Page 24 of Maneater

So far, I’ve been a thing, a creature, and a beast. Now I’m an It.

I hold up my hand and catch my cook Jimbo’s attention. From what I can tell, it looks as if Georgia hasn’t made it in yet. She’s getting on in years, and her arthritis is a son of a bitch on some days.

But she’s been a server all her life, lives alone, and loves coming to the café to jaw back and forth with the locals. She’s like family and welcome to stay as long as she wants. Still, I’ve put in an ad for a summer server to help with the load so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Jimbo saunters over. “Whatcha need, boss?”

“I’ll take my morning brew.” I gesture to Darien. “What would you like? My treat.”

Darien chews on his lower lip as if the question were a matter of life or death. “Just more coffee, thanks.”

I shake my head. “How about one of the café’s legendary cinnamon rolls? They’re practically the size of a basketball.”

Darien chuckles, his features brightening. Gods, but he’s adorable when he smiles. “I don’t think I can eat an entire basketball.”

“How about we share?” I wink, and his blush deepens.

“Sure.” He ducks his head again.

After Jimbo brings my coffee and refills Darien’s mug, it’s time to do a deep dive into why Darien is seated before me, destroying my resolve to never become involved with a human.

“So, tell me what it is that bothers you about…” I clench my jaw. Dammit. What should I call myself? Not something I’ve ever concerned myself with before. “You know, the being that attacked the mountain lion and saved your life.”

Darien tilts his head. “That’s an interesting take.” He shrugs. “But I suppose you’re right. That thing definitely distracted the cougar long enough for you to rescue me.”

I curl my toes inside my boots. The idea that I’ll ever be able to reveal my true self to him is evaporating the more we talk. Which means I should tell my dick to go find someone non-human to indulge in my filthy fantasies with. Maybe Tarek hasn’t left the planet yet. Being thrown around the room by a hot dragon would probably melt my brain cells long enough to forget about Darien.

“Regardless,” I begin, wrapping my palms around my cup. “There’s something still bothering you about what happened.”

Jimbo chooses that moment to bring our cinnamon roll, which he’s helpfully cut in half and put onto two plates. There goes my daydream of sharing a delectable, sweet treat with Darien from the same plate as we gaze into each other’s eyes, our forks moving ever closer to the center where they’ll meet and…

I shake my head to pull myself from my lust-addled stupor. Clearly, I’m losing my mind.

The conversation pauses as we each take a few bites. Mmmm…warm and melty….

“Wow.” Darien nods. “This is amazing. I’ll be back for this again.”

He will? I wipe the stupid grin off my face and clear my throat. “I get them delivered from the bakery in Hot Springs. They also supply the pies. The next time you’re here, you should definitely try the mulberry. If you’ve never had mulberries, then you don’t know what you’re missing.”

Darien regards me with hopeful eyes. My normally keen senses are jumbled, thanks to my pesky attraction to him. I want to believe his expression means he can’t wait to come back. Or, maybe I’m reading my personal agenda into every minuscule movement he makes.

“I’d like that.”

He gives me a small smile. My dick firms up and I conjure up unsexy things in my mind to distract me. I guess my imagination isn’t very good, because it isn’t working.

We each took a few more bites, then after a sip of coffee, Darien put his fork down.

“This probably isn’t news to you, but from what I gather, there have been sightings of a beast called the Ozark Howler over the years. The guy I work for at Folksy Foods Natural Market told me some blood curdling stories about it last night.” He leans forward, folding his hands on the table. “What I find interesting, though, is that those reports have almost disappeared in the past couple of decades. There’re some theories that either they’ve died out, or it was all a bunch of hogwash, that the modern world has provided logical explanations for the sightings.”

So that was the lucky guy who’d nabbed Darien as an employee.

“Err…” I shift uncomfortably. “Yeah, of course I’ve heard about the Howler, everyone in these parts has. He’s not as famous as Bigfoot, of course. But he’s helped add to the mystique of the mountains.”

“He? Singular?” Darien narrowed his eyes. “Do you have firsthand knowledge of these Howlers? Because that’s obviously what I saw. I looked up artist drawings, and even though not all are the same, the basic attributes are there.”

“It’s just a tourist legend, nothing more. Heh heh heh.” I reinforce my statement that it’s all so silly with a terrible impression of a derisive laugh.

“See?” he points a finger at me. “You’re hiding something. That’s why you don’t want to report it to the rangers. What do you know? I’m dying of curiosity.”