Page 14 of Sugar and the Skeptic
“Shit. I’m an idiot.”
“No. You aren’t. I’m the one trying to run away from my feelings.”
He hooks a finger under my chin and tilts my face up to his. “I think we’ve both been doing a bit of that. How about we start running toward each other for a bit?”
“OK.”
“Good. You wanna go read that note, or do you want me to tell you what it says?”
“Tell me.”
He smiles and runs his thumb along the edge of my jaw. “It was an invitation. I realized that the reason I objected so heavily to the idea of a soulwink is because I feel like my brothers and cousins all rushed into things. Some of them literally met their wives and married them the next day. Others took a little longer, but all of them were at that altar crazy fast. I decided that if you and I really are twinflames the way your cards suggested, then the very least I can do is learn as much as I can about youbeforeI go taking your virginity from you. I want to be your first, Clementine, but I also want to be your last. And I think the way we do that right is by going on a date.”
A massive smile takes over my face. “You want todateme?”
“I want a hell of a lot more than that, Sugar. But to start, yes, I’d like to take you on a date. Today. So if you can put your escape plans on pause, I’ll wait while you go inside and put on your prettiest dress.”
“OK,” I whisper, feeling more wanted than I think I ever have in all my life. “Where are we going?”
“Sugar City. I found a restaurant that caters for all types of food allergies. They have rave reviews, so I think it’ll be safe for you.”
“You remembered?” Tears spring to my eyes at his thoughtfulness. I thought I felt wanted a moment ago, but now I feel cared for too. He has no idea how much this means.
“Well, you told me you couldn’t do milk, so I called Serenity and asked her if there was anything else you couldn’t eat. She mentioned it was gluten, dairy and eggs, so that’s what I told them for our booking. Did I miss anything?”
I’m seriously about to cry. “No. You didn’t miss a thing.”
He hooks his finger under my chin and brushes his lips along mine. “A few seconds later and I would have missed you, Sugar. Promise me you won’t leave just yet? Please. I just want a little more time with you.”
“I promise,” I whisper back. “You can have all the time you need.”
He smiles against my mouth before sealing his lips over mine, kissing me like I’m his lost love before letting go of me reluctantly. “You’ve got fifteen minutes to get your ass ready and in that Hummer,” he says, giving my ass a squeeze to accentuate his point.
I giggle. “I’ll only need five,” I murmur, pulling away and getting back inside my van. I already know exactly what I want to wear.
RAFE
“OK, so I don’t want to freak you out by being over the top,” I start, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a wad of folded paper. We’re in the dimly lit restaurant waiting on our food, so this seems like a good time to do this. “But I’m kind of gonna do it anyway.”
Clementine giggles as she folds her arms in front of her and leans in to see what I’m holding. When she said it’d only take her five minutes to get ready, she wasn’t wrong. But what shocked me most was the transformation she went through in such a short time, exiting her van wearing a long deep purple dress with a wide belt cinching in her waist and her long hair braided over one shoulder. She didn’t put on any makeup, which is just as well, because she doesn’t need it, nor would she be wearing it for long with the way I can’t keep my hands off her. She’s just beautiful, and every time I look at her it’s like I’m standing in the middle of a dream.
“I think that ship has well and truly sailed where you and I are concerned,” she says, picking up her glass of sparkling water and lemon and taking a sip. “So bring it on. What have you got for me.”
“Well, when I went home last night, I did a little research on the things you should know about a person before you make any sort of commitment. So I thought it might be fun to run through the list and ask some of the important ones.”
“How many are there?” she asks, quirking her brow in interest as she sets her glass back down.
“One hundred.”
“Oh, my man does not mess around,” she says with a laugh, and while I know those words came out as a joke, I can’t hide the delight I feel at her using the term ‘my man’. I want that.
“OK. The first ones are warm-up questions, so they’re pretty easy. Do you read?”
“Yes.” The apples of her cheeks lift and glow in the soft candlelight. “I love reading. Anything with magic and romance. I love reading fae and shifter romance.”
“Is that so? You’ll have to tell me your favorites, and I’ll check them out.”
Her smile gets even wider. “You read romance?”
