Page 45 of Ahelno
I cleared my throat. “I’ve asked you not to call me that. And I wasn’t thinking ofthat. Let me see what’s available forlunch. Do you want to try some human food?”
Dakleth’s smirk let me know he didn’t believe me, but he let it slide. “Yes, I would like to try your human food. Select something for me, brighteyes.”
“Don’t call me that, either,” I snapped. “My name is Andie.”
“But Leo calls you brighteyes, and it is true. Your eyes are as blue as the summer sky. I have never seen eyes as beautiful as yours. He also calls youhuera, but I don’t know what that means.”
“It’s a name his people have for a woman with blonde hair and pale skin, like me.”
“A fitting term. Your hair is like liquid sunlight. Your skin is the moonlight made flesh. Your eyes are the color of the heavens. If celestial goddesses exist, surely they must look like you,” he said.
I was floored. I could tell this man was completely serious. He just dripped compliments on me like it was nothing. “Um, thank you,” I managed, as I busied myself with the replicator.
He tilted his head, accepting a steak and baked potato plate from me. “You are still my mate, Andie. That is hard for you to accept, given how it came to pass. I understand that, and will apologize for the act I perpetrated against you for all of my days. But I do not regret the tie I have to you, and I will not hide my desire for you. I will call you whatever you ask. I will follow you wherever you wish to go. I will eat whatever you serve. I will do anything you ask. But know that in my hearts, I call youmine. I will never give up on you. Or on us.”
Well, shit, I thought. I had thought during our lunch before the harvest festival that we were on the same page. We were starting over as strangers, barely acquaintances. I was willingto forgive what he did, but I didn’t think of us as being in any sort of relationship. More importantly, I didn’t think I would ever want that with him.
“Okay,” I said with a heavy exhale. “Thank you for clarifying your feelings. Unfortunately, I don’t share them.” God, this was awkward. “You seem like a nice enough person. I know you regret what you did, and I’m coming to terms with that. But, we’re not really mates. You’re basically still a stranger to me. I’m willing to try to be friends, but I don’t want anything more than that.”
“Friends,” he said thoughtfully.
“Yes, friends,” I said, flatly.
“You are friends with Leo,” he said.
“Yes, we are friends.”
“You hug Leo frequently. You touch him casually and laugh with him. You are relaxed in his presence. You spend time with him and plan to dance with him. You will correspond with him when he leaves.”
“Um, yes, that’s right.”
“Very well. I will accept this level of friends. I want all of those things with you,” Dakleth declared.
I wasn’t sure how to explain that we weren’t really in the same place as Leo and me. “Ah, I’m not sure you and I will get to that same level of friendship. We don’t know each other like that.”
“You have known Leo only two days,” he pointed out.
“Yes, well, we are both human. We have a common background. We bonded pretty quickly because of that.”
“You are not bonded to him!” he said, very agitated. He stood up and began to pace.
“Figure of speech. It’s not a mate bond. It just meansthat we became close very quickly due to our shared circumstances.”
“You became close because you spent the day together. All day,” he said.
“Yes, I suppose that’s also true.”
“You will do this with me. We will spend a day together,” he declared.
This was going sideways fast. “I don’t know that we’re ready for that,” I said.
He sat back down and took my hand. “Friends can touch hands, yes?”
I was a little taken aback, but I was having a hard time explaining this. Leo and I had a level of comfort. I knew that Leo would take our relationship further if I wanted to, but I also knew that he accepted my friendship boundary. He wasn’t going to push for more. Dakleth was going to be pushy about it, I just knew it. “Friends can touch hands as long as it’s a friendly touch with no romantic intentions,” I said, slowly.
He looked at my hand in his. Of course, his hand swallowed mine.
“I like this,” he said. “I like being with you. I want to spend more time with you, as you did with Leo. I do not understand what you mean about being ready. We do not need to ‘be ready,’ we will simply do it. I will take you to the Ptexari ruins on the outskirts of the city tomorrow. You will learn more of our history and culture. There is a lake nearby, and we will have lunch at the floating market.”
