Page 22 of Roman
I looked back at Roman and wondered where he’d heard about my night. Lukan, right. I needed to go yell at him, apparently.
“What time would you like me to pick you up?” Roman asked.
“Umm…” I looked at Konrad for help.
“Four,” Konrad said. We’ll probably be out of goodies by then anyway. The enforcers are most likely eating lunch now, but give it an hour at the most, and we’ll be slammed again.”
I looked back at Roman.
“Four it is, then. I’ll see you then.”
Roman winked before he turned and left. I could only stand there and watch as my mate left. The tingling in my body subsided, but the heat didn’t. I took several deep breaths, trying to get myself under control. Konrad was a shifter. As was Sean. They would be able to scent my arousal, and it wasn’t as if I was ashamed of it. I simply didn’t wish to spend the next few hours horny for my mate.
“That was…just weird,” Sean said as he came up to the counter with Konrad. “I get it. He’s your mate.” Sean tilted his head to the side. “Konrad told me. But he’s always just been Professor Nelson to me. And before he was Professor Nelson, he was the guy who ran the council’s store.” Sean shook his head.
I looked at Konrad in question. “I’ll share it all this afternoon. I told Sean to be here at six tomorrow. We’ll see how things go then though.”
I could only nod because at the moment, my mind was full of thoughts of Roman and the fact that I was going to have dinner with him this evening. Just the two of us. There would be no watchful eyes around to keep anything from happening. Well, except for the fact that Roman had said he would be a gentleman. I had no doubt he would. But that didn’t mean there was no possibility of me experiencing my first kiss, did it?
Chapter 9
Roman
Iwas certain that I could find something to do for the next few hours. After my unexpected conversation with Master Edison this morning and subsequent relocating to a new house, there were certainly things to be done. I understood Master Edison’s reasoning for suggesting the new house. I was about to have a mate and eventually children, hopefully.
The house was in council housing, only it wasn’t on Treasure Ridge. The council had “leased” some land from Alpha Forest’s pack, and they had built a rather nice neighborhood that was completely paranormally occupied. Beau and I would fit in perfectly. If only he agreed, that was.
After the interaction I’d just had with him though, I had a feeling that there wouldn’t be any issues with him eventually agreeing. He was certainly interested in what we could have together. But I needed to know more about what had happened yesterday. Why was my mate in Lukan’s after arguing with his brother? And what all had Evan said to my mate?
Master Edison had assured me that everything with regards to Evan would be cleared up. I didn’t know exactly what all that entailed, but I knew I wanted to be there for Beau in any wayneeded. And that meant asking him to dinner and getting to have a private conversation with him.
Sure, we’d talked about things yesterday at the council’s get-together, but it was anything but private. With a plan in place, I once more forced my tiger to walk away from our mate. I tried my best to reassure him that we would be seeing Beau soon enough, in just a few hours, actually, but we needed to get to the store in order to prepare for tonight’s date.
I had absolutely no idea what all Beau liked and didn’t like, but I was going to hope for the best with something as simple as spaghetti. He wasn’t a shifter, and although I’d noticed he ate quite a bit yesterday, he hadn’t eaten nearly as much as either of my brothers did. What I had noticed was that he seemed to be more inclined to eat the various salads and especially the fruit, so I needed to make sure I had something to go with the spaghetti.
With that thought, I walked the short distance from the bakery to the transport building and soon enough found myself down off Treasure Ridge and in my SUV, on my way to the store. As I drove through Timber Valley, my mind couldn’t keep from wandering back to Beau. Master Edison had shared a little with me this morning, and although I had known of my mate for only just a day, already I was incredibly proud of everything he had already accomplished.
“The council wants to be self-sustaining here. This isn’t anything you haven’t already heard.”
“No.”
“Beau is here because Thomas and Canyon brought him with his brother who volunteered to come and join the council as an enforcer. It makes sense now why.”
I smiled at Master Edison. Yes, it did.
“What will become of the bakery if Beau doesn’t continue running it?” I shook my head when Master Edison raised aneyebrow at me. “I would never ask him to give it up. I was simply inquiring. I know very little about making pastries and baked goods. But I could help him run the bakery if he wanted.”
“That will be between you and Beau. For now, Konrad will help with making sure the menus he’s selected are kept up with. The two of you will have your time as newly found mates. But if Beau decides he no longer wishes to run the bakery, the council will make it a more automated place until something more permanent can be secured.”
Last week, I was certain I was going to give up teaching at the local college. Now, I wasn’t so sure. Although Master Edison had offered a position with the council, I wasn’t interested in becoming an enforcer, nor did I wish to step on Monroe’s toes. He’d stepped in and had taken over running the council’s store like a pro.
I would need employment to support Beau. Yes, I had funds, but nothing like either of my brother’s mates. Not that it was a competition. But I was going to have to have a discussion with Beau, and soon, because I needed to let the college know if I was going to return this fall or not.
I pulled into the grocery store’s lot, and after I found a spot, I slid from the vehicle with a purpose: shop to hopefully impress my mate. I could cook. But my brothers and I were shifters, and we were absolutely always up for a steak. But I already recognized that with my mate being fae, I would need to expand my menu to include much more.
I grabbed a cart and immediately headed for the produce section. Once I had the fixings for a nice salad, I added some fruit to make a fruit salad for dessert. I had noticed that Beau seemed especially fond of fruit, and there were a lot of fruit-based pastries in the bakery.
I couldn’t keep from smiling. I had a mate, and my tiger was chuffing in my mind about the fact that we were currentlyselecting things to provide for him. Sure, I’d raised my brothers and had provided for them. This was different.
