27

H ow do I explain this to her without her misunderstanding me? Please don't let her hate me.

She jumps to her feet, fire in her icy eyes. "So you're sitting here claiming me, but you're also still supposed to marry another woman?!" she nearly shouts as she begins pacing a small space just in front of me.

"You promised to listen to everything. I'm not finished yet," I try to sound strong and sure, but it comes out as more of a beg.

She slowly turns her narrowed eyes on me before reclaiming her seat next to me, crossing her arms over her chest, not retaking my hand.

"I haven't told her yet for a few reasons. Most importantly because I don't trust her. She isn't used to not getting her way, and I don't know how she will react. I also don't care for or trust my father. They seem to have built some kind of relationship over time. It wasn't a potential concern before you entered my life, so I didn't care."

Slate, before I forget, I need you to do some digging. Are there any connections you can find between India and my father?

You got it, boss.

"I'm not ready for him to know about you either. As selfish as it is, I want you to myself for a while. I'm keeping her away, and I haven't touched her since I found you. I swear it." I finish and wait for what feels like an eternity before she says anything.

"So you and her . . . how long have you been together? " she asks, twisting the words together to sound like a curse.

"We have been betrothed and occasionally physical for a little over a hundred years. Never anything permanent. In passing when she happens across this part of the world through her travels," I say with guilt.

She seems to turn green at the thought, and I don't know what to say or do.

"Please don't hate me." I wish so quietly that she barely hears me.

"Oh Roman . . . shit. I don't hate you. But, fuck! How am I supposed to feel? I'm up against a woman you have been with for over a hundred years?! It doesn't matter how seriously you took it. It's still a relationship. In the human world, it's called being engaged, which makes me the homewrecker!" She's pacing back and forth now, and it's killing me not to reach out and hold her.

"Leera, I swear to you. I will make this right, but there is absolutely no fucking contest here. You are my mate. Even if we had already married, if I were already a fucking king, I would drop everything and be yours. That's how this works. Our souls were made to exist together. While uncommon, it does happen where someone finds their fated mate after starting a life, sometimes a family. That's why most prefer to wait for their mate."

"It's not just that. I just hate the thought of you with her. Especially . . . physically. I um . . ." She falters and turns away from me.

"What is it?" I ask, softly reaching for her hand and turning her back around to face me.

"I um . . . I've never . . . I've never been with anyone. I've n-never done anything." Another long pause, but I wait this one out in shock. "My only experiences with love come from my parents. I never had friends, and definitely never a boyfriend. I obviously never expected to find a mate. I thought I'd have some mild college experience, but now I feel like I've been thrown in the deep end without knowing how to swim."

I release the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and scrub my hands across my face, trying to keep my composure. She would not appreciate it if I smiled right now. I'm shocked only because I've seen how these humans act, but the thought of her being mine in every way makes blood rush to my dick. It is not the time for this. But my wolf and body do not agree. Pull yourself together.

"No matter what we are, Leera, everything that happens from this day forward is only what you want. We'll take everything as slow as you want. Thank you for telling me, though. I wish I could erase my past so that it was only you and Imogen, but I can't. I hope you can forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. I think I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed and insecure. She's so sophisticated and beautiful. How could you even want me when—"

"Don't ever think so little of yourself. She is a beautiful woman by many standards, but she's never been that for me. I've never felt a genuine connection to her. Even when we've been together there was nothing romantic about it. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've really only been existing. It's why I didn't fight the betrothal. It was only recently that I was even trying to find my way out of the marriage arrangement. It's like my heart knew you were coming for me."

That seems to relax her a smidge.

"Okay," she says as she releases a sigh that seems to have taken a weight off her shoulders.

"What else?" I ask. "Even if it's not pretty, I'll tell you everything."

"Why haven't I met my wolf since I'm out of my . . . vitamins? Shouldn't I be able to shift now?"

"We'll need to speak to the healer about it. You were poisoned your whole life; it could have lingering effects."

She nods, then says, "I meant it when I said I'd like you to work for this. I'd still like a semi-normal experience here. I feel the tug between us. I'm obviously drawn to you and feel more than I ever thought possible, but I'd still really like to have the experience of dating and such. I'm sure that sounds silly."

I finally allow myself to smile. I've still got her. She feels all of this with me.

"You got it. I'm all in. I've never had the full human experience either. It will be something that is only ours," I say, gathering both of her hands in mine. "All we have is time. No matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, I'm yours."

The blush that starts on the apples of her cheeks and spreads down her neck is intoxicating.

"I uh . . . I think that's all of my questions for now. Can we go back to our snacks? Did you still want to watch a movie?"

"Yes," I say, kissing her on top of her head as I stand to get more food now that I can stomach it. "You can still ask me anything when you're ready. What do you want to watch?" I ask over my shoulder.

I turn back to the couch with food in hand, and I'm struck by the adorable look on her face. Her nose is scrunched up, and she's tapping her chin while she thinks. I make a mental note to ask her as many questions as I can, just to see this look on her face.

"Well that depends," she says, "do we watch something fun or mushy or scary?"

"Anything you want."

"You say that like that makes it easy to decide. Do you know how many good movies there are? Of course you do; you've probably seen them all."

Goddess she's cute when she's all worked up. I like when she rambles. She just lets her thoughts flow straight out of her mouth. It's hard to find such brutally honest people. Taking her and Benny out in public together will be fun, I'm sure.

"Okay, Roman, lesson number one, I'm incredibly indecisive about almost all things. I will need to be given options, or you will need to choose because it's just too much." She finishes with a small giggle, which I match with a low chuckle of my own.

"Got it. How about this? When I ask you what's one of your favorite movies, what's the first movie that comes to mind?"

I should have been afraid of the smile that spread across her face, but I couldn't bring myself to care about whatever media torture she imposed.

"You don't want to watch that," she says as she makes her way back to the buffet of pizza, with a mesmerizing sway to her hips.

She comes back with a plate full, and I love that she isn't one of those women who starves themselves or won't eat on a date. She plops onto the couch so close to me that I find myself wishing she would have landed on my lap. Growling at the image, I shake it from my mind. Slow down. She needs time.

She notices and quirks her brow at me before returning to the conversation at hand. "Twilight," she announces proudly as she takes a bite of her pizza and nearly moans. My brain is firing in too many directions. It takes me a moment to process what she's said when I'm groaning for another reason.

"Alright, but don't tell the guys." I wink. "I'll never hear the end of it."

She smiles and nods, moving her pinched thumb and pointer finger across her lips and pretending to lock them and throw away a key.

I chuckle and pull up the app on the tablet to play the movie through the projector.

"It's so beautiful up here," she mumbles around her mouth, stuffed with pizza, as she stares out at the lights of the city.

"It's never been more beautiful," I reply, staring only at her.