Page 11 of His Impossible Elf Mate
He looked at me, an unreadable expression on his beautiful face. “I do. You know I do. What we have between us—“
“Feels like fate.” I reached for him, tangling a strand of his silver-blond hair in my fingers. Tugging on it lightly made him move a step closer. “I know we can’t be fated mates like alphas and omegas are, but… what I’m feeling can’t be ignored.”
Never in my life had I hated being a beta more. All I wanted was for T to be my fated, which was ridiculous because even if I had a different designation, they weren’t fated to other species. We weren’t compatible. It was impossible to have an elf for a mate.
A shifter and an elf couldn’t be a fated match.
“It does,” he agreed. There was another pause. He sighed. “Even if it is not.” Something complicated flitted across his face. His fist clenched and relaxed. “A connection like ours deserves to be explored, does it not?”
“It does,” I echoed.
Another step closer. The air between us became charged.
Teárlach closed the gap between us and leaned down to press his lips to mine in the sweetest first kiss that had ever existed. His lips were warm and smooth against my probably chapped ones. He used just the right amount of pressure for the right length of time. He pulled away, leaving me wanting more.
“We should do this properly,” he said stiffly, a faint blush covering his cheeks.
“Properly?” I asked. My fingers itched to touch my lips just to feel the echo of his kiss.
“We should court.”
“Court?”
T thought for a moment. “Date.” I felt the smile overtake my face. “Take things slowly,” he said warningly as he took me in.
“You are someone to be treasured, Axel.”
A month-long coma apparently meant I was no longer capable of looking after myself, my pack, or my siblings.
As the oldest child, I had prided myself on my ability to keep my siblings in line, alive in Chase’s case, and thriving. Yet, I was nowhere near getting the all clear from Aldrin, James, and the elf, Ívarr. I had been home in my rooms for a week, awake for a couple of weeks before that and still everyone seemed to hover over me as if I was about to keel over at any moment! It was damn frustrating.
“I need to get out of here,” I muttered to myself from the safety of my rooms.
Someone knocked on my door.
Without thinking, I groaned. I heard the person chuckle in response and instantly recognized the sound and stood quickly. A dizzy spell nearly landed me back on my ass, so I eased back into my seat and called for Teárlach to enter.
“Are you well?” he asked, taking me in. I had no idea what he saw in me, but he frowned. “Perhaps this can wait for another day.”
“Please,” I begged, “don’t treat me like an invalid.”
Teárlach studied me for a moment, his head slightly cocked. “Alright,” he said slowly, as if going against his instincts. “Then perhaps you would like to get some fresh air with me? We could call it our first date, if you would like.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
When I stood, slower this time and without dizziness, Teárlach held out his arm for me. He did it in such a way it was… charming, not patronizing. It wasone of our regular things. He’d done it a lot when I still lived with Dakota.
Each and every time he did it and I accepted, his eyes lit up with delight. When I took the offered arm and rested some of my weight on him, his smile shone so brightly and my heart gave a pang. He was so precious. I enjoyed giving him that small joy. Being closer to him was an added perk.
Together, we sauntered down the stairs towards the kitchens. “Why?” I asked before T cut me off.
“I thought we could have a picnic before it gets too cold to spend much time outside.”
The kitchens were their usual hive of activity, with Winter conducting in the center. He caught us entering and pointed to a basket set to the side. Without a word, he turned back to his tasks, and we were dismissed.
Outside, the air was just on the right side of chilly. The type of fresh air that made you feel rejuvenated and cooled you after some activity. Not that there was a chance of that. I just got the vibe that T was going to keep things strictly PG until he deemed me ready for more R rated shenanigans.
What would it take for him to believe I was ready to feel his touch, to kiss him again?
