Chapter Five #3
He nodded, his eyes thoughtful. Dodger reached over the table and took a forkful of her macaroni and ate it.
And then he took another bite, and another.
“This is really good,” he said, and she giggled as she pushed it closer to him.
She wouldn’t be able to eat the rest anyways. It was an enormous portion.
He pushed a plate of brisket toward her and said, “Eat up,” as he dug into her pasta.
And here was something else she liked. She was truly enjoying that he was sharing food with her.
There was intimacy with that. She couldn’t remember if Chance liked to do that or not.
The memories of some of the little things had faded over time.
She thought they probably didn’t share much because of his health.
She’d had to wear a mask around him for the last year of his life to try and control the amount of pathogens around him.
The random memory of the masks she’d worn drew her up, and desperate to return to the here and now, she asked, “Why did you kiss me earlier?”
“Because I wanted to know what a human tasted like.”
“And?”
“I don’t remember,” he said with a wicked glint to his blue eyes. “I should try again.”
And the butterflies were back. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Yeah? Well, you’re going to have to teach me how to not break you. I was terrified the whole time that I was going to squeeze you too hard or something.”
She laughed. “You’re overthinking it. How about we make a deal. I’ll tell you if it’s too rough.”
He chewed slowly, and from here, she could see the flames of the tiny fire reflecting in his frosty eyes. “Deal.”
“What would your friends say if they knew you were making out with a human?”
“I don’t have any friends here. If I was back with my old Pack?
The one I grew up in? Or around my brothers?
” He shook his head. “I don’t think my sisters would care much, but you’d be targeted by everyone else.
The rules are softer around Coeur d’Alene.
My Alpha has a human mate. I don’t know what my current Pack would think.
Nory probably took some of the shock value away. ”
“I wouldn’t mind meeting your friends.”
“Pack,” he corrected her. “That’ll take a bit. I kind of want to just see what we are first.”
And she understood. Sure, it stung a little that he didn’t want his people to know about her yet, but okay. It was their first date. It was early. She needed to see where this was going too before she wanted to tell her friends about him too. Destiny understood.
“You aren’t going to hound me?” he asked.
“Hound you to what?”
“Define the relationship or whatever they call it.”
“We’re friends. Friends who kissed in a dressing room. That’s what we are.”
He smiled and nodded. “Atta girl.”
“Besides, now that I have practiced dating, I may go ahead and activate my dating app.”
His eyes were glowing all of a sudden, and the smile disappeared off his face. “What?”
She was just teasing, but he was easy to mess with, and this response was fun. “My mom set up a dating app for me last year, and it’s just been sitting there waiting for me to answer all those messages.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Show me this dating app.”
She snickered and opened the app, but her mom had set up the password, so she had to reset it to one she knew. It took a few minutes to get into it, and then she handed her phone over to him.
“There are twelve hundred messages in here.”
“Twelve hundred? Really? Whoo, I’m popular.”
His frown deepened as he scrolled. “What did your mom do? Upload titty pics of you on here? Twelve freaking hundred? Where are all these males coming from? Oh my God.” He turned her phone around and showed her a picture of herself.
She was all done up, with false lashes and hair extensions and had four plates of food in front of her.
She was grinning big with a French fry in her hand.
“This is a dude magnet picture, Destiny.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She ate a bite of brisket and chewed slowly as he scrolled through the rest of her profile page. “Can you send me all of these pictures?” he gritted out.
“Why?” she asked innocently.
“So I can save them on my phone. And take them off of here. I don’t like these assholes looking at you.”
“You said earlier that men can look.”
“I take it back. Fuck men.” He made a scoffing noise and turned the phone toward her.
In it, she was at a shooting competition, dressed in all black gear, handgun held ready for the judge to say she could start.
She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and protective glasses and earplugs in. “I don’t like this.”
“Well, you’re going to have to deal with it. It’s who I am. I like to shoot.”
“No, not that part. I love that part. I don’t like that these guys are messaging you thinking they have a chance with you.”
“I’ve never even looked at the messages.”
He opened them up, clearly, because he pulled a disgusted face. “I don’t think you want to. Is this what it’s like on dating apps for a female?” he asked, appalled.
“I don’t know. I’ve never messed with one. My mom uploaded all those pictures and wrote the bio. I don’t even know what is says.”
“Loves trucks, guns, men who act like men, is independent, has a good job, doesn’t need a sugar daddy, loathes walks on the beach, cooks like a chef and is ready to be wifed up.” He looked appalled. “That’s a quote. Your mom then put what I’m assuming is your bra size down at the bottom.”
“What?”
“Thirty-four C?”
“Oh my gosh,” she uttered as she yanked the phone from his hands, and yep. Sure enough. Mom sure had done that. “How do I freaking edit this,” she muttered, poking around in her profile. She glanced up, and he was on his phone. “What are you doing?”
“Setting up my own dating app account, I’m messaging all of those assholes.”
“You don’t know them.”
“I memorized the first thirty user names. First up? Lickmuhballs underscore Harold.”
She pitched forward laughing.
“It’s not funny.”
She pursed her lips but her laughter bubbled out of her still.
He cracked a little smile and cocked his head at her. “I don’t like it.”
“Well, I don’t think friends can give an opinion on this stuff.”
“Destiny,” he growled.
She grinned. “Just kidding, maybe I’ll delete the account. I was just messing with you.”
His nostrils flared with his inhalation as he leaned back on the bench seat and looked around. Lowering his voice, he told her, “You know I was ready to find all their addresses. I feel like a psychopath right now.”
She scrunched up her face. “Sounds like you have a crush on me.”
“I don’t do that.” His voice sounded so low and growly now.
“Look,” she said, turning her phone around to him to show him the account deactivation confirmation. “No more lickmuhballs underscore harolds to worry about.” She set her phone down. “I’ll just date people in person inst—”
“Destiny,” he growled.
She burst out laughing. “I’m kidding! For now. I’m probably not addicted to dating now that this has been the most fun night I’ve had in a forever.”
“Well, I can take you out. I’m taking you out tomorrow. You will have fun. Fuck those other guys. They will be zero fun. Their wieners will be small.”
“Oh my gosh, you are being so dramatic right now.”
“Like little baby carrots.”
“Maybe I like baby carrots.”
He snorted. “Then you and I would not match.”
“Are you seriously bragging on your dick size on day one?”
“I don’t have to brag. It is what it is. You’ll see tomorrow.”
“Okay, what do you think is happening tomorrow?”
“You’re going to see me Change into my wolf.” He offered her a baiting grin. “Can’t do it clothed, Destiny. It’s science, not magic. Sorry.”
“You don’t look like you’re sorry.”
“I’m not. There. My dating app is also deleted, unless you reactivate yours, then I will go right back to hunting the guys who message you. Garry Barbecues, Penis-For-Your-Thoughts, Catributes 69, Frank and Beans 2123, Mad Mark, Dingle Sauce 24—”
“Okay, I get it.” She was trying to control her laughter. She loved his flavor of psycho.
Dodger frowned at the screen of his phone and set it down on the table. “My animal is protective, which you already know. Your stepdad is a werewolf.”
He had a point. Her dad was very protective over her mother.
Dodger’s phone vibrated against the table, and a growl filled the air.
“Hang on. Sorry.” He answered it. “Hey, if I don’t pick up, it’s not an invitation to call me a hundred times, you dick.
” He paused, listening. “Because I didn’t want to go to the meeting.
You switched it to Saturday night. Some of us have lives.
” He waited, listening, then rolled his eyes closed and stood.
He mouthed, I’ll be right back, and took the call at the edge of the food trucks.
If she had to guess, it was probably one of his Pack mates.
He’d missed some kind of meeting to be here with her. She crossed her arms on the table and watched his growing frustration with the person on the other line.
His muttered curse echoed through the food truck park as he hung up and made his way back.
“Need to go?” she guessed.
“Yes. Not my choice. I’m sorry.”
“Pack stuff?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he started cleaning up their table. He was quiet on the brisk walk back to their cars, and she could feel the tension rolling off his shoulders.
“Are you okay?” she asked, breaking up the silence.
“You said they’re going to fill the government land with a new Pack. That your dad had been offered the Alpha position?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know anything else?”
“About the new Coeur d’Alene Lake Pack?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, no. We’re outside of it all. We just get a snippet here and there when the Elders are trying to bring my dad back in line. Why?”
“The new Pack is forming. One of the Elder’s daughters dragged in an Alpha that’s a problem for my people.”
“Geez. What does it mean for your Pack?” she asked.
“Nothing.” And that’s all he would say about that.
She’d thought he’d shut down on her, but he reached out and slid his big, powerful hand around hers as they crossed the street toward her car.
He held the bag of her worn clothes she’d changed out of in the outdoor store, and opened her door for her, waiting for her to get in.
He looked around the street and she didn’t miss it.
He scented the air. “How far do you live?” he asked her.
“Um, right off of Hanover. It’s close. I’ll be fine.”
“Can you text me when you get home safe?”
“Only if you do the same.”
“Chh, it’ll take me half an hour at least. Rogue Pack Territory is out in the woods. And then I have to deal with something right when I get there. A couple of my people got hurt tonight. I’ll text you when I can.”
“Oh my gosh. Are they okay?”
“They’ll be fine.”
“Hey, Dodger?” she asked as he started walking away.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Are you keeping my clothes?”
He frowned down at the bag in his hand. “Yes.”
“Oh. Okay. Can I ask why?”
“To put them in my den. To make it smell like you.” And with that, he turned and left with her bag of worn clothes without looking back.
Baffled, Destiny closed the door beside her and stared straight ahead at the license plate of the car in front of her. He could probably recite it from memory if she asked.
If they were just friends, as he claimed, then why was Dodger wanting to put her scent in his den?