13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Maeve

“ S ure.”

As if I would have said no when you asked so nicely, Scales.

We wandered in the direction he had indicated and Taran led me inside with his hand hovering over the small of my back.

I should probably hate it, but I couldn’t. On the contrary, I wanted to snuggle back into his palm, feel his warmth seep into my body, have it rest heavily just above the curve of my ass.

God, that man …

She always looks stunning in green. I didn’t even think he noticed what I wore, but apparently the green sweater I owned had made a lasting impression on him.

“Why don’t you choose a table and I’ll get our coffees?” he rumbled next to my ear, and damn it, I was this close to sighing blissfully and stretching like a cat at the pleasant shiver travelling the length of my body.

“Yeah, see you in a moment.” I wove through the tables to one in the back of the cafe, watching Taran order and quickly type a message on his phone before slipping it back into his pocket.

Another few minutes later, he joined me, carrying a tray with two plates and two cups.

“They had Milky Fairy Moss cupcakes. Have you ever had them?” he asked when he took a seat next to me on the bench, emptied the tray, and put it on an empty chair.

“No, I haven’t. Are they any good?” They looked delicious with a thick sugary glaze and tiny white blossoms instead of sprinkles.

“I’ve only ever had ice cream with that flavour, but it was amazing. I couldn’t pass these up.”

He excused himself to quickly wash his hands, and I followed suit, finally plopping down on the comfy bench with our thighs almost touching.

“Okay, let’s give them a try, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Taran grinned and started to pluck his cupcake apart. Then he picked one of the pieces with the frosting and blossoms and brought it up to my mouth. Without thinking, I took it from him .

“Oh my God, that’s amazing!” I groaned, fully aware that I sounded pretty much how I did when I came.

A low growl grumbled in his chest as he watched me chew.

“Sorry,” I muttered, trying to shut up.

“No! Goddess, don’t apologise. I want to go back and buy all the cupcakes for you.”

He caught himself just in time, brushing the kiss that had been brewing between us all afternoon aside yet again.

Damn, Scales. Don’t edge me like that.

I didn’t press the matter though. It would either happen or not, and I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted yet anyway.

“Now all we need is a new name for the cafe, sweetling,” Taran picked up the conversation a few moments later.

I didn’t challenge him on the nickname. I had three for him, and besides…

Sweetling… That’s fucking cute.

“Finding a suitable name is probably the most difficult job,” he mused.

I hummed noncommittally. To me, naming something was the easiest task about a project. I had a full list of potential names for the cafe, with my favourite highlighted, in my pocket.

“You don’t think so?”

Ugh, I always forgot how perceptive Taran was. “No, I like naming things. It’s so much fun to come up with possibilities until you find that perfect name.” I sighed dreamily.

With a low chuckle, he took a sip from his flat white. “What about the cafe, then? Do you have a name in mind? ”

I tried to hold back, I really did. But had suppressing my hyperfixations ever worked for me?

“Well, yeah, I do. Actually”—I pulled out my notebook—“I have a list with suggestions in here.” Placing the opened book on the table, I pushed it closer to him. Then I saw it through his eyes: an extensive list of words and combinations, some crossed out, some with exclamation marks, and one circled about twenty times.

“Scales & Steam,” he read the encircled name carefully, as if he wanted to see how it felt on his tongue. How is this so hot?

“Scales & Steam,” Taran repeated a little louder, a slow smirk rippling over his scaly face. “Goddess, I love that, Maeve. Scales & Steam,” he repeated for a third time, now positively grinning at me.

“I thought it fit. ‘Scales’ for yours.” I briefly traced the ones on the back of his hand with my fingertips and was fascinated by the way his muscles flexed under my touch. “But also, coffee scales, and steam… Well, it kind of fits, I think.”

“It does!” He looked at least as giddy as I felt. “I really love it. It rolls off the tongue nicely, and it definitely fits. You call me Scales, too,” he added sheepishly, his tail thudding against his chair the way it sometimes did.

“I do,” I giggled. “I’m quite proud of it, to be honest.”

Taran raised his coffee cup, inviting me to touch mine to it. “And rightfully so. To Scales & Steam,” he said solemnly. “And to you.” His warm gaze enveloped me like a fluffy blanket on a winter’s day.

“So you’re just accepting it? You’re not even challenging me?” I asked without picking up my coffee .

Taran carefully replaced his on the saucer, then turned his whole body around to look at me.

He contemplated me for a moment before cupping my cheek in a large palm. His thumb hitched under my chin and gently lifted my face.

“Do you want me to challenge you, boss? I can put on a little show for you if you want.”

I exhaled a deep shuddering breath, not knowing what to say but hoping to God that he wouldn’t kiss me just yet.

Let’s not have our first kiss in a coffee shop at an arcade.

With a low hum, he pecked me on the nose. “We both know that we would circle back to Scales & Steam over and over again until we came to the conclusion that it was, after all, the perfect name.”

I kind of liked that he had chosen not to kiss me, but at the same time, it sucked.

Later that night, I lay on my bed and pouted at the ceiling, too frustrated to sleep or masturbate.

I was independent enough to kiss him first but our height difference made it impossible, and fuck!

I rolled over to pout at my bedside table. I still wasn’t sure if he enjoyed a little harmless flirting or was too well-behaved to make a move on me, but ugh, we needed to!