“Dinner three times, breakfast and lunch twice, and now this.” He smiled like he was getting away with something.
“Meals while I’m your kidnap victim don’t count.” I stated, blushing. It felt weird to have to say, but he had to understand that.
“Fair.” He nodded and smiled wryly. “First date, then?” He clinked his glass against mine.
I laughed, flustered and surprised at him, and took a sip.
What was I doing?
The drink was sweet, and I knew I’d have to knock back at least three of these before they’d affect me. For the first time in three days, I felt I was starting to relax.
“What’s dating like in Crystal Glass?” I had to ask.
“Well it — uh …” He looked embarrassed. “Usually people don’t meet until their families have already decided they’re marrying. Women are usually infertile, and men are a small percentage of the population, so marriages are usually arranged to ensure there’s good offspring.”
“So, no dating?”
“Not really.” He looked down into his drink.
“Why haven’t people dated outside of the kingdom sooner?” It felt like such a strange thing to put off. Male shifters could pass on their shifting genes to any offspring. The only time it was complicated was if they were mates with a seer.
He answered with a shrug of his shoulders, “My kingdom prided itself on the ancient bloodlines. We’ve always been a private kingdom — nobody saw a need to open it up until these side effects started showing up.”
I cringed and nodded. At some level I understood what he was saying, but that didn’t mean I thought it was right.
“I know that’s all nonsense now, but it’s deeply ingrained in our society,” he explained.
“I get it.”
“I’m glad they didn’t try to arrange a marriage for me anyways, you’re better than anyone they could have ever found.” He smiled. I laughed and avoided eye contact with him out of shy embarrassment.
“You’re a flirt,” I chided him.
“I’m just being honest.”
His hand slipped to my thigh and my whole body buzzed again. Every time we touched, it was like my brain just shut off and my body took over. Logically, I knew I should probably give more time, or never follow through at all, but at the same time I wanted him more than I wanted anything else.
He was like those blue roses.
In reality, he was just a guy, just some shifter, but at the same time, he was so incredible and rare.
He was gorgeous, intelligent, willing to learn — not to mention his body was the kind of thing men photoshopped themselves to look like. The raw muscle, his sweet smell. I took another sip of my drink and wished I could blame it for how he was affecting me.
“I haven’t shown you my apartment yet,” I said after a moment.
A smile slid across his lips, and my heart beat even faster.
What was I doing?
I knew I hadn’t thought this one through, but at the same time I deserved at least one good night. He was interesting, kind, obviously apologetic for what he’d done. It felt like he’d learned from his mistake and wanted to do better. Even if I wasn’t making any commitment, my body seemed to know how good it would feel to be with him just for the night.
I could save my regret for later.