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ChapterTen
DONOVAN
I’d gone from being an alpha to a young pup on a first date the moment I’d laid eyes on Savannah in that dress.
It wasn’t anything overstated, but she seemed to find ways to transform herself to pull me in that little bit more.Is that her plan? Her tactic to discover my vulnerabilities?
She’d succeeded if it was. I didn’t show it. I rarely let my guard down, keeping it consistent, so people got used to my rhythm. It gave them the element of surprise when I needed to play my hand, and that was the plan with Savannah. But the awe reflected in her eyes at the town and the restaurant… I could have sworn part of her had fallen in love with the place and my people. And when she ate… She dove in and ate the damn food instead of playing with it. She laughed with me as an equal, not batting her eyelids or twirling her hair. She remained friendly with the staff, chatting with them, immersing herself in my world so effortlessly. And I wanted to know more.
“Tell me three things about yourself,” I asked, pouring more wine into her glass. “Three things that would sum you up.”
“Three?”
“It’s not hard, is it?”
She smiled, shaking her head after taking a sip of the wine. “No. But I always struggle with stuff like this. Let me think.” She tapped her fingers against her chin, and spurted out, “Creative, Control freak, Cold-hearted bitch. The three C’s. Your turn.”
He played with the stem of his glass, assessing her. “Creative. I get that. You look at things from an artist’s perspective. Control freak? Maybe. I can sympathize with that one. Especially if someone has hurt you.” I shrugged before she could deny it. “We all have a past, so a lot of us possess that trait. But cold-hearted bitch?” I smirked. “I’ve known a few of those in my time. I wouldn’t put you in that camp.”
“A few people would disagree with you.” She smiled. But I didn’t like the pain reflected there: the weight Grace had already recognized on Savannah’s shoulders. “What’s your three?” she asked.
“Ah… Alpha, Accessible and Arrogant. I’m sticking with the As.”
She laughed wholeheartedly. No holds barred, snorting as she breathed in. It was infectious, and I chuckled along with her.
“I’m sorry.” She tried to compose herself, but the twitch on her lips had me doing the same. I wanted to kick myself for enjoying her so much, even as my smug ass wolf curled up to watch the show.
“Alpha,” she mused, nodding to herself. “I can see that. A leader. Natural born. I get that vibe from you. Accessible…” Her lips curved again. “I don’t know enough about you to make that judgment. And arrogant?” She lifted the wine, pausing when it reached her mouth. “I can see that.”
Oh, she’s good. A lesser man would be a wet puddle on the floor by now. But I wasn’t a simple man. And she’d have to try a lot harder than that to have me in the palm of her hand.
“Now we understand each other,” I told her. “Would you like to order dessert?”
“After carbonara? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”
My lips curved. “How about a coffee? Mateo makes the perfect espresso.”
“Sounds great. Anything more and I’ll have to roll out of bed in the morning.”
Eager to stretch out her company, I waved Mateo over and ordered the espresso.
“What are your plans after Albuquerque?”
Taking her time to answer, she sat back in her seat. “I have no clue. I’m just doing what I need to do, taking care of family duty.” She sighed, regret lingering in her eyes. “After that, I suppose you could say the world is my oyster.”
“The world?” I probed, not liking the sympathy that reared in me from her solemn explanation. My instincts told me something was off. Add that to Grace’s assessment of Savannah’s behavior, and there was more to this than met the eye.
“Well, the States.” She smiled. “But I don’t know where life will take me. Guess I’ll have to see. How about you? What are your long-term plans? I take it you’ve already put down your roots?”
I nodded, thrown off by the sudden urge to have my long-term plans include her. Her laughter, her jokes, her wit, her body beneath my hands. Making love to her every morning and every night.
My wolf howled with pleasure.
Pipe down, buddy.
“The town is my home, yes.” I waited for Mateo to place the coffees before us. Once the man left us to it, I continued, “I feel like I can breathe here, and no matter what happens on my life’s journey, I’ll always have this at the core.”
“That’s lovely.”
