Page 109 of Monster Daddies

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Published by Dirty Daddies Publishing, an imprint of GTB Publishing.

Chapter One

Alton

I really should’ve clarified what the matchmaker had meant when she’d asked if I liked bears.

Shit. Had that been speciesist?

“Can you tell me what you’re thinking?” The slight Southern accent with a hint of something foreign coming from the… gentleman on the other side of the picnic table made the whole situation even more surreal. He had been very polite, though, so gentleman was probably the right word unless it offended him.

Would it offend him?

“Bears.” Shit. I’d answered. At some point I’d have to stop doing that. “Um, the matchmaker asked if I liked bears and I thought she meant big gay guys. You know, slang for hairy and bigger.”

She hadn’t.

Maybe?

His lips twitched in what might’ve been a suppressed smile, but I didn’t know him well enough to figure out if he thought I was funny or if I’d offended him. “She has a bit of an interesting sense of humor from what I saw, so she might’ve meant both.Although I’m not a bear and don’t really identify as anything bear-related.”

So I hadn’t offended him?

“Um, because you’re not related to bears or because you don’t really do typical… um… human gay culture?” Fuck. I was going to end up being chased off without even getting a coffee date first. “Was that… please let me know if I offend you. You’re the first… I’ve never met…”

Shit.

I’d never met a Bigfoot before… and the handful of random facts I did know weren’t helpful in the slightest because they might not be accurate at all.

Shutting up seemed like the best plan, at least until I could get my brain to regroup, but it gave Malik a chance to respond too.

“You aren’t offending me and I will very clearly articulate why something is offensive if we get to that point.” His gentle tone was completely at odds with the fact that he was broad as a house and had to be at least seven feet tall. “I understand you’re going to have questions and I’m just glad you’re giving me a chance to get to know you better.”

Huh?

I must’ve looked confused or just stupid because he gave me a real smile that time and gestured toward the picnic table we were currently sitting at. “I was expecting you to take one look at me coming out of the woods and turn around to leave.”

Oh.

“Well, that honestly hadn’t occurred to me.” Should it have? I guess watching a Bigfoot coming out of the woods in a plaid shirt and jeans could’ve been overwhelming to some people. But I was there to meet him and he was kind of sexy in an unexpected way. “That seems… um… rude?”

I liked the lumberjack look and his aura had radiated something special.

And if I was being honest… I’d answered yes to that bear question, so the body hair didn’t faze me even though there wasn’t as much around his face as I’d expected.

“I’m confused and not sure what to do, but leaving before we talked hadn’t occurred to me.” Partly because the matchmaking fee was nonrefundable if I was a dick and partly because she’d been so confident we would be a good fit for each other.

Her aura had been questionable when she’d talked about a lot of things… money being one of them… but it’d shone when she said she’d found my perfect match.

I wanted my match more than I wanted to let fear lead me astray.

“We talk.” He shrugged, broad shoulders going up and down distractingly. “We get to know each other a bit and then we see what happens from there.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Dating hadn’t felt easy the past couple of years but I was hoping that had come to an end. “Has anyone ever said you have a beautiful aura?”