Thirteen
Nolan
Something was different aboutZamir when he came back from the bathroom. He seemed lighter, and I had no idea why.
I shot him a questioning look, but he merely smiled at me as he joined me on the couch.
While he'd freshened up, I'd brought the pizza and our drinks—beer with a dash of my fire—over to the coffee table so we could eat comfortably. Muffin and Clip were already stationed on the rug between the couch and coffee table, ready to catch any scraps that fell their way.
Zamir chuckled as he stepped over Clip to sit beside me, and I smiled. In the span of a few hours, he'd lit up. His cheeks—what I could see of them over his beard—had more color to them, his aura was bright and beautiful, and our bond seemed stronger than it'd been when he'd first arrived. Offering him my life force had been the best decision.
"Do you feel okay? I took a lot from you," Zamir asked, and I realized that while I'd taken him in, he'd done the same to me.
Smiling, I brushed the backs of my fingers against his cheek, and he leaned into the touch as his eyes fluttered shut. If I didn't know he was a shtriga, I'd have thought he was a cat shifter with the way he acted sometimes. Or maybe he was someone who loved being touched but didn't have enough of it in his life. Well, that ended now.
"I'm fine, Zamir. I promise. You can sense it, I'm sure. You didn't take too much, and I'll regenerate fast. We always do."
Zamir placed his palm on my chest, his fingers firm as they pressed into my skin. "Yeah, I can feel it, but still. I'd hate myself if I'd caused you any pain."
The only way Zamir could ever hurt me was if he left. Or died. But I didn't say that. Even if that ever happened, I would never blame him for it.
"Well, you didn't."
He nodded, then blew out a breath. "All right, let's eat."
And that was what we did. We ate pizza, guarding the slices and the very loose toppings from the hungry gators at our feet.
"Aw, shit!" Zamir exclaimed when a pepperoni slice fell off his slice of pizza. Clip snapped her jaw around it before it could hit the floor, and I shook my head.
"You two act like I never feed you," I told them, and Clip gave me a wide doggy grin as she chewed her treat, making me laugh.
After we'd finished our meal, we kept talking, and I didn't realize how much time had passed until I realized all my furchildren had left the room. I glanced up at the clock, and my brows shot up. Zamir followed my gaze, and let out a low whistle.
"Damn, it's late. I should get going."
"Or you could spend the night," I offered, and his lips curved in a small smile, but he shook his head.
"Nah. Maybe some other time?" he asked hopefully, and I nodded.
"Anytime."
He smiled, and we made plans to go out again as we made our way to the front door. Zamir wanted to do something 'human' for our next date, out in the human world, and I promised him I'd figure something out. It'd been a while since I'd dated, but I could figure it out, right?
Zamir pressed a kiss on my lips, then tugged at one of my piercings with his teeth as he pulled away. Of course, that made me pull him into another kiss, and for a while, we stood outside on my small porch, making out like the newly mated pair we were.
He pulled away with a laugh, rested his forehead against mine, and gazed into my eyes. "You're making it hard to leave."
"Then don't."
He sighed, and kissed me again. "I have chores to do tomorrow morning, and I can't ask Keoni to cover for me again. It won't be fair to him."
"I understand. You know, when you're ready, I'd love to meet Keoni, and the rest of your friends. I'd like to see the Sanctuary from the inside."
Zamir grinned. "Yeah? I'd enjoy that too. You've met a few of them already, of course."
I nodded, searching my memory for their names. "Haruto and Liam, right?"
"Yeah. My friends are eager to meet you too. Most of them have never met a dragon."
