Gold(18)

He felt himself flush and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He was used to giving compliments, not so much getting them. Admiration, yes. Gaping, yes. Quiet, sincere approbation? No.

“Thanks for bringing me,” he replied. “We’ll have fun at the fair.”

And then he heard his mate turn over, and he just enjoyed the feel of being there in the darkness, alone yet together.



Dante was surprised by the odd contraptions littering the grounds at the state fair. They looked extremely odd and ill-built, yet people were riding in them, letting themselves be carried high into the sky by some flimsy mechanical beams welded together sloppily.

Ella didn’t seem bothered and told him they were going to ride some of the rides, like it or not.

To his disappointment, she hadn’t yet decided to wear clothing that was a little more formfitting, but she had let her hair down in a low ponytail, and that was something.

The soft, sumptuous, slightly frizzy curls tempted him to twist his hand in them. She was beautiful today, even with a boxy windbreaker jacket and track pants hiding her assets.

His imagination was going wild trying to fill in the blanks anyway, and that was kind of fun.

He looked up again at one of the contraptions, a huge circle with little floating cars attached where people could sit, and noticed many of the couples in the cars were cuddling.

If they did a ride, he wanted to do that one.

“What are you looking at?” she asked. “The Ferris wheel?”

He nodded.

“We can ride that one if you want.” Mountain air whooshed by, lifting her curls, accentuating her wild beauty. Those wide, brown eyes and lush lashes, that sumptuous mouth and curved lips. The little dimple in her chin.

She was eating a candy apple he’d insisted on buying her when he saw her looking at them longingly, and she had a little piece of caramel stuck to her lip.

He reached out to get it and then stopped, pulling his hand back. “You have something on your face.”

She reached up, felt the caramel, and grinned in embarrassment. “Whoops. Thanks.”

Dammit, he really wanted to touch her. It was getting harder to pretend that he didn’t. He shoved his hands in his pockets impatiently. Today he was wearing khakis and a dress shirt, feeling overdressed. Perhaps he would visit one of the shops in town and get a more appropriate outfit.

Ella didn’t seem to mind, though. She grabbed him through the arm. “Come on. I want to play the fish game.”

“Fish game?”

“You try and catch one, and if you do, you get to keep it.”

He raised an eyebrow. He wanted to see this… fish game.

She pulled him eagerly through the crowds to a booth where there were many bowls of water. They were given a little net and told the rules, and in seconds, Ella had won her fish. A tiny orange and silver thing, Dante didn’t see what was so exciting about it.

But as she held up the bag and cooed at it, her tanned skin flushed with pleasure, he had to stand back and smile. She was so cute sometimes and didn’t even realize it.

“Anything else you want to do?” he asked, looking around them as they left the booth.

“Not really,” she said. “I’m sure my family is all over the place, and we don’t have to stay as long as they do.” She eyed his shirt. “That color is nice on you.”

“Why thank you,” he said, grinning. “You look nice yourself. Though I’m looking forward to the day you don’t wear the equivalent of a stiff sack to cover yourself.”

“Dream on,” she said. “I don’t base my value in my body, so why should I show it off?”

Somehow, he thought it was more than that.

They walked past a booth with stuffed animals, some sort of game where you threw a ball and knocked over metal bottles that were stacked together.

“Ooh,” she said. “So cute!” She pointed at a stuffed dragon hanging above them. “Too bad they’re impossible to win.” She looked at her fish. “At least these guys are achievable.” She scrunched up her little nose and her ponytail bobbed as she cooed at the fish.

Dante looked up at the large, green dragon. Not the right color, but still… a good sign that she wanted one.

He stepped up to the booth, pulling out his wallet. “How do I win the dragon?”

Ella stepped forward. “Wait, you don’t have to—”

He gave her a stymying look. “I’m doing it. You want the dragon, I’m getting you the dragon.”

“I don’t know why you’re so nice to me,” she said under her breath.

His brows shot up, but he didn’t have time to address it. He needed to win a dragon.

“Three total knockdowns in a row,” the guy running the booth said. He wore the shit-eating grin of someone who liked taking advantage of people. Dante instantly disliked him. The guy running the fish booth had been much nicer.