“I hope you don’t mean next time with that prick.”Lucian wrinkled his nose.“He reeks of dirty socks and decomposing biological waste.”
I choked on my wine.“Say that again?”
He averted his gaze before reformulating his answer.“He smells like a dirty fish aquarium.”
That roused a laugh out of me.“You are messy.”I flicked a glance at the beautiful gold watch on his wrist.“We have something in common.”
He studied me closely.
Then I held up my left wrist with my watch.“People say they go out of style, but?—”
“Time never goes out of style.”
I smiled at his sharp intellect.“Exactly.Some things never go out of fashion.A reliable windup watch is a reminder that you should rely on yourself to keep things moving.”
He offered a crooked grin and tapped the watch.“Phone batteries die.If I ever get lost in the mountains or stranded on an island, I’ll be the only one who knows the time.”
“If you’re ever stuck on a tiny island, Mr.Cross, time will be the least of your concerns.”
“I can think of several things I’d need the time for.Tracking flight patterns, tidal flows, wildlife activity…”
I set my glass down.“You’re an interesting character.”
He directed his attention to the wall.“So I’ve been told.”
“Why did you come all this way to a busy club only to hide in a private booth?Or did your friends banish you?”
“Maybe both.”He chuckled darkly and sat back.
I watched him study the buttons on his midnight-blue dress shirt.It fitted him nicely and brought out his eyes, which sparkled like champagne.Lucian’s gaze could set panties on fire, and yet he seemed insecure in a way I couldn’t put my finger on.Despite being the least social in his pack, he was the best dressed whenever they went out.In fact, even his T-shirts hugged his body like a second skin.It made me wonder if he used a tailor.
Lucian stared at Henry’s wineglass.“Do you normally date pond scum?”
“Sometimes you have to give people the benefit of the doubt.Mr.Hightower is a prominent man in this town.”
Lucian drew in a deep breath.“Humph.”
I canted my head, curious about the layers of unspoken words wrapped up in that singular sound.“What are your thoughts?”
“This is the part where my Packmaster would tell me to keep my mouth shut around a Councilwoman.”He rubbed his hand over his hair.“I get in trouble for speaking my mind.”
“You don’t think he’s my type?”
“That depends on how low your standards are.”
I stifled a laugh.
When he flattened his left hand on the table, his onyx ring clicked against the wood.“A female of your caliber deserves better than a self-absorbed jackass.That’s all I meant.”
Female.Chitahs were a curious Breed with their own unique vocabulary.Words likemale,female, andyoungreplacedman,woman, andchild.They had their own elders and laws as well as customs centered around kindred spirits.It was also normal for siblings to live together in the same house, which made me wonder what this Chitah was doing in a wolf pack.
“Do you have any siblings?”I asked, curious if maybe he’d had a falling-out with his family.
“Four by blood.”
“Do all their names start with the same letter?”
“Of course,” he said matter-of-factly.“It’s tradition.Males take the first letter of their father’s name, and girls use the first letter of their mother’s.”
