Chapter 13

The entire night I was separated from Conall all I'd wanted to do was return to his side. I didn't want to disturb him at work, but it took all of my restraint to wait in my hotel room all day instead of coming to meet him immediately.

I never went this slowly with someone I was interested in. First dates usually ended up in bed, and it was a one-and-done deal. With Conall? I didn't mind having a thousand first dates like last night's, where all we did was talk and get to know each other.

"It's so good to see you again," I said when we reached each other. He looked so fucking beautiful, with his bright eyes shining as he looked at me.

"I'm happy to see you too," he said, then looked around us before grabbing my hand. "Follow me."

I didn't question it and let him lead us through the crowd to a less populated area. We stopped under the shade of a tree, where he suddenly turned to me and stepped closer.

"What are you?—"

Before I could get the rest of the words out, Conall reached behind my head, pulled me down, and kissed me.

His grip on me wasn't tight, but it might as well have been with how much of a mental chokehold he had on me. The kiss was more perfect than I could have imagined.

Soft lips against mine, clumsy with hesitation, but that only made it even more endearing. The gasp that escaped his mouth when my hunger took over had me almostferal.

Conall stumbled and pulled me down with him. I used one hand to wrap around the back of Conall's head and the other to break the fall. Thankfully, the grass was soft under us.

"You okay?" I asked once we both had time to catch our breaths.

"Yeah. Shit, sorry, I shouldn't have pulled you down with me," he said, a little flushed. "Are you okay?"

I pushed his bangs off his forehead and stared into those beautiful blue eyes. "I'm better than okay. That kiss was more than worth the fall."

The concern on Conall's face disappeared, replaced with a happy smile that made him glow.

"Does that mean a repeat might be on the table?"

It was my turn to smile. "Fuck yes," I said and crashed our mouths together again.

He folded his arms around my neck, pulling as close as physically possible—like he couldn't bear any space between us. I was glad I wasn't the only one.

Our kisses grew heavy fast, and it wasn't long before his hands were roaming my back and weaving through my locks. I had to take a pause when he ground up against me, his moan echoing in my ear. That had to be the most heavenly sound I'd ever heard. There was no way in hell I could hold back if we kept going.

I pressed our foreheads together. Our breaths mixed with the heady taste of lust and his sweet honey scent lingering in the air.

When I pulled back, Conall had a blissed-out expression, looking beautifully dazed. He watched me for a few seconds before bursting out in infectious giggles that had me chuckling with him.

"Best first kiss ever," he said with another laugh.

My heart skipped. Bells should have been ringing in my head, warning me that this just got a whole lot more serious than I wanted, than I was ready for, but all that was there was the peaceful clearness.

I was his first.

And goddess, what an amazing feeling to know that he'd gifted that to me. I only hoped to be lucky enough to experience many more firsts with him.

Leaning down, I pressed another soft kiss, then whispered against those lips, "Thank you."

When I pulled back, he looked confused about what I was thanking him for, but I only smiled and helped him to his feet.

"God, we're a mess," Conall said, brushing away leaves from his clothes. "Sorry, I got your nice clothes all dirty."

I looked down to see my white button-up now had questionable green and brown stains on it. "Totally worth it," I said with a smirk.

"Do you wanna head to my place and borrow some clothes?" He paused and looked me up and down. "Although I'm not sure if I have anything that will fit you. You're pretty…giant."

I laughed. That was one way to put it. Our human forms were tiny compared to our sperm whale form, but we were still larger than most humans.

"It's fine. I don't care what I'm wearing. I'd much rather go, so we don't miss the show."

"We should go then! You're going to love it. I've probably watched our show thousands of times by now, but I never get tired of it." I could see the excitement sliding off of him.

"They always try to mix it up with new acts. Gotta keep the audience in suspense, you know?" As he spoke, his hand reached out to hold mine. I didn't know if that was something he did all the time or if he was feeling the same need to touch me as I was feeling for him. Whatever the reason, I wasn't complaining as I gripped his hand tightly and followed him back to where everyone else was gathered.

"And you're going to love the Balance Brothers. They're not actually brothers—well, Aaron and Alyx are, and August is dating Alyx, so they all might as well be brothers. Anyway, the point is you're gonna be shocked to see the poses they're able to hold on top of each other."

I tried not to think about the poses I could do on top of him, but that was difficult when he looked so fucking sexy as he spoke about his friends with pride.

"I can't wait," I said, not because I actually wanted to see the show—circuses never really appealed to me—but he was excited about showing me, and that was more than enough reason to look forward to it.

When we reached the big red tent, there was a long line of people waiting to get in to watch the show. A big guy stood near the front of the gate, his arms crossed as his dark eyes watched the scene.

"Hi, Farren!" Conall said when we walked up to him.

Up close, the dude was about half a head taller than me. His buzz cut made his sharp features look even harder. He looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

"Conall," he said without even a blink of an eye. His eyes perused our bodies, but the rest of him didn't move. In fact, I didn't think he was even breathing with how still he was. Sperm whale shifters didn't have the best noses, but there was one thing I knew by the smell of him. He definitely wasn't human.

"Did you get into some trouble?" Farren asked Conall. His eyes narrowed on me, and a shudder went through me. If I had to fight—especially if it was to protect someone I cared about—I would, but really, I was more of a lover than a fighter.

Conall didn't seem fazed by the intimidating aura that was pouring off the man. Instead, an adorable blush heated his cheeks as he squeezed my hand. I smirked, hoping he wanted a replay of that moment as much as I did.

"I'm fine…Just had a bit of a fall, but Tidun saved me," he said with a shy smile.

"It was truly my pleasure," I said. My smile mirrored his.

Farren's stony gaze was still on me as he hummed. Conall was still all smiles, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Farren was looking at me like he could crush me in two seconds flat.

"By the way, what are you doing here out in the open? You're not usually so…conspicuous," Conall asked with a tilt of his head.

"After some incidents in the area, Seven thought it would be best to have a show of force in case anyone gets any ideas."

"Ugh, my mom nagged until you were forced out, didn't she?"

Farren didn't answer that and said instead, "Better to nip any threats in the bud."

I narrowed my eyes at Conall with concern. "Did something else happen? Other than the run-in with the thief?"

I hated the thought that he could have been put in any danger. If I had it my way, he wouldn't have encountered that briefcase snatcher in the first place. Then again, we wouldn't have met otherwise.

Fortunately, Conall shook his head. "No, that was all. I told my mom, and she kinda freaked out and told our ringmaster and Farren," he said, gesturing to the wall of a man. "Mom's a bit…overprotective."

My expression softened. "She cares about you," I commented.

"She does."

"I'm glad nothing happened. I care about you as well," I said, not thinking too deeply about if that was too soon to say, because it was the truth. In the short amount of time I'd known the man, he'd already gotten under my skin.

Conall beamed, putting to rest all the fears that I'd been too rash. "I care about you too."

His clear gaze as he looked at me told me he wasn't lying. I wasn't the only one feeling this connection that had blossomed between us. It was illogical and fast, but that didn't matter. And maybe this thing between us would only last a few weeks, a month—who knew? All I knew was I wanted to spend more time with him.

A throat clearing had us breaking eye contact. "Are you taking him to see the show?" Farren asked, like he hadn't just seen us having a moment.

"Yep! I'm taking Tidun's circus show virginity," he replied, rolling on the balls of his feet.

"I hope you're gentle with me," I teased.

Conall giggled, causing me to smile. Farren still had his hard expression on, but stepped aside to let us through. It was the first time he'd actually moved during the entire conversation. I had started to think he was a statue or something.

"Thanks, see you later!" Conall threw over his shoulder as he tugged me through the flap of the circus tent.

I glanced back at the people still waiting to get inside. "Is it okay to skip the line like this?"

He turned to me with a smirk. "It's one of the benefits of being with a member of the circus. Consider yourself lucky."

I knew he was joking, but it was the truth. To be here with him right now? I really was damn lucky.