Chapter Fifty-Two
Dylan
Anticipation hummed through my veins as I walked in the front door. I was running late, so Melina had already left because they were shooting an episode of Night High and she insisted that things always went wrong when she wasn’t there. Since I was a bit of a control freak regarding work myself, I had no room to judge her workaholic ways. My last client had run later than planned, meaning I wouldn’t have time for more than a quick snack before we headed to the council meeting.
I found Allie in the bedroom dressed in jeans and a tank top, applying makeup with shaky hands.
“Is that what you’re wearing to the council meeting?” I asked, because I’d expected her to dress up. After all, this meeting was a big deal. At least, I thought it was a big deal, and I really hoped she did, too.
She shrugged without looking at me. “I figured it didn’t matter since I’ll be wearing a robe. Mel brought me one of hers so I can be in my family’s color tonight.” Sure enough, she held up a black robe. That’s when she finally looked at me over her shoulder, her expression challenging me to disagree with her—a challenge I intended to take.
My face hardened, and my temper flared at the idea of her wearing that robe. I knew the robe was her way of putting some distance between us, and I wasn’t going for it. Fuck this!
“No,” I said simply as I kicked off my shoes and started unbuttoning my shirt. I might as well wear jeans and a t-shirt, too. My eyes remained locked with hers, waiting for her response.
Fire flashed in her whiskey-colored eyes, and she looked seriously pissed. That worked because I was seriously pissed, even though I knew I had no right to be. Honestly, it shouldn’t make any difference to me what color robe she wore, but I didn’t act on logic when it came to Allie. No, instinct drove many of my actions.
“What do you mean, no?” she demanded with her arms crossed under her full breasts.
“After you wore my robe last time, the council will expect you to wear it this time,” I explained, slipping the t-shirt over my head and grabbing a pair of jeans, proud of myself for making such a reasonable argument when I felt far from reasonable.
“I wore it because I didn’t have my own,” she reminded me.
“Doesn’t matter why you wore it.”
“We don’t have time for this,” she said with a huff. “There is no good reason why I need to wear anything other than the robe Melina bought me. I made pasta and left a plate out for you. It probably needs to be heated up for about thirty seconds, but you should have time to eat it before we leave.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” I said with a grin. Dressed in blue jeans and a deep red t-shirt, I slipped on my shoes and grabbed her robe on my way out to the kitchen. I stopped by my office and tore the robe into four sections before running the pieces through the paper shredder with a satisfied smirk.
“What the hell are you doing?” Allie screeched from the door. Her labored breathing was making her breasts move up and down in a tantalizing way. I had to force myself to look away because we really didn’t have time for sex before the meeting.
“Your robe was damaged, so it looks like you’ll be wearing red again,” I said calmly and smacked her ass when I walked by.
As I made my way into the kitchen, I heard her muttering something about putting my dick through the paper shredder, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh at her fit of temper or hide the paper shredder.
Hearing the shredder running again, I chuckled, knowing exactly what Allie was doing.
“Oops!” Allie called out. “The red robes were damaged, too, and I think you’re going to need a new paper shredder.”
I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the stool at the breakfast bar. “At least, you won’t be able to run my dick through it now,” I called back.
“Such a pity,” she said.
“Let’s go, honey,” I called out from the garage. “Time to get hitched to my witch.” Teasing Allie seemed like a good way to get her to forget about putting my dick in the paper shredder, which was probably broken now.
“It’s just a test, Dylan,” she said with an exasperated huff as she slid into the passenger seat of my car. “No matter which way it goes, we are only taking a test tonight. Of course, I doubt they’ll even let us take the test now that our robes have been destroyed.”
I shrugged, and Allie uncrossed her arms, looking less confident.
“They wouldn’t make us to do more, right?” she asked in a panic. “Even though your mom really wants you to get married, they aren’t going to force us to take the next step tonight, right?”
“No, sweetheart, they won’t force us to do anything more than take the test tonight,” I assured her. “Unless someone pushes the issue, that is, but I would be shocked if that happens. My mom is just trying to prove a point.”
She visibly relaxed, and I hadn’t realized until that moment how terrified she was of having that choice taken away from her. Before starting the car, I reached over and squeezed her hand until she looked at me. “No matter what happens, I would never force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“You’re forcing me to take this test,” she reminded me. “You also destroyed my robe to try to force me to wear your colors.”
I let out a sigh as I started up the car and pulled out of the garage. “You make me act crazy,” I admitted. “Even while I was agreeing to the affinity test, there was this voice in my head telling me it was a total asshole move, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Still, this is a far cry from forcing you to marry me like we’re in some historical romance novel.”
“You’re right,” she said, and then she giggled.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I was just picturing you reading historical romance novels,” she said, and that’s when I realized what I’d said.
“Before you think too little of me, Trevor’s oldest sister really loves those books,” I began.
“And she let you borrow them?”
“No, you little smartass.” I pinched her thigh. “She got really sick a couple of years ago, and when I visited her, she’d ask me to read them to her.”
“That’s really sweet, Dylan,” she said softly.
“What can I say? I’m a sweet guy—a guy any witch would want to marry,” I teased with a grin.
“What are you hoping to gain if we pass tonight?” she asked, switching back to the subject I’d been hoping to distract her from.
“All I want is for you to see we’re a good match and give me a real chance to prove that to you.” We were at a stop sign so I turned to look at Allie. “Don’t forget. When we pass the affinity test tonight, I win the bet, which means I get to spend the rest of the night enjoying your body.”
Allie’s breathing became labored, and this time, I knew it was from arousal. One thing Allie couldn’t deny was the pull between us, and that was a start.