Chapter 9 - Naomi
NINE
NAOMI
Perchance, a Connection?
“You hungry?” I asked, my mind full, but my spirits lifted.
Although finding out my date had a genetic mutation he’d been hiding with a pretty thorough disguise was just about the last thing I expected, I was instantly flooded with relief that it wasn’t because I’d come on too strong or made him feel like he was being used.
No wonder he’d taken off like a bat out of hell when the rain came pouring down.
I was well aware that his secret and reaction would be a deal breaker for some people, but honestly, I got it. And how could I be mad when I was doing the same thing? But unlike me, he had the guts to come forward and be his true self.
Granted, there was a slight difference between albinism and being a wolf shifter with no wolf, but it was close enough.
Maybe, if things kept progressing well, I could tell him everything one day. He wouldn’t be the first human to know about us magical folk. Before that, though, we needed to get through a date without either of us making a break for it.
So far, it was going well.
“Huh?” Rowan murmured before shaking his head and affixing that intense gaze of his on me. But this time, instead of being a deep, cobalt blue with a hint of purple, his gaze was straight-up amethyst.
It was captivating. His skin was truly alabaster, not a lick of color to it, and his irises were somewhere between pinkish and purplish, making them look literally like they were made of gemstones.
If he was stunning before, now it was like he’d walked out of a fantasy novel.
His already striking bone structure was somehow more so, and the wispy, layered cut of his hair harkened back to the whole bishōnen era of anime.
Combined with the way his broad shoulders filled out his lightweight, button-up shirt, and the pale blue of his veins that looked like magical lightning bolts, it made him look mythical.
There was irony in that, wasn’t there?
“Hungry?” I asked again.
“Oh yeah, sure. Hungry. Yes, I could eat.”
The corner of my lip twitched slightly. When I thought of Rowan, the word that came to mind the most was dashing, but now it was more along the lines of adorable. I always liked when a hunk could be cute, and he was certainly rocking that transition.
“I think I see a food cart up ahead,” I said. Thanks to my enhanced vision, I did see something in the distance. “Let’s try there. It’s a beautiful night so—”
Suddenly, Rowan’s bone-white hand was over my mouth. I stopped short, looking over at him in surprise as my entire body flushed.
The look he sent me was downright mischievous instead of the somewhat traumatized expression he’d been wearing ever since he’d stepped out from behind those bushes.
Man, I still couldn’t believe he’d trusted me with something so vulnerable so quickly. If anything, it just affirmed that I was right about how special our connection was. I knew, without a doubt, it wasn’t something he’s shared with just anyone. Which meant, that to him, I had to be someone.
And wow, was it nice to be someone to a guy like him.
“Let’s not jinx it now, shall we?” he asked, a slight accent slipping into his voice.
When he removed his hand, I almost leaned toward it, eager for more of his touch. It was just as soothing as it was exhilarating, like those frozen beauty tools that people would stick in the fridge and then use on their face to reduce inflammation.
“Right,” I agreed. “Lesson learned.”
“You’re a quick study, huh?” he teased.
Goosebumps rose along my skin. I’d been so worried that he was going to confess he just saw me as a friend—or that he was a serial killer or something.
“I might have been accused of being too smart for my own good once or twice in my life.”
“I’m sure it’s more than that, clever girl.”
Normally, I would hate anyone calling me a girl. I was over the age of thirty, after all. But it sounded so dipped in honey and tempting falling from Rowan’s full lips. Naturally, I flushed and let out a giggle. A real, legitimate giggle.
Thankfully, we reached the food cart before I could dissolve entirely.
The crepe stand wasn’t my normal fare, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it either.
I was really jonesing for some sugar after the day I had, so I chose a strawberry and cream crepe with peanut butter sauce.
Although I didn’t have the ability to shift, I truly had a canine’s love of everything PB.
“You sure you don’t want chocolate on that?” the worker asked.
“No, thank you, I can’t eat it.”
“Oh, are you allergic?” Rowan asked, and he had that keen expression, like he was mentally jotting down everything he learned about me.
“No, but it messes with my stomach.” It wasn’t uncommon among shifters of all types, and sadly not something our enhanced healing could help with.
“I see.”
Rowan ordered a savory crepe. Huh, so he wasn’t a sweets guy. That was all right with me; the less I had to share any desserts, the better!
We snagged a couple of water bottles, and once we were all squared away—Rowan paying again without even giving me a chance to pull out my card—we headed to the end of the boardwalk that turned into a pier where we could sit on the end and dangle our feet in the water.
“Look at the stars,” I murmured absently as we got settled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been out here at this time of night. They really are beautiful.”
“They are,” Rowan agreed, tilting his head up and allowing me to drink up his profile like the stunning thing that it was. “My silver-sprung, erstwhile companions.”
“That’s beautiful. Is that from a poem, or something?”
“No, just a silly thing that popped into my head.”
I may have gawked a bit. Hot, sweet, funny, and could improvise off the dome like that? How was this guy single? He had to have a skeleton or coffin in his closet!
“I don’t know, when I say something silly, it sure doesn’t sound like that.”
Those crystalline eyes landed on me, so intense I could feel myself blushing yet again. “I guess I’m a bit inspired by the present company.”
Ho
Lee
SHIT.
As he continued to look at me like I was as enchanting as the brilliant balls of light above us, I had a revelation that sort of rocked me to my core.
Ever since I learned I would never get an inner wolf or be able to shift, I’d always been the one fighting, begging, pleading not to be rejected.
Whether it was a familial bond I was chasing with other shifters in our pack, my own kin, or romantic entanglements with suitable bachelors, I was always the one reaching.
But now, for the first time in my life, the shoe was on the other foot.
Rowan was looking to me to accept him. Which was one hell of a concept.
I couldn’t imagine not accepting him over something as simple as a lack of melanin.
I was vaguely aware there were other complications that arose from the condition, but that really wasn’t any of my business and didn’t matter until Rowan wanted it to be my business.
To me, it was another fascinating and welcome part of him.
“Huh,” I said when I managed to find my words. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called inspirational before, but a girl could get used to it.”
“A muse is a muse is a muse,” Rowan said, his accent going just a bit sideways, something I noticed happened when he got a bit introspective.
I didn’t mind it at all; it was another puzzle piece, another quirk for me to hoard with all the other factoids I was collecting about him.
And I could definitely feel myself quickly sliding into something akin to obsession.
“Actually, my name is Naomi,” I shot back, and while it wasn’t the most witty repartee, Rowan chuckled. He needed to be careful, otherwise he might end up accidentally encouraging me to start a career in comedy—possibly the only thing more humiliating than being a wolfless wolf.
“It most certainly is,” he said, gently nudging my arm with his elbow now that we were completely settled, side by side on the edge of the pier with a cool summer breeze tickling at our hair and clothes.
It really was like something out of a movie.
Funny, for all my making fun of drama kids to find such exhilaration in the main character role I was playing at.
Back when I had auditioned for Cinderella, the director had taken me aside and told me in a kindly tone that some people were meant to be ingénues, some people were meant to be supporting characters, and I did not fall in the former group.
Clearly, the joke was on him, because how could I feel like anything but a movie star with the way Rowan talked to me?
As we tucked into our snacks, conversation ebbed and flowed in a way that was far too natural for someone I’d only met for the second time.
It felt like everything between us was happening at high octane, but it was also so comfortable.
So relaxed. If I’d known dating anyone could be like this, perhaps I wouldn’t have spent my twenties being perpetually single.
“Do you want to taste?” I said, stabbing one of the strawberries of my crepe and scooping up a bit of cream with it before offering it to him.
Rowan looked from it to my face and I saw a new expression bloom across his features.
Maybe I was crazy, but he almost looked.
.. Hungry. But not for the strawberry. No, it was like he was looking straight through it and into me.
I swallowed several times in rapid succession and almost chickened out, but somehow I held steady enough to allow the man to lean forward and close his mouth around the morsel. It captivated, and I could have sworn his teeth were slightly longer than they had been earlier.