“What’s the big fuckin’ deal? You’re alone, looking like you do, in a motel,” he pauses. “Or self-catering whatever, in a city you don’t even know. Yeah, what’s the big deal, right?” he says, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
I roll my eyes. “It’s fine.”
“I have a place you can stay,” he says, looking around the restaurant. “You can move in this weekend.”
“Yeah, no,” I tell him. “Look, no offense, but I don’t even know you. If you keep being this controlling, this is the last time you will ever see me.”
Like I need another controlling asshole in my life.
His lips tighten, but he says nothing.
Our desserts arrive, and to lighten the mood I offer him some of mine. He did take me out to an expensive dinner and has been a gentleman all night. I don’t want us to end the evening on a bad note. His eyes turn heavy-lidded as he leans over the table and I feed him a spoonful of the delicious cheesecake.
“So good,” he murmurs, looking right at me. “Perfect.”
I look down at my dessert, feeling my cheeks heat. It looks delicious, but so is he. What am I doing here? Why am I so attracted to him? I should be going for a quiet, gentle man, not an alpha biker, but here I am.
“Open,” he says, holding a spoonful of ice cream at my lips.
I grin and open my mouth, letting the creaminess melt on my tongue. “It’s good, but I think mine is better.”
“So do I,” he admits, eyeing my cheesecake.
I grin and ask while scooping more onto the spoon, “Do you want another bite?”
All of a sudden, my mouth and throat start tingling. I drop the spoon onto my plate and look up at him.
“Fuck,” I groan.
“What?” he asks, instantly alert.
“Are there peanuts in that?”
He looks down at his sundae. “Yeah, why?”
I grab my throat. “Oh, nothing, I’m just kind of allergic.”
He stands up, his chair falling over behind him, and he steps over to me and pulls me out of my chair. “What do I do? What the fuck do I do?”
“It’s not life threatening,” I say, grimacing. “I might break out in hives, though.” I pause. “Or get nauseous.”
“We’re going to the fuckin’ hospital,” he grits out, pulling out his phone in one hand, pulling me by my upper arm with the other.
So much for not ending the night on a bad note.
“You’ve been lecturing me for over an hour; can you just stop, please?” I groan, watching him pace up and down my hospital room. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t you think having an allergy like that is something you should mention when a man takes you out to eat?” he says for the second or third time.
I expel a deep sigh. “This shit could only happen to me.”
“Because you didn’t mention any allergy.” He stops the pacing to glare at me. “So I fed you my sundae, which had peanuts in it, which put you in the hospital. What a great fuckin’ first date.”
“At least it’s memorable,” I point out, which only makes him look like he wants to kill me. “Oh come on, it’s kind of funny. At least now that the itching has stopped.”
He points at me, then continues to pace. “You’re going to be the death of me, I know it.”
“Actually it looks like it’s me who’s going to end up dead,” I joke, pointing at the hospital bed.
“Valentina—”
“Ardan.”
He sits down on the end of my bed, looking completely out of place in his all-black getup and leather cut. “Do you want me to get you something to drink?”
“Some water would be great,” I say quietly.
He touches my ankle, then stands up. “I’ll be right back. Try to stay out of trouble until then.”
I curse myself for letting this happen and ruining the night. Ardan has handled everything so well, though, and I’m glad he’s here with me. Something inside me is telling me to give him a chance, that he’s worth it. Maybe I could keep myself a little detached just in case it doesn’t work out? I wish I could be like that, but I know I can’t. If I’m giving him my time, it’s because I like him and I think that there could be something between us. I’m drawn to him, and although a tiny part of me is very flighty right now, most of me wants to be near this man. Darren never looked after me when I was sick. In fact, if I were still with him, I’d be sitting in this room alone right now. I don’t think Ardan knows how thankful I am that he’s here, looking after me. It’s not something I’m really used to, and something I won’t be taking for granted.
He’s back in a few moments, opening a bottle of water and handing it to me.
“Thank you.”
He cups my cheek. “You know, even sitting here in the damn hospital, I’d rather be with you than any other woman I know.”
I lean into his palm, enjoying the feeling of a man touching me like that, so tenderly. I haven’t had a man’s touch like this in so long, and I didn’t realize how much I crave it until right now. “I’m glad you’re here with me too,” I admit softly. “I don’t really have any friends here yet, so if this happened somewhere else, I’d be sitting here alone.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” he says, taking my phone from me. “Putting my number in your phone. You need me anytime, day or night, you call me, darlin’. From killing spiders to fixing your car, I got you.”
“I like spiders,” I say, smiling at his kind offer. “Thank you, Ardan.”
He hands back my phone and looks down at me on the bed. “Of course you like spiders. Now move over.”
I scoot over and he sits down on the bed. He tries to slide onto it, but only half his body fits.
“How tall are you?” I ask him, feeling amused.
“Six three. Why?”
“Just asking,” I say, laying my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me and I smile and close my eyes. “This is the weirdest first date in the history of first dates.”
“Normal is boring,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
“They said I don’t have to stay overnight; I can go home after they do a checkup.”
“We’ll have to go to the restaurant and get my bike, then go and get your car from the bar,” he says. We took a taxi from the restaurant, because Ardan didn’t want me on the bike, just in case. “And then I’ll follow you home.” He pauses. “Or should I just take you home and we can get your car tomorrow?”
“I’m fine to drive,” I say, yawning. “I could go for some coffee, though.”
“I’ll get you some,” he says gently. “If you’re tired, you can have a nap until the nurse comes to check on you, if you like.”
“You’re comfortable,” I say, burying my face in his neck. “And you smell good.”
“Yeah, you should probably stop that,” he says in a husky tone, shifting in his spot. “I don’t think the nurse is going to appreciate walking in and seeing my hard-on straining against my jeans.”
Lifting my head, I look at him. “You’re probably right.” I take a deep breath and ask him, “What’s Ireland like?”
“Beautiful,” he says, turning animated. “You’d love it. The people, the views. The history. It’s all there to explore.”