Page 30 of Protected By the Elf Prince

And if it was excitement about seeing him and spending more time with him, that could be a problem I needed to figure out on another day.

By the time work finally ended, I was exhausted. The lack of sleep was catching up to me.

And still, I was embarrassingly eager to get outside. To see if Dashiel was there or if he was going to meet me at the house. I packed my bag slowly before heading toward the exit.

The moment I stepped onto the street, warmth flooded the tattoo beneath my sleeve.

I looked up automatically, and there he was.

Dashiel stood across the sidewalk, waiting and watching me with that same impossible intensity that should’ve sent me running.

Instead, my stomach fluttered again.

And as Dashiel’s face softened the second our eyes met, I realized I was already smiling before I could stop myself.

CHAPTER SIX

Dashiel

Walking beside Landon through the quiet evening streets felt dangerously close to peace. Humans passed us without a second glance, lost in their own conversations and routines while I remained entirely focused on the man beside me.

My fated mate.

The words still carried a weight capable of stilling me from the inside out.

He’s mine.

And it wasn’t in the possessive way my instincts constantly demanded—though those instincts remained very much alive whenever another being drew too close to him.

But this was something else as well. Something deeper and more awed.

Fate itself had looked across worlds, across centuries, across countless lives and all possibilities, and had somehow chosen Landon for me.

And now he had invited me into his home. To share a meal and speak with me longer.

The hope blossoming inside my chest at such a simple invitation was almost embarrassing.

If one of my brothers were to witness me now, they would never allow me peace again.

I could already hear their amusement. To them, I had always been Dashiel, the composed or controlled, yet now they would see how quickly I had come undone, and all because my human accountant asked me to dinner.

A faint smile pulled at my lips before my attention shifted back toward Landon as he glanced sideways at me.

“What?” he asked immediately.

I blinked once. “Nothing.”

“That smile says otherwise.”

“You have become remarkably observant.”

“I think I have to be around you.”

His teasing warmed me, just like his wide, happy smile had when he had seen me waiting outside his work.

“How was the remainder of your workday?” I asked.

His expression shifted slightly. “Fine,” he answered.