Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
L ucky took a deep breath as Kaine helped her out of the back of the SUV.
They were in the valet of a very upscale restaurant, one that she’d never even heard of before.
Her eyes took it all in as she straightened next to him.
Keisha’s words about her first experience in the Motsi flitted through her mind and Lucky adjusted her posture.
Kaine’s eyes were dark and smoldering as he took her in, his palm resting on the small of her back. “Did I tell you how sexy you look in this dress?” He kissed her ear.
Her lips tilted up in a small smile. “You did, but I don’t mind hearing it again.”
“I knew you would when I picked it, but it blows away what I imagined.” He absently kissed her temple and then they walked inside.
His entire demeanor changed, the smile slipping from his face.
There were a lot of people when they went inside, but none of them were seated, eating.
They were mingling and talking amongst each other.
The energy in the room was electric, dark and edgy, a clear sign that most of the patrons were shifters.
She gave Kaine a look of surprise. “Did they close this spot down for y’all?”
He nodded, his face a mask. It was different than the man he’d shown her so far.
With her, he was softer, his attention wholly on her.
Here, his eyes roamed the restaurant, not resting any one place, just taking in their surroundings.
Ezra’s security was at their back, but it seemed her mate didn’t leave their safety just up to him.
It was safe to say that it was a huge turn-on.
This was the powerful man that Devon had warned her about.
Even his palm on her back was different.
No longer soft, it was a firm touch, possessive as he moved her through the room.
Lucky followed Ezra’s lead, hiding her excitement.
Their entrance garnered attention, but this was different than it had been at the charity event.
There, it had been curiosity, simple gossip farming, but here?
Cold and open examination. No one averted their scrutiny out of politeness; no, their inspection was unyielding and cold-blooded.
Some nodded at Ezra in acknowledgment, a few averted their eyes in submissiveness.
Lucky clocked the women watching her mate with hunger in their eyes.
Her panther rose, the animal ready for anything.
An older man with light brown skin and hazel eyes walked up to them, his gaze assessing. The dark suit he wore had to be custom made to fit his bulky body. His graying hair was cut low to his head; his face was hard, sharp, his gaze even more so as he took them both in.
“Kaine,” he greeted. “You brought a woman.”
“Not a woman. My mate. Lucky, this is Jacob Moore, one of my grandfather’s associates.” Ezra’s voice was gruff.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand.
He gripped it, his dark eyes trying to pierce through the social facade she’d erected. The older man’s gaze was calculating, assessing her value to Ezra. His animal was heavy in his aura, a ruthless presence that kept her panther alert.
Jacob finally gave her a nod—approval? She wasn’t sure.
“Mate, you say,” he murmured. “Interesting, I don’t remember hearing about a mate when we last talked.”
Ezra didn’t smile and Lucky was reminded that this was the Kaine that the rest of the world faced.
“It happened fairly recently,” Ezra divulged.
“We’ll have to talk later,” the old man said.
There was an undertone that Lucky wasn’t privy to, but Ezra seemed to understand, a curt nod his answer.
Lucky narrowed her eyes as Jacob left them. “What was that about?”
Ezra just hummed. He took her around and introduced her to some of what she assumed were his colleagues, though there was a subservience there that was out of character for shifters.
Even with him being their CEO. But that could just be that she grew up around real street animals that would bow their heads to no one.
Lucky could differentiate the real killers in the room from the others, though.
There was the sense that Ezra was in charge, but there was no submission in the hard lines of their faces.
The whole thing intrigued her. The coded language everyone spoke in, the hard gazes that swept the room and kept the tension high, all of it was interesting.
Seeing the way he interacted with these shifters told her a lot about him and the power he wielded.
There was a brutal efficiency in the way Ezra socialized with the attendees at large.
It was magnetic.
Every so often, Ezra would glance at her, his tiger lighting his eyes.
It was the only time he showed even a hint of warmness.
It had her skin flushed and her mouth parched.
Grabbing champagne from a roving waitress, she sipped the liquid gratefully.
She smiled when spoken to but for the most part observed Ezra—no, Kaine moving through his world.
Cold and precise, there were no wasted words with him.
He commanded the space around him, his manner self-assured and dominant.
About forty or so minutes into the evening, he made their way to a table.
She sighed as she sat down, happy to be off her feet in the heels she wore.
She sat her clutch on the table top and studied her mate.
“Who are you?”
He narrowed his eyes, trapping her beneath his heated stare. “What do you mean?”
She waved around. “In this world…who are you to these people? They all sort of cater to you. No one sat down until you did.”
Kaine smirked at her, if the small tilt of his lips could be called that. He focused his gaze on her for a moment before he sighed, seemingly making a decision.
“I’m the head of the Aces, my family’s guild.”
Her eyes widened. “Guild? That sounds serious. My cousin’s mate was very worried that I was out on a date with you. Do I need to be worried?”
He lifted her hand to brush a kiss across her knuckles. “You need never be worried around me, princess.”
Her cheeks heated, her stomach tightening as lust threatened to make her lose track of their surroundings. “What kind of guild?”
Another kiss to her hand preceded his answer. “I’ll tell you when we get home tonight.”
She read between the lines and dropped it for now. A waiter walked up to their table and served them dinner. The scent made her mouth water.
“Does this restaurant serve dinner regularly, or is this like an event space?”
“They’re a restaurant. You want me to bring you back for an actual date that’s not a work event?” he teased.
She gave him an impish smile. “Let me taste the food first.”
A tiny quirk of his lips was his only reply.
Lucky closed her eyes at the first taste.
Yeah, he would be bringing her back here.
Dinner passed with them making small talk.
Every now and then, his eyes would light and her body would warm in response.
The air of dominance around him darkened and Lucky wanted to be home so that she could explore that darkness.
Their plates were cleared and Lucky thought they would leave, but then a solemn shifter walked up to them, dropping an envelope onto the table.
“Congratulations, and I look forward to working with you,” the male said with a small dip of his head.
Lucky fought to keep the frown from her face, especially when three others followed the male, one after the other.
“What’s going on?” she whispered
She looked at his security, but he was a silent statue at Ezra’s back, his eyes never leaving their surroundings. The male didn’t react to the line forming in front of their table, and though his eyes weren’t on the shifters, she somehow knew his attention was not far from them.
“Tribute,” was Ezra’s answer.
She added it to the other questions she would have for him the moment they got back to her apartment.
An hour later, they were pulling into the parking garage at her building and it was still playing in her mind.
What had she gotten herself into? Security walked them to her floor, his main enforcer waiting on her to input her code.
Once she did, he walked into the apartment.
She and Ezra stood at the door until he exited, only for him to head two doors down from her and stand at that door to continue his watch.
“What is he doing?” Lucky asked as she pushed into her apartment.
“I bought the building. My security will be staying there when I’m here with you.”
He said it so nonchalantly that it took a moment for it to process. What did he mean, bought the building?
“I…” She didn’t know what to say to that. “You bought the building.”
He nodded absently as though it were no big deal.
“Rah,” she started, but he gently pushed her inside her apartment and kissed her, his tongue delving into her mouth.
“Do you have any idea how crazy you’ve been driving me in this fucking dress?” he asked before kissing her again deeply.
His kiss was wet, hungry as he cupped her cheeks and held her head in place. His erection prodded at her lower stomach and her body went up in flames.
“We have to talk first,” she panted when he pulled back to rain kisses along her neck.
He growled, the sound fully his animal.
“Tiger,” she called out, and he paused, that seeming to catch his attention.
His eyes were blue, his stare feral as he waited to hear what she would say.
“Talk first,” she repeated softly.
Ezra nodded and wiped a hand down his face to get himself under control. “Talk, yeah,” he reminded himself.
She turned around to go the living room and he growled.
“You gotta get out of that dress first, princess, it’s distracting as fuck.”