Page 85 of Dark Wolf Soul
He blinks, and his expression is once again smooth and confident, and unaffected. He presses a kiss to my cheek and then goes back to stirring the batter. “I appreciate your honesty, princess. Now, the real question right now is how many pancakes do you want?”
Over breakfast, the awkwardness from earlier is forgotten. Grey is surprisingly good at pancakes though I make sure not to let on how good. He’s already way too full of himself.
I reach for a second helping, and his brows lift.
“You have a hollow leg or something?” he teases.
“I’m like a camel,” I tease. “Saving it up for later.”
He doesn’t laugh though. “Lexi, there’s no famine to worry about. Not with me.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal, but inside, my feelings churn because he’s just seen right through to the part of me I wasn’t offering up for inspection.
When we’re finished, I do the dishes while he sips his coffee at the bar. I can feel him watching me, but every time I glance back, he simply winks and grins. He’s keeping it light, which makes my guilt return double-time after brushing him off earlier.
“I was wondering if you might help me with something,” I say when I’m done cleaning up.
“I thought I already did that last night.”
I toss the dishtowel at him, and he catches it with a smirk.
“I mean with my wolf. I need to know why I don’t have one. And maybe how to get it back—if that’s possible.”
I don’t mention the fact that I’ve been wondering about all this since the moment I found out I had shifter blood. Or the fact that I haven’t asked him for help before now because I wasn’t sure I could trust him with this. But I have a feeling he knows all of that anyway. And it’s the most trust I can offer at the moment. I hope he sees that I’m trying to offer more.
He studies me for a moment then nods. “All right, princess. I’ll help you find your wolf.”
“You will?”
“But you have to do something for me.”
I smirk. “I thought I did that last night.”
“Oh, believe me, your help last night is much appreciated, but it’s not what I want in exchange for this favor.”
“Then what—?”
“Let me take you out.”
“Like, on a date?”
“Yes. On a date.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, it usually consists of dinner and maybe a movie or a walk through the park or—”
“I know what a date is. I just don’t get why you want one with me.”
“You’re my fiancé,” he says, and something in me wilts a little.
Of course. We’re engaged—and the entire city thinks we’re madly in love. Vincenzo won’t let us stay locked away in this penthouse. We have to play the part.
“Right. I get it.”
He frowns. “Do you? Because I don’t just mean—”
“I’ll go out with you,” I tell him quickly because maybe he hasn’t yet realized I would have been commanded to do this eventually by his father, so it’s a small price to pay for figuring out why I can’t shift.
