Page 71 of The Beta's Blind Date

My girl smiles and shrugs off her coat as Blake hops out of the booth and darts out to the floor with the others. “Sure,” Taryn says.

She gets up, my hand sliding off her leg, and as she walks away, my hands clench into fists, my claws threatening to extend.

Because underneath her coat—her coat which was closed and belted around her waist until just now—she’s in a form-fitting, long-sleeved black crop top, and skintight, high-waisted dark jeans. The clothes hug her body and show off every curve, every toned muscle she’s worked her ass off for, and even though she’s covered—aside from her midriff—the outfit leaves little to the imagination.

She dances her way over to the group, spinning and shaking her hips, a smile on her face, and I’m hypnotized by the sway of her hips, the exposed skin on her middle, and the slight bounce of her perfect, perky breasts with each movement of her body.

My wolf snarls in my head, and I’m out of the booth before a growl can leave my lips, following in her path.

No fucking way is she going out there. Not looking like that and dancing like that. Not while she’s still unmarked.

She. Is. Mine.

“What are you doing?” I ask, stepping in front of her before she reaches the others.

“I’m dancing with my friends.”

“In that outfit?”

She glances down at herself, at her exposed stomach and her skin-tight jeans, then back at me. “What’s wrong with my outfit? I think I look hot.”

My jaw clenches, and I exhale through my nose. “You do. You look hot as hell, Taryn. That’s the problem. Every male in this bar can see just how fucking sexy you are. They’re all going to want to dance with you, to put their hands on you,” I growl.

She crosses her arms, squeezing her perfect tits together and lifting them higher, and I force myself to keep my eyes on her face. “Then do something about it.”

I blink. “What?”

She steps in closer to me, licking her lips and batting her lashes, her hands sliding up my chest and draping around my neck. Her fingertips trace my hairline, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine to my toes. “If you’re so worried about other males watching me, dancing with me, and touching me—then do something about it so they can’t.”

Her fingers linger on my neck, then she steps away, but I take her wrists in my hands and tug her back towards me until her lean, muscular body is flush with mine, and her head tilts to look at me. I grab her hips as her palms meet my chest again, making her move them in time with the music, and I lean in until my lips touch her ear.

“You are mine tonight,” I say, my thumb caressing her stomach just above her waistband. “No one else in this bar gets to dance with you. Understood, Cadet?”

She continues moving her hips, swaying and dancing to the music, a smile tugging on her lips as I pull away from her ear. Her eyes glitter, stars of desire peeking through the otherwise midnight expanse of her stare, ensnaring me and entrancing me. She slides her hands around my neck, her body rubbing against mine as she dances. “Understood. But that means you have to keep up with me, Beta.”

Gone is the scared, skittish rabbit from Tuesday. In its place is my girl, my Taryn. The feisty, spunky, sassy, and sexy female who has broken through all my defenses and wormed her way into my heart. I don’t know what happened between then and now to trigger her about-face, but I’m not complaining. I love this side of her.

I breathe out a laugh and move my hand to the small of her back, spreading my fingers across her warm, smooth skin and pressing her closer to me. “Trust me. That won’t be a problem.”

“We’ll see.” She winks and pushes off my chest, taking my hand in hers and leading me to where everyone else is dancing.

She slides into place with the group, and I sidle up behind her, one hand on her hip and the other wrapped around her, palm flat against her tight stomach. Her hips move, and I move with her, following her lead and keeping hold of her.

Her body brushes against mine, taunting my senses. She alternates between facing me and facing away from me, and I can’t decide which I love more—looking down into her eyes as her arms drape around my neck and her breasts push against my chest or wrapping myself around her from behind, her ass teasing my dick.

Both are beautiful torture. Both have me ready to throw her over my shoulder and take her out to my car so I can drive her cute butt home and lay claim to her body, reenacting every fantasy I’ve had about her this week while jacking off. I’ll strip her down and kiss every inch of her smooth skin, drawing out moans and sighs from her plump lips, and then I’ll sink my cock deep into her warm, wet pussy, fucking her hard until the early hours of the morning.

I lose track of time, of the number of songs we’ve heard since we left the booth. Music plays, people sing, and everyone dances, but it all fades out of existence until it’s only Taryn and me.

“Thank you for that performance!” Jake says as Imogen finishes singing The Spice Girls “Wannabe” and takes a bow.

The crowd cheers and applauds, and I take Taryn’s hand in mine to lead her back to the table to grab a quick drink of water before a new song begins, but the next words out of Jake’s mouth stop me in my tracks. “Our next performance will be a duet—will Taryn and Reid come to the stage, please?”

Chapter 25

TARYN

ReidandIfreeze,his hand gripping mine, his body tense. “Did you put our names in?” he asks, whipping around to look at me.

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