“Steak. And pasta,” he answers promptly.
“What kind of pasta?” I ask.
“All of them.”
“Favorite movie?”
“Twilight,” he deadpans.
For a moment, I blink in confusion before I note the glint in his eyes. I grin. “Very funny.”
“You bought it,” he teases me.
“And honestly?”
“I don’t watch many movies. I did like Lord of the Rings, though.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, it’s a fantasy epos, and I kind of enjoyed the storytelling and- “
I shake my head softly. “No, I mean, why don’t you watch many movies?”
He tilts his head. “I don’t always find time for it. I have watched maybe ten movies in my life.” My mouth basically drops open. Ten? That’s close to nothing! “You look shocked,” he teases.
“I am shocked!” I can only stare at him in horror. I am not sure what shocks me more… the fact that he’s only seen ten movies or that Twilight is one of them? “So much work lies ahead of me. We will be old and gray by the time you have caught up with everything.”
He smiles slightly. “I am sure you like a good challenge.”
“Your biggest regret?” I want to know.
“Not marking you on our first night,” he answers swiftly.
I can’t help the flush crawling over my cheeks. “Why?”
“Because you were simply my mate, and my wolf and I wanted to claim you and make you ours back then. We still want to do that as soon as possible. But now it just so happens that you also turned out to be someone with feelings, someone I care for. Which means I won’t mark you until you are ready..”
He said these words in his usual calm and controlled tone. But the underlying meaning in them hits me by surprise. He just admitted that he cares for me so much that he wants to do things at my pace.
“Say,” I hear myself say before I can even stop myself. “How old are you anyways?”
Liam looks at me for a moment, and then he bursts into laughter. I have never seen him laugh. He always comes off as stoic and controlled. He smiles and smirks when he is with me, but this is the first actual laugh.
“You are only asking now?” he chuckles in amusement. “I thought you might have asked Finn.”
“Did you?” I want to know. “Ask him about me?”
“Of course,” he smiles.
“So, how old are you?”
“23, my lovely Annalise. I am going to turn 24 in a few weeks.” He looks at me thoughtfully. “Too old?”
“Not at all, grandpa,” I tease.
“Oh,” his infamous eyebrow pops up again. “We are back to being a tease,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. I only realize what he is up to when it’s already too late, and his finger starts poking my sides. I squeal and giggle helplessly. “And you are ticklish. I need to remember that.”
I can’t help a smile curling my lips. I get up a bit to bend over the table and take his face between my hands. He has beautiful eyes, a very rare shade of blue. So intense. I feel myself getting lost in his gaze for a moment. Liam doesn’t move as if he doesn’t want to break the spell. Eventually though, I pull him into a soft kiss. I try to feel his lips this time, feel their texture, how soft they are, how they move against mine.