. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see anyone and pulled the door open all the way. Bennett had laid folded clothes on the bed. That small gesture melted Lucas’ heart even more.
Lucas shook his head at the underwear Bennett had given him, holding them up to his nose. He pulled them away in disgust. He didn’t need to be a shifter to know those smelled like they’d never been worn by Bennett. Brand new pair in fact. He wanted to smell like Bennett, damn it.
They were very big, but Lucas thought they would fit him around the waist. He pulled them on under the towel and then unwrapped it. They hung off him. He smirked at himself. They looked completely ridiculous, but it wasn’t as if anyone would see them. He pulled the sweatpants on next and had to draw the strings as tight as they would go to keep them from falling down around his hips. He held up the shirt Bennett had picked for him, giggling like a girl when he saw the image on it and thanking whatever god was up there that no one was in the room to hear it. It was a white shirt with a black dragon, like the one he’d seen in Bennett’s mind.
Lucas held it to his nose and smelled that cinnamon scent all over it. The smell calmed him, relaxing him to a degree he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He pulled the shirt over his head and sighed.
There was a knock on the door and Lucas said, “Come in.”
He expected it to be Bennett or maybe Forrest, but a middle-aged lady walked through the door. She had blonde hair with gray streaking through it. She smiled kindly at him. “Oh, I can already tell you’re perfect for my Bennett. You have fire in your eyes. You’ll need it when Bennett gets stubborn.”
“I can’t imagine Bennett being stubborn.” Lucas was starting to believe Bennett was one big giant teddy bear. Or rather a soft, cuddly dragon.
“Give it time.” She shook her head at the unmade bed. “When he lived at home, he always had to make his bed.”
“I always make mine. Every morning. It’s a habit,” Lucas said and eyed her. “You’re like me, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she said and smiled at him curiously.
“Is this the part where I let you read me?”
“If you’d like. Or we could just talk first.” She sat on the bed and patted the space next to her. For a witch, she dressed like anybody else would. He half expected her to be the earthy grandmother type like Cassie. Instead, she had on a pair of Capris pants and a pink shirt that saidNashvilleon it. He walked over to her and sat.
