Morning arrived too earlyafter how late Konni kept me up.Hickies that took a lot of effort to hide decorated my neck.
He kissed one as I applied some lip gloss.
“If you leave another mark, I’m sleeping with my mom tonight.”
Unfazed by the threat, he chuckled and nuzzled my neck, pressing into me—his affection when we were alone involved as much contact as possible.
“I’m curious about something,” I said.
“What?”he asked between kisses.
“You’re not going to do this in public once we’re officially out, are you?I’m not against PDA or anything, but this might offend some people.”
He flashed me a grin in the mirror.
“That wasn’t an answer, Konni.”
“I’ll give whatever you need and do whatever you allow.I will always like the feel of you against me, but I crave it even more now because of my molt.”
“When will that mysterious event take place?”
“Soon.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
“It’s not something I can schedule.This skin-too-tight and itchy feeling increases until the first scale breaks loose in my other form.That signals my need to molt.Until then, rubbing against you helps ease the discomfort.Once I’m past my molt, I’ll still want to do this—you feel so good—it just won’t be as compulsive.”
I smirked at him.“You mean you’re having a hard time stopping yourself?”
“You have no idea how hard it is at work.”
I didn’t yet, but I was sure going to find out on Monday.
“You’d better get going,” I said, tucking the lip gloss into my clutch.“It’s not nice to make Marius come in on a Saturday if you’re going to show up late.”
Konni kissed me again and walked downstairs with me.
Kaya and Mom had already finished their breakfasts and were sipping their coffees.
“I have great news,” Kaya said as soon as she saw us.“We’ve settled on a guest list for your welcome party and booked the venue, that old clock tower hotel between downtown and the southside, for a month from now.It has the space we need to accommodate five hundred people.”
I almost missed the chair mid-sit.“How many?”
“It was over eight hundred,” Mom said.“We trimmed it down.”
Kaya took my hand and patted it soothingly.“I know you’d rather keep it small, but if we want the Cinderella story, we can’t hold back.Steele family and business connections are a must to establish your place beside Konni.Both circles are large.”
“I also suggested we invite your father and Hestian,” Mom said.
“Good.”Konni put a pastry on my plate.“The sooner they understand Sophia is mine, the better.”
His possessiveness didn’t bother me since he mostly kept it to the bedroom—and I loved how he possessed me there.
“What Sophia wants matters most,” Kaya said, watching me, waiting for a response.
“Inviting them makes sense.Just don’t give my dad anything.Deals, money, basic courtesy…none of it.”
Konni stole my hand to rub his cheek against it.“I know how you feel about him.He won’t get any benefits because of our relationship.I promise.”
