Lehamenin would know me on sight, and most would avoid me for that reason. That humans no longer have any true knowledge of my kind doesn’t discredit my existence.”
Yeah, okay. Avoid him for what, exactly? As far as fae go, he’s not the most intimidating specimen. Not to mention that his statement clearly contradicts unicorn lore. Who ever heard of anyone being afraid of a unicorn?
I roll my eyes this time and snort at him again because this is just getting silly.
“Look, dangercorn, you are not a unicorn. Trust me on this. I spent my entire childhood obsessing over them. I had dozens of models, watched The Last Unicorn and Legend hundreds of times and probably even owned every poster in existence at the time. Unicorns aren’t men who look like sex on a stick, they don’t strike fear in other fae, and they certainly don’t have fangs. No way in hell are you a unicorn,” I throw in his face, feeling particularly triumphant that my childhood fantasies are paying off now.
“I speak only the truth,” he replies, a stiff note now present that hadn’t been there before. He’s not happy with me, and I’m feeling childishly victorious about it.
He gives me an exasperated look, but I don’t really care. He can go play his little mind games with another woman. I give him my back and straighten my jacket as I take my place at the end of the line. I’ve already wasted too much time on this ridiculous exchange rather than focusing on what I’m there for—my cup of coffee. I blame it on the sheer ridiculousness of his statement. I just couldn’t let it slide. A lot of things seem to exist in this world that I hadn’t expected, any number of which he could have claimed to be and I would have completely believed him… but a unicorn? Please.
“And you are my mate,” he announces to my back so unexpectedly that laughter bursts from me.
I don’t try to hold it back or even turn around. It just spills out of me freely, shaking my shoulders with its strength as I stare at the red shirt of the woman standing just in front of me.
“Me? Your mate? Of course. What else would I be but a mate to a creature of purity and innocence?” I say around the laughter that’s almost choking me.
I’m laughing so hard I can feel my eyes tearing up. It’s starting to draw attention to us, and I halfway feel bad about the negative attention he’s getting. It’s his fault, though. He really should have given up when he had the chance.
“I fail to see the humor in this,” the demon mutters unhappily behind me as I wipe at my face in a vain attempt to compose myself.
Mama is going to die when I tell her about this one. At thirty-two, I’m far from being some innocent maiden that unicorns are said to seek. I suppose I should be flattered that he would assume I’m suitable for his little fantasy, but instead I’m in complete awe of the absurdity of his claim.
I’m still smiling with unconcealed amusement and shuffling forward with the other people waiting in line when my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and groan when I see who it is. I’m not due to see them for another two hours. Why are they calling me now? I’m already thinking ahead to who I might have to move or cancel if this ends up being as bad as yesterday.
Answering the phone, I cradle it between my shoulder and ear.
“Steph Bennet speaking,” I begin cordially.
“Oh, thank goodness I caught you,” a masculine voice starts on the other end of the line. “We really want to get an early start. This whole process is just a nightmare! I hope you have something better for us to see today. You know…”
I frown in exasperation as I listen to my client ramble about what didn’t work in the last house that we looked at in minute detail while proceeding to add to his list of “must haves” for the house. I can feel the beginning of a headache building and swallow back a groan.
The fun is over. It’s time to get back to work. I miss half of what the client says, however, because the so-called unicorn suddenly leans in and brushes up behind me.
“Until we meet again, Ahandral,” he murmurs into my ear, his breath sending an unexpected tingle of desire through