Page 17

Harper

I was gonna kill my mother when I saw her next.

I don’t give a shit about a guy’s height, but insecurity is unattractive on anyone.

Shaun, Brian, whatever his bloody name was, nearly died when he stood beside me.

I’d walked out of my apartment, feeling myself, only to be summoned like a dog by the toot of his horn.

The daggy shirt and the dubious sunglasses I could’ve looked past, but guys who monologued?

If the only role you played on a date was to be a passive witness, that didn’t bode well for no pants dancing.

I could just imagine this guy stroking his own dick, then blowing jizz all over my face as he called out his crypto user name.

Of course, that’s when I realised I wasn’t the only one being subjected to this rant.

I felt someone’s eyes burning into my neck and then turned around, some sixth sense kicking in.

There he was, Mack, the smug bastard, smirking at the whole thing.

Of course, that faded when his eyes slid down, something heated replacing it as he took in my dress.

Why the hell couldn’t Shaun have looked at me like that?

Like I was edible and he wanted to take his time eating me all up?

Like all the confusing feelings I had about the Big Bad Wolf as a kid (he was big, scary, and really intent on getting Granny, and for some reason that imprinted on me) had become flesh.

Those eyes rolled upwards, holding mine as his eyebrow cocked up.

“So what do you think?”

“What?” I glanced up, not expecting to get quizzed on this conversation. If the success of this date hinged on me being able to regurgitate what I knew about crypto, I was out.

“About the current taxation system.” Brian frowned. “Seriously, I think we’re overtaxed…”

And he was off again. I nodded and smiled, something I often did on disastrous dates, because I’d learned the hard way what being honest with complete strangers led to.

I just needed to get through this and tell Mum it was a bust, along with what apparently needed to be a more strongly worded conversation about not setting me up with anyone ever again. Just get to the end and?—

“Are you ready to order?”

The girl serving us was an angel in disguise, halting Shaun’s stream of consciousness for just a second. She looked at us both expectantly, but I was picking up a distinct vibe of solidarity.

“Yep.” Brian flicked the menu out and then said, “I’ll have the Scotch fillet and the lobster…”

I stared as he rattled off a truly impressive list of very expensive food, making me wonder if I needed to reassess this whole crypto thing.

Peter, Mum’s boyfriend and Shaun’s boss, ran his own plumbing business.

I knew he was doing alright for himself, but I didn’t realise how good, if his employees could afford this kind of meal.

“And for the lady?” The server asked me.

I hated blind dates. I hated not knowing who the hell it was I was going out with and whether to bother making an effort. I hated that we hadn’t hammered out who would pay for what at the end of the date, so I played it safe.

“I’ll just have the salad,” I said, then handed the menu to her.

“Watching your figure?” Brian nodded approvingly. “You could stand to lose a few kilos. Have you ever tried keto?”

OK, this date was done. I loved my mother, I think, but there was only so far I was willing to go, and getting diet advice from a guy with a little paunch wasn’t it.

“Brian—” I said, leaning forward.

“Brendan.”

He frowned as he corrected me. Brendan? His name was Brendan? Where the hell did I get Brian or Shaun from then?

“Brendan,” I said with a nod. “If we’re going to get through this date without me gutting you with a spoon, you need to avoid using the following words in the conversation.” I lifted my hand. “Keto, intermittent fasting, CrossFit, and most of all, crypto. We good?”

We were not good. Brendan sat back, arms crossed, pouting like a child.

A pointed silence followed. I took a sip of my wine, barely repressing the desire to gulp it down, then got to my feet.

The prick was giving me the hairy eyeball when he first saw how much taller than him I was, but now he was positively baleful, glaring at my heels like they’d personally offended him.

“I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

Not waiting for a reply, I stalked across the floor, grabbing my phone out as I went. I tapped out a furious message to my mother as I went.

No more blind dates , I sent. Not work friends, someone’s son, anything. You ring me up and tell me about some guy? I promise I’ll sign up for some prisoner pen pal thing and find myself a nice mass murderer to pine for.

I paused for a moment, wanting to hit send, all the while knowing it’d cause a shit storm the next time I saw her.

Then I visualised Brendan’s pinched expression and hit send, right before turning my phone to silent.

I went to the sinks, washing my hands, and then stared at my reflection in the mirror.

A notification popped up on my phone screen and I winced, not wanting to read it.

Except it wasn’t from Mum.

A text from an unknown number popped up on the screen and my eyes widened as I stared at it.

If you seriously want to date this idiot, you better get back here.

I blinked, almost able to hear Mack’s voice in my head.

He’s muttering something to himself and it’s vaguely alarming.

A snort escaped me involuntarily.

Some of the other diners are starting to get worried. If I’m honest, I am too.

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, trying to stop myself from smiling.

Can I tell Mr. CrossFit to CrossFuckOff?

My thumb hovered over the screen, ready to tap out a reply, when another text came in.

Please? The wolf wants to tear his fucking throat out for daring to make a comment about your body. You look like a fucking goddess, by the way.

I straightened up and looked at my reflection, somehow pleased someone had noticed. I’d worked damn hard to dress nicely tonight, only for Bren-Shaun-ian to look me up and down like I was a piece of toilet paper stuck to his shoe.

Not saying I do, but he doesn’t deserve to spend a single moment more in your presence. Oh…

Oh? Oh! I stared at the screen.

Looks like he’s worked that out himself. Lucky for him, because I was looking forward to explaining in detail how he needs to correct his behaviour. And he’s off! Yeah, your date has left.

And that was all I needed to exit the bathroom.

Normally someone dining and dashing would’ve had me hanging my head in shame.

Maybe it was the fact that Mack was there, sitting in Brendan’s seat, his hands behind his head, that had me smiling instead.

When I reached my chair, he was there, pulling it out for me like an actual gentleman, though I’m fairly sure getting close enough that I could feel his breath on the back of my neck wasn’t gentlemanly.

I felt it feather across my skin, then he pulled away with a barely perceptible growl.

“So did he say why he had to leave?” I asked.

“He said many things.”

Mack leaned forward, elbows on the table, that very nice grey shirt stretching tightly across his biceps.

“In response to anything you had to say?” I asked, unable to stop myself from smiling.

He made a show of shrugging.

“Maybe. I could’ve allegedly made clear that he was absolutely not on your level and that a cat can look at a queen, but he cannot make snide comments about a body I wish to get very intimately acquainted with.”

I could almost feel his eyes burn through the thin fabric of my dress as he looked me up and down.

“That’s not what you were saying the other night.” His eyes darkened as I leaned forward. Yeah, he was staring at my cleavage like all the world’s secrets were hidden there. “You had to do ‘paperwork.’”

“I looked at exactly one invoice.” His eyes danced as he stared me down.

“For about five seconds before I heard the sound you made as the guys kissed you. That had me walking down the hallway. They left the door partially ajar, the idiots, and that gave me a perfect view of them stripping you bare. I know the sound you make when someone is touching you just right. I learned the way your voice hitches and your breathing changes when someone sucks your nipples. You don’t hover when someone asks you to sit on their face.

You plant that wet little pussy down like a queen might her throne and then you writhe. ”

I couldn’t hear the other diners, couldn’t see the restaurant decor. His quiet, taut tone held my focus entirely.

“You are going to scream the first moment you take my knot, but once it’s in there, you’ll be humming. Locked down behind your pelvic bone, unable to let you go until you’ve come more than once and I’ve emptied all of my seed in you.”

“Cheque please…” I said weakly, raising a hand.

“Nope.” He glanced up, sitting back in his chair and plastering on a cool smile as the servers appeared with our meals. “We’ve got a whole lot of lobster and steak to eat. And anyway…” Mack nodded to the servers as they placed the plates before us. “I have to work up to that.”

“Work up…?” I glanced up and smiled as the servers stepped away. “Work up to what?” I hissed.

“The boys rushed into things last night,” he said, piling food onto what I thought was his plate, only for him to set it in front of me.

My salad was pushed aside, not worthy apparently.

“As someone said today, they were thinking with their little heads, not their big heads. I’m not.

” He nudged my plate, staring expectantly until I grabbed my knife and fork.

“Before shifters came out to humans, we used to spend time getting to know our mate, persuading her that we were the ones for her.” He paused for a second, a slight frown forming, then just as quickly brushed away.

“To prove he was worthy of her notice. That’s what’s going to happen now. ”

His authoritative voice had me straightening up, my eyes narrowing.

“No matter what I’ve got to say about it?” I asked.

Mack’s smug smile, I didn’t know if I wanted to slap him or pull him closer by his collar.

“Of course, what you say matters. Especially if it’s yes, yes, yes…” I looked around in alarm as his voice grew louder, doing a fair imitation of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally . “Over and over as I do my damndest to learn all the sounds you can make, Harper.”

Well, shit.

“Now eat up. If you don’t, the wolf will go out and hunt down a rabbit or sheep and drag its bloody corpse before you, thinking that’s what you want to eat.”

I shook my head and stabbed my fork into a beautifully roasted potato.