by R. E. Butler
“What for?”
“Well, at the very least I need to get the rest of my stuff out and tell the landlord I’m turning in my notice. I know it’s not safe to live there anymore, but I can’t just disappear without paying the final bills.”
“I can take you after work,” he said. “I’ll arrange for some males to come with us just to be safe.”
“Males?” She hummed. “I notice that you and Cael use that word a lot. Male and female, not guys and girls or men and women.”
He let out a sharp breath. “I guess it’s just how we talk around here,” he said. “Must be a New Jersey thing.”
“Well, it’s kinda cool. Strange but cool.”
“I aim to please.”
On the drive to the dollar store, they talked about her job. She always took these kinds of jobs, working as a cashier or in customer service. Over the years she’d pretty much done everything from fast food to waitressing to playing an elf in Santa’s Workshop for a department store.
“I’ve only ever been a mechanic,” he said. “Sounds like you’ve had some really interesting jobs. What’s your favorite of all of them?”
“The elf.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it was fun to be around the kids and they’re always so excited for Santa and the holidays.”
“I wish there was a job opening for you in the park.”
“You do?”
“Sure,” he said, glancing at her with a smile. “Then we could eat lunch together all the time. That was my favorite thing.”
He never ceased to make her smile. “Mine too.”
He parked in front of the store and turned to face her. “Would you text me right now, so I have your number? I want to make sure we can stay in touch. I’ll be the one to come get you when you finish work at five.”
She opened her contacts and sent a text to him. He looked at his phone and smiled, then put it in the cup holder. “If you need to leave early or go somewhere, let me know and I’ll come get you.”
“I don’t want you to be bothered, you’ve got work and stuff of your own.”
He turned in the seat and stared at her. His eyes were practically glowing with intensity, the brown slowly being taken over by gold.
“You are the most important person in my life, Lori. If you need me, I’m here, no matter what.”
It was tempting to point out they didn’t know each other that well, but despite trying to leave him behind a few hours ago, she could honestly say that she felt more connected to him than any other guy she’d ever known. She felt like she’d known him her whole life, and it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours. In the past, if a guy had said he liked her, she’d have changed her number and disappeared with Novi. Never letting anyone get close had kept them alive.
But she didn’t want to disappear.
Or, rather, after getting busted by Atticus in the wee hours of the morning, she didn’t want to disappear anymore. She wanted to stay with him, stay in New Jersey, and find out if she could actually have a life. If only she could be sure that Keir was going to leave her alone.
“I’m still kind of scared,” she said. “You’re clearly a strong guy, but Keir’s crazy and determined. I want to believe that we can be safe and...maybe be more to each other than friends, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a mistake.”
He clasped both her hands with his. “It’s never a mistake to follow your heart, and I’m following mine. I felt connected to you the moment I saw you, and I’ll be damned if I let some asshole drive you away. If you want to be friends right now, I’m okay with that, just don’t shut me out. If you’re scared, tell me. If you’re horny, be sure to tell me that too.”
She barked out a laugh at his words and some of the tension she’d been holding eased away.
“I will.”
“Yes, please,” he whispered, his brows wiggling.
“I should go.”
“You’ll call me if you need me, right?”
“I promise. See you at five.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, and he smiled at her. His eyes were back to solid brown, and she wondered once more if she was going crazy. She grabbed her lunch bag and purse and got out of the SUV. She walked into the store and turned to see him blow her a kiss.
It was so tempting to call him and tell him to take her back to the park so they could spend the day together. But that was insane. They both had responsibilities.
How nice would it be if they could really spend their days together? Meet for lunch, hang out together, maybe even go out on a date?
Before she lost her nerve, she texted him: I don’t know where we’d go that would be safe for us, but maybe we could go out on a date tonight?
She looked at him through the glass door as he lifted his phone and his brows rose. He glanced at her, grinned, and then looked down at his phone. Yes! I’ve got the perfect place in mind, and it will be perfectly safe, I promise.
Good.
I’m glad you asked me out. I knew you couldn’t resist me. He added a few emojis including a winking one.
She was pretty sure he’d nailed it on the head. He was irresistible. Maybe that was why she’d wanted to run away. Because she’d known she’d fall quick for him. What wasn’t to like, anyway? He was sexy and strong, funny and sweet. And his protective streak was a mile wide. For the last two decades, she’d wanted nothing more than to find a guy to spend her life with, one who could keep them both safe from Keir.
Atticus seemed to want the job. And she was happy to let him have it.
She waved at him as he pulled away from the parking spot and then headed toward the office to stash her things and clock in. She pushed away the doubts and fears that were creeping in and focused on Atticus’s promise that he could deal with Keir if he needed to. She hardly knew him, but at the same time she felt like she knew every single thing about him. How was that even possible?
It was like she was drawn to him by some soul-deep connection that was unexplainable by ordinary means.
If she believed in kismet or fate, she might think they were meant to be together. A part of her wanted to believe that, so she decided she would.
She didn’t really want to spend another twenty years on the run. Maybe Keir would just fall off the face of the earth and she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. Maybe she could get a job at the park and be close to Atticus and Novi.
Maybe it was finally time for her life to begin.
Chapter Eight
Atticus could count on one hand the number of dates he’d had over the years. He’d just never really felt compelled to date females he knew weren’t his soulmate. Now that he had Lori in his life and knew how sweet it was to be near the other half of his heart, he was glad there wasn’t a long list of females before her.
He reached the employee lot and left the unmarked SUV, then hurried past the security check point and texted Cael.
Are you around? I’d like to talk to you and Novi for a minute.
I just dropped her off at the security office. Meet us there.
On the way.
He reached the security office a few minutes later and found Novi and Cael in one of the offices, talking quietly. He joined them in the office and shut the door.
“Wow, you look really happy,” Novi said. “Your eyes are...well they’re gold.”
“I know, they keep changing whenever my gorilla thinks about Lori.” He scrubbed at his face and willed his gorilla to stand down, but all the creature wanted to do was beat his chest in happiness and go to Lori.
“So it’s true? You and her? We saw you yesterday eating in the park,” Novi said.
He’d been aware when the young couple had walked by the day before and had heard their conversation with his sensitive hearing. He quickly filled them in on what had transpired over the last day.
“I can’t believe she tried to run away!” Novi said. “I’m so pissed!”
“Don’t be,” Atticus said, quickl
y coming to her defense. “She’s just scared. She wants you to be safe.”
“I am safe. I wish she’d see how safe it is here.”
“I don’t think that will happen until she knows the truth of shifters,” Cael said.
“This is so frustrating,” Novi said, her shoulders slumping. “I’ve never kept anything from my mom like this before. I hate the secrecy.”
Atticus could relate.
“I’m going to take her on a date tonight.”
“Wow,” Novi said. “I can’t remember the last time she was on a date. What are you planning?”
“My first thought was to do a picnic or something in the park because that’s the safest bet, but honestly I’m trying to get her to see that she can be safe with me, so I want to take her somewhere to eat. Plus I want it to be a real date.”
Cael hummed. “You should talk to Devlin.”
Atticus’s brows lifted. “Jenni’s human soulmate?” Jenni was a lioness and worked in the park’s candy shop. Devlin was an accountant and worked for alpha wolf Joss in the finance department.
“Yeah, he knows all the fancy restaurants around. His parents like to eat out at nice places when they come visit, and Devlin has contacts with some restauranteurs from when he worked outside of the park. He could probably hook you guys up with something really spectacular.”
“I’ll talk to him, thanks.”
“You’ll have other males than just yourself there, right? To make sure you’re not being followed?” Novi asked.
Although his beast wanted to protest that he could damn well keep his soulmate safe in every possible way, he knew only a fool would be so careless as to leave anything to chance. Particularly with a male who had tracked her down repeatedly over two decades.
“That’s the plan.” He’d talk to Jupiter about arranging protection for the drive, after he talked to Devlin.
“Good. I’m really happy for you.” Novi stood up and gave him a quick hug.
He chuckled in surprise. “Thanks. Congratulate me when I can get your mom to stop thinking that she has to run every time someone gets close.”
“It’ll happen. It’s not just me that’s tired of running. She wants to put roots down too. Did you know that her sister died a few years ago? That was her last family member, the one who helped her when I was first born. She died of complications from pneumonia, and we didn’t even know she was sick. Mom had an internet alert for her sister’s name to keep tabs on her and found out she’d passed away when she read the obituary. It was one more thing that Keir took from her. From both of us.”
“I’m so sorry that happened,” Atticus said. “That male needs to be dealt with.” And he would deal with him, if he ever showed up and tried to get to Lori or Novi.
After saying goodbye to the couple, he headed into the employee cafeteria and took a hidden staircase underground to where the park’s finance department had offices. He knocked on Devlin’s door and asked him for help finding a great restaurant to take Lori to for their first date.
“Man, I have just the place,” Devlin said, picking up his phone. “My old boss’s brother is the head chef at a great Italian place. It’s old school, very classy Italian food and it’s a small, intimate restaurant so security won’t be too hard to manage. Let me see what I can do. If I can’t get you guys in there tonight, I’ve got a couple other places to try.”
“Great, thank you so much.”
“You bet.”
Atticus found Jupiter, who was head of park security, in the marketplace with his soulmate, and arranged for a team to follow them to dinner in two separate vehicles as a precaution.
“We could drive you guys so you can focus on her instead of the driving,” Jupiter said.
“Tempting, but I think for this first date I’d like it to be as normal as possible.”
“Gotcha. Keep me posted on the details when you get them from Devlin, and we’ll get you covered.”
“Thanks so much.”
Atticus left the marketplace and headed to the maintenance shed to work, but the last thing he wanted to do was work. The time couldn’t pass fast enough.
* * *
“How was work?” he asked Lori as he held open the SUV’s passenger door for her.
“A little busy in the afternoon, but pretty quiet in general.”
She’d texted him when she was on her lunch break, and they’d had a nice conversation while she ate. It had killed his gorilla to be away from her all day. Now that he had her in his life, he wanted to be able to see her whenever he wanted, and he really hoped she felt the same.
“So, I’ve got a special night planned.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. We’re going to dinner at an Italian place about forty-five minutes away.”
He glanced at her when she didn’t say anything and saw how worried she looked. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, giving her knuckles a kiss. “I don’t want you to worry. I know that’s tough because you’re used to being the one who worries about everyone and everything, but I want you to trust me. Trust that I’ve got some things in place to ensure that you and I will have a great time out tonight, and that I’ll bring you home safely.”
He set their joined hands on his thigh and after a moment, she squeezed his hand. “Okay.”
He chuckled and she sucked her teeth. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You. Here I am, trying to impress you with a fantastic first date and you’re barely willing to give up control for a few hours and trust me.”
“I could say it’s because I don’t know you.”
“You could, but that’s not really it, is it?”
She looked entirely miffed and he thought she was adorable. “No. Dang it, stop calling me on things!”
“Never.”
“Fine,” she said. “So tell me about this magical first date place you found.”
“All I’ll tell you is that you need to dress up.”
“How dressed up?”
“Fancy. It’s a nice place. Novi said you could ask her for help picking an outfit. She’s in her and Cael’s place waiting for you.”
“You talked to Novi?”
“Of course. I wanted her to know that I was going to take good care of you tonight so she didn’t worry.”
There was a significant pause, and then Lori spoke in a low, sad voice. “Does she know that I tried to leave?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s probably pissed.”
Not as much as I was. But instead of voicing that, he said, “She understands, she just doesn’t want you to try to take off like that again. And neither do I.”
“You’re asking me to stop doing what I’ve been doing for the last twenty years. It’s not behavior I can stop in a day. I...can’t help that I’m always checking to see if I’m being followed or if someone is paying too close attention to me. I’ve survived this long, kept Novi safe all this time, because I don’t let my guard down.”
He let that roll around in his head. “But do you want to?”
“What?”
“Let your guard down. With me.”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He pulled into the parking spot in front of her apartment and turned to face her. “Tonight, I want you to trust me, okay? I want you to know that I’d never willingly put you in danger. I’ve got security handled for tonight, and I swear that you can let your guard down with me. We can just be two people on a first date, with a male hoping to make a good impression on a female he likes a whole hell of a lot.”
She breathed out a chuckle and smiled. “I can do that.”
“Your trust means the world to me.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, and his whole body tensed. She froze there, her lips on his cheek and her warm breath fanning his skin.
And then she tilted her head and really kissed him. Pressed her soft lips to his with a low moan.
He cupped her face with his free hand and swiped his tongue along th
e seam of her lips and she opened for him. Their tongues touched and awareness jolted through him. He was kissing his soulmate. It was their first real kiss.
Hands down, the best first kiss ever.
He barely stifled a growl of happiness from his gorilla.
She tasted better than he thought possible, all sweet and warm like honey and sunshine.
He could’ve sat in the SUV and kissed her all night without complaint, but when she eased from the kiss, he backed off too.
Her lips were swollen and her eyes a little glazed over, and his gorilla preened like a damn peacock.
“I should go get ready, right?” she asked, her voice a little husky.
He cleared his throat and tried not to think about how hard his cock was and how much he wanted to do more than kiss. “Yep. I’ll be here to pick you up at six thirty.”
“I’ll be ready.” She put her hand on the door and then looked at him. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Not letting me run away.”
“My pleasure. Now hurry up, I have to go get ready for a hot date.”
She giggled and shook her head at him. “You’re too cute for your own good.”
He wiggled his brows. “I can’t help it. You’ll get used to it.”
“See you in a bit, Atticus.”
“You bet.”
He watched her walk up the stairs to her apartment and go inside. Then he drove to the employee lot, left the SUV, and hurried to the employee cafeteria and down into his people’s private living space. “Heard you’ve got a date,” Zane said as Atticus reached his front door.
“I do. I’d love to tell you all about it, but I have to get ready.”
“I’m happy for you, Dad.”
Atticus looked at his son and grinned. “Thanks. I can’t wait for you to meet her. But not tonight.”
“Me and Adriana are looking forward to it. It’s about time you found your soulmate. Adriana said you deserve a happily ever after.”
“Lori does too.”
“Then you’re a perfect pair. Have fun tonight.”
“I sure will.”
Atticus walked into his house feeling like he was ten feet tall. He was going on a date with his soulmate, and he couldn’t wait to see where the night took them.