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.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LOU
