CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Bash

It's difficult to concentrate on the menu when Wyn sits across me, a gorgeous angel without wings.

She grumbles as she scans the items as if glaring will turn the words to English.

"What else is there besides steak? Is this homard en cro?te du sel tasty?"

"Eh, it's not as delicious as your cum, but it's still pretty good."

Wyn chokes on her wine, torn between laughter and horror.

"Stop it! We're in public."

"Semi-public," I correct as my tail snakes out to graze her arm.

She jolts in her seat. "Behave!"

"Yes, ma'am. So the homard is lobster in a salt crust. They take a whole lobster and encase it in a hard salt crust before baking it—which locks in the natural flavors."

"Oh, well, that sounds almost as delicious as your cum."

Now it's my turn to choke. My sawolkeh wears an innocent expression, but mischief dances in her gaze.

Brat.

Just as I'm about to tell her exactly what I do to mouthy little things like her, our waiter walks over.

"Are we ready?"

I glance at Wyn with a raised eyebrow, and she nods.

"Ladies first."

"Thank you. I'll have the homard en cro?te du sel, please."

"Excellent choice, mademoiselle. And what would you like, monsieur?"

"I'll have the coq au vin, s'il vous pla?t."

"Very good. Would either of you like to start with an appetizer?"

"The foie gras is exceptional—would you like to try it?"

Again, she nods, and the waiter makes a note before leaving us alone once more.

While we wait, Wyn tells me a story about Jake and another student from his school.

We're both laughing when the waiter arrives with our foie gras and two smaller plates.

Wyn helps herself, scooping some onto a cracker.

Her eyes roll upward when she bites into the silky, smooth texture.

"Oh my, it's so rich and buttery—what is this?"

"Goose liver."

Instead of making a face of disgust, she licks her lips, and my tarse twitches.

"Well, it's delicious."

"Please, take as much as you like."

"And what about you?"

"Honestly? I'm enjoying watching you eat."

She blushes, and the blood surges to the spot between my legs.

"You're making it difficult to concentrate."

"Sorry."

"No, you're not."

I chuckle. "Guilty as charged. I guess you'll need to distract me from my naughty thoughts."

"How so?"

"Tell me something about you that I don't know."

Wyn tucks a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear.

"Did you know I was raised on a reservation?"

"I did not."

"Yep, Standing Rock. I grew up in Fort Yates, just north of the South and North Dakota border. My family is part of the Hú?kpap?a tribe. My great-grandpa was one of the tribe elders."

Although I'm fascinated and want to know more, the taste of Wyn's pain is becoming unbearable.

"Deoring, we don't have to speak of this if you don't wish. We're here to enjoy ourselves."

She tries to smile, but her lips wobble. "You're right. I only meant to share something about me, but it's my fault. Any time I think of my past, it makes me sad. How about you? Tell me more about Boggarts."

"I fear my past is much like your own—riddled in sorrow. Boggarts are characteristically cruel creatures with no regard for humans. To be the way I am and live in your world is offensive to my family."

Wyn snorts. "Trust me, I understand completely. One of the reasons my parents shunned me is because I left the tribe and married a white woman—Jake's other mom."

"And where is she now, if I can ask."

Something flickers across Wyn's face, and her panic spikes the air before melting away.

The only sign of my sawolkeh's distress is when she reaches for her water and it shakes in her hand.

But this woman is stronger than titanium. She recovers so quickly, I almost think I imagined her reaction.

"Gone. We divorced when Jake was still just a baby. She didn't want him, and as you know, he's my whole world. Everything worked out. How about you? Any hidden exes that I should know about?"

I shoot her a wry grin. "No. I…well, I prefer human women, and most find me terrifying—too terrifying to even contemplate going out with me."

Wyn frowns. "Their loss, my gain, then."

She reaches across the table to rest her hand over mine, and for the first time in my life, I feel wholly accepted.

We sit there in silence, staring at one another, my heart beating far too fast for being sedentary.

The waiter breaks up the moment again, coming over with our dinner.

Wyn withdraws her hand, and suddenly, I'm cold, utterly bereft of her touch.

She doesn't seem as affected as me, and I try to cover my desperate need for any scrap of attention I can get from her to my dinner.

"This looks delectable!"

Steam rises from her lobster as she scoops out a piece of meat and dips it into a cup of melted butter.

"Mmmmm," she moans, and I almost choke on my own bite.

We eat with gusto as we talk about more neutral topics like Jake and work.

When our meal is finished, the waiter comes back to ask if we want dessert.

Wyn arches a brow at me, and I shake my head.

"Just the bill, please."

The waiter nods and leaves, and I taste Wyn's displeasure.

"Oh, deoring, we're still having dessert—just not here."

"Then where?"

"I thought maybe you would like to see my apartment. It's still early."

She nods slowly, her gorgeous brown eyes wide.

"What's for dessert?"

I sweep my tail out to cup her face and draw her closer as I lean in and whisper.

"You."

Wyn's expression goes blank before her gaze smolders with the banked heat flaring between us.

She folds up her napkin and lays it on the table as the waiter returns.

I pay the bill, leaving a generous tip for their excellent service and care, before taking Wyn's hand.

"Shall we?"

"Lead the way, Mr. Ettin."

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" I hiss under my breath as we leave.

"Why do you think I did it?" she all but purrs back.

Fuck me, my mate wants to play.

The city lights blur past as the driver takes us back to my place.

It takes everything inside of me not to touch her, here and now.

When we reach my penthouse, I scoop Wyn into my arms.

I carry her bridal style through the maze of halls and lifts to my apartment at the very top.

Her jaw drops when the elevator doors ping open, revealing my extravagant living room.

"Ah, make yourself at home," I tell her as I gently place her back on her feet.

She shuffles from foot to foot, suddenly tasting unsure.

"What's wrong, Wyn?"

"What's wrong? Look at this place, Bash—it's amazing!"

"And this upsets you?"

"Honestly, yes, because I've never set foot in such a luxurious space. It reminds me of how very little money I have, and how unfit for one another we are."

I reach over to take both her hands in mine, saddened by her words.

"Deoring, love isn't negotiated by a person's material possessions—at least, it shouldn't be. Yes, arranged marriages exist, but real love isn't dictated by what's on the outside. We both know it's what's on the inside that matters most. And you, Wynona Archer, have a heart of gold, a million times more precious than all the money in the world."

"Flatterer," she teases, but her voice is hoarse, and her ache for love fills the air.

"It's not flattery if it's true."

She shifts, stepping over to look out my floor-to-ceiling windows at the amazing skyline below.

"I thought you were bringing me here for dessert."

"Correction—I was bringing you here to be my dessert."

"And how do you want me, Mr. Ettin?"

"Naked and spread so I can lick up all your sweet cum as I make you see stars."

Wyn shudders, and I crowd into her personal space, backing her against the glass of my windows.

Our lips meet, and I taste her desperate need for more—and it matches my own.

I pull her closer, feeling her soft curves melt against my body.

My hands slide down to the small of her back as the world around us fades away, and I hitch one of her long legs over my hip.

"But before dessert, there's one thing I need to do."

"And what's that, Mr. Ettin?

A feral smile spreads across my face, inflamed by Wyn's use of my surname.

With preternatural speed, I zip us to the couch and flip my mate over my knee.

She squeals, knowing exactly what's about to happen.

Time to spank this perfect ass before I fuck it.