Page 54 of Blade

“Those all-American looks you’re using to fuck with me are going to get you in trouble eventually.” My Ken doll had a wicked streak. “It’s just…”

I lost my train of thought as I slowly dragged the towel down his chest and over his arms. “My dating history has been an absolute disaster and I don’t want to fuck this up.”

Even I knew this hadn’t been the most traditional start to finding a mate.

Placing his hands over mine, Blaine stopped me until I looked back up at his face. “You will not fuck this up as long as you simply be yourself. That is the person the gods found for me. I don’t need anyone else but the man who saved me and chattered his way to bringing me back to life.”

Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I tried to ignore how dry my mouth felt all of a sudden. “I like talking.”

His smile did crazy things to me. “And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to you, but I’m excited to be able to ask questions to help steer the conversation.”

That…that sounded nice.

“This is going to be weird for a while.” His shrug said we might not be on the same page with that. “I never thought I’d get a mate.”

The universe should’ve been smarter and not given someone with my background something as nice as a mate.

Slowly raising his hand, Blaine stroked it over my head, smiling to himself as I shivered. “That was one of the first things I could latch onto. Everything else in my head had just been foggy and filled with pain. I don’t have another way to describe it but it was like a thick, aching fog hiding everything else. Everything but you. My mate.”

I was really glad he hadn’t eaten me first and then realized I was his mate a few seconds too late.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” Winging it had worked so far but I wasn’t sure we could continue that way. “I don’t know what being a mate means to you or how to do it right or what to do now.”

Leaning in, he kissed my forehead. “There is no right or wrong. No one way to do this. We’re going to take it one step at a time and figure out what makes us both happy.”

Maybe someone online had a map or relationship org chart I could follow?

I liked maps even if I sometimes went off the beaten path.

Exploring could be fun but it was nice to know where I was supposed to go to begin with.

Yes…I just needed to find a map and then I could pretend to take things one step at a time.

CHAPTER 18

BLAINE

I should’ve—

“Stop second-guessing yourself.” Henley knocked his shoulder into mine as we walked down the sidewalk. “You weren’t rude.”

I’d been rude.

Before I could explain that to him, Henley rolled his eyes and cut me off. “You told her how nice the house looked. You explained they could stay in the house. You were careful when you explained you needed time to take it all in. You thanked her for making sure someone’s been watching over everything. You. Were. Polite.”

Maybe?

“Just because planners get everything ready and tell you what to do doesn’t mean you have to do it.” Henley glared at me until I sighed and nodded. “Someone saying they’re right doesn’t make them right.”

Based on what I knew of his history, I was fairly certain he’d learned that lesson firsthand.

“They’ve kept track of everything.” It’d honestly been amazing. “I should be more grateful for that.”

Henley’s scoff said he disagreed with me. “Serena admitted that generation knew something was off with her and they didn’t do anything about it until after she’d tried to kill you. You don’t have to feel grateful that they’ve spent energy fixing what they helped break the first time.”

His stubbornness and single-minded way of seeing things were going to drive me crazy at some point, but I liked it at the moment.

“I’m not going to say you’re wrong but I’m not ready to agree with you.” My slightly ridiculous response made him smile. “I am going to thank you for getting us out of the house, though.”