Page 25 of Purple Scales & Coffee Tales

There was no need to say any more. He had probably flaunted his expensive credit card in their faces to convince them to make an exception for Taran Atax.

“Handy.” My best friend grinned. “Let’s get this cleared away so we’re ready to eat when he gets here.”

We quickly put the food into the fridge and our little pantry, then gathered plates, cutlery, condiments, and the two bags of popcorn we’d bought.

The doorbell rang as we plumped the cushions, and Tiff navigated our Claw app to look for the first episode of season three.

“I’ll get it.” Taran left the room and returned a few minutes later laden with six enormous paper bags emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo.

By the looks of it, he had spent hundreds of copper crowns on food for our movie night.Holy shit.

“Oh, are we expecting a hockey team to join us?” Tiff snorted when she turned away from the TV and spotted the bags.

Scales contemplated her for a moment, looked down at all the food now piling on our coffee table, and joined in the laughter. His posture loosened, and it was a beautiful sight to watch him carve a spot out for himself in our midst.

“I might have gone a bit overboard, yeah. I think I’ll have to excuse myself, there’s no way I can fit into this once we’ve eaten.” He ran a large hand over his corset.

“The bathroom is at the end of the hall, or you can use my room, it’s the door on the left of it,” I told him before busying myself with unloading all the bags.

“He’s really cute,” Vaughn mouthed when she heard a door close behind Taran.

“Right?” Unable to keep a sheepish grin off my face, I snuggled into my seat, hugging a pillow to me.

He’s so fucking cute. And hot. Woah.I’d never seen Taran without a corset. I loved the emphasis on his narrow waist and the elegant jackets he usually wore on top. Him in a black dress shirt, with the two top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up, had me notice for the first time how brawny he actually was.

“Where can I sit?” he asked in his deep, rasping voice and I was moments away from offering him my spot and curling up on his lap.

“Here,” I replied, indicating the spot next to me in a voice almost as hoarse as his had been.

Behind his back, Tiff bit her lip hard to stifle her grin or keep any teasing words in.Good for you, babes.‘Movie Night Gone Wrong’ wasn’t a headline I wanted to read in tomorrow’s newspaper.

We made it through most of the first three episodes, and most of the food. It was fucking delicious and part of me cried a little when my stomach gave up eventually and I couldn’t fit another single morsel in even if I’d wanted to.

Taran had suggested eating the things that wouldn’t keep well first, the burgers and chips, and leaving the soups and salads for tomorrow.

“You’ll have enough for another day or two, at least.” He contemplated the mountain of stuff we had left, and the untouched popcorn we’d thankfully kept in the bags. “I’m curious about this French salad. I hope they’ll have it at the party so I can try it.”

“If not, you'll just have to visit the restaurant at some point,” I suggested, earning myself a soft smile.

“Perhaps when you’re not tired after a long day.”

“I’ll take this to the kitchen. Wait for me with the next episode, yeah?” Tiff said, getting to her feet and clearing her throat noisily.

Taran, who was clearly as flustered as me, muttered something and shifted in his seat, and neither of us mentioned the restaurant again.

Half an hour later, Tiff had fallen asleep with her back to us and Vaughn, who seemed distracted and had been glued to his phone all evening, had excused himself for a moment.

That was twenty minutes ago.

I was wide awake, hyperaware of Taran’s huge, warm body next to me. That man was way too well behaved, though. At no point had he tried to hug or touch me, and I appreciated that he hadn’t just groped me.But damn, Scales, you really need to grope me.

As if he’d heard my inner monologue, he suddenly straightened and turned his horned head at me. For a moment his eyes burned with something close to lust, before they softened. Holding out an arm, he invited me to his side, and I hurried to take him up on it.

God, I had missed his scent, and inhaling deeply, I snuggled my face into his chest.

“Maeve?”

Chapter Fifteen

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