Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Peter
I s it normal for the hottest alpha you’ve ever seen to materialize out of thin air? Because it just happened to me.
I couldn’t believe my fucking eyes when I walked out of the psychic’s house and met Bennett. Just thinking about him made my insides flutter. He was fine. At six feet tall, he towered over me. Long locs trailed down his back, and his Black skin glittered in the sunlight. He spoke with a slight accent—some variety of British English—that turned my knees to jelly. His scent was all alpha, spicy and enticing.
And he knew a lot about tarot. Could he be any more perfect?
I thought I was dreaming when he asked me on a date. It all happened so fast, I barely had time to process the fact that I was grabbing coffee with the sexiest man alive.
And puppies.
“ The Canine Cafe, ” I said, reading the sign aloud. The front glass was plastered with hand-drawn images of lattes and cartoon puppies. “How did I not know this place existed?”
The corner of Bennett’s mouth curved like a splendid crescent moon. “Now you do. Maybe it was fate that led you to that psychic, eh?”
The word fate made my heart skip a beat. Despite my past dating failures, I’d always believed in destiny and soulmates. The world felt more magical that way, and that magic was worth clinging to.
“Yeah, I think so,” I agreed. “And to you.”
As the words left my mouth, I felt my tongue go dry.
“I didn’t mean to say that,” I exclaimed. Not out loud, anyway. That thought was supposed to stay safely tucked away in my brain, where I could fantasize to my heart’s content.
But Bennett just chuckled. The bell-like sound awakened butterflies in my belly.
“It’s all right, Peter. You know, I believe in fate. I’m sure it brought us together today.”
As if the honeyed words weren’t enough, Bennett threw in a gorgeous smile for good measure.
I nearly swooned. Was this man real?
“Let’s grab a table,” Bennett said, pulling me back to reality before I melted onto the sidewalk.
The inside of the cafe was like heaven. Pastel walls were decorated with photos of the resident dogs—and said dogs were happy to soak up the positive attention. Everybody inside wore a smile on their face. The mood was uplifting and heartwarming. I’d only taken one step inside and I was already having a fantastic time.
We settled into a two-seater table by the window and accepted menus from the server, but I couldn’t concentrate on it because—as if on cue—every dog in the room ran up to Bennett.
“That’s amazing! Do you have treats in your pocket or something?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said, patting the closest one on the head. “It’s ‘cause we just got here. We’re new and interesting.”
I took his word for it until the pups sat at his feet, panting through wide doggy grins and happily wagging their tails. I had a hunch it was something more than that.
I reached out to pet the closest dog, a shaggy Golden mix. “They really like you, huh, Bennett?”
He chuckled, also patting whatever dog put its head on his leg. “Guess so.”
Bennett’s eyes were warm, but his gaze flicked to my hand carding through the dog’s fur. Was it my imagination, or did he look jealous? It must’ve been, because it was gone a second later.
“Order whatever you want, Peter,” Bennett said, nodding at the menu. “My treat, remember?”
My cheeks flushed with heat. I hadn’t realized he was serious about that. “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly?—”
Bennett arched his brow. The pointed look from his sexy gaze was enough for me to gulp down the rest of my limp argument. I felt myself glued to his face, like I couldn’t muster the will—or desire—to look at anything else.
“Um, I hope this isn’t weird, but your eyes are such a fascinating color,” I said.
Bennett’s eyelashes fluttered. A smile curved his mouth. “That so?”
“Like, deep brown, but they’re almost red when the light catches them.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. He leaned in, resting his chin on his palm. “Red, eh? You suspecting me of being a demon?”
I snorted. “You’re too nice to be a demon. But if you are, then sign me up to go to hell, I guess.”
Bennett let out a hearty laugh that made my stomach tingle. “You’re an odd one, Peter.”
Was that bad? Did he think I was too weird? But he was smiling at me, and he seemed relaxed.
Stop overthinking, I scolded myself. Enjoy the hot alpha treating you to coffee. And the puppies.
By the time our server brought our food, I’d forgotten I was even hungry. Talking to Bennett was both calming and mesmerizing. He made me feel at ease, like I didn’t have to worry about anything.
As the scent of grilled cheese wafted up to my nose, I sighed in contentment.
“Thanks,” I said to the server. “This all looks amazing.”
“And to top it off... here’s a couple treats for humans,” they said, producing a pair of small bone-shaped biscuits and putting them on the table.
I popped mine into my mouth right away. “Mm. Reminds me of my favorite chocolate-covered biscuits at home, but without the chocolate.” An idea popped into my head. “They’re really good. Maybe you can try them at my place sometime?”
Bennett’s eyes glinted at the subtle invitation, and he grinned wryly. “Unfortunately, I’m slightly allergic to chocolate.”
That was an adorable fact about him. “Huh. I didn’t know people could be allergic to that.”
Bennett picked up the bone-shaped treat and offered it to me. “Here. I’m not hungry. I want you to have this.”
I blushed. Did he want me to take it with my mouth like a dog? Or should I be normal and use my fingers?
Bennett didn’t wait for me to decide. He smiled, moving it closer. Before I could doubt myself, I quickly snatched it between my lips. As I chewed the biscuit, I noticed my cheeks burning up.
I chuckled sheepishly, feeling embarrassed that I’d overstepped. “Sorry. That was silly of me.”
“Silly is good,” Bennett said. “It was cute.”
My temperature skyrocketed. He couldn’t call me cute. I would die.
Trying to distract myself from my rapidly accelerating crush, I dug into my lunch. Bennett sipped on his cappuccino, watching me from over the ceramic rim. He never took his eyes off me. It was starting to fluster me.
“What?” I asked, half laughing. “Is there something on my face?”
“No.” He took another sip. “I just like looking at you.”
Six dogs still sat at Bennett’s feet. He paid them no mind except for a casual scratch behind the ear. I never escaped his attention. How could he be surrounded by all these adorable dogs and care more about me ?
I didn’t know why, but something about Bennett’s unrelenting gaze made me think of that ghostly dog. I shuddered as the memory of its blazing red eyes flashed into my mind.
“Something wrong?” Bennett asked.
I bit the inside of my cheek. Would he think something was wrong with me if I brought it up? Chantelle didn’t believe me. What if Bennett didn’t, either?
“This is random,” I began, rubbing my arm. “But do you believe in, er... the supernatural?”
The corner of Bennett’s mouth tugged upward. “Depends. What kind?”
Relief swirled in my chest. That wasn’t a ‘no,’ at least. Unlike Chantelle, he seemed willing to hear me out.
“Sorry in advance that what I’m about to say sounds deranged,” I warned, “but earlier today, I saw this huge black dog.”
Intrigue flickered across Bennett’s deep brown eyes.
“And before you say anything, no, it was not a normal dog,” I stated. Gesturing at the tail-wagging pooches at his feet, I added, “It was like, five times the size of the biggest dog here. As big as a bear. Maybe bigger. And it had this flowing, ghostly fur...”
My ranting and raving sounded ridiculous as it left my mouth, even though it was true. But maybe it wasn’t exactly a first-date topic.
Shit, were we on a date right now? Oh god, I was making such a fool of myself...
“I believe you, Peter,” Bennett said.
My jaw fell open. “You do?”
“There’s tons of unexplained stuff in the world, yeah?” Bennett took a casual sip of his cappuccino. I couldn’t help but stare at his alluring lips as they grazed the mug. “Did anyone else see this ghost dog?”
“No,” I said, frustrated in hindsight. “Chantelle didn’t see it, and she was right beside me. The psychic didn’t know what I was talking about, either.”
Bennett snorted. “The psychic didn’t know what she was talking about. Anyway, just because a couple folks didn’t share your experience doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“Yeah,” I murmured, comforted by his words.
“This black dog. Did it scare you?”
I mulled over his question. Thinking back, it didn’t try to hurt me at all. In fact, it didn’t actually do anything except stare at me. In hindsight, maybe I’d overreacted.
“Well, at the time, it freaked me out, yeah. It just appeared out of thin air, and nobody else noticed it, which spooked me more.”
Bennett nodded. There was no judgment in his kind, dark eyes. His presence made me feel completely at ease, which was unbelievable, since we’d met only a couple hours ago. But I felt like I’d known Bennett my whole life.
That or I’m crushing super hard, I reminded myself.
“I believe you, Peter,” he said.
My chest swirled.
“I hope that dog doesn’t frighten you again,” Bennett went on, idly circling the rim of his mug with his finger. “But if it does, I’ll chase it off, yeah?” He winked.
I nearly swooned until the mental image made me chuckle. “It was a bear-sized dog. Could you really handle it?”
As his lip curled into a confident smirk, a flash of his white canine tooth glinted. “Don’t you worry about what I can and can’t handle.”