Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Liam
The bell above the diner’s door chimes as I hold it open for Evie, and she steps inside.
It should feel dated.
Instead, it feels inviting.
And somehow, with Evie beside me, it feels like exactly where I want to be.
I can’t help but appreciate the way her cream-colored sweater dress hugs her curves as she walks ahead of me, and I have to second-guess what I really want for dinner.
Food is definitely not at the top of the list.
As short on time as I am, I don’t want to rush things.
Not with her.
Not when every second I spend with my witch makes it harder to imagine walking away from her.
“Just the two of you?” a curvy waitress in a black-and-white vintage dress with a sweetheart neckline asks as she grabs two menus from the counter and flashes Evie and me a dazzling smile.
The chef in the back glances briefly at us, but his eyes immediately go to the waitress like magnets.
I know that look.
It’s the same look mirrored on my face every time I look at Evie.
The same helpless pull.
The same there she is feeling that settles somewhere deep in my chest.
Poor chap.
Hopefully, the moon shines favorably on him too.
Because if he feels even half of what I do, he’s already in trouble.
“Yes, just the two of us, Lizzy,” Evie says, following as the waitress gestures toward a vintage-style booth with cracked red leather seats tucked into the back corner. “It’s good to see you back in town.”
“Yeah, it’s been a minute.” Lizzy stops and places the two menus on the table, tucking a strand of white fringe behind her ear. “How about here?”
“Here is great.”
I take a seat opposite my witch, my eyes barely scanning the menu.
I’m far more interested in her.
The soft curl of her blonde-and-pink hair around her shoulders, the way the warm diner lights make her skin glow, the little crease between her brows behind her glasses as she studies the menu.
And the fact that she’s sitting across from me at all.
My jaguar rumbles softly inside my head.
Our mate.
I swallow.
That word has been getting harder and harder to ignore. I know what she is. I know what she means to us. What I don’t know is how the hell I’m supposed to tell her.
Tell her now.
That she’s my fated mate? While someone is trying to steal her family’s wand and may already be watching the place?
My jaguar growls.
Especially now.
He isn’t wrong.
But how do I drop something like that into her life?
Hello, Evie. By the way, you’re my fated mate, I’m completely obsessed with you, and someone may be trying to hurt you to get to your family heirloom.
That should go over well.
“What would you like to drink?” Lizzy asks, pulling me from my thoughts as she flips open her notepad.
“Can I have one of your famous chocolate milkshakes? Half the guests staying at the bed-and-breakfast said they swung by for a sale you guys had and won’t stop raving about them.”
“Well, the two of you are in luck because we just got our shipment this morning to make more. We’ve been out for a few days because of that rush.” The waitress shrugs and gives us a smile. “Trying something new, taking a few new ideas. Who knew it would be so beneficial?”
Evie glances my way, and I wish I could read her thoughts from the way she looks at me.
She nibbles on her bottom lip, her head tilted slightly, a strand of blonde-and-pink hair falling into her face. She shifts, and her knee brushes mine.
My chest tightens.
Does she feel it too? That pull? That impossible need to be closer?
I want to believe she does.
Goddess, I want her to.
But until she says it, until she looks me in the eye and tells me she feels the same, I’m going to keep wondering if I’m the only one falling.
And that scares me more than it should because, in just a few short days, I’m already too far gone.
The waitress turns to me.
“And what will you have?”
There are a dozen things I want to eat right now, and none of them are on the menu.
I clear my throat and adjust myself beneath the table. “Just a root beer, please.”
Lizzy writes it down.
“Do the two of you know what you want to eat?”
“It’s my first time here.” My eyes scan the menu. Typical American diner food is mixed with a variety of not-so-typical options that cater to the supernatural. Shifter-sized portions. Bloody steaks and bloody shakes.
This place certainly knows its clientele.
“Unless you have any objections to cheeseburgers, Liam, I recommend the house cheeseburger with fries.” Evie practically moans. “They always come out piping hot and melt in your mouth. I don’t know what they do to them, but sign me up every time.”
I look at her, really look at her. Her eyes are bright with enthusiasm, and there’s the smallest smile tugging at her lips.
I know something else that will melt under my mouth.
The thought comes so easily I have to bite back a grin.
I throw her a heated glance instead.
Her cheeks flush.
My jaguar rumbles with approval.
She wants us.
Maybe.
She does.
I have no idea how I’m going to survive the rest of this fake-dating arrangement without truly showing her how I feel.
And I have even less of an idea how I’m going to protect her and the B&B once the thief comes for the wand.
“Two house cheeseburgers and fries, then.” I hand the menus back to Lizzy, who shoots us another dazzling smile.
“Coming right up.”
She disappears toward the kitchen.
For a moment, it’s just Evie and me and the faint hum of the jukebox.
I lean back against the booth, watching her.
I’ve spent fifteen years solving other people’s problems, reading clues, finding answers, but when it comes to the woman sitting across from me, I’m completely lost.
Moments later, Lizzy drops off the milkshake and root beer before sweeping off to another table.
“So, are you going to tell me where you learned to fix furnaces and leaky sinks? It doesn’t exactly fit the detective job description that I’m aware of.” My eyes track her every movement as she plucks the cherry from the whipped cream piled on her milkshake and pops it into her mouth, stem and all.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to eat the stem.”
She flashes a grin, the corner of her mouth twitching upward, before darting out her tongue to display a cherry stem precisely tied into a knot, utterly devoid of its former fruit.
My mouth goes dry as she places the knotted stem between us, her eyes glittering with a palpable challenge.
“That’s a neat little trick you’ve got there.” My voice comes out rough as my cock strains painfully against my fitted slacks. If she keeps this up, I’ll either come in my pants or speed like a bat out of hell back to the B&B to show her exactly what she’s doing to me.
“You’re losing focus,” she says, lifting her milkshake. Her cheeks hollow as she drinks the cold, sweet mixture, yet all I can envision is those enticing lips wrapped around my cock.
Goddess damn it, focus for one second, Liam.
Or just take the food to go and put us both out of our misery.
Lizzy drops off our steaming dinner, and we both dig in.
“You’re right. These are some of the best fries I’ve ever had.
” I pop a handful into my mouth as I contemplate how much to tell her about my past. She seems genuinely interested.
“I wasn’t always a detective. My dad was a handyman, and my mom taught at the local elementary school.
I spent a lot of time learning with my head and my hands. ”
“And the car? I’ve only ever seen one like it when they have the antique car show in town in the spring, and even then, they weren’t the same. It’s not exactly something you can roll off the lot, and it’s in great condition. Purrs like a kitten.”
Not the only kitten I want to make purr.
“As I said, I like fixing things, and I like antiques. The Bugatti is like two in one.” I shrug and take a sip of my soda.
“A man of many talents.” Evie takes another slow sip of her milkshake, her eyes never leaving mine.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.” That wicked little smile tells me she’s lying.
“You’re staring.”
“So are you.”
“I have a good reason.”
Her eyebrow arches. “Oh?”
She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. The motion pulls her sweater dress snug against every curve, and my jaguar gives an appreciative growl inside my skull.
Mate.
I shift beneath the table, trying to ease the pressure in my slacks.
Evie notices. Of course she notices. Her smile turns downright sinful.
“I’m beginning to think you enjoy making me uncomfortable.”
“Maybe I like seeing how easy you are to fluster.”
“I am not flustered.”
“No?”
She reaches across the table and steals one of my fries, her fingertips deliberately brushing mine. Heat shoots straight through me.
When did she go from reserved, quiet Evie to this sinfully sweet vixen?
She pops the fry into her mouth and chews slowly, her gaze locked with mine. Her foot slides beneath the table until her ankle bumps lightly against mine.
My entire body goes rigid.
“Evie.”
“Yes, Liam?” That sweet lilt nearly wrecks me as she bats her eyelashes.
She does it again, her foot dragging slowly along my ankle just above the cuff of my sock before retreating.
My jaguar is practically pacing.
She knows exactly what she’s doing.
I know.
Then do something.
We’re in public. We haven’t paid the bill.
Tightening my grip around my glass, I glance around for Lizzy to ask for the bill, but she’s nowhere in sight.
I turn back to Evie. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”
She tips her chin toward me. “How dangerous?”
Her voice is barely above a whisper now.
I can smell her sweet pumpkin chai scent wafting across the table, tempting me.
“This is all a ruse, a cover, remember?” I say, but my eyes drop to her lips.
She sees it. Her tongue darts briefly across her bottom lip.
“Tell me,” she murmurs.
My pulse pounds.
“You really want to know?”
Her cheeks flush, but she doesn’t retreat.
Instead, she holds her ground, the challenge still there in her eyes.
“I think,” she whispers, “I already know.”
That does it. I lean across the table until my mouth is only inches from hers. Her breath catches.
“Careful, witch.”
“Or what?” She smirks, her eyes dropping to my mouth.