Page 19 of My Blind Date is a Werewolf

“Oh, come on. Say dragons or giant birds of fire existed. How come there hasn’t been a single glimpse of one in all these years. We could ask the oldest witches and vampires that walk this earth. At least one of them will tell you they’ve had dealings with a fae. They could maybe even produce a fae artifact. But none of them will stand there and tell you there was a time when dragons or phoenixes ruled the skies. You wanna know why? Because they are figments of someone’s overactive imagination.”

“That’s where I think you’re wrong,” I huffed. I sat up straight and leaned across the table, chin cradled in one hand. “I believe that all myths and legends had to come from somewhere, based on something that did exist. I mean, one need only look at dinosaurs—they’re a step down from being dragons. And you said there are rumors of sea shifters, ipso facto colombo oreo, mermaids and Atlantis could totally exist!” I slapped my palm on the table and instantly regretted it.

“Did you just drop a Bones reference on me?” Adrian chortled. The overhead lights created the illusion of making his hair look like it was aflame. Mixed in with the coppery red strands were blond highlights I’d never noticed before, more so pronounced because of the halo effect from the lighting.

“I did, and you just earned brownie points for catching the reference.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve re-watched all twelve seasons at least three times. Even thought of going down the forensic anthropologist path in my formative years,” Adrian told me with a rueful twist of his lips.

“Oh yeah? Why didn’t you?”

His right hand reached across to massage his opposite shoulder. “I can’t stay away from the pack for long periods of time, and forensic anthropologists travel constantly, living out of their suitcases. I have responsibilities in Mystic Cove that I can never shirk off.”

“Do you ever wish that it were someone else who became Alpha? Do you ever hate that you’ve been essentially tied down to this small town? At least until you retire like Rod did.” It had never crossed my mind that maybe Adrian once dreamed of a completely different life than the one he was leading right now.

“No,” he answered without hesitation, looking me dead in the eye. “I am right where I want to be.”

My heart leaped into the air and did a backflip before settling back into its rightful place. There was a totally, very-not-subtle double meaning to that statement, and I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Before I could embarrass myself and blurt out something lame like, Me too, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston came on.

“I’m no Fred Astaire, but I promise not to step on your toes if you take to the dance floor with me,” Adrian said, completely catching me off guard when he stood up and held his hand out for me. I was giddy with nervous excitement when he led me out to the dancefloor, and contrary to what he said, the man had some moves. He was quite nimble and light on his feet for a man his size, our bodies fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. The top of my head came up to his chest, where I could easily hear his heart drum out a rhythm very similar to mine.

We danced to one more song after that before my feet started protesting. Adrian offered to carry me back to my car, but my heart could not handle being cuddled in his arms so soon. And so I hobbled back with my jelly knees and quivering ankles, with a very protective and eagle-eyed wolf keeping watch for the second I looked like I was going to stumble.

“Would it be presumptuous of me to ask to see you again so soon after our very first date?” he asked me, leaning over the open door to my car after I settled in. I shook my head, my smile getting wider by the second and straining my cheeks.

“You could come over to my place after work tomorrow. I’ll make us dinner—or order some really good takeout, depending on how exhausted I am.”

“How about I bring the food? I don’t want you to put yourself out on my account. I’ll be out in the field all day, so I’ll come by your house around six,” he said more than asked. I nodded in answer, my gaze focused on his lips, or what I could make out of them, hidden as they were by his beard.

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but can we keep this—” I waved a finger between the two of us. “—on the down-low for a while? It’s not that I'm ashamed of being seen with you or anything ridiculous like that. It’s just…you know what Mystic Cove is like. I’d like to have you all to myself, build a solid relationship without half the town watching us like we’re the starring feature at the movie theater or chiming in their two cents on our relationship before we’ve even gone out on a second date.” The words flowed out of me in an endless rush as I hurried to reassure him and clear up any misunderstandings when I saw his smile start to drop.

Adrian brushed a hand through his hair. “That’s a concern I understand quite well. Guess I’ll have to invest in a couple of caps and sunglasses. Don’t know what I’ll do about my car parked out in front of your house, though,” he joked.

Doing my best to suppress a smile, I started to pull my door closed only for Adrian to stop it with his hand wrapped around the top ledge. He leaned down so that we were nose to nose, his eyes and most of his face shrouded in shadow, but I could picture the blazing flames simmering in his gaze.

“This is the part where I kiss you goodnight,” he growled, his warm breath wafting across my face.

My tongue darted out and swiped across my lips. Adrian breathed in deep, his gaze focused solely on my mouth. I can’t remember which one of us moved first, only that initial flutter of his lips against mine, so feather-soft it felt like a butterfly dancing against my skin. Just that simple brush on my skin woke the slumbering beast inside me. Desire was a ravenous beast, its jaws bared wide open and chomping at the bit to devour Adrian whole.

A moan escaped past my lips when he nibbled on my bottom lip and I started to get up from my seat, wanting to deepen the kiss, when Adrian pulled away after giving me one last soft peck.

A soft peck. Chaste. No hungry swipes of his tongue against mine or fingers digging into my scalp. None of the toe-curling kisses you read about in steamy novels, but it was no less breathtaking or earth-shattering. The only downside was that it lasted only five seconds before he pulled away, leaving me wanting and needing more. I made a sound of protest deep in my throat, my eyes heavy when I opened them to look up at him.

“Goodnight, Olivia.” He kissed my forehead, his smirk smug like he knew what was running through my mind. “I’ll follow behind you until you take the turn down to your neighborhood,” he told me, tucking my hair behind my ear before walking away as if he hadn’t just left me practically too weak in the knees to even push on the gas pedal.

CHAPTER 13

True to his word, Adrian’s headlights were never far behind me until I made the turn down the street that would lead me home. My feet were two cinder blocks as I made my way up to the front door, heels in hand. It was only after I locked the door behind me that I realized I’d never given Adrian his coat back. I hugged it tighter across my body, breathing in his scent, reliving everything that had happened that day.

Who woulda thunk it? I went on a date to get over my underlying desire for Adrian only to wind up on a date with the man himself. He was my perfect man.

I paused midway up the stairs. Adrian Cooper was my perfect match, and by Beverley standards that meant he was my forever man. The butterflies in my stomach petrified, their wings morphing into jagged-edged razors, shredding my insides into ribbons. Now that all the euphoria was slowly wearing off, I was beginning to question if I was ready for this. The perfect match for wolves meant mating for life, and Adrian wasn’t just any wolf. He was the wolf, the Alpha.

He was essentially a single dad with hundreds of children. If I committed to this, body and soul, that meant being a mother to all those other wolves who looked to him for guidance and leadership and… Well, I wasn’t familiar with the inner workings of a wolf pack, but I could only assume that Adrian was the heart, soul, and brain of the pack. It would take an extraordinary woman of mettle to be confident enough to stand by his side, head held high. I was just a coffee shop owner—a very human, non-shifter, non-magical coffee shop owner.

“It was just one date, don’t go borrowing trouble, Liv,” I mumbled to myself. I sighed and trudged my way up to my room. I was tempted to take a second shower so that I could skip it in the morning, but I could not resist the siren call of my bed. I went into the bathroom to wash off my makeup and brush my teeth before changing into my PJs, humming “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift under my breath.

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