Chapter 22
Stone
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What the fuck is wrongwith me?
I spent half of our time together talking about someone else, a girl no less, and the other admitting I’mfartoo old for her. Kodiak would have a field day with how terrible I am at dating. In my peripherals, I study Amara in the seat beside me as I drive us home, but she seems almost... happy.
“I have a stupid question,” she randomly states, turning in her seat to face me.
“I highly doubt that it’s stupid, but ask away.”
She worries her bottom lip before blurting, “Are you locked into older traditions, do we trade off planning dates, or...?” Her breath rushes out of her in a heavy exhale that buzzes her lips. “If you’ve already done pretty much everything the world has to offer, I’m not sure what the hell I could come up with that you wouldn’t find boring.”
Easing to a stop as the light turns red, I turn to her confusion. “I’m going to be honest, I thought you were being polite and placating me. You’re truly interested in going on another date with me after my less than stellar conversational skills?”
She chuckles. “And I thoughtIwas a self-deprecating cynic. Seriously, Stone, I had a good time. Don’t get me wrong, I have a shit-ton of questions, but I think I need to broach that subject carefully for both of our sakes. I already struggle enough with the idea of living in this hell on earth for another decade, but even a fraction of the time you’ve endured? That sort of concept is daunting and overwhelming, and I’m not even the one that lived it.”
Shaking her head, her smile falls. “Here you are, some ancient demon with a list of accomplishments a mile long, and experiences I can never come close to matching. Then there’s me. A shifter who can’t shift, barely has any abilities to her name, and is generally just an all-around embarrassment to the reputation of dragons the world over. Either you pissed off the Fates and they thought it’d be hilarious to saddle you with me as a mate, or they have so little faith in me that they stuck me with your legion in a last-ditch effort to keep me alive. We may never know which, but we do know for a fact that it’s going to give me a serious inferiority complex.”
Slowly, her gaze roams over me in a burning caress that has the steering wheel groaning under my suddenly tight grip. “And still, I look forward to doing something like this again. You’re not what I expected, Stone, and I think you understand what a compliment that is in my book. So yeah, I’m interested in another date if you are.”
A horn blares behind me and we both startle. Whipping my gaze forward, I ease off of the brake and through the intersection. “There’s nothing I’d like more. Just... be patient with me? I strive to evolve with the times, but some of the finer nuances elude me. Dating customs in particular change faster than I can blink, so please feel free to speak up if I’m being too forward, or not picking up on a social cue.”
Her soft chuckle warms my heart. “Afraid you’ve come to the wrong place if you want dating advice, this was the first I’ve been on. My experiences are all one night stands or weekend flings with humans that I could never have an honest conversation with.” She swallows, fidgeting with her sleeve. “Of course, it does pose the question; how are you supposed to drop me off at my doorstep and kiss me goodnight if we live together?”
My head whips her way in surprise, and when a horn blares behind me I curse, pulling over to the side of the road. Throwing the car in park, I give her my undivided attention. Pulse fluttering wildly at her throat, Amara meets my eye with steely determination at odds with the nervous way she’s wringing her shirt sleeve.
In all of my years on this godsforsaken earth, I’ve never felt so utterly lost, yet sure that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be than when I’m with her.
The corner of her lips curve upward, a teasing lilt to her voice as she asks, “Has anyone told you that you’re a terrible driver?”
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“Ithought you wantedto take things slow?”
“No, you guys decided that. I agreed to take things at whatever pace I was comfortable with, and walk away without consequence if any of you acted like entitled jackasses. Not like we haven’t already jumped straight into getting matching tattoos. Or touched each other without protection.” She shrugs. “I guess I’m just starting to accept that if Malcolm is already targeting you, we’re marked anyway, and you’re bending over backwards to prove this isn’t the prison sentence I was afraid of, it doesn’t hurt to explore the silver linings, too.” Her cheeks heat. “That came out wrong. I meant I wasn’t opposed, not that I’m making the best of a bad situation by banging the consolation prize. No pressure or anything. Just throwing the idea out th-”
Cupping the nape of her neck, I slam my lips against hers. She tastes exactly as I’d imagined; like elderberries and thunderstorms. Wild and familiar. Amara is everything I didn’t realize I was missing, every roll of her tongue and brush of her lips against mine settling something deep within my soul.
Leaning closer, my elbow smacks against the center console, Amara swallowing my frustrated growl. She fists the front of my shirt, holding me close as I plunder her mouth, when a rap of knuckles against my window has us jarring apart.
Rolling it down, I come face to face with a smirking policeman. “Time to move it along, you two. I’d hate to have to cite you for public indecency, so take it back to one of your places, alright?”
