His Arrogant Human Mate novel Chapter 42

His eyes softened and brightened at the same time before he nodded. "Deal. But kiss first."

With a sigh, I allowed him to pull me close and kiss me softly. "Text me when you get there. I won't be too long after you," he claimed, pinching my chin affectionately. "Be safe."

I was sipping at my iced coffee in a soft couch to the side of the cafe when I was surprised by a kiss on my cheek. I had been here for about forty-five minutes, just chilling, thinking, and reading. They had a little bookshelf in the cafe with a note that read "Take a book, leave a book".

Plus, the kind woman behind the counter was offering me free refills today, since it was my first time there.

"Hi, beautiful," Dominic greeted, taking a place beside me. "Whatcha got there?"

I passed it over to him to try, which he did happily. But once he got a sip of it, he got a sour face. "Ugh. You cannot like that junk. It's way too sugary."

I shrugged carelessly. I liked my warm coffee straight, but iced coffee I liked with all sorts of sweet flavors. Dominic looked at the book I was reading curiously, which I was trying to go back to doing. "Where'd you get that?" he asked.

Motioning towards the shelf, I took another swallow before setting the drink down on the table. Dominic kept looking at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to perform for him. "What?" I asked sharply.

"Can you order me something? I don't know anything about this place," he said quietly. "Or any coffee places."

I groaned, throwing my head back. "I should have known you wouldn't let me have any peace when you got here. Just go to the counter and tell the woman that. She's super sweet. You'll be fine."

With an exasperated grunt, he got to his feet and stormed over to the counter, having to wait in line behind a couple people. I went back to the book, which was about a woman going on a crazy long hike in order to get away from the world. That was something that I could get behind, definitely.

After a couple minutes, Dominic came back and was standing over me. I looked up at him, about to ask what he wanted when he curled his arms under my legs and my back, lifting me up. "Dominic, what the hell-"

"You look really snuggly. I just want to sit with you." He sat down on the chair and perched me in his lap, nuzzling his face into my neck. "You look like this is your natural habitat."

"I just want to make sure you remember that it was you who forced me into this. I didn't want any part of this. I have had to make the sacrifices to fulfill your needs. What have you sacrificed?" I asked seriously, stopping in my tracks to look at him.

His eyes narrowed at me while he tried to think of something, but he couldn't. "Sugar, it has been weeks. Okay? Weeks. And you're still playing this 'you forced me' game? I know it's upsetting. I know you gave up a lot, but-"

"I'm not finished yet. Let me finish," I cut in. "Regardless of whether or not I was forced into this, which I was, I am stuck here. There's no reversing this. But to give me two weeks to try and come to terms with everything before having sex with me? Dominic, that's madness. That isn't right. You can't put a timeline on something like this."

"On love?" he said softly, a little hopefully.

"No. This isn't love."

He cupped my jaw with his free hand, forcing me to look at him. "But it could be, sugar. If you stop being so stubborn and afraid, you could learn to love me," Dominic claimed.