Page 51 of Claimed By the Damned

“What?” he asked, feeling uncomfortable from the weight of it.

“I swear to God, if you say something that hurts her, I will come for you when you least expect it,” Knox threatened.

Zeke scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “It is a little out of the blue. Are you sure about this?”

He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Bull shit. You can barely be in the same room as her unless you are fucking her. This is a very big deal,” Knox retorted.

“Whatever,” was all he said before he marched from the room and waited for Amara in the hallway.

He didn’t blame them for their skepticism because he wasn’t sure why he had offered to do it either. All he knew was that he wanted to try to make things right between him and Amara, or at least to get on better speaking terms. He didn’t like the way they had left things, and neither did his wolf.

It didn’t take long for her to emerge from the bathroom, her hands occupied by tying her hair up into a messy bun.

“Ready?” he grunted, taking in the way her jeans clung to her curves and the way her shirt dipped low enough for some of the fresh tattoos to peek out.

Amara gave him a hesitant smile. “Sure. But you don’t have to do this, you know.”

Instead of responding, he placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the apartment.

The drive to the restaurant was quiet, and Amara just kept staring out of the window. The two of them climbed out of the car into the cool, calm night. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight, but there was a gentle breeze that made the trees sway.

When they got inside the small restaurant, the hostess greeted them with a kind smile. “Good evening. Would you and your girlfriend prefer to sit inside or out on the patio this evening?”

Beside him, Amara stiffened.

The fact that she had just called Amara his girlfriend made him shiver, but he tried not to read too much into it.

“Outside would be great,” he replied casually.

The hostess nodded before leading them through the restaurant and out onto the patio. There were fewer people outside, which gave them a bit more privacy. He wasn’t sure if that was exactly what he wanted though because he didn’t know if he could trust himself to be alone with her anymore. His wolf was vividly aware of every move she made, every breath she took, and the way her scent had completely surrounded him. It was taking everything he had not to reach out and touch her in some way, and he was beginning to think that this was a very bad idea.

He and Amara sat down at the small table in the corner of the patio while the hostess handed them their menus. She asked if she could get them started with something to drink, and Amara just asked for water while he ordered a soda. He was drawn to Amara’s kind smile and bright eyes as she thanked the hostess before the woman rushed away. She really was breathtakingly beautiful.

The two of them browsed their menus in a tense and awkward silence. He didn’t know what to say, and it was obvious that Amara didn’t either. He knew it was because, the last time they were alone together, things had gotten heated between them. Things had been said, and he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

Her words had cut him deep. They hurt, and he hated it, but he also didn’t understand why. He had thought that was what he wanted, for her to reject him, but over the last several days, while Amara tended to Knox, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

The silence, however, he couldn’t stand any longer, and he set his menu down. “Do you know what you are getting?”

She glanced up at him from over her own menu, an eyebrow raised in question. “Is that really what you want to talk about, Drake? Food?”

He grunted and toyed with the condensation from his glass on the table. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“So, you don’t want to talk about the elephant in the room?”

Looking up at her, he said nothing.

Amara sighed and set the menu down on the corner of the table before folding her hands in front of her. “I know you saw the tattoo. And for the record, I was blindfolded and had no idea what he was doing. I know how you feel about me. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He shrugged and looked back at the condensation. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Well, it bothers me,” she replied shortly. “I’m not a fan of having the name of someone who can’t stand me permanently tattooed onto my skin.”

Drake ground his teeth together in irritation. This wasn’t how he wanted the night to go. “And if I told you that I like it?”

“Then I’d say you were a liar.”

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