Page 28 of Slaying With Sylphs

Fuck. Oh fuck. Here we go.

I clear my throat. “He did.”

Her cheeks turn redder, if that’s even possible. “Oh, and did he, umm, say anything…interesting?” She clears her throat too, and the noise slaps me out of my shyness. This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

I straighten and nod. “He did, yeah. He reiterated that he believes the three of us to be mates. And he’s convinced of it because his lightning doesn’t shock me.”

She drops both hands to her sides, mouth open. “So he…did he make you touch him? He did that to me at Alkemi! And the lightning zinged toward my hand and, well, it kind of?—”

“Felt good?” I ask wryly.

She grabs her braid and starts twisting it around a finger absentmindedly, but her eyes are wide.

I step closer to tilt her face up to me. “It was a shock, and I lay awake all night thinking about it. At Biergarten, you asked me to consider it, and I am.”

Her voice is so soft when it comes out, I’m thankful for my extra-sensitive hearing. “And what do you think?”

This is it, my chance to tell the female I’ve been agonizing over that I want to see where it goes between us.

“I was surprised, Lou, but I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a long time. Since the moment I saw you, really.”

And there it is, my greatest secret.

Her mouth drops open, and she sinks naturally against me, my finger still under her chin. Whiskey-gold eyes flash with emotions so fast, it’s hard to catalog them all. But it’s a particular skill of mine, reading people.

“I wasn’t aware of his feelings about me. I thought we might be in sort of a love triangle situation, and I didn’t want that.” I keep my voice deep and low, an alpha instinct. “Allow me to take you both out tonight. We can talk about what this might look like, what the ground rules are. There’s been none of that and honestly, it’s needed. But like you said, we’ll try it and see what happens.”

“I—I can’t,” she sputters, sinking a dagger into my heart. At my look, she shakes her head. “Not because of this. Bellami the gnome asked for my help in the gnome village, and I’m doing that tonight at eight.”

My brows travel upward in shock. “The gnome village?”

“I know,” she exclaims. “I was so surprised.”

“It’s an honor to be invited,” I say. “Nobody in Shifter Hollow has ever been into the gnome village, not even Richard.”

She makes an impressed face as I drop my hand by my side. I itch with the need to put both hands on her and draw her to me. The need to wrap her safely and securely in my arms is nearly overwhelming.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something else.” Lou’s soft smile returns. “Dirk has suggested this a bunch, so it’s probably just meant to be sexy because that’s all he thinks about, but I know you’ve been reticent to do therapy sessions with me. But…will you?”

I sigh, withdrawing my hands from my pockets to cross my arms over my chest. “Here’s the thing about therapy between us. It’s a conflict of interest, although I understand why both you and Dirk might believe I’m the right person for it.”

She nibbles at her lower lip. She must think I’m rejecting her request.

“I’ll do it,” I say quietly, “but let’s not call it therapy. Let’s just get together and talk. It’ll be a good chance to get to know one another better and to help give you some coping skills for what you’ve dealt with. We can take it easy. Let’s not put pressure on it. We could never have a true therapist and client relationship. Not if we’re dating.”

“I understand.” She straightens and rolls her shoulders. “I just…you’ve always seemed like such a rock to me. Confident and friendly, and I think I could talk to you about things I can’t talk to anyone else about.” Amber eyes move up to mine. “So I agree, let’s keep the expectations light.”

“Good idea,” I say. “I promise to be completely professional when we’re in therapy mode, Lou.” Even as I say it, I’m drawn to look at that long, gorgeous braid and the way her amber eyes flash in the early morning light.

Her exposed throat bobs, calling my attention to smooth, sun-kissed skin. “Is this what you mean by professional? Or is this more like date-mode Connall?”

A chuckle leaves my lips as I bend down to breathe just beneath her ear. Goosebumps cover her skin as one of her hands comes to my left side. Possession rages through me.

“It’ll be a fight for me not to be distracted by things I shouldn’t let distract me, Lou. Date-mode Connall is a little more forward, Lou, a little more aggressive. I’ve likely come across as quiet, even shy. I’ve been trying not to step on Dirk’s toes, and you seemed interested in him. We should try to keep date-mode Connall out of our sessions, if possible.”

“Agreed,” she whispers. “But if date-mode Connall happens to pay me a visit, I don’t think I’d be too upset.”

Fuck. This woman.

---