Page 13 of Slaying With Sylphs (Haven Ever After #6)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CONNALL

D irk comm’d me earlier to ask if I’d like to grab a drink. Lou’s working in the gnome village tonight, but he wants to get together while she’s working. He positioned it as killing time until she’s off, but we both know he wants to talk about us.

I kept myself busy with Richard and Lola all morning, doing the rounds of our pack. Checking on everyone, making sure the pack is good and strong. Then we had our regular pack leadership meeting to discuss upcoming initiatives. Lola’s leaving next week for a short concert tour, starting in her home haven of Santa Alaya. Richard will join her, so I’ll be in charge in their absence.

I’m considering that as I clean up my office after my last patient. The pack is still reeling from my friend Leighton’s violent death, and that’s been the topic of many of my sessions lately, although most of the pack isn’t aware of Lou’s involvement. That was a personal request by Leighton’s parents before they left Ever to return to their home haven. That was a wonderful bit of kindness on their part.

A knock at the door pulls me from my reverie, nerves coiling tight in my belly. My wolf sits up and focuses, pricking his ears as I stride for the door. When I swing it open, Dirk stands there in tight jeans, his gem straps crisscrossing over his chest like always.

His expression is as devious as ever when he smiles at me.

“You always look full of secrets,” I say with a laugh, opening the door for him to come in.

“Och, Connall, a hunter is full of secrets. That’s sorta my thing.” He glances around the room as he steps inside. “Lovely little space yeh got here.”

“It’s meant to be homey and inviting.” I point to the kitchen. “I was just cleaning up. Would you like to grab a beer here, or go somewhere?”

Goddess Alaya, I don’t know what I’m doing. The topic of us dating seems crouched between us like a coiled serpent, ready to strike.

“A beer here’s fine,” he says quietly. He rounds me, not touching me as he heads for the kitchen.

After opening the fridge, he grabs two beers and uncaps them. Setting them on the countertop, he stares at me. And that stare flays me open. It’s like he’s looking right at my wolf and every innermost desire that has surfaced since he mentioned wanting to pursue me.

I pull in a deep breath and call on years of training. Crossing the room, I sit on a barstool and grab one of the beers. Dirk shifts forward onto his forearms, leaning over the bar toward me.

“So…it’s been a minute since I shocked yeh, Connall. How do yeh feel about things?”

I take a deep gulp of the beer, willing my nerves to dissipate. My wolf drops to his belly and watches the smaller male with intense interest. He’s not put off by the thought of dating this male. Not at all.

“It’s not common for wolves to mate in throuples,” I offer. “This is very new for me. But after thinking about it, I’m open to it.”

Dirk’s smile broadens, revealing both rows of conical, sharklike teeth. “Thought yeh might say that. Well, I hoped yeh would.”

I set the beer down. “We still need to have this conversation all together, though. It’s critically important to lay a foundation for good communication. I’ve counseled monsters who attempted this, and without rock-solid communication to begin with, it can be hard. And consent. No more of the spying, I’m serious.”

“O’ course,” Dirk says. “Tae be honest, I thought it might take yeh a while to come around to the idea. I knew you hadn’t been with a man before.”

I gulp. “You know because you’ve spied on me.”

“Hunted,” he corrects. “I hunted yeh, Wolf.”

“The spying has to stop,” I say again. “We’ve discussed this before, but I want to be very clear. It doesn’t start us off on the right foot.”

“I’ve stopped,” he confirms and lifts both hands in the air. “I swear on my gem, Connall. I haven’t peeped on yeh a single moment since yeh asked me to refrain.”

“What about Lou?” I give him a wry look.

“Ah, well.” He runs a hand through his blue waves. “She didnae ask me tae stop, so…”

I shift on my seat. “You should clarify if she wants that or not.”

“I will.”

The moment stretches long, and he shifts onto his forearms again, playing with the label on his bottle. “So we’ve confirmed you’re willing to try dating me. How do yeh feel about the physical nature of that?”

Heat flushes through me, and my wolf stands, pressing to the forefront of my mind as his focus intensifies. His tail swishes lazily in the mental dirt.

“Och,” Dirk says. “Yeh’re interested, if the gleam of yer eyes is any indication. Am I right?”

I rise and round the island, stopping to lean on it next to him. “I’m interested. But take it slowly with me, let me lead on the physical front. I don’t know what I don’t know, and I don’t know exactly what I want. Can you do that?”

He shifts upright enough to mirror my stance. “I can do that, but I’d like to give yeh opportunities from time to time, Wolf. I can’t sit around and wait for yeh to decide to touch me. It’s my intention for us to date in the same way we’ll date our woman.”

I let out a soft growl. “I’m a Dominant, Dirk.” My eyes flash to his. “I can’t be dominated. At least, I don’t think I’d enjoy that. But again, this is all new.”

Dirk’s eyes roll playfully into his head, then he levels me with a lascivious grin. “Good. Toss me around. Use me up. Take yer needs out on me.”

He’s saying words I like to hear.

“I want to touch you,” I admit. “But I don’t want to do it for the first time without her. I want her there. I need her to be part of it from an emotional and physical perspective.”

“I understand.” Dirk sets his beer bottle down on the counter. “When we snatch her up after work, I want us to have this same conversation with her. I’ll tell yeh the same thing I told her at dinner the other night. Yer comfort is important to me. I’m in this for the long haul. However quickly or slowly we need tae take it is what we’ll do.”

I nod, focusing on the soft bob of his throat. He’s muscular, slightly shorter than me. He’s not built as thickly, but corded muscle shows how strong he is.

“Yer welcome to touch,” he says.

Steadying my breath, I reach out and bring my fingers to his throat, gripping him lightly. His eyes flash with something intense, something needy. I squeeze tighter, marveling at how much bigger he is than Lou. Taking another step forward until we’re almost touching, I rub my thumb over the side of his neck, imagining biting him. Will I claim him one day the same way I’d typically claim Lou? Toss him into a shifter nest, service him and then keep him?

Neither of them are shifters, though. Would they even like a typical nest?

Licking my lips, I let the idea of that run through me. “What would it be like to mate a sylph and a human?”

Dirk’s throaty laughter rumbles beneath my fingertips. “Glorious. We can make our own traditions, keep what we like from each other’s cultures, and discard what doesn’t serve us. We can do anything we want.”

I smile, dragging my hand down his neck, fingers curling into his cool skin. “What would you do on our first date?”

“Och, easy,” Dirk says on a laugh. “Cook for yeh and then watch a movie. I know how wolves love food, and it’s a relaxed date. Nothing too fancy, or too public.”

I frown. “Is public a problem?”

His smile falls. “I just meant since this is new, it would be easier to take things slowly until yeh feel more comfortable with me.”

“That’s thoughtful. What about what you want?”

He presses forward until his naked chest brushes mine. “If I had exactly what I wanted, yeh’d be fucking me against this counter right now, Wolf. We’d be filthy together. That’s what I want. But I’ve got the benefit of fantasizing about you for quite some time now.”

His words have my wolf pacing behind my breastbone, eager to get out. Instinct tells me to let him.

I take a step back and look at Dirk. “I’d like to let my wolf out. Are you alright with that?”

He grins. I swear nothing shocks the sylph. “I’d be delighted, Connall.”

After pulling my shirt over my head, I toss it on the counter, watching as Dirk’s eyes rove hungrily over my chest. His breathing goes shorter when I slide my jeans down my legs and step out of them, cock swinging against my thigh. He’s seen it; I know that. But having his focus on it now is riling me up.

Stepping out of the kitchen, I let my wolf out. The transition happens fast, and then I’m standing in wolf form on the opposite side of the island.

Dirk looks at me, a smile on his face. He rounds the counter and comes to a stop in front of me. “Hello, Wolf.” He reaches out with a palm, offering his hand for me to smell.

Shifting forward, I press my nose into his palm and snuffle. He smells good, like the wildest winds of my home haven of Arcadia.

He strokes his fingers along my snout, moving them beneath my chin to scratch it. Preening, I cock my head to the side as he moves along my head and neck, touching and talking in low tones.

My wolf is relaxed and welcoming of the affection. As Dirk strokes up my forehead, I stare at him in wonder.

I’m going to date him and Lou. And what’s more? I can’t wait to get started.