Page 16 of Protected By the Elf Prince

Because it didn’t.

Not really.

Not in the way that mattered.

Finding someone good-looking didn’t mean I could…. Didn’t mean I would…. Didn’t mean I wanted to….

My thoughts tripped over themselves as frustration built. “Jesus,” I muttered, dragging my free hand through my hair, before I started walking again.

Seriously, could I be with a man?

Though, he wasn’t just a man.

He was an elf.

Could I wake up next to him every day?

Could I—I stopped walking entirely, staring down at the pavement as I whispered, “For the rest of my life?”

The words felt heavier aloud.

Because that was the deal, wasn’t it?

This wasn’t something casual or temporary.

He was talking about forever.

I let out a slow breath, my grip tightening slightly on the grocery bags in my hand.

“I don’t even know you,” I muttered.

But that wasn’t entirely true. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me and that he meant what he said.

And I knew that the look in his eyes wasn’t fake.

This wasn’t a game for him.

I exhaled again, longer this time. “Yeah, this is a problem.”

Because I didn’t even know what I was thinking or why I was allowing the thought of forever with a man to cross my mind.

And what did it say about me when I wasn’t immediately shutting those thoughts down?

I huffed out a breath. “I’m confused and probably going crazy. But there‘s no way I’m going to make a quick decision on this.”

I started walking again, slower this time, knowing that if I was going to figure this out, really figure it out, then I needed to be sure.

“All right,” I muttered.

I needed a plan.

My steps faltered when an idea popped into my mind. Maybe if I went out for a drink in a bar, I could see how I reacted if a woman approached.

Who am I kidding? Of course I’ll be into them.

My attraction for women hadn’t diminished in the past couple of days.

But still… it’d be worth trying.