“I’ll have a beer,” Caelan said.
“Anything for you, Shade? A glass of wine to celebrate?” Taffy suggested.
“Um…no thank you. I think I’ll stick with water.”
“Are you sure?” she pressed.
“I’m sure,” I replied, my cheeks warming as I glanced at Caelan. “I think I’d rather have a clear head for…you know…later.”
I felt Caelan’s chest rumbled in delight.
“On second thought, cancel my beer,” he called. “I’m going to stick to water as well.”
“I don’t mind if you have a drink,” I whispered as Taffy walked away.
“Alcohol will dull my senses, even if it’s only a little bit, and I don’t want that. I want to be entirely present for every single moment,” he explained as his hand slipped under the slit in my skirt and ran up my thigh.
“Eat your food then,” I commanded with a coy smile. “You’re going to need your strength.”
***
“Let’s dance!” Taffy suggested a little while later when we had finished our meal.
She jumped up, dragging me away from Caelan’s hold and out onto the dance floor. He grumbled unappreciatively before he and Dillon rose to follow us. We danced to several songs as a group, bouncing around to the high energy beat and laughing before the music shifted to a slow song.
Taffy drifted over to Dillon, and I found myself wrapped in Caelan’s arms, gazing deeply into his eyes. We swayed along to a song about finding true love, our bodies pressing tightly together.
The rest of the room faded away until it was only him and I. He lifted his hand, gently raising my chin up as his lips met mine in a delicate kiss.
His tongue brushed across my lower lip, requesting access I was more than willing to grant as he deepened the kiss, his fingers moving to rest gently at my throat.
I moaned softly, clutching him tighter and not caring for a second that we were standing in the middle of a crowded dance floor. My fingers gripped his shirt so firmly I could hear the buttons straining to pop free. I needed Caelan like I needed air in that moment.
We were both panting heavily as he pulled away.
“Now?” he whispered.
“Now,” I breathed.
He growled victoriously, lifting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist as the crowd around us whooped in encouragement. I squealed in surprised delight as he spun and ran out of the pavilion as fast as his legs could carry us.
A Romantic Surprise
SHADE
“Caelan, where are we going?” I asked as he skirted around the pack house instead of going inside.
I had assumed he was taking me to his bedroom, but as he raced through the packed parking lot, I realized he had something else in mind entirely.
“I have something a little more romantic planned for tonight,” he explained, setting me down in front of a small pickup truck.
“Okay?” I replied hesitantly.
“It’s a surprise, obviously,” he replied, rolling his eyes teasingly.
“Why didn’t we just shift?” I wondered as he opened the door and helped me up into the seat.
He shut it behind me, and I tried not to laugh at his eager expression as I watched him run around to the other side.
