We spent the ride there talking about his day and the new baby he’d brought into the world earlier. I loved how animated and excited he was when he talked about his work. It wasn’t about money or prestige. It was about helping others.
We pulled into the restaurant, which turned out to be not much different than the Good Times Diner as far as ambiance or the gossip ring, but it was far enough away to offer some semblance of privacy. I had to chuckle to myself, thinking back to when I called for a reservation. They must’ve thought I was joking, because this was not a reservation kind of place, despite the name Eleanor’s Fine Cuisine. There had to be a story behind that name.
The food was good, but far from anything I’d call fine cuisine. My mate had lasagna, and I ordered the fish fry, and both were great. But nothing was as good as our conversation. I learned so much about Autumn Hills, Zac, and his life. What he liked to do, how he chose his career—all the normal get-to-know-you things. And the facts were great. I loved learning more and more about him, but none of them meant as much as watching him visibly relax as we spoke. Every tidbit we revealed added a level of comfort between us. We sat there eating ourfood, holding hands across the table as we told stories of our lives, not holding back, just being ourselves. It was better than any candlelight dinner with fancy wine and dishes we couldn’t pronounce.
I wasn’t sure that I’d completely fixed what I messed up, but I was getting closer. When our server asked if we wanted some dessert and then told us about their cake of the day, my mate grinned and said, “I’m having my dessert at home.”
It wasn’t until we were in the car and he said, “By the way, I don’t bake. I’m thinking of a tastier dessert,” that I realized he was giving me the go-ahead, saying he was ready to move forward and that I, too, was having dessert, the very best kind.
Chapter Ten
Zac
Autumn Hills had limited dining experiences available, but my alpha had found a place in a town not too far away that was reputed to have good food and a nice atmosphere, and that reputation…well, the food was delicious. But Eleanor’s Fine Cuisine was really just another small-town diner with a fancier name.
And it would always be the place of our magical first real date. I even got the server to use my phone to take a picture of us, which Edris asked me to forward to him. And I did.
Of course, a good deal of the charm was from Edris. He’d made the whole evening so special, I hated to see it end. But did it have to? When our server suggested dessert, I had no interest in pie or cake. Something much sweeter came to mind, and I wished we were a lot closer to home at that moment.
On the way home, I watched the lightbulb click on over his head, at the same moment he put the pedal to the metal and zoomed toward home. My home because the motel walls were paper thin, and with what I hoped was about to happen, we’d wake up everyone in the place.
When we finally pulled up in front of the house and piled out of the car, I was already hard as steel and fishing my keys out of my pocket to save time. Edris took them from me and unlocked the door, sweeping me into his arms and kissing me thoroughly. His hands glided down to cup my ass cheeks and bring me tight against him. The bulge in his slacks left no doubt he was as ready for this as I was.
“This way.” I wanted to stay in his arms forever but more than that, I wanted him inside me, needed him to make love to me before I lost my mind for the desire. “I need you.”
“I need you, too.” He allowed me to lead the way, not being pushy as many alphas might be. But then he wasmyalpha, picked for me by Fate, so no matter what obstacles faced us, I had to trust it would all work out.
My wolf certainly did.
And when we entered my bedroom and faced one another, my remaining doubts melted away, at least for the moment.
He undressed me, kissing me and telling me that I was special and his, and there was nothing he could have said that made me want him more. When I was naked, he pulled down the covers and laid me on the soft, cool sheets. Pushing up against the pillows, I watched him remove his clothes, slowly, casually, until I wanted to tell him to hurry up, but at the same time, I could enjoy the sight all night.
But he only wore so many clothes and when they were gone, he did not stand and pose. No, he crawled right into bed next to me, gathered me close, and kissed me. His scent wrapped around me, warm and sweet and intoxicating. My mate. A sense of security, safety, peace floated just under the desire, by no means quashing it. Enhancing it.
Edris rolled me onto my back, caught my gaze, and held it. How could eyes be so compelling? I couldn’t have looked away, even if I’d tried. But I didn’t want to try. Not when he reached between my legs and tested my slick. Or when he fitted the head of his cock to my puckered hole so slick, it popped right through the ring of muscle and into my body.
I hissed, and he paused. “Did I hurt you? I thought it was…”
“It is.” I rocked my hips, bringing him deeper. “So slick.”
Edris drew back and then drove in, all the way, balls-deep.
“Yes. Like that.” I grabbed his shoulders and held on, but he pulled one of my hands free and wrapped it around my cock.
“Show me how you jerk yourself when nobody’s watching.”
“But nobody ever is,” I protested.
“I am. Now,” he growled, his bear coming through in the sound. The knowledge of his eyes on me and the sound were almost too much, and when he moved again, in, out, slowly, then faster, rather than the rhythm I used when alone, I joined his. “Is that what you do? Do you squeeze?”
“Y-yes.”
He stopped again. “Then do it.”
Without his motion to guide me, I fell into my own. Rubbing, squeezing, gliding my palm over the head. He nodded but stayed still, his cock pulsing inside me but going neither in nor out. Was he going to make me wait until I came?
Was that it?
