Darien returns the kiss automatically with his voice gentling. "I missed you too, Mother."
Then the suspicious part of his brain, the one that never sleeps, wakes up. He pulls back a little and narrows his eyes. "You're outside. Waiting for me."
Ines smiles faintly. "I see your observation skills have not dulled."
"Mother."
"Darien." Her tone matches his perfectly, like a dance they've done before. "You look surprised."
"Because I am. You hate waiting."
"I dislike inefficiency," she corrects with a hint of pride curling through her voice. "But tonight, I was impatient."
He tilts his head. "For what?"
"To know whether my son has found his mate."
The words hit him square in the gut. For half a second, he almost stumbles. His mother's eyes that are as sharp as a hawk's catch the whiff of hesitation that betrays him.
Darien laughs, but he does it too quickly and too roughly. "Straight to business, as always."
