Realizing I was towering over him, I kicked off my heels.He stood a hair taller because of his shoes, but it allowed me to look into his eyes.“Are you okay?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
I turned his chin to gather his attention.“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”He took the ice pack from me and held it in place.“How was your date?”
I backed up to the counter across from him and leaned against it.“It went all right.He was really selling himself.”I heaved a sigh and stared at the floor.“After tonight, maybe I should stop dragging out this mating thing.I wouldn’t have to worry about all these security threats if I lived in a pack.”
“Is he what you’re looking for?”
I picked up my shoes.Carrying them toward the hall, I replied, “What I need is a man who respects my lifestyle and ambitions.I know what I have to offer, but he has something to offer too, so we’re on equal ground.I don’t want anyone taking advantage of me.”I set my shoes down at the hall entryway and looked across the space at Lucian, who tossed the rag into the sink.“Deacon checks a lot of boxes.He’s beta to the biggest pack out here, and that means he’s got a substantial income.”
“You sure are saying more than I asked.”Lucian moved swiftly toward me.“It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
I scoffed.“That’s ridiculous.”
His nostrils flared, and he tilted his head to the side with that predatory gaze that made me shiver.“I can smell a lie.What happened?”
I crossed the room.After switching on the floor lamp by the game table at the back of the living room, I took a seat in the wooden chair.“Whose Jeep is in my garage?”
“Robyn got a new toy.She let me borrow it on the condition that I treat it like a newborn baby.That’s why it’s in the garage.”Lucian walked over and stole the chair to my right.He turned his whole body toward me, arm resting on the table.“Did he disrespect you?”
“No.”
He sniffed the air.
I stared at the checker box on the table.“Feel like a game?”
“Not really.”
“Why?”
He eased back in his chair.“I’d rather talk.”
“WhatI’dreally like is a glass of wine.”
“He didn’t order you any at dinner?”
I got up from my chair.“I don’t like drinking too much on the first date.It leads to bad decisions.I indulged in a glass, but I need something right now to help me sleep.”Once in the kitchen, I pulled out a bottle of white wine and a corkscrew.
“Something’s bothering you.”
“Why are you so worried about me?”I called out while removing the cork.
Lucian’s voice answered from behind me.“Maybe I’m concerned you weren’t treated right.”He turned on the sink faucet.
“Since you asked, Deacon was a gentleman.”I filled my glass.“He took me to Dragonfly’s and paid for a nice dinner.He told me about his pack and a little about himself, and it was fine.”
After a sip of wine, I turned on my heel and watched Lucian wash the dirty dishes that my father must have brought up.
“My dad likes him.”
Lucian stopped washing and stood very still.
“I guess I have decisions to make,” I added.
He rinsed a plate off and set it on the drying rack.“You don’t want a guy like him.”
