When it did come, he enjoyed watching her lapse into silence, chewing her food with a level of enjoyment he envied. He didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed anything the way she savored the steak she’d ordered.
She finished chewing her last bite and swallowed, her expression effervescent. “That was amazing. I’ve never eaten anything so amazing.”
He could remember huge feasts being prepared in his past life, served in his castle. Some of the biggest delicacies, yet no meal had ever been nearly as satisfying as this one with her, where he’d barely touched his food because he was too busy watching her and didn’t want to miss a thing.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked.
“I’m not that hungry,” he said shortly. “Would you like it?”
She nodded. “A little anyway. I’d like to try it.”
He grinned, pushing his plate toward her. He’d never been one for sharing, the first to swat Dante’s or Sever’s hand away if they reached for his lunch. But with her, he wanted to give everything freely.
She nibbled a bit and then patted her stomach. “Full,” she said. “That was amazing, though. Should we get a to-go container?”
He signaled for the waiter and asked for the check and a to-go box, kind of impressed with himself for how good he’d gotten at living in the modern world.
This was his first date, but he’d been out to restaurants with the other dragons lots of times. Now he was especially grateful he had.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked. “Sometimes it’s like you go away in your mind.”
He nodded. “I do that a lot. Sometimes it’s one of the things people mistake for snobbiness.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “Your expression gets really intense.”
“I know,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, though. I can be a total snob. But I like to think that I have been getting better at it lately.”
“You’re already better with me,” she said. “The first time you looked at me, it was like you thought I was garbage.”
“You’re going to laugh, but I thought you were a spy or a stalker,” he said.
“What?” she asked, following him out of the restaurant and rubbing her arms in the cool night air. He quickly took off his jacket and slid it over her shoulders, walking along the sidewalk to enjoy her company a bit longer.
“Well, with my experiences with women in the club, I wouldn’t have put it past them to be stalking me. So seeing one parked outside the door, I reacted defensively.”
“So it didn’t even occur to you that I could be homeless?”
“I’m ashamed to say it didn’t,” he said. “Until I watched you from the window and saw you go into the alley.”
“You watched me from upstairs?”
“How do you think I saw that you were in trouble?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “You just appeared like an avenging angel, the first mercy I’d been shown in a long time, and I didn’t question it.”
“I’m glad I was there,” he said with a little shudder. “You won’t have to worry about that again now that I’m around. So should we go find Bernard?”
She shuddered. “I suppose so, though I hate to ruin such a wonderful night. Dinner was amazing.” She put her arm through his affectionately. “Company was pretty good, too.”
Why did he feel he’d won some prize anytime she even touched him, let alone complimented him? Was this just what having a mate meant?
“It’s still going to be an amazing night. More amazing because we’ll be righting a wrong and erasing a painful slight in your past.”
“I don’t really need it erased,” she said. “But fine. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“So,” he said, turning them around to head back to the car. “Just tell me where this restaurant is, and we’ll head over there.”
She hesitated, her eyes going to the restaurants across the road, and he raised his eyebrows in shock.
“Wait,” he said. “Is that why you hesitated when we came here? Why didn’t you tell me?”
She folded her arms and looked down. “I just… You had planned this, and since were on this side of the road and I’ve always wanted to try this restaurant—”
“Fair enough,” he said, rolling his shoulders back. “Should we go over and talk to the knave, then?” He cracked his neck back and forth. He was no longer wearing his bandage, had only kept it on for one day, and he didn’t feel any ill effects from his scuffle. “Which one is it?”