Torrent seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief. He visibly relaxed, his attention on her. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Thing is…” She went on. “It’s important that I be in a stable relationship. I want for there to be a father for my child. I want…”

Torrent reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “That’s good.” He smiled. “I want the same things. Dragons mate for life. There would be no divorce, no running away. I plan on being there for my children and supporting my mate. I would never leave you or our babies. It’s as simple as that.”

“I want love and that doesn’t just happen, Torrent. We’re attracted to one another but it takes time for those other emotions to develop. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve explored this a bit more before…”

“Before taking the plunge.” He finished the sentence for her.

“Yeah.”

“We are going to be just fine, Candy.” He squeezed her hand. “Let’s just forget about all the serious stuff and concentrate on getting to know one another.” His face had become animated, filled with boyish charm. It was appealing. She was sure that he didn’t show this side of himself often.

Her chest tightened and that sensation of having her chest compressed increased. “We can’t have sex though.” Why the hell had she said that? Why did she keep bringing it up? It was like she was trying to convince him… no to convince herself. No. Sex. With. Torrent. Not yet anyway.

He chuckled softly.

Candy pulled her hand from his. She had to stand up and reach in order to give him a light slap on the arm. “It’s not funny. We’re dating… no, make that living together. We’re attracted to one another but we can’t have sex because that would mean instant marriage. It’s completely nuts. What if it happens by accident and we both regretted it?” She sucked deep breaths in and out, trying not to lose it.

“I wouldn’t regret it.” He looked so damned sure. “Not a chance.” Oh god! He looked like he loved the idea of them being together… like that… forever. Her whole chest tightened all over again and this time in a different way.

No! This was all happening too quickly. “You can’t know that.”

“It’s hard for you to comprehend but it’s true. Look, if it will make you more comfortable, if we decide to have sex, we need to first take a cold shower, if we both still want to proceed after the shower then…”

She laughed. It bubbled up unexpectedly from inside her. It felt good. Really good. “You’re serious? A cold shower.”