Sable blushed so hard that she was thankful her computer didn’t have eyes because she’d have to don stilts to lessen their height difference.
I’m sorry. Was that inappropriate? I haven’t dated in a while. Single dad syndrome and all.
Not at all. Tall is good. Very good.
Perfect. And I apologize in advance if I’m rusty. I spend all my time at work or talking to a ten-year-old.
No need to apologize. It’ll be great. I can’t wait.
It was true. Despite all the reasons she shouldn’t go, Sable was too excited to cancel. She’d never been this eager for a date. Plus, his being nervous was adorable, even if it surprised her. He was ex-special forces. Soldiers didn’t serve in Cupid’s former unit unless they were savages on the battlefield, so shehad a sneaking suspicionthis man was a beast in bed. No amount of shy texting could convince her otherwise.
An alert chimed, interrupting her fantasies, and her eyes flicked to her computer screen. She’d programmedthe surveillance to notify of the thieves’ movements, and professionalism seized control of her body.
I’ll see you later. Have a good day.
She fired off a quick text before jumping up to change into her gear
Thanks, you too. Would you prefer the restaurant’s address, or can I pick you up?
Sable texted Cash her location without thinking, and as she stared at the message, that nagging thought trickled into her brain again. Cash was a problem, but oh, how she loved trouble.
Alarm pricked Sable’s skin as she stalked the four thieves. They had no clue she observed them from the shadows, her black gear and high-tech gadgets allowing herto invisibly keep tabs on her opposition, but her stalking wasn’t a cause for concern. It was their progress. At some point during the last twenty-four hours, this team had discovered something that made them mobilize. She didn’t know if they’d found a breach in the museum security or a weakness with a guard. She hadn’t been able to learn anything from them, but they wereclearlyreadying to strike. They seemed confident in their success. Their bravado was concerning because they were either so talented that they had done the impossible, or they were so delusional that they were eager to throw themselves against the rocks where the waves would tear them apart. Either way, their preparations made her nervous. Was she ready for the inevitable showdown?
Her pocket buzzed, and Sable dug out her phone, only half paying attention as she watched the four thieves.
I’m saying goodbye to Clover, and then I’ll leave. I should be at your place in twenty minutes.
“Shit,” Sable muttered under her breath. Their date. She had less than a half hour before a Fae soldier showed up at her front door, and she was currently across the city on a rooftop wearing tactical gear.
“Shit, shit, shit.” She’d been so focused on her surveillance that she forgot to check her watch. She’d never make it home in time… unless…
Sable stood up before common sense could talk her out of it, and she raced across the rooftop. She couldn’t make it home in twenty minutes if she traveled the way humans were supposed totravel, but she was an Easter Bunny. Her form resembled a human’s save for the velvety brown ears on top of her head, but they weren’t the only thing that made her kind unique. Other aspects of her heritage lent their hand to her success as The Rabbit’s Foot, and if there was ever a time to use them for personal gain, it was now.
Sable pushed her legs faster and leaped into the air. Her powerful jump launched her across the buildings’ divide and landed her on the opposite roof, and a smile spread over her lips as she settled into an agile yet impressive speed. Being the smallest kid in her family haditsdisadvantages, but jumping was one area where herlight weightcame in handy. She could soar faster and farther than any of her siblings, and with a shriek of happiness, she flung her arms out like wings and sailed over the rooftops. How freeing would it be to rip off her wig and let her ears feel the wind as she raced through the night?Would Cash freak out if he knew the truth? He was Fae, so he would probably prefer that she was supernatural like him. Immortalityand all. Of course, he might be appalled, but as Sable danced through the sky, her body savoring what it was born to do, shechose to believe thathe’d likethat thesilky earsmatchedher brunette waves.
A sleek, black truck turned onto her street far below, and Sable cursed, forcing her already breakneck speed to increase. It belonged to Cash, but he was early. It had only been ten minutes, and while he might sit in his car until the twenty minutes expired, there was a chance he would climb the steps to her mediocre apartment and find her missing. Why had she given him her address? Since he worked for the Merveille De L’art, he earned a large salary, and his brand-new truck was proof of that. Sable had a veritable dragon’s horde of wealth back home, but she was flying under the radar for this job, hence the subpar living situation. She worried Cash might judge her residence, but she was terrified that he’d assume she was ditching their date. Could she make it in time? She wasn’t sure even her luck could pull it off.
Sable ground her molars and pushed her muscles to their limits. She would be a sweaty mess, but she needed to at least be inside her apartment when he knocked on the door. Her limbs launched her onto her building, and then she climbed down the exterior windows until she found her unit. Using her lock picks, she broke into herownplace and rolled onto her living room floor with only five minutes of her twenty-minute deadline left. Cash hadn’t knocked yet, and she raced into the bedroom, stripping as she ran. Her feet got caught in her tactical pants and she tripped, face-planting on her bed, but she agilely rolled over the mattress and sprang for the bathroom. She swapped her hat for an already-styled wig and then turned the shower to icy. She pulled down the removableshowerhead sothat thewater wouldn’t ruin her hair, blasted her bare skin until her teeth shattered, and then dripped over the carpet to the closet, toweling off as she seized her planned outfit. With only thirty seconds to spare, she shoved her body into the sexy black cocktail dress with matching stilettos that laced up her ankles. She’d have to forgo her makeup, but she hadn’t been wearing any the past two times she’d seen Cash, so she wasn’t worried about skipping the mascara or lipstick. The dress was the main event, and it wascertainlythe star of the evening.It was short where it needed to be and plunged in the back to ensure Cash’s hands would land on her skin if he tried to guide her,andsheprayed he did.It’s why she’d picked this ensemble. It was all bare legs and back and glorious neckline, but the sleeves were long to combat the still-cool spring night. Combined with her heel’s thin laces that wound up her ankles, she wasfairlycertainher date wouldn’t notice her missing eyeshadow, which was a good thing because the second she grabbed her clutch purse off the dresser, a knock rattled her front door.
The door swung open, and a slightly flustered Sable appeared in the doorframe. She smiled up at him, but Cash couldn’t focus well enough to decipher the meaning of her expression. His entire system short-circuited at the sight of her, shutting his functioning brain down until he was nothing but wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Surely, he’d knocked at the wrong apartment because there was no way this woman was his date. She was far too beautiful for him. This had to be a joke. How could divinity like her stand to be in his presence?
“Does this dress work for where we’re going?” Sable asked, but Cash merely fixated on her bare legs. The black skirt was short, straddling that delicate line between tastefully appropriate and sinfully erotic, and to add to his torture, shewore a pair of laced stilettos that would look divine hanging over his shoulders as he knelt between her thighs.
“I can change…” her voice faltered as she mistook his silence for disapproval. “What style would be more appropriate for the restaurant?”
“Fuck…” It was all Cash could manage. She was stunning beyond compare, and it had been so long since he’d last gone on a date, that he’d forgotten how to behave around a beautiful woman.
“I’m sorry.” Sable retreated a step. “I assumed this outfit would work, but if you give me a minute, I’ll change.”
She turned to leave, and Cash woke from his trance. He lunged forward, caught her wrist, and yanked her against his chest. She gasped as they collided, and he groaned as his palm found the bare skin of her back. Could she get any sexier?
“Don’t you dare change,” he growled, embarrassed by the roughness in his voice. “If you put on a new outfit, I’ll cancel this date because I won’t survive the disappointment of not seeing you like this for the next few hours.”
“So you like the dress?” she asked.
“No.” Cash resisted the urge to kiss her. “I am owned by that dress. You could make me do anything looking like this.”
“Oh…” Sable instinctually wrapped her arms around his neck as if they were a long-time couple and not two people who hadn’t even had their first date. “Good to know. Maybe I should buy it in another color then.”
