Page 17 of Finn's Solace

"I don't want to rush anything, though," I warned him, and he nodded quickly.

"Neither do I. I'd like to take things slow, get to know you better. Maybe see the others again too. I'm starting a new job next week, but other than that, my time is yours."

Excitement fizzled through me at Levi's declaration, and the last of the anxiety I'd been harboring since he texted yesterday finally evaporated into nothing.

"Of course! Penny and Dean aren't home at the moment, but Amelia will be back from her trip in a couple of days, and everyone else is here too."

Levi placed his hand over mine on the table and gave it a light squeeze.

"I was so happy when Greta told me you're my mate. I'm a lucky man."

Heat raced up my cheeks, and I ducked my head, knowing I had a very obvious, very bright blush.

Levi

I hadn't thought Finn could look any more stunning, but then he blushed.

His skin was pale as ever, which meant his blush was easily visible. I wanted to reach out and brush my fingers over the heated skin, but I held back.

"I'm glad you're mine too," he murmured, his eyes completely focused on his cake, which I realized he hadn't even started eating until now.

We moved to lighter topics, and I found out the apartment complex I'd been hired to build—with two ten-floor apartment buildings at the edge of town—was owned by a vampire who'd been planning to build it on the park near the docks. He'd been thwarted by the forest spirit who owned the park land, and his unicorn mate. Unicorn!

Like most supes, I'd believed unicorns were extinct, but apparently, Alden was the last of his kind. He was also a part of Finn's clan, and since I was his mate—and would one daybecome a part of that clan—there was a chance I'd get to meet him one day.

"Everyone gets that exact look on their face when they find out about Alden," Finn said with a laugh as he ate the last bite of his cake.

"Can you blame me? He's a unicorn! Which reminds me—can I ask what kind of supe you are? I can't tell."

Finn's hand jerked, and he almost spilled his tea all over the table, grabbing the cup with his other hand just in time. Clearly, I'd hit a nerve somehow. Shit.

"Uh, can we talk about that later?"

"Of course," I agreed, mentally admonishing myself for bringing it up at all. I'd known something was wrong because of his glasses and his inability to sense we're mates. I shouldn't have pushed.

Had getting his blood drained all that time affected him somehow? Damaged his supe side? Was that even possible?

Deciding to put it away for now, I turned the conversation to Amelia, and Finn told me about her passion for wildlife photography. He showed me some of the photos she'd taken, and they were stunning. When I saw her, I'd ask her if I could purchase some of them. They'd look wonderful hanging on my walls, a peek into the nature even when I was surrounded by drywall.

We kept talking until it was past dinner time, and ended up at a small restaurant in TOSS. Finn declared it wouldn't becounted as a first date since it was just a continuation of our earlier hang out, and I had to agree.

We chatted as we ate, and decided Finn would pick an activity for our first date since he knew the town and what we could do around here the best.

After dinner, we walked to the parking lot since we'd both driven here. The place was pretty close to my house, but I hadn't known if I could bring Greta, so I'd taken the car since it was the only way to make sure she didn't sneakily follow me.

"I'll text you later. You start work on Monday, so how about Saturday for our first date? It'll give you some time to decompress."

Smiling at his thoughtfulness, I agreed, then took a step back so I wouldn't step forward and kiss him instead. He still had a faint hint of a blush on his cheeks, and I desperately wanted to touch him. But we were going to take things slow. We had to, because this was too important to mess up by being impatient.

"Sounds good. Text me the details."

"I will," he agreed, his green eyes gazing into mine, the glasses almost disappearing for a moment as our gazes latched together.

I wasn't sure how long we lingered, but then a car horn made Finn jump, and I shook my head.

"It's late. We should call it a night."

Finn nodded quickly, then gave me a quick finger wave—adorable!—before walking off to hiscar.

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