“Okay. Dinner’s on. Can I get you a drink?”
 
“Yes, I thought something smelled nice. What are we having?”
 
Having recovered some of his composure, Cassius replied, “Oysters to start, salmon for main course, and watermelon for dessert.”
 
He watched as Carina frowned, then after a beat a smile spread across her face. “Ha ha, very funny. So desperate to get me into bed that you’re serving three courses of aphrodisiacs, are you?”
 
“Yep,” he said, grinning. He loved the fact that Carina’s intelligence had resulted in her seeing through his joke almost instantly. They often teased one another that way; their senses of humour were very similar, as were their interests, and it meant they rarely ran out of things to talk about.
 
Carina stood up and walked over to him, slid a hand around his waist and pulled him in for a searing kiss. Blood rushed to Cassius’ cock and he went from nought to naughty in less than ten seconds. He loved that she had such a powerful effect on him, but if they carried on much longer, they’d end up forgetting all about dinner.
 
He needn’t have worried. Carina pulled away from their kiss before it got too heavy. Looking him in the eyes, she murmured, “I thought you knew I was a sure thing tonight?”
 
After a desperate scrabble to get some kind of function back to his brain, Cassius replied. “I did. That’s why we’re having pate, beef wellington and cheesecake. And the second two are homemade.”
 
“Really?” she said, giving his ass a cheeky squeeze before sitting back down on the sofa. “I never knew you were such a skilled chef.”
 
“You don’t know that I am. It could be bloody awful. Speaking of which, I’d better go and check on it. Drink?”

Turning to face her, he felt simultaneous lurches in his chest and groin. She really was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. In all his long years, he didn’t think he’d felt quite this strongly about someone — and, if he was honest with himself, it scared him. Particularly since he knew it was going to kill him—not literally, of course—when they broke up.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Cassius shook his head, as though to rid himself of his maudlin thoughts. “Nothing,” he replied, stepping towards her, “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are.”

She lowered her eyes demurely, and a wash of colour crept across her cheeks. It was totally adorable, and Cassius’ rapidly swelling cock leapt in response. She seemed to get a grip on herself, and looked back up at him. “Thank you. You’re pretty damn gorgeous yourself. Now kiss me.”

“It would be my pleasure.” He leaned down to do just that, but then stopped. “Oh, hang on one moment.”

A little crease appeared between her eyebrows as he backed off. Then he walked over to his bedside table, removed his glasses and put them down. “Okay, I’m all yours.”

“Well, thank fuck for that! Come here.” She shuffled back on the bed until she was leaning against the pillows, and patted the space next to her.

Cassius didn’t hesitate. He noticed she’d already taken off her shoes, and he quickly pulled his off before joining her on the mattress and moving instantly into her open arms. Their lips met, and once more Cassius was astounded by the strength of feeling he had for this woman. It was as though she’d cast some kind of spell on him, almost like the mating bond that some of his kind experienced. But he’d never expected to feel that—his reindeer colleagues were all spoken for, and he’d never been attracted to any of the girls, anyway. He’d resigned himself to the fact that any attachments he had would be of the human, not supernatural, variety.

As his tongue slipped sensuously against Carina’s, and their hands wandered across each other’s bodies, he came to the conclusion that was just fine. If this was human love, then he was more than happy with it. Carina was perfect — and for the time being, at least, she was his.