Page 63 of Horn in My Side
“Of course I do.”His voice turned low and raspy.“I want you in my bed, your sweet body under me, moaning my name while I make you come over and over again.”
Oh Mother Goddess, the temperature in the room spiked a few hundred degrees.
“But not right away,” he emphasized.“I want to take you out.On a date.”
“Oh.Okay.”
“And we should have at least three dates before we become intimate.Get to know each other and then decide if we really want to sleep together.”
That was actually ...sweet.“All right.”
“Good.”Shuffling on his knees so that he faced her, he engulfed her hands in his, then stared down into her eyes.“So, will you have dinner with me, Jasmine?”
Not even the Mother Goddess herself could have stopped the grin from forming on her face.“Yes, Mal, I’ll have dinner with you.”
His smile reached all the way to his luminous purple eyes.“Friday night, seven p.m.?”
“You want to wait until Friday?Why?”
“Apparently, I have to go to the fireman training on Thursday,” he said in a dry tone.
“But why not tomorrow when the shop is closed?Or tonight.Or Wednesday?Or now?We can go on a lunch date.Why, that’s four dates right there.”
“That’s cheating,” he told her sternly.“And we should wait at least one week between dates.”
“You’re going to wait three weeks before we have sex?”
“Yes.I told you: I want both of us to be sure.”
Jasmine sure hoped orc dick was worth the wait.“Fine, Friday it is.I’ll have to ask my boss if I can leave a couple hours before closing time so I can get ready.He’s a real grump, you know,” she teased, bumping him with her shoulder.
He threw back his head and laughed—a real, honest-to-goodness laugh that, for some reason, Jasmine swore made him look even more handsome.“I’m sure I can convince him to let you go early.”
Chapter Thirteen
MAL
Mal regretted waiting five whole days for his date with Jasmine.The anticipation was unbearable, not to mention, he agonized over the decision, wondering if they were making a mistake.But it had been difficult to say no to Jasmine, not just because she was insistent, but because he wanted her too much.Kissing and touching her had felt so right, even as his brain screamed this was a bad idea.
But they were both going into it as mature adults, and more important, they respected each other.At the end of this—and he knew it would end, even though his gut roiled at the thought—they would walk away from each other without any fuss.
At least that was the plan.However, the more he thought about it, the more doubt crept in that he would be able to let go of her once their time together was over.In the last few years, he’d mostly had short-term flings and a casual encounter here and there, and what he felt for Jasmine was so different.
So, Mal counted the days until their date, all the while spending time at the shop with her as if everything was normal, though each time she came into the office to chat or he passed by her allhe wanted to do was haul her into a private corner and kiss her senseless.
Thankfully with Fantastic Tails being closed on Tuesdays he didn’t have to see her for one day, though he kept looking out the kitchen window to her apartment, fighting the urge to knock on her door to see what she was doing.Of course, he’d already memorized her day-off routine as he’d often observe her come and go the last couple of weeks.Usually, she slept in, then went for a walk before coming home with a bag of groceries.She never left the house after that, so he guessed she spent the day cooking and watchingTVshows before going to bed at exactly ten thirty p.m.
The next two days were more torture, trying to ignore that all he could think about was their date.When Thursday evening rolled around, he was about ready to burst with anticipation, but at least he had an excuse to leave a little early—his first day of training with the Dewberry Falls Volunteer Fire Department.He hated to leave Jasmine alone to close up, but business was slow anyway, and she practically shooed him away, promising to text him when she finished up and got home safe.
After a stop at home to get changed and have a quick dinner, he headed to the fire station, which was about a fifteen-minute drive away.When he arrived, there was one car parked in the lot behind the building, and the lights were already on inside.
“Hello?”Mal called out tentatively as he entered.“Anyone here?”His voice echoed through the cavernous building.He’d never been inside a fire station before, but it was just as he’d imagined, albeit smaller.There was a large red-and-white fire truck parked right in front of the wide sliding garage doors, a row of uniforms and helmets hung on a rack next to it, and tools and other gear were lined up on the opposite wall.He walked toward the nearest doorway to the right, which he assumed was an office of some kind.
“Hi, I’m here—Oh, hey,” he greeted Nick, who sat on a worn couch in the corner of the office, reading a book.“I’m here.”
The satyr’s eyes flicked up, then returned to his book.“So you are.”
He waited for Nick to continue, but he remained seated, ignoring Mal.For someone who had all but twisted his arm to volunteer, Nick sure acted like he didn’t care that Mal had actually shown up.“When do we start?”
