Page 28 of Fifty & Feral

Between the two of us, we’d managed to clear half the plate. “Not really,” I said.

“How about we box this up and get our dessert?” His eyes sparkled and his smile was brighter than the stars that were starting to shine in the early night sky.

It was just getting dark now, the sun setting later and later as we went farther into spring. A waxxing gibbous moon shone above us.

“Yeah, we can do that.” If we got our dessert to go, then we’d be back at my house in time for the next part of the evening. We could enjoy our dessert under the stars.

“Where are we going now?” Connor asked. He leaned closer to me. The tables had mostly cleared out now. There were only a few people around. Not that it mattered.

His gaze trailed from my eyes down to my lips, and though he said he was full, his tongue darted out and he licked his lips.

“I have a plan,” I said.

“Oh? And how’s that thing going for you?” he asked. His gaze continued to peruse my face like he was trying to memorize my features. When it dipped to my chest and a sweet scent of honeysuckle filled the air, I smiled.

“It’s going fine. But it’s about to go sideways if you keep staring at me like that.”

His gaze snapped to mine and his eyes went wide. “Sorry. I wasn’t—”

I leaned in, nearly letting my nose bump his. “It’s really too close to the full moon for you to be teasing me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I don’t really know what I was thinking. Well, I know what I was thinking, but I don’t usually let myself get—” He clamped his mouth shut. “Anyway.”

I laid a hand on his knee, still not backing away. “Relax. I do have control over myself. Mostly. Let’s get our dessert and I’ll take you to Act II of the evening.”

“That sounds great,” he said.

Chapter 16

Connor

When we got back to Jack’s house, he helped me out of the car. Ever the gentleman, he opened the door for me and held my hand. I wrapped my arm around his and rested my head on his shoulder, hoping we could skip whatever he had planned and just go straight to the bedroom. Instead of going into the house, we walked around the back to the yard.

“Not to be too presumptuous, but can I stay the night? Because otherwise, you’re going to have to drive me home later,” I said.

It was rather smart of him to have a portion of our date at his home, if he intended for me to stay. It would be rather awkward if he intended for me to leave.

“Of course. But if you want to go home at any time, I will take you wherever you want to go. Just say the word. I’ll be honest, I am hoping that you will stay the night. And since you don’t work tomorrow, feel free to stay all day as well.”

I chuckled, not letting go of him or removing myself from his side. “At that rate, I might as well move in. Are you going to tie me up and not let me get away?”

Before he could answer, my gaze landed on the set-up in the backyard. It was dark now, but the yard was lit with solar lights strung from the deck to the trees that lined the yard. They glowed a soft orange, and in the center was a blanket laid out with a telescope in the middle and pillows.

“Oh wow. Are we stargazing tonight?” I asked.

“We are.”

He led me over to the blanket and set down the bag with our dessert nachos. He even had a little table set up with a bottle of wine chilling and two glasses. On the picnic blanket was a stack of pillows and extra blankets, and a basket of snacks. Though with the dessert we had, I doubted we’d need them.

My breath caught. It was perfect. The simplicity of it, the quiet, and all the thought that went into making this night special had my heart squeezing unnaturally in my chest. This man was going to make me fall for him.

He had me ensnared, and I was not even struggling to get away. The predator had caught his prey.

“Where did you get a telescope?” I asked as I knelt on the blanket. I brought the eyepiece closer to me and used my other hand to adjust the focuser.

“The pack,” Jack said. His voice had turned husky.

I snapped my gaze toward him, ready to let him know he could shift if he needed to. But he looked to be in control of himself. His eyes glowed in the moonlight, but he wasn’t panting like he had been a few nights ago. Instead, he looked down at me like I was the dessert he had been waiting for all night.