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“Now, as you can see, I’m here for our date. I plan on taking you closer into the city for our time together, but not because I’m ashamed to be seen with you in town.” That had his brows pulling together but he didn’t interrupt me. “My goal is to give you a bit more time to decide how you’re going to answer the plethora of nosy questions you’ll be bombarded with once my interest in you becomes more obvious.”
The way his mouth dropped open said he hadn’t considered that yet. “Oh.”
“Yes. If I could be with you more, then I’d worry less, but that’s not reasonable.” Between his job and mine, our schedules overlapped too much for me to follow him around at work so I could growl at nosy people. “I also don’t want to make you think I don’t respect your authority as Mr. Librarian.”
Using Kenzie’s nickname for him had Stefan chuckling and his cheeks started going back to their normal color. “Yes, he said I’m in charge of the library even if I don’t want to be in charge of the rest of my life.”
That was Kenzie.
As I tried not to laugh, I nodded and focused on his list. “And as for the dragon part, I didn’t tell anyone yet that you knew for the same reasons. I want you to have time to process, but if you want to see my dragon, we can do that right now.”
There were just some things people needed to see to believe, so I didn’t blame him for second-guessing the reality of it.
Out of everything I’d said, that had his eyes going wide and he inched closer. “Really?”
“Yes.” Looking around at the cottage he’d been given, I decided that it was close enough to the outskirts of town that it would be safe. “We can go behind the house. It’s fairly private, isn’t it? I’m pretty sure this one backs up to the forestry land?”
It was hard to remember the boundaries of every cottage the council owned, but I was glad to see Stefan nod.
“Yes.” Frowning, he turned in a circle like he was imagining what the property looked like. “Yes, as long as you stayed on the ground no one would see.”
Dating made him nervous but dragons he was fine with.
I couldn’t help wondering if all librarians were this adorable as I tried to guess what he would say next. “Then would you like to go to the back so I can show you my dragon? I’m fully me in that form, so there wouldn’t be any safety issues. I’d stay on the ground so you could see me and touch me if you want. The only thing you might not have realized is that my clothes have to come off before I can shift.”
And the eyes went wide again.
It took a few seconds before he swallowed and found his voice. “I…I can turn around and give you privacy.”
He was adorable.
“I won’t push you to watch either way, but I’m not worried about you seeing me naked. It’s part dragon culture, but I have to admit the other part is wanting to tease you.” His blush came back, sweeping over his face as he groaned.
“I shouldn’t.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “That’s just not nice. You deserve privacy.”
Chuckling as he continued to hide from me, I shrugged even though I wasn’t sure he could see me at the moment. “Stefan, I’d tell you if seeing me naked fell outside my current limits.”
That had some of the drama coming to a quick halt, but he didn’t move his hands away from his face. “Limits. Doms and Daddies have limits too, and I’m supposed to ask for yours when you ask for mine.”
Readers were wonderful creatures.
“That’s right.”
He didn’t seem done, so I waited as he took another breath. “You’d tell me if something I wanted fell outside what you were comfortable with because trust and honesty are very important in BDSM relationships.”
Before I could decide if it was time for me to jump in again, his hands came down to his sides. “Yes, I would like to see you shift and not turn away because I want to see the whole process…and…and I’m curious about what you look like.”
A smile escaped before I could catch it, but aside from blushing, he didn’t seem to mind. “I’m glad you want to see me naked, Mr. Librarian.”
He couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to laugh or groan, but he settled on an embarrassed sigh as I took his hand and led him down off the porch. “We haven’t even had a first date yet. I shouldn’t ask to see your dragon form before then. It’s probably not appropriate.”
I’d thought he was back to worrying about the naked part, but no, we were worried about the social niceties of seeing my dragon.
“You don’t need to worry. We’re not flashy about our dragon sides just because there are too many idiots with cell phones running around, but there’s nothing inherently private about it.” Rubbing my thumb over his fingers, I loved the little shiver that raced through him. “There’s also nothing wrong with being curious. You like learning. This is just another topic you want to understand.”
I hoped at some point he’d turn that curiosity toward BDSM in general or my body specifically, but I was patient.
He liked the learning way of looking at the situation. His entire body perked up and his embarrassment faded in a flash. “Yes, there’s a lot I need to learn. A whole new species. How to treat someone I’m going to date. What my patrons look like in their other forms. And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the cultural norms that I don’t understand yet.”
