Faery Godlover: BBW Paranormal Romance by Lizzie Lynn Lee

he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek, and he felt warmth in his chest when he saw those cheeks flush with color as he stepped back.
    And that was how he left her, standing there with a beet-red face as he strode out the door and back out into the streets with a lion’s pride in his chest.

Eight
     
    “You can do this. You can do this. You know him, Jasmine,” she told herself as she paced back and forth in her apartment. It was just a few minutes until ‘show time,’ and he seemed like the kind of guy who would be terrifyingly punctual.
    She was wearing a white blouse with a gray skirt and black leggings, and she had a scarf in her hands that was more for decoration than warmth, but at this rate, she would have it stretched out from her nervous fingers before Duada even got here.
    Try as she might to calm her nerves, there were butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t want to admit it, but... she was anxious about this. Anxious in a good way. Right? She paused to check herself out in the mirror, turning around a little bit before making sure her lipstick wasn’t smudged from her constantly biting at the inside of it.
    “He’s normal. Okay, no, he’s not, he’s a faery. But he’s... nice? He doesn’t have a scary-huge cock,” she said, trying to justify this insane date, then furrowing her brow and frowning. “...at least, I don’t think he does?”
    She moved over to her couch and slumped down on it, letting out a sigh. This was nuts. She was nuts. He was nuts, especially. What the hell was he thinking, setting her up with a bunch of guys just to ask her out? What was his game? Was he planning this all along? He said he hadn’t, that all this outpouring of emotions for her was new, but…
    It just felt so strange. And yet was the feeling unwelcome? Smiling a little, Jasmine realized she couldn’t entirely tell herself ‘no.’ Any way she thought of him, whether as a trickster or as a vaguely annoying friend or as some kind of whimsical mentor, Duada was attractive. Very attractive.
    A pang of nervousness hit her again. But what if this was all some kind of faery trick? What if he was just tugging her along, and this was some cruel joke? Fae were known for flighty, mercurial spats of emotion, what if she’d offended him somehow and this was his way of getting back at her?
    She clutched her head. This was a mistake. She had to cancel. No way would she let herself be taken by him and play right into his game. She stood up, picking up her phone to call him and make up something about having a cold or—
    The door swept open, and Jasmine’s breath was taken away by what she saw in the doorway.
    Duada wore a gray shirt that shone almost silver, with gold embroidery along the sides that made him look like some kind of statue welded for royal courts. The cut of his dark pants accentuated the muscular lines of his ass and thighs, leading down to polished boots that stood in a striking stance.
    But what really captivated her was his face. Jasmine had admired his face from the moment she laid eyes on him, she couldn’t lie to herself. But there was always something so ethereal about the way he looked—something alien. Now, it was as if she were looking at something far more... real. The ethereal beauty was still there, but it was as if she were looking at it from a new angle, she realized, like there was a kind of lighting to his face that she hadn’t noticed before. Had she been looking at his magical glamour before now? Was this what he truly looked like, those piercing amethyst eyes seeming to penetrate her without effort?
    “Jasmine,” he breathed, his voice low and enticing, still holding onto that energetic lilt that made him so familiar despite their only having known each other a few days. “You look ravishing.”
    “I... hi,” she managed, blinking at his whole appearance.
    That made him laugh, and he grinned, stepping forward and taking her hand.
    “Shall we go then? He took her hand