Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (16 page)

Denver had an inch on Thomas, and he used it to his full advantage as he stood tall and glared down his nose at him. “I’m her watchdog.”

A few surprised murmurs sounded in the room.

Thomas pursed his lips for a moment. “Isn’t she a little old for one of those?”

I thought I heard a low growl resonating from Denver’s chest, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Maybe you should chaperone,” Wheeler suggested. I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or serious since he had a dry sense of humor.

“No one is chaperoning anyone,” I said, gripping Thomas’s arm. “We’ll be back early, and I’ll call you to let you know when I’m coming home.”

When Thomas put his arm around me, I broke eye contact with Denver and headed toward the door. Naya patted my cheek and smiled. “Have fun, girly.”

“Wait!” April shouted, jogging toward me. “You forgot your—”

April stumbled and Reno caught her, but my purse went flying toward me and hit the floor, spilling out all the contents.

Including a tampon.

Kill me now
.

All the men seemed to involuntarily turn around, brows arched, grimacing, some rubbing the back of their neck. April’s cheeks turned bright red and she covered her mouth in horror. I quickly shoved everything into my purse, praying Thomas had never seen a tampon before. I wasn’t sure if ignoring it was the better option, or if I should bother explaining to everyone that I’d ended my period last week.

Naya tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe the white dress wasn’t such a good idea.”

In many ways, I was thankful I hadn’t grown up as a teen in this house. When Thomas went out the door, I slapped the tampon in Naya’s hand and glared at the pack. “I won’t be needing
this
tonight.”

A few chuckles sounded when I slammed the door behind me on my way out.

***

Thomas spent good money on me at a Breed restaurant. When the waiter led us to a booth in the back, Thomas insisted on a table in the middle of the room. Trusted humans were often hidden in the back, but Thomas was having none of it. I liked that about him.

I’d never heard anyone talk so much, especially about himself. He loved computers to an obsessive degree and invited me to his house to show me his workstation. I sensed he didn’t get out much, or at least interact with the opposite sex. He was well versed in how to behave around different Breeds and made sure not to talk about them in a public setting. Vampires could hear exceptionally well, and he remained on his best behavior to make sure he didn’t inadvertently instigate anything while on our date.

Thomas was polite and easy to talk to, and I suppose that’s why Naya thought we’d hit it off. Three things I loved about Thomas were his intelligence, manners, and ability to listen to my travel stories without falling asleep. What I didn’t like about him was that he drove too fast, talked too much about computers, and had a peculiar habit that slowly grated on my nerves over the course of the evening. He’d put his finger on the tip of his straw to trap his tea, then he’d put the opposite end in his mouth and take his finger off the tip to release the drink. At first I thought he was doing it because he was nervous, but then I realized it was the only way he was drinking his tea. I became so fixated whenever he did it that I couldn’t pay attention to what he was talking about.

Still, it
was
just a first date. No one’s perfect, and we had a connection. Maybe it was nothing more than the fact we were both humans living in the Breed world, but that commonality made it easier to like him.

I’d ordered warm cookies from the menu, which I happened to know had been prepared that morning by Lexi. She had contracts with several establishments in town, and I knew this to be one of them. It had been years since I’d tasted a snickerdoodle.

Thomas’s phone went off and he looked at the message. “Sorry, I have to take this. Naya hooked me up with some new clients, and this one has a bunch of complicated requests, so it could be a few minutes. Are you okay if I just…” He grimaced.

I waved my hand. “It’s no big deal. I’m not going anywhere,” I said with a flirtatious smile.

He brushed his fingers over mine. “Be right back.”

After Thomas left, I broke off small pieces of my cookie and tried to resist cramming the entire thing in my mouth and ordering ten more. I suddenly became cognizant of the stares I was getting from nearby customers who were able to sense I wasn’t Breed. How had I never noticed the looks of disgust these people must have been giving me my whole life? I guess as a kid I didn’t understand such things. Now I did, and it pissed me off. Sometimes I heard the ancients talking about how they resented living in secret. Not everyone felt the same way, but enough of them did that it made me feel like an outcast. I began to appreciate what my mother and April undoubtedly put up with.

“It’s a shame to see such radiance neglected.”

I looked up at Prince and dusted sugar off my fingers. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

He smiled enigmatically, and it almost appeared that he had short hair because of how tight he had it pulled back. Prince wore a dark suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. He admired a gold watch on his wrist and then motioned toward the chair beside me. “Would you mind if I shared your company for a moment?”

“Please do. Would you like some of my cookie?”

His nose wrinkled when he looked at my messy plate of crumbs, but he politely reached over and broke off a piece from the untouched end.

“Lexi makes these,” I said proudly.

He chewed his bite and then wiped his hands on a napkin. “I’m familiar with her endeavors. Her bakery has gained a respectable following. Tell me, do you share the same interests? A woman should not be troubled with such matters of finance.”

“Ah,” I said. “You come from the Old World, but haven’t left behind those old-fashioned beliefs.”

“And you judge too quickly,” he replied, touching my hand in a graceful gesture. “A woman should contribute to the pack—the family. She is a nurturer, a fighter, and a teacher. Why sacrifice those things so she can spend hours away from home earning money? The duties within the pack are of greater importance than finances. A strong pack can survive without money. Wolves hunt and live off the land, keeping our bodies fed. What women have to teach us is invaluable.”

“A woman’s mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Prince had graceful hands for a man. They weren’t rough like Denver’s, but manicured and oiled. It made me want to examine my fingernails to make sure he wasn’t stroking a hot mess.

I felt every brush of his finger, every caress of his words. “Your eyes sparkle like jewels.”

Heat prickled my cheeks. “It’s the makeup. Naya helped me get ready.”

He smiled seductively, never removing his eyes from mine. That must have been a Herculean effort considering the dress I had on. “And how is your escort treating you this evening? Is he a man worthy of your time and affection?”

“Thomas is kind and I’ve enjoyed my dinner with him. He’s human, like me,” I added, curious about Prince’s reaction.

It didn’t seem to take him by surprise. “Comfort food has a tendency to make a man feel full and complete, but it doesn’t offer him the same flavor and experience as fine cuisine.”

I pulled my hand away. “Are your men following me?”

Prince snapped his fingers and the waiter rushed over. He leaned in and spoke in a quiet voice so I couldn’t hear. When the waiter hustled off, Prince crossed his legs and leaned on his right arm. “To answer your question about my men: I’ve made my intentions with you known, and I cannot in good conscience worry about your safety when I have the ability to protect you.”

Since Austin was never going to ask Prince about the body, I felt confident this was something I could discreetly bring up and put to rest. Leaning forward, I lowered my voice. “Have you been making… deliveries of an unwanted item?”

His brows curved in a devious slant, and his finger traced the outline of his thin lips. “I find Cole’s actions very curious.”

“And justified. It’s a matter for the Weston pack to handle, so you can stop playing the role of the United States Postal Service and quit returning our package.”

He chuckled and sat back. “Very well then. But might I suggest that the golf course was not an ideal location.”

Denver was going to get a kick in the pants for that one.

“Would you still be pursuing me if it weren’t for my unique situation?”

Prince studied the features of my face before his eyes flicked up. “I’ll let you resume your evening. Do consider trying something outside of comfort food.”

He gracefully turned and moved out of sight.

“Wow, sorry about that,” Thomas apologized, setting his phone on the table. “It’s a whole security-system thing I’ll tell you about later. So, are you done with dessert?”

Just then, the waiter appeared and placed a white dish in front of me, decorated with mint leaves and drops of red liquid. In the center of the plate was a perfectly round chocolate mousse garnished with raspberries and slivers of chocolate that made the plate look like a work of art.

“That’s quite a dish,” Thomas remarked.

I smiled. “Yes. It is.”

After dessert, Thomas held my hand like a gentleman and walked me to his car. The brisk evening air made me shiver. I began to wonder if I was setting my expectations too high. So what if he had a few quirks and geeked out over video games and microprocessors? Maybe I needed to try harder to find the connection between us, but all through the evening, another man had been on my mind.

“What is it with guys and classic cars?” I asked.

He patted his dash. “What’s the matter? Don’t like my Mustang? She’s got a little age on her, but she’s classy.”

I laughed. “Sounds like my mom.”

“Does she also live in your pack?”

I rolled up the window when my hair began circling around. “Yes, but she left before you knocked on the door, so I couldn’t introduce you.”

“Ah,” he said, pinching his chin. “So she was the old lady I saw getting in the car with Grizzly Adams.”

I twisted my mouth to the side. I’d forgotten how rude humans could be compared to Shifters when speaking about women. Not to say they talked about us like saints, but none of the pack would have called my mother an old lady.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he said surreptitiously.

“That’s not a good idea. Everyone’s expecting me home. Plus you promised Austin there wouldn’t be any detours.”

“Who’s to know? I’m a man, and you’re a woman.” He jerked the wheel to the left and put his foot on the gas.

“Slow down!”

“I want to show you how fast this baby can go.”

My nerves tangled up as the road moved beneath us like an out-of-control conveyer belt. “That’s really impressive, but I just ate and you’re going to make me sick.”

The car slowed down to normal speed. “Fine. Naya told me to show you a good time, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“Well,” I said with a laugh, “she didn’t quite mean it that way.”

He pursed his lips. “Hmm. Neither did I. Look, it’s nothing devious. There’s a nice spot by the lake I like to go to when I want to kick back and relax. I have beer and sparklers in the trunk, along with two lawn chairs. The beer’s in a cooler, so hopefully it’s still cold. What kind of guy would I be if I took you home on a nice night like this? Austin is a happening place. I want to take you out again, so impressions are everything.”

“You do?” Thomas had a sweet side to him, and it felt good to be noticed.

“Yeah, I do.” He gripped my hand and kissed the top. “We’ll do a little moonlight dancing, and then I’ll drive you home to get skewered by your Packmaster.”

I suppressed a grin. “Austin isn’t so bad.”

“Really?” he said in an exaggerated manner. “I felt like the little pig whose wolf was about to blow my house in. Does he normally walk around without a shirt? Jesus, sometimes I wonder why I date Breed girls.”

I touched the ends of my hair. “I’m human.”

“I know that,” he said, turning the wheel. “But we’re living in their world, so that kind of makes us one of them. It’s not easy to find a girl my age, not unless I date the girls in the human world. That’s a pain. They can’t meet my friends, hang out at my bars, and the only way I can tell them about the Breed world is if I decide to get serious and marry them. That’s too many hoops to jump through.”

“I’m beginning to understand. How did a guy like you get mixed up in this world?”

He shrugged. “I worked on a computer for a Mage. He was freaking out because he thought he’d killed the hard drive. I’m not sure how he found me, but in quiet circles I’ve got a reputation as one of the best. He actually flew all the way down from Cognito to have me look at it.”

“That’s nuts.”

“Tell me about it.” Thomas laughed. “He ran into some old enemy who was also a Mage. That guy must have tailed us home, because the next thing I knew, he was pounding his fist on my front door. They went outside and I watched them flashing around. I’d never seen anything like it. After that, he offered me a job if I kept my mouth shut. Said I could make good money in their world, but also laid out a tiny threat that if I betrayed them, he’d have a Vampire scrub my memory to the point where I’d be singing nursery rhymes in my nappies.”