Page 37 of Protected By the Elf Prince

Monkey laughed and grabbed his cup, then deposited it in the sink. He went back for his jacket and pulled it on. “Pops. Quick sec.” He tipped his chin toward the front of the house.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Night, Dashiel,” Monkey said.

“Goodnight.” Dashiel dipped his head, his hair swaying over his shoulders, revealing more of his cute, pointy ears.

I cleared my throat. “I won’t be long.”

“I shall wash his cup.”

He was clearly staying in the kitchen to give us privacy. Though, I was sure he’d still be able to hear.

I followed Monkey out the front door and closed it after me.

My son leaned against the front porch railing as he looked at me seriously. “You two seem to get along,” he said quietly.

Heat crawled up the back of my neck immediately. “We’re just talking.”

“Yeah.” His grin turned knowing. “I’ve got eyes.”

I opened my mouth, then promptly closed it again because I honestly didn’t know what to say.

Monkey’s expression gentled. “But don’t force anythin’ either,” he added quietly. “If you don’t want this, you don’t have to.”

I appreciated his words.

“There’s still time to be sure about acceptin’ or declinin’,” he continued. “No pressure.”

I stared at my son for a long moment—at the concern and the protectiveness in his eyes.

Monkey reached out and squeezed my shoulder once. “I just want you happy.”

Emotions tightened my chest. “Thanks, son. I want the same for you too,” I told him.

Monkey grinned instantly. “Yeah, yeah. Love you.”

Reaching out, I yanked him close and hugged him. “Love you too.”

I watched him walk to his vehicle and get in. I was glad he hadn’t ridden his bike, since the night air was now chilly. With a final wave, I went back inside, which felt much warmer even though I didn’t have a heater on.

I paused for a second longer than necessary while my brain caught up with the fact that it was just me and Dashiel now.

Only this time, the thought of being alone with him didn’t make me nervous.

It made something coil low in my stomach.

God. This is definitely trouble.

“You appear thoughtful,” Dashiel observed softly as he gracefully made his way toward me with his dark hair slightly messy and sleeves rolled up from helping clean.

He was entirely too attractive.

And that was another problem.

At some point during dinner, my thoughts had stopped circling around whether I could be attracted to a man. Now they centered around the fact that I was attracted to Dashiel.

And only him.