Have I embarrassed him?
Tentatively, I type a message.
SWEET VENOM: It’s your choice. I’m casual about stuff. I love fast food or a coffee’s fine. Do you prefer burgers or fried chicken?
SEVEN: Pizza.
I sigh, relieved.
SWEET VENOM: Pizza’s cool. So, what are you up to?
SEVEN: Paperwork. Also, petting the cat, which is more important. At least, she’s the boss around here. So, it’s my number one task every day.
He has a cat…?
My face lights up.
So, at least that part of the profile checks out.
SWEET VENOM: Cute.
SEVEN: Excruciating. Filing is never cute.
SWEET VENOM: I’m rolling my eyes right now. I wish that this app had emojis, so that I could use one. I meant the cat.
SEVEN: She is. I rescued her from a shelter. I can’t believe that someone abandoned her. When I saw her trapped in the shelter, I knew that I had to give her a loving home. She rewards me for that generosity every day by scratching my furniture, leaving fur on my suits, and waking me up by sitting on my head at 3 a.m. for food.
I chuckle.
SWEET VENOM: And you love her for it.
SEVEN: Of course, because love isn’t conditional, or at least, mine isn’t. In case you’re wondering, I’m not only stroking a cat on my knee like an Alpha Bond villain, I’m also sitting on a throne of books like my profile suggests.
SWEET VENOM: Liar.
My lips curl up with an unexpected fondness.
Talking to Seven like this — through an app without scents getting in the way or even speech and sight — makes conversation easy.
It’s like we’ve known each other our entire lives.
I can let down my walls in a way that I’ve only ever truly done with Vito and Lincoln.
This is dangerous.
I shiver, reluctantly dropping the cookbook to the side onto the cushions and stretching out onto my back.
I balance the phone on my stomach, staring up at the ceiling.
I need Seven to literally help me to live.
I’m only meant to be forging a friendship with him, however, and nothing more.
Seven is really clear about what he’s offering in his profile:
Do you need a no strings attached knot for your next heat…with a dominant Alpha attached as a bonus?
I shake my head.