FOUR
CARYS
Carys sat in her Jeep trying to psych herself into going inside the restaurant. She wanted this date almost more than she wanted to breathe, and that’s what bothered her.
What if the reason she wanted him was biologically driven instead of what she really wanted? Her mother had always told her that even without a wolf, she had the blood and would have the drive if she met the one for her.
Carys and her mom had fled their pack when she was very young. However, one of her memories was of her dad insisting that Carys had zero shifter instincts, including a mate drive. Her mother had always been adamant that she did, which is why she’d kept Carys away from shifters. She didn’t want her getting irrevocably bound to anyone in the Domino pack, because according to her mother, they were all monsters. From what she was learning about her father, she wasn’t wrong.
Now she found herself stuck. Stuck with her father. Stuck with his plans for Kansas, and stuck in her car, unable to move forward.
If she did, she knew Monster would get caught up in her father’s twisted plan. Then he’d never forgive her nor believe that she hadn’t set him up.
If it wasn’t for her mother dying, she’d come clean to Monster and turn the tables on her father.
All she could do was try to come up with a plan to … hell, she didn’t even know. Maybe sabotage her father’s attempts without him realizing she’s doing it?
“Piece of cake, Carys,” she spoke aloud to herself. She couldn’t do it. It was best if she just left and blocked his number. With her hand on the gearshift, ready to toss it in reverse and burn rubber before Monster showed up, there was a rap on her window.
“Shit.” She screamed and threw up her hands to cover her eyes. Carys didn’t run or fight back when she was scared. Nope, she covered her face and froze in place.
“Not thinking of standing me up, are you?” When she looked up toward Monster’s face looming outside, she saw his gaze trained on her gear shifter in the reverse position.
“Oh,” she put it in park and turned off the ignition before he opened her door. “Um, no, of course not.” She grabbed her purse. “I was just, uh …” She trailed off, unable to come up with a single plausible reason for her trying to back out of the lot. Not to mention, she decided not to add a stupid lie to the pile of deception she had already shoveled.
“Actually, yes. I talked myself out of going through with the date and was going to bolt.”
Monster looked at her with a mixture of confusion and a little hurt.
“If you don’t want to be here?—”
“No. I do, and that’s why I was about to run.” She took a deep breath and went for as much truth as she could. “You’ve got heartbreak written all over you and, well, I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”
Her answer seemed to thaw his icy gaze and brighten his devastatingly handsome face. The smile made him even hotter, way out of her league, but damn it, she deserved a night with a sexy biker, even if it would break her. That was a worry for tomorrow.
Monster reached for her hand and looped it around his arm to usher her into the restaurant. Leaning down, he purred in her ear. “I don’t plan to break your heart, Pixie, I plan to feed you, fuck you, and then tie you to my bed.”
His breath was warm on her ear, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin as a shiver coursed through her.
After nipping her ear, he whispered, “You like the sound of that, don’t you?”
He didn’t give her a chance to confirm or deny before he stood up straight and pulled the door open.
Carys wasn’t sure if it was the warm air from the restaurant or the heat radiating off Monster that had her overheating, but either way it was overwhelming.
“Right this way.”
The hostess led them to a table. While she barely glanced at Carys, she’d bet dollars to doughnuts that the young girl who looked barely out of high school could describe Monster in detail.
It wasn’t like she was surprised; the man had that effect on people.
“So, um, what do you do for work?” she asked nervously. It sounded lame, but she didn’t know how to get the ball rolling.
“I work at a few of the club businesses. Um, mostly security.” She was sure that wasn’t the whole story, but it wasn’t like he’d come out and talk about the casino they ran illegally. Yeah, she knew because her dad knew and couldn’t stop his monologue about them like a supervillain in a movie.
The thought made her laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
