Page 11 of Medusa

But as the conversation wore on, Dakota turning everything he said into a sexual innuendo, Jaden started to tire of her.

I need someone sexy, but not overtly so.

Someone interestingandinterested.

Does a girl like that even exist?

Four more dates, each with something about them that didn’t quite do it for him. Jaden was starting to think this whole evening was going to be a wash, when he reached a table in the farthest corner of the room, near the kitchen. The redhead seated there wore a simple t-shirt in a vibrant green that matched his scales perfectly. She smiled at him and leaned forward, saying, “Do you happen to know how I could possibly get some food? I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner and I’m starving.”

Jaden chuckled. “I think you’ll have to wait until the dates are over.”

The woman glanced over his shoulder and groaned. “I don’t have the patience to wait that long. This whole evening has been, in a word, abysmal.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Jaden cocked an eyebrow up at her. “What would you say to skipping out on the rest of it? I know an awesome little bakery that’s still open for the next half hour.”

The woman bit her plush bottom lip, her gaze darting around the room. “I don’t know…”

“Come on. When was the last time you did something fun, just for yourself?”

She grinned and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Too long. How are we going to sneak out of here?”

Jaden suppressed a chuckle. He’d been planning on getting up and walking out the front door, but if she wanted to play James Bond, who was he to deny her? “The kitchens. When it’s time to change tables, I’ll cause a distraction and we’ll slip out the back door.”

“Okay! Glad I wore my running shoes.”

She was too cute. Satisfied with his choice, Jaden watched Aphrodite out of the corner of his eye. “Get ready,” he murmured as the Goddess walked over to the bell.

The woman across from him shifted, sliding her knees out from under the table.

The bell rang and all the men got to their feet. In the chaos of chairs scraping across the floor, Jaden’s tail flicked out and knocked into the man on his left, causing him to spill his wine across the table and into the lap of the woman still sitting there.

She let out a shriek of dismay and leapt to her feet, red wine staining the front of her dress.

“I’ll get you some napkins,” Jaden said immediately, jumping to his feet and heading for the bar. He grabbed a handful and thrust them into the hands of the man he’d tripped. “You can thank me later,” he whispered with a wink.

A bunch of people had converged on the unfortunate pair, all shouting different ways of getting stains out of clothing.

Jaden grasped the mystery woman’s hand and pulled her through the kitchen door, peeking back out through the window to see if anyone had noticed them. “Coast is clear. We’re good to go,” he said in an undertone.

The woman giggled. “My hero.”

“I’m not a hero,” Jaden scoffed. “Let’s get out of here.”

The chefs in the kitchen barely gave them a passing glance as they made their way to the back door.

One of the benefits of not dressing up,Jaden thought, watching the skirt swish around the legs of the woman in front of him. It clung to her ass in all the right places, making his mouth water in appreciation.

“ButterNut Bakery is this way,” Jaden said once they were outside.

“Oh, I love their food,” she exclaimed happily. “Great idea. My name’s Maddie, by the way.”

“Jaden.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s been an adventure so far,” Jaden replied with a grin.

They were served quickly and chose to eat at a nearby park, because the bakery was closing soon.

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