Page 106 of Craving Carla

I watch them, admiring their love. They’re so different from each other, yet they fight for what they have. I look at Amari, realizing it’s the same for us, and find him already staring at me, his eyes full of emotion.

The waiter returns with our food, placing the steaming plates in front of us. Amari and Damon start eating right away, slicing into their meal with fluid, confident motions.

“Do you need help cutting your steak?” Amari asks, but I shake my head.

“I’m confused,” I say, looking between them. “You eat human food?”

Amari chuckles. “Yes, we can tolerate it, but nothing satisfies us more than the thirst for blood.”

I nod quietly, then watch Selene. She cuts into her salmon with smooth, measured movements, each action calm and graceful. Looking down at my own fork and knife, I realize I have no idea what the proper technique is. I’ve never had to worry about table manners before.

Before I can embarrass myself, Amari reaches over and kisses my cheek, then takes my plate and cuts my steak for me. I look at him, at how beautiful he is in this moment—sweet and charming, his eyes warm and full of affection. I’m falling for him more with each passing day, and I don’t need the mate bond to know it. I love him, and it terrifies me.

I lean in and steal a quick kiss before he can pull away. He grins and playfully steals one back, then I start eating, savoring the tender meat.

“What’s your favorite color?” I ask between bites.

“Black,” he answers, looking amused.

“Do you have any hobbies?”

He chuckles. “What is this?”

I shrug. “I’ve been spending so much time with you, but I don’t really know who you are. I want to understand you better. Isn’t that what couples do on dates?”

Amari flashes a smile, glancing at Damon and Selene, who are watching us with obvious amusement.

“I enjoy technology and discovering its evolution,” he says after a moment. “It’s a constant bank of knowledge that I adore. The digital age appeals to me.” His voice softens. “But I’ve developed a new hobby recently—or rather, it’s become more of a craving, an obsession.”

“What’s that?” I ask, curious.

He winks at me. “You, Carla. You are my hobby, my obsession, what I crave more than anything.”

His words leave me speechless, my fork hovering halfway to my mouth.

“I also enjoy being a daddy,” he adds with a smirk, and I roll my eyes.

I hesitate before asking my next question, but it’s been on my mind since the first time he mentioned it. “Why does chattel slavery bother you so much?”

Amari’s smile fades. He grabs his wine glass and takes a long sip.

“You don’t have to answer,” I say quickly.

He shakes his head, setting down his glass. “It’s okay, Carla. You should know all of me, not just bits and pieces.” He looks at Damon as he begins to speak.

“One mistake commonly attributed to my people, the Moors, was our failure to maintain unity,” Amari explains, his voice growing calm and thoughtful. “This weakness allowed the Christian Reconquista to succeed and had long-lasting effects on history.”

His eyes grow distant as he continues, talking about the fragmentation of the once-unified Caliphate of Córdoba, how itweakened their ability to resist Christian kingdoms. The loss of their cultural and scientific legacy, the religious divisions that followed.

“The depiction of Moors as ‘foreign invaders’ in European history, despite our centuries-long presence in Iberia, perpetuated narratives of ‘otherness’ that still shape discussions of immigration, race, and identity today,” he says, his voice heavy with regret.

Damon pulls a coin from his pocket, flipping it absently as he joins the conversation. “The Romans made similar mistakes,” he says. “Our overreliance on lead in plumbing, cookware, and food preservation has consequences that still affect the world today.”

He explains how the Latin word for lead, plumbum, is the root of “plumbing,” how Roman-era lead pollution can still be detected in Arctic ice cores, how it may have contributed to the decline of the Roman elite.

“Today, concerns about lead persist in everything from paint to gasoline,” Damon concludes.

Amari nods, then his expression darkens. “But one of the most significant mistakes Europeans made, which continues to affect the world today, is the exploitation and colonization of other regions, particularly Africa, Asia, and the Americas.”