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As he turned off her street, he reached out with his right hand and held hers. That simple act sent a wave of joy through her so fierce, it was dizzying. How long had it been since she’d done something so pleasurable with a man that had nothing to do with getting naked? This touch was about companionship, getting to know each other. It was pure and good.
She had so desperately needed that in her life, and fate had sent Micah.
“So, does your mother live in Wyoming?” she asked.
He shook his head. “She lived in Los Angeles, California, where my sister, Rowan, was a cop with the LAPD. Mom passed away a few years ago from cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his hand.
“Me, too. She was a great mother, did everything she could to raise me and Rowan up right. We lived in a barrio on the East Side and didn’t have much, especially after our dad took off when we were little, but she gave us all she could.”
“You grew up in a barrio?” She couldn’t help being curious about his background.
He nodded. “Mom was a legal immigrant from Mexico. She met my dad in LA, and he moved in with her.
He was a white man, good-looking, but looks couldn’t save his wicked soul, she used to say. Guess she was right.”
“Then you take after your mom, because I don’t sense an ounce of bad in you.”
He looked startled for a moment, then huffed a laugh. “I hope you’re right.”
That seemed like an odd response. What did he mean by that? Delving deeper would probably make things awkward at this early stage, however, so she let it drop.
They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the restaurant, which was only a few short minutes. He parked in front of a nice steak-and-seafood place she’d seen only from the outside, and shut off the ignition.
“Is this all right?” he asked, turning to her. “I found it online, and the reviews were good. It’s supposed to have great food with a higher-end menu, but not so fancy that you need to dress up or make reservations.”
It struck her that he really wanted this evening to be nice and to make a good impression. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. “It’s perfect. I can’t wait to try it.”
“That’s good. I was afraid you’d already been here and maybe didn’t like the place. But I wanted to surprise you.”
“No worries.”
They got out, and he held her hand as they walked inside. He gave the hostess his name, and they were immediately shown to a candlelit table in a secluded corner.
“I thought you didn’t have to have reservations?” She studied him as he sat beside her.
“Right, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.”
That warmed her inside, and she melted. The waiter brought their menus and took their drink orders. He ordered a beer, while she asked for a glass of red wine. That decided, she focused on her man.
“So, I half expected you to drive up to my house on your Harley, plop me on the back, whisk me into the sunset, and enjoy burgers and beers on a patio somewhere.”
“Oh, we’ll do that. Don’t you worry. Probably more often than not, because I don’t eat like this every night, I’m sorry to say.”
“That sure clashes with the image of the Mercedes. That’s a ‘steak every night’ kind of car if I ever saw one.”
“Isn’t it? I don’t live very high on the hog, though. I just love the car. Bought it with my settlement money from the Navy.”
“You were in the Navy?”
“I was a SEAL,” he confirmed. Looking around, he lowered his voice and met her gaze again. “Like a lot of my team was, before we were turned.”
That part was a shock. Quickly, she, too, made sure nobody was in their vicinity to overhear. “You’re not a born wolf?” she whispered.
“Nope. There are only two-natural born ones at the compound—Nick Westfall, my commander, and his daughter, Selene.”
“I’ve met Selene, when she first came to town.” Time for a confession. “She wasn’t a happy camper back then, and she realized what I am. I didn’t want anyone to know, and she knew that, too. She put some pressure on me to tell her what I’d heard about your team. So I told her what I knew, which wasn’t much.”
