“Only once or twice.”
She bit into the small tart and quickly had to rescue the shattered pastry with her hand and then her tongue. She glanced at him and mumbled, “Why are you watching?”
“Just storing away a mental image for when I am alone on the train runs.”
She finished the tart and picked up a skewer with cubes of meat and vegetable in equal measure.
She nibbled at the meat and looked at him. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“There was an incident a few years ago that I would like to discuss with you.”
Habel nodded and continued to eat. “You don’t say. What kind of incident?”
He reached for a piece of meat, dipped it in the spiced oil, and popped it into his mouth. “It is a delicate subject?”
“Is it when you transformed and left a message for me to get off your balls?”
He coughed. “Is that what the message said?”
“That was relatively close. Time has blurred my memory somewhat as I was laughing too hard.” She smiled and set down the skewer with the roasted tomatoes on it.
“You don’t like tomatoes?”
“I don’t like them hot with skin on.”
“Fair enough. I was referring to your first night.” He blurted it out, his dark grey skin looking even darker.
“Ah. That. Nerion let slip that he was the one that was drawn for it.”
Khyran froze. “He did?”
She smiled and picked up some fruit to nibble at, giggling. “You should see your face. Khyran, I knew it was you when I burned my fingers. Before that, if I recall correctly, I was ninety percent sure that it was you.”
He stared at her. “You knew? All this time?”
She shrugged. “Of course. I may have shiny skin and pointy ears, but I still have the sense of smell I would have had as a troll. I caught your scent when you entered the room, and it just got stronger as the night went on.”
He blinked slowly. “You knew.”
“Yup.” She nibbled at the food and flicked light glances at him. “Why do you look like you just choked on one of the skewers?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t my business. You were acting like nothing happened. Nerion was relieved that I figured it out.”
“You haven’t taken other lovers since.”
Habel shrugged. “There was no point. I don’t want any of them, so why would I?”
He exhaled slowly, sat up, and reached for her, pulling her onto his lap. He inhaled against the space between her neck and shoulder. “Why don’t you want them?”
She touched his cheek. “I was raised that I would choose my mate, he would battle for the honour of fathering my children, and we would grow old together. None of that is possible here, but the instincts are still wired into me.”
“So, back then, you chose me?”
Habel stroked his cheek again. “I chose you the first time I met you, but I had no idea if it was acceptable or not. I was still learning, and I also had no idea what those impulses meant with this body. I also had impulses to punch people, but not acting on them became habit.”
He smiled, and the molten gold in his eyes swirled slowly. “You chose me?”
She snorted softly. “That is your takeaway from that?”
He stroked her jaw and kissed her. “Yeah, it is.”
When he lifted his head, she murmured, “What about the punching?”
He grinned. “I can take it.”
She leaned in to kiss him and paused a millimetre from his lips. “What about dinner?”
“I can eat later. You?”
She winked and eased away from his grip. She touched a panel on the wall, and the privacy panels snapped together and gave them a space of their own with a floor-to-ceiling window. “I think both would be nice.”
She returned to his lap and smiled. “So, how would you like to proceed?”
“I would like to re-enact the first night, but I understand that the burn was painful.”
Habel nodded. “I still wake up in the night, feeling your tongue on my fingers. Aside from that, I would have no problem wearing a robe with a single tie and trying again.”
His gaze brightened. “Can we?”
She sighed. “Here, I hoped I would be getting a proper dinner out of this.”
He nuzzled her ear and ran his tongue along the edge. “I promise to satisfy you later.”
She shivered at the light touch and sighed. “Fine. No sex in the restaurant. Let’s go.”
Khyran smiled and got to his feet. “Good.”
He helped her balance and didn’t let her go until she gently elbowed him. She opened the panels and grabbed his hand, hauling him bodily out of the restaurant, calling out as she spoke, “Excellent food, Riikor. I feel inspired.”
The elves in the public areas stared as she hauled Khyran out, and the murmurs had started before they cleared the doorway.
“I can walk in a straight line on my own.” He was grinning; she could hear it.
She pulled him into the lift and punched the marker for her level. “I enjoyed that. Dragging you around adds to my legend.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Isn’t your legend elaborate enough?”
She laughed as the lift doors opened. “Never.”
They made it to her door, and when she had him inside with the door closed behind them, she tried to remember where she had put that gauzy robe, and she had no idea where he was going to get one.
She walked to Camder while Khyran explored her room. “Camder, I need a first-night robe.”
The screen darkened and then flicked on again. “You are going to use it with him?”
“Well, it will be off most of the time.” She sighed. “He’s your mind template.”
“I know, but I was with you first.” He was grumpy.
“You have had your sensors over me far more than he ever will. So, the robe? Please. I don’t want to live the rest of my life without a touch or caress meant only for me.”
There was a whir, and the robe emerged from the closet on its support. “Enjoy yourself.”
“I am just going to enjoy seeing what is going on.”
He chuckled, and she glanced around before she removed her clothing and slipped the robe on. She tied the closure and walked into the living area where Khyran was examining the few items she had for personal enjoyment. They were items that her nieces and nephews had created and sent to her.
“You are still in touch with your family?”
“I am. All of the children made the transformation to troll successfully.” She walked over and took one of the items in her hand. It was a globe carved in stone using her nephew Havel’s first claws.
Khyran went quiet, and she looked over at him and smiled. “See what you can get out of Camder. I have told him about my personal motivation for this, so he should be fine.”
He was staring at her. “It’s the same one.”
She inhaled deeply and nodded. “You are right. You are on it.”
“We are on it. Damn. Please, excuse me. I will be back when I finish negotiating with your AI.”
“It is your AI, and his name is Camder.”