Page 21 of Semi-Reckless

Roan had the pleasure of seeing some of the color drain from Gabriel’s face. “That’s not fucking funny, man,” he said, clearly aghast.

This time it was Roan who shrugged. “Agree to disagree, brother. Agree to disagree.”

CHAPTER 11

Haven was typically fine with how weird her life was. No one at Section 8 had more than a passing acquaintance with normal, anyway.

But tonight was a banner night for weirdness, even by Haven’s standards.

She’d never dated much. Dating and her job didn’t typically go hand-in-hand…especially when she was in love with her best friend, the dumbass demon who’d never so much as hinted at his feelings for her.

Even in her limited experience, though, she couldn’t imagine it being normal to have a first date at a shifter bar with the werewolf who tried to beat her up.

The un-creatively named bar, The Wolf’s Den, was what Haven would consider to be a high-end dive bar. The menu was full of reasonably priced drink and snack options, it was so clean you could eat off the floor (not that anyone would ever eat off a bar floor because that was just hepatitis waiting to happen), and the booths and tables were made of gleaming oak that looked like it had been buffed to within an inch of its life.

And it was packed full of wolf shifters. Shifters dancing, shifters drinking, shifters laughing and having fun, shifters…oh, those two in the corner were definitely more than just friends. Yikes.

But even in a bar full of shifters, Levi stood out. Haven could tell he’d be alpha of his own pack one day. It should’ve turned her on. But damn it, it didn’t. And she blamed Roan.

Stupid, hot, non-communicative demon.

Levi turned on his barstool, and when he caught her eye, his face lit up like Christmas morning, making her feel even worse about not being attracted to him.

She instantly regretted wearing her black miniskirt and fluttery white top. This was a play-your-cards-right-and-you-might-get-a-BJ outfit, not a I-have-a-complicated-life-and-maybe-we-should-just-be-friends outfit.

He opened his mouth, probably to greet her, after she’d shouldered her way through the crowd to the bar, but she held up a hand to stop him. “I need to tell you that I don’t see this going anywhere because I’m an idiot who loves a demon who can’t say he loves me back and my entire life is a weird mess because of that time I died two years ago and I might’ve brought back a new power from the great beyond that I may or may not ever have control of, so?—”

Levi laid a finger over her lips. “Take a breath, little red.”

Haven sucked in a breath. Yep. She’d needed that. “Thanks. I was getting a little lightheaded.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that happens when you say a whole day’s worth of words in three seconds. Listen, I’m not an idiot, OK? I knew you had something going with the demon. I hoped, of course, that it was one-sided on his end, but I can accept that it’s not.”

She winced. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have even accepted the date.”

He smiled at her. “You don’t owe me or anyone else any explanations. It’s one date, not a marriage proposal. So, what do you say we grab a couple of beers, take a seat in one of those booths back there, and just talk for a while? No expectations. Just wildly attractive people socializing in a totally platonic way.”

“Wildly attractive, huh?”

His grin turned all kinds of wicked. “Well, I’m wildly attractive. You’re not too bad yourself.”

She snorted. “Easy on the charm there, pal. I can handle your attractiveness, but when you turn the charm on, my knees get weak.”

He gestured to one of the booths and offered her a hand. “So, that’s a yes?”

“It’s a yes.” She took his hand, but added, “You’re buying, though.”

He brushed a quick kiss across her knuckles. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, little red.”

Forty minutes and three drinks later, Haven was on the dance floor with Levi, laughing until she snorted as he told her stories about how he came to run with his pack of young wolves, most of whom had been kicked out of other packs for generally being dumbasses.

In fact, she was enjoying herself so much, she didn’t notice the aura of angry darkness brooding behind her until Levi said something about it.

He pulled her in closer and whispered in her ear, “Your demon is over there with fire in his eyes. Literally.”

Haven sighed. “I have no idea why he’s here.”

Levi chuckled. “I do.”

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