Page 39 of The Prince's Mate

"That's right. But what if I end up liking country music?"

"Banish the thought," he said with a shake of his head. "That's a dealbreaker right there."

I laughed, and we walked in silence for a while, our arms swinging between us. My thoughts flitted from topic to topic before returning to the question his comment had raised in my mind.

"Whatwouldbe a dealbreaker?" I asked softly, and he glanced at me, brows furrowing.

"Excuse me?"

"For us. What would be a dealbreaker to you?"

"I don't think there's anything, at least not for me," he said, and I tilted my head.

"Come on, that can't be true. I know we're mates and everything, but we still have to have boundaries and needs and stuff, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course. I just can't think of anything that would make me want to break our bond," he said, then pursed his lips. "Well, except for dishonesty. And lack of communication."

"See? That's what I'm talking about. We gotta have some rules," I said, and Caelan let out a laugh. I stared at him, brow raised, and he sobered quickly.

"Sorry. You just, you very much looked like Arty's son when you said that. He's all about the rules too," he said with a cheeky grin, and my face screwed up. I knew my dads were into somethings, but I didn'tneed to know.

"Urgh," I said, giving a dramatic full-body shudder. "That right there is rule number one. No talking about my dads' s-e-x life," I spelled out the word as if that would make it less awkward, but I guess that was what happened when you got together with your dads’ best friend.

Caelan

"All right, all right," I said with a laugh. While talking about his parents like that was a little awkward, I also loved the screwed-up face he made at the topic. But if he wanted it to be a rule, then so be it. I'd figure out some other way to get him to make that face.

"Rule number two is honesty and open communication," I suggested, and Walker nodded.

"Yep! We should also have a safeword," he said, and I stopped short. I glanced at him, wide-eyed.

"We need a safeword?" I asked, my voice coming out a tad squeaky, and Walker's own eyes went wide.

"Oh no, not like that. I mean, we can talk about that if it's something you're interested in, but I just meant like ifsomething like the other night happens again. If one of us gets overwhelmed or triggered, we can safeword so the other one knows to stop," he explained, then rolled his eyes. "Maybe it was a stupid idea."

"No, actually," I argued, brushing my nose against his. "I like the idea. So, what will be our safeword?"

Walker grinned as if he'd just had the best idea and suggested, "Country?"

"It's as good as anything."

"Okay, then," he said, and we started walking again. I didn't remember if I'd seen anything at all except him. We were supposed to be exploring the city, but all we'd actually done was get lost in each other, not that I minded one bit.

I glanced back the way we'd come, and relaxed a little when I spotted Ajax just a few steps behind us, hands in his pockets and keeping pace with us.

"Did Ro'Shassz hitch a ride with you today?" I asked, and Walker pursed his lips and patted down his pockets.

"Nope. Looks like he decided to stay home," he said. "Either that, or he went to see the dads."

"They're probably grilling him about us," I mused, and Walker sighed.

"I'm sure they are. And Ro has plenty to tell them too," he said, and I chuckled.

"Like how we almost dragged him into a frotting session?" I asked, and his cheeks went pink as his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh shit, I hope he won't tell them that," he murmured, and I shook my head.

"I'm sure he won't. It was his own fault, after all."

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