He shrugged. “Age is of no importance. You are mature.” He wiped his hands on the napkin. “You will age much slower once we are properly mated. Your senses will improve and you will become stronger as well.”

She nodded. What did she say to that? Yay! It was a serious bonus. “Are you trying to convince me?”

“I didn’t think that such superficial things would be of importance to a female like you.”

“They’re not.” Part of her felt like a fraud. Her boobs were fake. It wasn’t important though. It didn’t mean that she was hung up on superficial things. If they ended up in a real relationship, she would tell him. She’d only had one boyfriend and that was still when she was in high school. There had been no one since…

“Why do you look so deep in thought?”

“No reason.” None she wanted to discuss.

He paused and for a moment it looked like he was going to argue, but then, thankfully, he nodded.

They finished eating and he helped her clean up. She washed, he dried and put the dishes away. It was weird to see such a strong guy—leader of his kind—happily drying dishes.

They talked about various things. She felt comfortable in his company. Torrent made her laugh, it made her realize how much she had been missing in her life. This all felt so crazy and yet, it also felt normal. It was nice.

Candy felt guilty when he threw a blanket onto the couch. The thing was far too small for his huge frame.

There was no way she was sleeping in the same bed with him though. No way. They took turns using the bathroom. She went first.

Candy removed her sweats once she was safely under the covers. She folded them and placed them in a neat pile right next to the bed. Easy to reach in the morning. She wore an extra large shirt.

Torrent made himself comfortable on the couch. His legs hung over the edge. Not looking! He had to lie on his side to fit on the narrow base. Not Looking! This was his choice, not hers.

“Would you mind if I removed my pants? I’m used to sleeping naked.” His deep voice seemed to fill the large space.

Really!

Yes, I mind. She didn’t like the thought of him naked under that blanket. What if it fell off in the night? She felt like groaning out loud. “I… um… guess that’s fine.” She was already making him suffer, she couldn’t force him to wear clothes to bed as well.

“Thank you. I don’t think I could sleep otherwise.” She heard a rustling noise as he removed the garment.

It was about ten minutes later when he spoke again. “Are you still awake?” His voice was low.

“I am now.”