Chapter 6 #2
Had a woman ever discussed butt sniffing with him before and managed to still look absolutely adorable?
Not to his immediate recollection.
“You know, I can’t tell if I am suddenly oversharing or if everyone here can read minds,” she replied with a self-deprecating laugh.
“I imagine it is overwhelming,” he said sympathetically. “Finding out you’re a Werewolf. Meeting a bunch of supernaturals in a bar in the Underworld.”
“Flying through the sky in the arms of some strange man?”
“Yeah, that too,” he murmured, noting her pale cheeks turning a pretty, dusky shade of pink.
This time, they both laughed. It felt so real, so right, to be able to simply sit and talk with her. It was strange for him. Demons did not usually get all touchy feely. When he was in pursuit of a female, he typically used all his powers of seduction to get what he wanted.
But what did he want?
What really?
The question startled him almost as much as the answer. His inner Demon seemed to know before he did.
Ash wanted her.
Wholly and completely.
Mate.
“Yeah,” she said, clearing her throat and recapturing his attention. “So, where are we?”
“My home,” he replied immediately, wanting more than ever to put her at ease.
He watched as she looked around and saw the rather plain interior. It wasn’t that it was bare or even cheap, on the contrary, but it was impersonal. Something that made him feel a little jittery.
“I know it is not much—”
“Are you kidding? I was raised with Mim’s tastes. I know quality, and this place is that. The bones of this house are sublime, and the furniture is really nice, Ash.”
“Thank you,” he said automatically, but he knew it seemed sterile and empty.
“How long have you lived here?”
“It’s been mine a long time,” he explained. “Demons live a lot longer than most. But, um, I’ve been gone a while.”
“Oh,” she replied, squeezing his hand.
He hated to think what she thought of anyone living in such an impersonal space.
Did she find him shallow?
Or reticent?
He was neither, truly.
But how was he going to convey that and convince her how much she meant to him?
“What is it?” Ash asked when she started to bite her lower lip. He reached out and smoothed the abused flesh from her teeth, concern filling every inch of him.
“Oh, nothing.” Her face was flaming, and he knew she was embarrassed at being caught scrutinizing his home.
“You live here alone?”
“Yes. Well, except for Ernie and the other Imps in my employ. I have owned this place for centuries,” he murmured.
“You said you were gone a while. Gone where?”
“It’s not something I like to talk about,” he said.
“I’m so sorry to pry,” Gabby said, and he immediately regretted his hasty words.
“No! I mean, I should apologize. This is not easy to explain,” he said and exhaled, trying to steady his nerves. “I played a minor role in the recent Werewolf uprising, you see.”
“Werewolf uprising?”
“Yes,” he said, stilling when she took his hand. “I know you are new to this, so your stepmother would not have had the chance to explain. A few years ago, a young Wolf named Grazi Kelly ended the Curse of St. Natalis that had doomed all Werewolves to only shift during the full moon.”
“Wow, that sounds terrible.”
“You don’t know the half of it, sweet, and for that I am glad.
But you see, my part in it was not good.
I was captured and bound to serve an evil Demon for the past hundred years or so.
After he was defeated by Grazi and Lucifer, really, I was freed.
That was fairly recently,” he said, rushing through his explanation and amazed at how light he felt afterward.
“That must have been awful,” Gabby whispered, both hands holding his. Her blue eyes filled with unshed tears and his heart squeezed at her obvious concern.
“It was. I’m sorry,” Ash began. “I’ve monopolized the conversation. Tell me, how are you feeling? Need more water?”
Gabriella shook her head. He was being evasive, and he knew it.
But could anyone blame him?
He did not want his future mate to see him as a monster or some weirdo.
Would she judge him for his past?
Maybe.
But for some reason, it was a risk he had to take. Ash did not want her to go into this thing blindly. If she was going to stay, it would be with her eyes open.
“Do you go to that speed dating thing often?” Gabby asked, sidetracking him.
“No,” he said, looking away and shaking his head. “Uh, actually, I had planned on never going, but I am glad I did, Gabriella Keen.”
“Oh, um, I am sorry to have dragged you away from it—”
“No point in staying anymore, was there?”
“How do you mean?” Gabriella asked, her voice a soft whisper like the sweet caress of silk against bare skin.
His inner Demon growled, wanting him to move closer to the female, but Ash hesitated. She seemed truly curious. But why would a beautiful woman, er, Wolf, want anything to do with him?
“Ash,” she said, a ghost of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t know whether to kiss me or run screaming?”
She tried to play it off like it was a joke, but he knew she meant it.
Was he sending mixed signals?
Perhaps.
Either way, it was time to clear the air. Ash never backed down from a battle, and what else was the path to true love? He sucked in a breath, taking a moment to enjoy her raspberry lime vanilla essence before he put himself on the firing line.
“Tell me first, Gabriella, what do you know about mates?”
“Mates? Isn’t that like Australian for friends?”
“Yes, but that is not what I mean,” he said, trying hard not to laugh. Hell, he’d never laughed so much in his very long life as he had with her.
“Explain it to me, Ash.”