Had I fallen and struck my head, putting myself into an undead coma? Was I somehow permanently locked in my coffin and therefore trapped in a dream that had conjured the perfect woman? Either way, I didn’t want to be roused from it.
“Really?” I murmured. This was not going at all like I’d imagined. I expected a bit more interrogation about why I lied, perhaps even accusations about my sexuality considering I used makeup. But no, all I saw in her eyes was acceptance. “You’re not upset.”
“Not at all.” She offered that blazing hot hand of hers, her nails painted a blue that looked like my contact lenses. “I don’t know what I did to make you think I deserve to be trusted with something so important and private to you, but I don’t take it lightly. Thank you, Rowan.
“If this was what you wanted to show me, then I would say that I really still want that second date. That is, if you still do, of course.”
I blinked at her for an uncomfortable length of time, but she never wavered. Her smile was soft, her eyes were kind, and her scent was practically filling my entire head. So I took that her hand, reveling in the way her heat rushed up my arm and straight to my heart.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you have beautiful eyes?” she murmured as she stared at me. “Almost purple.”
Visceral desire surged through me, and it took everything I had to keep my fangs inside of my mouth. As safe and acceptedas she made me feel, she also made me want to turn feral andfeed.
“Not in a very long while.”
“That’s a shame. They really should say it more.” She gave my hand a squeeze. “Say, how do you feel about starlit walks on the boardwalk? It’s not exactly a beach, but it’s probably the closest thing we have.”
Amazed, truly, utterly amazed, I nodded. “I’d love to.”
“Perfect.”
And with that, we were strolling off together, and I couldn’t help but wonder if everything could really be as incredible as it seemed.
NINE
NAOMI
Perchance, a Connection?
“You hungry?” I asked, my mind full, but my spirits lifted. Although finding out my date had a genetic mutation he’d been hiding with a pretty thorough disguise was just about the last thing I expected, I wasinstantlyflooded with relief that it wasn’t because I’d come on too strong or made him feel like he was being used. No wonder he’d taken off like a bat out of hell when the rain came pouring down.
I was well aware that his secret and reaction would be a deal breaker for some people, but honestly, I got it. And how could I be mad when I was doing the same thing? But unlike me, he had the guts to come forward and be his true self.
Granted, there was a slight difference between albinism and being a wolf shifter with no wolf, but it was close enough.
Maybe, if things kept progressing well, I could tell him everything one day. He wouldn’t be the first human to know about us magical folk. Before that, though, we needed to get through a date without either of us making a break for it.
So far, it was going well.
“Huh?” Rowan murmured before shaking his head and affixing that intense gaze of his on me. But this time, instead of being a deep, cobalt blue with a hint of purple, his gaze was straight-up amethyst.
It was captivating. His skin was truly alabaster, not a lick of color to it, and his irises were somewhere between pinkish and purplish, making them look literally like they were made of gemstones.
If he was stunning before, now it was like he’d walked out of a fantasy novel. His already striking bone structure was somehow more so, and the wispy, layered cut of his hair harkened back to the wholebishonenera of anime. Combined with the way his broad shoulders filled out his lightweight, button-up shirt, and the pale blue of his veins that looked like magical lightning bolts, it made him look mythical.
There was irony in that, wasn’t there?
“Hungry?” I asked again.
“Oh yeah, sure. Hungry. Yes, I could eat.”
The corner of my lip twitched slightly. When I thought of Rowan, the word that came to mind the most wasdashing, but now it was more along the lines ofadorable.I always liked when a hunk could be cute, and he was certainly rocking that transition.
“I think I see a food cart up ahead,” I said. Thanks to my enhanced vision, Ididsee something in the distance. “Let’s try there. It’s a beautiful night so?—”
Suddenly, Rowan’s bone-white hand was over my mouth. I stopped short, looking over at him in surprise as my entire body flushed.
The look he sent me was downright mischievous instead of the somewhat traumatized expression he’d been wearing ever since he’d stepped out from behind those bushes.
