Page 37 of His Sunshine Baby

I check the clock again. Only a few minutes left. I shouldn’t be so nervous! It’s nothing, just a dinner with the Black brothers, maybe a walk around our turf and that’s it. I should barely have any reason to talk to Nate, right?

I check the expressions around me. Aside from our Alpha, his Beta, and a handful of lieutenants, there are only me, Levi, my uncle Xavier, my cousins Iris and Chris, and Clark’s two godsons, Eric and Orpheus. Everyone looks serious; some impatient, some nervous.

Among them, I notice my cousin Iris looks prettier than ever. Her lavender hair is styled into a complicated braid, and she is wearing an eerie white dress. She’s even wearing a pink quartz necklace and matching earrings. I guess the rumors aboutmy uncle wanting to introduce her to the Black brothers were true. Compared to her, my outfit is rather casual. I picked a red leather skirt and a denim shirt, the right balance between properly dressed and not too much. I only hope I won’t have to stand for much longer; these damn heels are killing me.

Aside from us, all the guys are wearing shirts and dark pants, which I think is formal enough for a simple dinner. I mean, I do think the whole silverware and large table are a bit too much though.

We finally hear a car stopping in the street, and people coming out. As they said, a few of their people are in their wolf form. Nothing alarming though, when they come in, I realize their group is smaller than I expected. I count five wolves and six humans.

Of course, I notice Nate right away, leading the group. He only walks a few steps and my heart skips a beat. Damn, why does he have to look so good?

He combed his blonde hair back, showing off his mature traits and mesmerizing blue eyes. A magazine-worthy face, handsome and attractive. He’s wearing this terribly tempting white shirt again too, slightly open on his chest. Inevitably, memories of this perfectly sculpted chest under my fingers come back to me. Damn, if only he wore a necktie or something. I try to look away as Clark greets him politely. Right behind him is his younger brother, whom he introduces as Liam Black. The two brothers do have some common features if you look for it, but that’s about it. Their faces look different, their stature as well. Liam’s hair is pitch black, and his eyes are more of a blue-ish gray. Moreover, the teenager didn’t put in as much effort as Nate, wearing only a gray T-shirt and denim pants.

“Welcome, Mr. Black, to our humble turf.”

“Your clan is very esteemed and with good reason, Mr. Hamilton. Thank you for having us. I know it was an abruptrequest on our part but we deeply appreciate your hospitality,” replies Nate with that angelic smile of his.

“Our pleasure. We are not used to having visitors but please make yourselves comfortable. First, let me introduce my Beta, Isabel.”

With that, Clark starts introducing the lieutenants one by one to Nathaniel and his entourage. They greet and shake hands; all of this is terribly ceremonial and somewhat awkward, but everyone is going along with it. Behind Nate, no one else is talking. Only one guy behind him is smiling amiably, but everyone else is silent and expressionless so far. I stay as quiet and composed as I can. Clark quickly introduces Xavier as the Opal Moon Alpha, and Iris and Chris as his children then moves on to us.

“And finally, these three are my godchildren. Eric, Isabel’s son, Orpheus, our most promising hunter, and Elena, our best fighter.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

While saying this, Nathaniel’s eyes meet Eric’s, then Orpheus’, and finally mine. For a second, I feel a wave of heat rising in me. Is it just me or did his pupils suddenly get darker? His intense stare on me only lasts a couple of seconds, but he has this slight smile on while looking at me, and all of a sudden, I’m thrown into a flurry of emotions.

Moon Goddess, I try to hide my feelings, but I’m so shaken right now. If it wasn’t for all the people currently surrounding us, I might run away! Run away from him, his tempting eyes, and his devilish body! But I don’t say a thing and just nod politely. Ignore his eyes, Elena, just ignore them.

“Well, let me introduce my party. As you know, this is my younger brother, Liam. My Beta, Isaac Graves. Those are three of our lieutenants, Joshua Hale, Vanessa Lockwood, and Tonia Mura.”

Clark politely salutes them. They have two women accompanying them as well. Both Tonia and Vanessa are obviously fighters, judging by their lean bodies, practical leather outfits, and serious expressions. My inner wolf is curious to see how good they are, though they appear weaker than me. Tonia is a beta and Vanessa is a natural alpha. Now that I observe them more intensely, it appears everyone in their group is either a beta or an alpha, like us. But the King and his Beta are not here, and I can tell Xavier and Clark are a bit disappointed about that.

They keep chatting, some very basic information about the pack hierarchy and turf. Meanwhile, I can’t help but notice Nathaniel’s eyes sometimes shift from Clark to look over his shoulder, right at me. And every time, I feel my wolf reacting, like a magnetic attraction, some spell I can’t help but answer. I try to avoid his stare, but even while looking somewhere else, I feel those two blue eyes piercing a hole through me.

“Well, we have a nice dinner waiting for us! I don’t mean to brag, but we have some of the finest cooks and I heard you were quite a gourmet, Mr. Black.”

“I plead guilty. And I’m all the more curious about your cuisine, with all the cultures you have mixed here, Clark.”

Looks like I missed the moment when he started calling our Alpha by his first name. But Clark doesn’t say anything and invites everyone to sit. To our surprise, Liam Black picks the seat right next to Clark, while Nate sits on the opposite side. For a few seconds, no one is sure where to sit, until Tonia suddenly offers me the seat right next to hers.

I would probably have said yes right away if it wasn’t also the one right next to Nate. But everyone is watching, and I can’t just say no.

Trying to focus my attention on the female warrior, I sit down, and almost immediately, she starts chatting with me about fighting techniques. Apparently, Clark introducing me asthe best warrior caught her attention. I’m only too happy to chat with her and do my best to ignore Nate sitting on my left.

Moreover, he is talking about cuisine with Clark and doesn’t seem to pay any attention to me. That’s alright with me so far!

The starters are served, and Nathaniel exchanges a few comments with Isabel, who did most of the cooking for today. He really is a gourmet as he said, talking about each dish with expertise. He stays surprisingly polite and friendly towards our Beta though, complimenting her menu.

I reach out my hand to help Chris serve wine around us. However, I suddenly freeze halfway. Did he just? I turn towards Nate, but he is still talking with Isabel. I swear I felt his fingers on my leg. Maybe he didn’t do it voluntarily? I mean, the seats are quite close to each other. I decide to ignore what just happened and pour a few drinks. When I put down the bottle and reach for my glass, though, I feel it again.

This time I know for sure. His fingers brushed my knee again under the tablecloth, and it can’t possibly be by mistake. His whole body is turned towards Isabel! I frown. What the hell is he playing at? There are about twenty people around this table!

But as I look around, it’s obvious nobody noticed. Actually, it would be hard to. The table is large and rectangular, with a dark tablecloth, and all of the seats are very close to one another. Even if Nathaniel’s hand ventures under the table, it would take someone sitting directly behind us to notice, and there’s nothing but a wall and an old chimney. Thank Moon Goddess that everyone is busy with their own conversations. Tonia is talking with one of our lieutenants facing her, and she has no idea. No one does!

I take a large gulp of red wine, hoping to conceal my emotions somehow. But Nathaniel’s hand finds my leg again, and I stiffen up a little, anxious. I feel his fingers gently brushingmy skin, right where my skirt stops. Why the hell did I choose to wear a skirt? I feel myself blushing while his fingers go back and forth on my inner thigh, tracing invisible lines and making me crazy. He’s barely touching me, yet I’m as hot as a furnace. I want to run away, but damn, this is also terribly electrifying. I don’t even think of pushing his hand away. I bet he would stop if I did anything. I know I should, but I can’t bring myself to do anything.

His full hand is now caressing my thigh, and I don’t move an inch of my lower body. I’m so hot. I drink more wine, and suddenly catch Levi’s eye. He’s in a conversation with Eric, but he just happened to look at me.

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