Chapter 16
Mack
Fuck, Harper was beautiful.
How the hell did that idiot sit there talking to her about… anything? I had no bloody words at all.
“What?” Harper stopped eating to look up at me, and that had the wolf growling. He was pissed as hell that we walked away from her last night. Watching her eat the food we provided for her was the only thing I had to stop myself from taking fur in front of all these well-dressed diners. “Have I got sauce on my face?” she asked, grabbing a napkin, ready to dab at her chin, but I leaned forward and took possession of her hand. My thumb rubbed against the back of it, that electrical feeling of connection increasing with every swipe.
“No, it’s just…” I shook my head, unable to hold this shit back. “You look incredible tonight.” The pretty pink flush in her cheeks was everything. “That dress.” My eyes slid down for the umpteenth time. I had pretty much created a three dimensional model of her breasts in my mind after staring at them during theentirety of dinner. I cocked my head sideways, looking under the table. “Those heels. They’re phenomenal.”
“Oh, well.” She waved her knife through the air. “Please continue.”
But I couldn’t. I didn’t have the words to describe all the different shades of brown in her hair, from dark gold to almost black. What did I call that sparkle in her eyes? One that told me just how much trouble she’d be once she accepted the bond.
So instead I said something stupid.
“So why the hell did you go out on a date with a dickhead like Brendan?”
I’d had a… chat with him when Harper was in the bathroom. That was always gonna happen, but at least this way she didn’t have to watch the little prick almost piss his pants when I came and sat down opposite him. He knew he was outmatched as soon as he saw me but persisted for a few minutes, spluttering some bullshit until the wolf pushed forward, staring at him through my eyes. A long sigh from Harper brought me back to the table. She shot me a dark look, setting her cutlery down.
“So you’ve never gone out on a date with someone and realised you’re not feeling it?” she asked. “Never sat there going shit, this is not someone I want to spend another moment with, let alone the rest of my life?” She looked me up and down, her eyes hardening. “I’m guessing if you did, you’d just tell a girl you weren’t into her. I mean what’s she gonna do against a big, tough wolf shifter?”
“Never,” I said, and by the look of Harper’s frown, she misunderstood what I meant. “I mean I’ve never gone on a date before.” A slow blink, but that line between her brows smoothed away. “Never gotten close to a woman. Never wanted to, before you.”
“Never…?”
She waved her hand in a way that could’ve indicated anything, but I knew what she was getting at. I leaned closer, noting the way she took in my arms as I did so.
“Never anything, Harper.”
“So that’s why you?—?”
“How’re our meals going?” I nearly snarled as a server appeared at our table. The girl blanched, then forced herself to smile. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“The bill,” Harper said with way too much urgency. The server nodded and then went to do just that.
“Had enough?” I asked, sitting back in my chair.
“Mostly wondering how the hell I’m going to pay for this.” Harper shook her head as she stared at the table. “I don’t have a crypto reserve to pull from.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”
She went to say something, but the server returned with the black leather folder. I didn’t even glance at the bill, sliding my card in and then handing it back to the server. As she disappeared, Harper nodded.
“Just like that, huh? Well, to answer your question, the reason why I go out with idiots like Brian, it’s because they ask. You didn’t.”
“I’m asking now,” I said. “I’m asking you to get up and walk out of this restaurant on my arm, so every guy here turns and wonders what the fuck I did to find a woman like you. I’m asking you to get in my car so I can drive you home and make sure you get there in one piece, unlike that idiot that brought you here. I’m asking you to let me walk you to your door so I can reassure myself you’re home safe. If you say no to that?” I took a sip of my beer. “Then I’m likely to take fur and sit on your doorstep in wolf form.”
She let out a little snort of amusement at that.
“So what do you say, Harper?”
The server returned and slid the folder with my card back to me. After returning it to my wallet, I stood up and offered Harper my arm, knowing damn well I shouldn’t. There was a reason why I’d sworn I’d never take a mate and that remained true.
But I hadn’t anticipated the power of hope.
What if I was better than my father? What if I could be the kind of male I’d always wished he was? What if I looked after Harper, rather than hurt her? I couldn’t answer any of those questions definitively, but right now I knew I’d do my damnedest to achieve that today.
