Fortunately, they hadn’t done that, but they’d gone and did just about everything else. Teasing, lecturing, insulting me, and then finally insulting Rowan. I’d been practically shaking, trying not to show them that they’d really gotten my goat, but in the end, I’d lost my cool and let them see just how angry I was.
And I didn’t care. That was the crazy thing. In that moment, I wanted them to see and feel just how pissed off I was instead of thinking of me as their wolfless sister who they could bully whenever they wanted. I’dneverstood up to them like thatbefore, and I’d felt truly fearless until my brother grabbed my wrist.
While I was far stronger than a human, I had nothing on a regular shifter, let alone a muscled alpha like my brother. I wasn’t used to feeling as powerless as I had then. It was an abrupt reality check, and everything had mentally screeched to a halt for me as about a dozen different awful possibilities popped through my head.
But then Rowan was there, all menacing, and exuding an authority I’d never seen from him before. As much as part of me would like to pretend that I was more civilized than that, my body definitely responded to his display. It washot, just as much as it was unexpected. I was already intensely attracted to the man, but it had ratcheted up to about one hundred.
“Would you like to try some of my oxtail?” Rowan said, smiling at me from across the table like he hadn’t just awakened my ovaries. Seriously. He hadn’t needed to shout, hadn’t even needed to raise his voice. And yet he was severe in his gentility, undeniable in his quietness. If I wasn’t still fighting with my own shame, I would be even more turned on than I had been in years.
“Of course,” I said shakily, wanting to get back to that wonderful tension we had before, when my toes had been curling inside my pumps, but half wondering if that was even possible.
I should have known better, however, because the moment he extended the fork to me again, I was right back where we left off. I wasn’t sure which I wanted more: to eat and enjoy the delicious spread in front of us, or to devour Rowan instead.
Life was funny. Jason had been expecting something just because it had been our third date, and once I made it clear I wasn’t interested in that, he’d started on his whole spiel about me not being a good fit for him. But with Rowan… We’d been seeing each other for over a month, and so far, the closest we’dcome to anything carnal was eye-fucking over our meals and our kiss at the pier.
Yet, that was far more satisfying, far more arousing, than any encounters I’d ever had.
“Oh, that’sdecadent,” I managed to get out. I was sliding right back into that same mindset that made being coherent extremely difficult. Rowan stared at me with such primal intensity, it made me shiver, and all the while his tone and words remained completely civil. Suddenly, I got all the hype over Mr. Darcy and the like. I’d definitely read that book now.
“Isn’t it?” He smiled at me, and holy shit, if another shifter bared his teeth at me like that, I would assume he was asking me to be his mate. But Rowan was a human, not a shifter, and I was supposed to be too, so I needed to get my mind back on track.
Of course, that didn’t end up happening.
Between the good food, the great conversation (lots and lots of conversation!), and the incendiary looks that made me wonder if I wanted to stick to my no-pups policy, time flew by. Although I forced myself to only eat half of each meal when I could have devoured all of it, it was easy to forget that I was only somewhat full with everything else going on.
And by everything else, I meant Rowan.
He was just so damn perfect. From his chiseled features that seemed borderline ethereal when paired with his translucently pale skin, his enchanting lavender eyes, his stupidly thick, bone white lashes, his deep, musical voice, and the way he filled out his outfit with that sleeper build of his, I was going crazy. I never felt so well-matched with anyone in my entire life, and I couldn’t believe all of this was because of a human dating app.
“That’s so interesting. I had no idea you had a cat client,” Rowan said.
Although Rowan’s dating profile had said that he was a cat person, it wasn’t until I saw about twenty different photos of hisorange companion on his phone that I realized he wasreallyinto cats.
“Yeah, it’s pretty unusual, but Bengals are insanely high energy and can be quite destructive if their needs aren’t met. Not too different from a dog, actually. And the owner really did most of the work. Both cats are harness-trained, so they never escape or get out of hand.” Goodness knew, if either one of those beautiful felines managed to slip out, I would likely never see them again, and I would hate to have to tell a client their babies were missing.
Some people mocked my job, which I thought was ridiculous, but I took my responsibility incredibly seriously. My clients were trusting me with the health and welfare of their family members. That was a deeply important and personal accountability I would never take for granted. Whether dog, cat, or even pot-bellied pig, I would always do everything I could to be on my best behavior for all of my many-legged customers.
“Ah, Bengals. I’ve heard of those. I’ll admit, I don’t understand the fancy breeding of cats when there are so many in need of homes, but that might be a hot take for me.”
“No, no, I get it. I love all the different fonts and styles that dogs come in, but some of the breeds have been pushed so far that it’s affecting their health. There’s a movement now to reintroduce better genetics, but at the same time, you have to wonder... Why go through all this trouble when there are so many mutts waiting at the pound? Even with specific jobs, there’s a broad range of dogs that are more than capable of handling the task. Except maybe sled-running and other cold-weather dogs. That’s much more specific.”
I caught myself, before I went on even more of a tangent. It tended to annoy people. More than once, I’d been accused of lecturing on morality when I was just talking about something I loved and sharing my opinion. Nervous, I studied Rowan’s face,but instead of irritation or him rolling his eyes, he was grinning and nodding along.
“Exactly. Look, I’ve owned a sphinx before, and I loved how cuddly she was. Probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to having an actual dog. But between the heart complications and the dental disease and hereditary myopathy, I couldn’t help but think that her life would have been so much richer if she had been mixed with something else. I know that can ruin thelook, so to speak, but what do aesthetics matter?”
I didn’t know what that last thing was, but now I was the one nodding along. I loved that about us. No matter the topic or the fact that other people would have told us we were being boring, or info-dumping, or standing on a soapbox, we got each other.
Was this what it felt like to really be understood?
For the longest time, I thought Tweety was the only one who got me. And as much as I understood her reticence to go out, I did wish we could spend more time together. Rowan, despite his nocturnal schedule, always made time for me.
Made me feel special.
Made me feelseen.
I didn’t realize how much of my life I’d spent so invisible.
“Believe me, I am picking up what you’re putting down.”
