Page 23 of Dante
I left the bakery, pulling out my phone and sending a message to Dante. I knew he was on assignment still, but I wanted him to know what was happening here. We were working on communication because that was important in a relationship.
Me: Hey! I’m finished for the night and the bakery is closed tomorrow. I’m letting you know so you can message me whenever. I’m going to go to the festival for a bit tonight, but I’m not planning on staying long. I hope your assignment is going well. Message when you can!
I hit Send before I slid my phone back into my pocket. I didn’t expect Dante to respond anytime soon. It was still afternoon, and he was going to be working for who knew how long. I slid my hands into my pockets, ducked my head a bit, and hurried back to my place. It had started to feel odd that I was going to my own place while Dante had his. We weren’t there yet, and I got that. But maybe I’d be able to get a kiss from the man once he returned? Was that too much to ask?
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize that there was someone standing by my front door. When I was about five feet from it, I scented him, and my head flew up. There he was. My mate was back. My mouth opened a bit in my surprise, and of course, I said the most basic thing to him. “You’re back.”
“I am. I was just finishing with my debriefing when your message came through. I’m off for the next week, and since youhave tonight and tomorrow, maybe we can go to the festival together?”
I smiled while nodding. I very much wanted that. “Did you want to come in for a bit? It doesn’t start for another hour or so.”
Dante nodded, and after I opened the door, we entered my space. I hung my coat on the hook by the doorway and toed off my shoes. Dante gave them a look, and I tried to hide a smile. “I’ll wear boots tonight. And a hat.”
“Good. I know you’re a shifter and all, but it’s going to be quite cold.”
“I know. I had planned on bundling up more than I was just now. I have a warmer coat and a hat and gloves. And I was going to wear my hiking boots.”
Dante followed me into the living room, and we immediately went to sit on the couch. Mine wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his, but the hope was that soon enough, we would at least be living in the same space, even if we hadn’t claimed one another yet.
“I would ask how your week was, but I think I know already.”
I nodded. “It was okay. I’ve been looking into classes more. I missed the enrollment period for next semester, but I hope I can get in next summer or maybe next fall. I used to want to be a teacher, and I already have a general studies degree. Maybe I can finish and then work at the shifter school.”
“If that’s what you want to do, I’m completely in support of you doing so. If you decide you don’t want to work, that will also be all right with me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can do that. I would need something to do. And I don’t…” I sighed. “I don’t make a whole lot. And I didn’t have any savings when I was taken. I was in college, and that’s where I was kidnapped from.”
Dante sighed. “Yes, we’ve been over this before. You might not have funds, but I do.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s yours.” Dante growled. It was playful, and I knew it. “What?”
“We are mates, and if you need anything, I’ll provide it.”
I could only shake my head. True. We were mates. Unclaimed mates. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to kiss the hellhound yet. He’d leaned toward me a few times but would pull away. I didn’t know what was up with that, but I was letting him do his thing. For now. Eventually, I was going to get tired of waiting, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything but suffer through a heat since my mate seemed so set on dragging things out.
I got it. I’d been raped, and he’d had to watch from several yards away in his beast form. He’d killed my abuser the first time, and I’d spent a few days running free and trying to find a way out and away, but they’d caught me, and my punishment had been so severe that I never even thought of running again. After that incident, they were never alone and always had a tranq gun with them. But still. The man was dragging his feet, and I was getting frustrated.
“You’re upset.”
I focused on Dante and blinked a few times before it registered what he’d said. “What? No. Why would you say that?”
“Because you scent of someone who is upset and frustrated. Also, your aura turned a bit orange.”
I blinked at Dante. How did one explain to their alpha mate that they were tired of not being claimed? How did I get Dante to finally take things further? Fates, I’d be happy with even just a kiss at this point. I tilted my head. He knew how to kiss, right? Everyone did. Didn’t they?
“I’m fine. I was just thinking about something that I probably shouldn’t,” I said instead. That wasn’t a complete untruth, and hopefully, my scent didn’t give me away again.
Dante stared at me for a long moment before he nodded. “Would you like to go out for supper before we go to the festival?I know they’re going to have smaller things there, but I’d like to take you out for a meal if you’re in agreement.”
I nodded. We could do that. Or he could do my favorite thing and get us food, and we could just spend time in where we weren’t surrounded by everyone else. But I knew Dante was trying, and I wasn’t going to turn down his efforts. He was here, and he’d come directly from returning from his assignment. That had to mean something, right? This was probably going to be the slowest mating in history, but hopefully, we’d eventually get there. Dinner would be nice. Especially since I got to spend time with my protective mate.
Chapter 9
Dante
Iwasn’t stupid. I did a lot of dumb things, but I knew Banner was frustrated. Reinhold and I discussed a lot of things on our last assignment, and he had a lot of good advice. He’d been through very similar things with his own mate, and he’d given me several pointers on how to move forward. And I knew that was at least part of the source of Banner’s frustration. I still hadn’t claimed him, and we’d been “dating” for several weeks now.
What I had discovered on this last assignment was that I missed my little omega, and my beast had been irritated with me. It was time to move things along with Banner. How far would be up to him.
