Page 38 of The Prince's Mate

"Nope. I'm gonna grab a nap while you take one," he said, and I chuckled.

"As you wish, my prince," I teased as I slid off the bed, and he grumbled unintelligibly before turning on his front and burying his face in the pillows. I took a moment to observe the sight of him all relaxed in a bed we shared, and after a while, I finallydragged myself to the bathroom. I had a date to get ready for, after all.

Ro'Shassz

Eavesdropping wasn't bad when you were doing it to help someone, right? Right?

Because I'd totally eavesdropped on Caelan and Walker's conversation last night, and now I knew more about them than I probably should. But I also knew that there was absolutely no way in hell I was letting that bastard Andras get his hands on Caelan.

Step Seventeen: Sneak off to Damien to make a plan to hunt down Andras before he could go after Caelan again.

Eighteen

Walker

"Are we supposed to ignore the fact that Ajax is lurking in the corner like a creepy stalker?" I asked Caelan in a hushed voice, and he chuckled as he followed my gaze to Ajax, who not-so-casually stood leaning against the counter and sipped his coffee.

"I think so, yeah," Caelan replied with a grin. Then, he waved at Ajax, who fumbled his coffee cup, almost dropping it before he caught it again. Then, he slowly waved back before lowering his eyes firmly to his coffee.

"Man, I didn't think someone as big and well, warrior-like, could be so adorable," I said, and Caelan raised his brow at me.

"Are you kidding? Do you even know Damien?" he demanded, and I chuckled because he was right. Dad could intimidate the best of them—and did so when it was warranted—yet he was also the sweetest, kindest person I knew.

"Yeah, my bad. Dad definitely takes the medal in that one," I agreed, much to his amusement.

"Your dad's the only person I know who can go from torturing information out of some asshole to bringing flowers to someone who is having a bad day in a split second," he said.

My dad was pretty special, all three of them were.

"You know what we should do?" I asked as I took the last sip of my coffee, and Caelan waited patiently for me to go on. "We should take the day for ourselves and explore this city."

"Oh, yeah? What about him?" Caelan asked, tilting his head toward Ajax.

"He'll probably tag along," I said with a shrug, and Caelan shook his head.

"And the other demons?"

"They can wait a day. They're not going anywhere. Come on, Kitty. Think of it as a day-long date, please?" I begged, batting my eyelashes at him.

Caelan sighed, smiling wryly. "Fine, fine. You might be a bad influence on me, Walker," he teased, and I grinned. I'd proudly accept that title if it meant I got him all to myself today.

"Come on," I said, dropping a few bills on the table before getting up and offering Caelan a hand. He took it, and I pulled him closer. We were practically the same height, and with him so close to me, I couldn't resist leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. It was a soft, almost chaste kiss, but Caelan's smile when we pulled away could've lit up the whole room.

Ajax followed us out, though he kept his distance, and I turned to Caelan as we started walking. "Is there any place in particular you'd like to visit, or should we just take a stroll and see what we find?"

Caelan was in his human form, and his eyes looked strange like this, without the vertical cat pupils. "Let's take a stroll.Sometimes, you find the best places when you're not looking for them."

"Amen," I answered, squeezing his hand. "So, Caelan, I know your favorite movie genre is horror. What about music?"

Caelan tilted his head thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the storefronts we passed. "A little bit of everything, I guess. Except country," he said with an exaggerated shudder, and I chuckled.

"No country, got it.”

"What about you?"

"Hmm...I haven't really had the chance to hear more than a few styles, and I'm still learning a lot of the other languages, so I'm probably going to disappoint you by saying pop," I said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Why would that disappoint me? Some of my favorite songs are pop. Not to mention, now I get to have the pleasure of introducing you to some of my favorite music," he said, and I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice.

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