My Seth did not care for swarms of people.
I tugged him closer with my tail in an attempt to comfort him, all the while suppressing the powerful instincts that called for me to drag him into my embrace.
“I have a question,” Seth said.
“What is it?”
“Do you normally hold tails?”
“What?” I stopped to look directly at him, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze.
He gestured toward a drakcol couple whose tails were entwined. “If you’d mated a drakcol, would you hold tails?”
“Our parents hold our tails when we’re young, but couples do as well. In mixed couples like us, the drakcol partner usually holds their partner's ankle or wrist. I assume your culture does something different, as you don’t have a tail?” I cast a glance at his well-formed backside. Tail or not, it was lovely.
“We hold hands.”
Before I could ask, he took my hand and our fingers interlaced. The words died in my throat. His skin was so much cooler than my scales, and it was impossibly soft. I could feel the thrum of his pulse against mine. I swallowed, unable to rip my eyes away from the sight of his smaller hand in mine.
When Seth started to draw away, I tightened my grasp on him and choked, “This works.”
He stared at our joined fingers. “Yeah.”
My tail curled around his ankle and I kept my hand in his as I led him to the restaurant. The small flame of hope in my chest turned into a blazing inferno.
Chapter 15
It's a date.
A slight smile played on Kal’s full lips as he swung our joined hands like we were kids. I reflexively tightened my hold on him. He was warm, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. Sweat began gathering on my palm, but I didn’t release him nor did he remark on it.
We finally came to a restaurant with a few square, metal tables framed by round stools out front. A red sign with flashing white letters that I couldn’t read hung over the doorway.
When we stepped under the cloth awning, my eyes gravitated to the alien behind the counter. They were short, maybe comingto my waist, and as broad as they were tall and had wide features, brown hair, dark brown skin, and orange eyes with square pupils like a goat.
Bins full of writhing worm-caterpillar creatures filled the display. The black monstrosities had ridges circling their bodies and red spines. My stomach curled as I blanched.
We weren’t coming here to eat those? Right?
When Kal stepped forward, I remained stuck in place, watching the squirming insects.
“My Seth?”
A shudder went down my spine at his voice, sending shocks down my limbs. It was practically criminal how much I liked my name coming out of his lips. “We're not eating thosealive,are we?”
“That’s how they’re served.”
I swallowed.
Kal held my chin, and his touch was soft, like he was afraid he’d hurt me, which was ridiculous. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Seth?”
“I don’t want to. It’s grossing me out.”
His head tilted to the side, making his long earrings brush his jaw, and I tensed. A different kind of shaking started as I tried not to shy away from his powerful hands.
