Page 53 of Drive me Wild (South Island Shifters)

Only then can they accept her as their future Luna, and only then can Winter begin to get used to the weirdness within her midst.

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WINTER

Today is our first date. I don’t know where we are going as Declan’s been keeping it a surprise, but he insists it’ll be fun. I’m dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, waiting for him to arrive. I’m super nervous, and my heart is pounding. I haven’t been on a first date in years.

Declan has also told me that he wants me to meet his grandmother next week as well as the clan. I feel he’s pushing me to accept everything overnight and suddenly become his in body and soul.

It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s rather I was promised the world once before only to have my dreams shattered. It’s something I need to work through, but I can’t do it on my own anymore. I made an appointment to see a counsellor later this week with the hope of getting some direction on moving forward. I don’t want Declan to be caught up in the emotional mess that is me, but I don’t want to miss out on what could be a great future with him. The longer I’m stuck like this, the more I’ll push him away.

A knock on the door pulls me back into the here and now. Racing over, I open it to find Declan standing there, wearing a dark green shirt and dark jeans. In his hands, he’s holding a massive bunch of flowers with assorted colours in them, and once again, they’re all my favourites.

“You look gorgeous,” he says as I open the door wide enough for him to come inside.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I wink as I find a vase to put the flowers in. “These are so pretty. Thank you.”

“What sort of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t turn up on our first date with flowers?”

“Speaking of this first date, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I groan. “I don’t like surprises.”

He wraps his arms around me. “As I told you, you’re going to love this one. Now, come on, we’ve best get going if we want to make it on time.”

He slides his hand into mine and links our fingers. I grab my handbag off the counter and lock the door behind me.

Getting into his car, he turns it on, and we begin to drive down the road.

“Come on, just give me one little hint,” I say.

He shakes his head. “Not a chance.” Sliding my hand onto his thigh, I glide it higher and feel him jerk beneath my touch. He groans as I continue his delicious torture.

“Stop it, Winter. I’m not going to tell you.”

“What if I don’t want to stop?” I ask.

“Then I’m pulling over, and we’re going to get freaky in the back of my car and might get caught.” I stop. I don’t want to get caught. It’ll be my luck we will get caught by the cop who works with Declan, which would be embarrassing. “We’ll get freaky in my car one day, beautiful, but perhaps in my garage where no one can see us.”

I laugh as he continues driving. It doesn’t take long for us to arrive where we are going, and I see he’s brought me to a LEGO-themed mini-golf course. I widen my eyes.

“We’re going to play mini-golf,” I say as he parks the car.

“I didn’t want to do a boring date with dinner or a movie. I wanted something fun.”

“I’m pretty good at this,” I say.

He chuckles. “I’m just looking forward to checking out your ass in these jeans.”

We get out of the car and make our way inside to pay. We’re given putters, and Declan wonders how he will reach the ground since he’s so tall.

We make our way out to the start of the course and begin our game.

The course is full of different designs: castles, dragons, racing cars, and all of it surrounds the miniature golf course.

“Ladies first,” Declan offers.

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