Chapter 10
Sophia
The restaurant is packed despite being in a small village in the middle of nowhere.
Or as middle-of-nowhere as Rosewood Academy is, I'm not actually sure what the rest of this realm looks like outside the academy grounds.
Without meaning to, I look around to try and work out if there are any members of the press here, but it's impossible to tell.
The bright colours of the hair, skin, and scales of the restaurant's patrons could hide anything.
I take a deep breath. It's fine. I know it's fine. Unless my security team or someone at the academy has told them who I am, they have no way of knowing. I'm just a demon on a date, nothing more.
Franz sits alone at a table to the left, clearly watching us, which I can't say is a particularly good addition to any date, but definitely not one like this.
I'm starting to think I should have done more research and picked a better activity.
But it turns out that Lucas is the one who is good at choosing dates where I can actually ignore my bodyguard.
Our second date of heading bowling was just as good as our first. It's only now I'm the one in charge that I've felt uncomfortable.
"Are you okay, Sophia?" Lucas' concern comes through his voice.
"I'm sorry." I pull my attention back to him. "I haven't been alone in a restaurant like this many times. It's making me surprisingly anxious." It's better to be honest with him than to let him worry that it might be something he's doing. The last thing I want is to scare him off.
"Ah, I see." He leans forward and puts his hand over mine, the touch surprisingly reassuring. "Is there anything I can do?"
I shake my head. "It'll get better," I promise.
The waiter appears as if summoned by us looking away from the menus for longer than a second.
"Good evening, what can I get for you?" he asks, looking between the two of us.
"I'll have the prawns followed by the chicken, please. And a bottle of still mineral water." I hand him my menu.
"The soup and the pork. And I'll have the same to drink, thanks," Lucas adds.
"Very good, that will be with you shortly." The waiter collects our wine glasses and disappears off to the kitchens to place our order.
"Why water?" Lucas asks me. "We could have wine..."
I meet his gaze. "When we met, you said you wouldn't take advantage of me after I'd had a drink," I respond. "I don't want that to happen again."
"Oh." Understanding seems to dawn on him. "Oh."
"You can have a drink if you want, though," I add hastily.
"But I hope you know the same standards apply to you as to me.
I won't take advantage of you if you have one.
" My heart pounds as I say the words. I know I'm not propositioning him or anything, but I am implying something about how I want the date to end.
Maybe it's too soon for me to be considering anything like that, but I don't think so.
Mum always said that sometimes things just felt like they were meant to be, and it's okay for us to act on that.
She mostly follows it up with something about what she'd have missed out on if she hadn't taken a chance on Dad when she met him.
I've never tried to get her to talk more about it, mostly because there are some things I don't want to hear when it comes to my parents.
I know they love each other a lot, and that's all I need to know about the matter.
Our food arrives swiftly, either because the restaurant prides itself on its speed, or because they know who I am and don't want me to throw some kind of tantrum about it all. I wouldn't do that, but I guess they don't know that.
Despite the lack of activity beyond eating, it's still easy to talk to Lucas, which is one of the reasons I chose a date like this. I'm enjoying all of the time we're spending together, but if we can't sit and have a conversation, then there's very little point in continuing to see one another.
"I don't think I can eat anything else," I admit as I glance down the dessert menu. They sound delicious, but even my tail is stuffed, and I don't think I can eat a single bite more.
"We don't have to," he assures me.
"But I've heard the chocolate mousse they do here is to die for."
"Give me one moment." He gets out of his seat and heads over towards our waiter.
I frown, wondering what he's going to do. The waiter nods and disappears back into the kitchen as Lucas comes to join me once more.
"What..."
"I asked if we could have two chocolate mousses to take with us," he says. "If you can't have it now, then you can have one later."
A wide smile spreads over my face. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
"I'm sure I will do too if they're as good as you've heard."
The waiter appears at our table with the bill and a small bag. He places them both down and disappears just as quickly as he arrived. I wonder how much training he's done to assure his service goes as smoothly as this.
Lucas reaches for his wallet, but I shake my head.
"Let me get this."
"We should split it," he suggests.
"But you got the other two dates," I protest, already getting out my money to pay for it.
"And this is three times as expensive."
I slip the right amount, along with a tip, into the bill wallet.
"It's my turn. I don't believe that you should have to pay for everything while we're dating.
We can start splitting the bill from our next date, if you want.
" I hope he doesn't think it's presumptuous of me to assume there'll be another one.
"Deal. But this one doesn't have to end yet. We could go for a walk, or somewhere else..."
"Why don't we go back to the academy?" I suggest.
"Oh." He deflates.
I reach out and touch the back of his hand.
"Not because I want the date to end. But if we go back, we can ditch Franz on the way.
" I nod in the general direction of my bodyguard, who is still watching us rather intently.
I'd rather not go through some of the parts of dating while he's looking over my shoulder.
"Ah." He raises his hand to call the waiter over, seeming to have understood what I'm saying.
It barely takes us half an hour to pay and make our way back to the academy. Partly by design. It's a weeknight, and I have classes tomorrow. I didn't want to waste too much of my time travelling to and from the destination.
Lucas gets out of the car first and holds out his hand for me. I take it despite not needing help to get out. Any excuse to touch him is a good one for me.
And now we're back on Rosewood's grounds, we don't have to worry about Franz noting every touch and potentially reporting it back to my parents.
I'm not sure if that's what he's doing, but he's paid by them and not the academy, so it's a safe bet that he's also here to tell my parents what Archie and I get up to.
It's a good job he doesn't know about the parties we go to. And with so many of the other students also having bodyguards if they go outside the grounds, there's very little risk of anyone revealing the truth. None of us want the parties to stop.
"We should put the mousses away before we go for a walk," I suggest, my heart pounding fast at the idea of having him anywhere near my room. And not in a bad way.
"Good idea."
I keep my hand in his as the two of us walk through the corridors of the dorm. No one is about, though I'm not sure why. It isn't that late.
But I don't care.
"This is me," I say lamely once we reach the door of my flat, as if he isn't well aware of which one I live in considering he sent my shoe back to me.
"Good."
Something hangs in the air between us, almost as if it's the promise of what's to come. I can't explain it, but a part of me knows we're about to kiss for the first time.
I lick my lips, and his attention drops to them.
"Sophia..." His voice cracks.
"Yes?" I whisper.
"I want to kiss you," he says, echoing my own thoughts.
"Then you should." Anticipation builds within me as I try to assess whether or not he's going to take me up on the offer.
I hope so.
Lucas reaches out and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, trailing his fingers back along my cheek after. The touch sends tingles through me, and I find myself thinking about what more could be shared between us. I want it. More than I've ever wanted anyone.
My eyes flutter closed as he leans in. I close the distance and press my lips against his. Lucas steps closer and snakes an arm around my waist to pull me to him.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pushing myself against him and letting my tail stroke his lower back.
Heat starts to grow within me, not unlike when I want to summon fire, and it leaves no doubt about what I'm going to suggest we do next.
I don't feel like either of us are thinking of much beyond how good it feels to be kissing each other as my bedroom door clicks shut behind us. Everything is about the sensations of his hands on my skin, and the urge for more.
I slip my tail under his shirt, running it along the toned stomach beneath. Lucas' breath hitches in response.
"Sophia..." His voice is a low rumble, almost like a growl and it only makes the warmth grow more within me.
"Yes?" I ask breathlessly as I look up at him. His eyes seem to have gotten darker than normal. I'm sure mine are the same.
My fingers fumble with the buttons of his shirt, anxious to hear him react like that again. I push the shirt over his shoulders and to the floor. I run my hands over his chest along with my tail, and he groans again.
I pull away from him and take his hand to draw him to the bed, anxious to continue with the exploration. I pause before getting onto it so that I can pull my dress over my head, leaving me in my underwear.
His gaze lowers and I take the opportunity to kiss him again, pulling him much closer so that I can feel every part of him, including the hard length that's difficult to ignore. Not that I intend to.
I reach down, touching him through the fabric of his dark jeans and making him groan more.
His eyes snap open. "We can't do this," he murmurs as he pulls away from me.
"What? Of course we can," I say. "I've had sex before, and I've got condoms..."
He shakes his head. "I can't do this. It's not you."
I frown, not really sure what's happening, and still feeling a little hazy from the orgasm. "What do you mean?"
"I...I can't explain."
I blink a couple of times.
"I'll talk to you later." He scoops up his shirt and rushes out of the door, letting it slam shut behind him.
I stare at it, completely bewildered by what just happened. I thought things were going well. Our dates are fun, and there's definitely chemistry between us, and yet he's just run out of here saying that we can't do anything further.
I lie back on my bed and try to ignore the tears stinging at the corners of my eyes. So much for that. It seems like the mating bond got it wrong.