Chapter 7

Viv stared at her phone. She had another request for a date. This guy was drop-dead gorgeous. She had no idea why he was on a dating app, there was no way he had trouble getting dates.

“What are you looking at?” Thomas asked, popping up next to her.

“Another date request,” she said, tilting her phone so Thomas could see it.

“He’s sexy. Are you ready to try another date after the last one?” he asked, worried.

“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s not like I’m getting any younger,” she joked. “I’ll make sure it’s public; I’ll meet him there, and maybe D can drop by to scan him?”

“Why don’t you have it at a restaurant and we can run into you? We can eat at a different table and keep an eye on you?”

“Is that weird?” she worried.

“Your last date was with a serial rapist. I think it’s fine,” Thomas replied.

“Okay. I’ll say yes and set up the reservations. That way we can make sure you guys can get a table there at the same time,” she said, typing out a response. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Steak’s always good. Most steakhouses will have a salad or chicken too, depending on what he likes to eat.”

“He doesn’t list any food restrictions,” she said, looking over his profile again. She found a local steakhouse and set up two different reservations. Now she just had to wait for three more days.

As she got ready for her date, she made sure her hair was tamed enough. Her black dress was simple, but she had added some bling and a pop of color with her necklace and earrings. Thomas had given them to her for her birthday years ago and they were one of her favorites. She slipped into her heels and gave herself one last look before meeting her friends in the living room.

“I’m off. I’ll see you there,” she said, grabbing her purse.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off?” D asked.

She shook her head. “It’s not far and they have a good-sized parking lot. I’m good driving.” D could only transport one other person when he used a portal. It didn’t make sense to have him make multiple trips. And if the night went well and she ended up with plans for after dinner, she would have her car.

Driving to the restaurant, she sat in the car after she parked. Pulling down the visor, she opened the mirror, applying a layer of lip gloss. “This could be fun,” she encouraged herself. “He’s hot. Maybe he’s not a douchebag.” The shadows were getting longer, and she got out of the car before she would be late. Instead of anticipation, she felt…blah, not excited. He was waiting by the door, and he was as handsome in person as he had been online. Maybe even more, she thought when he smiled. It still did nothing for her; no spark of interest, no excitement, just a general ‘he’s nice-looking’ type of thought. Mac’s grumpy face flashed in her mind, but she pushed it away. He clearly wasn’t into her; he sent back a verbal thanks through D for the food, but that was it. Her heart needed to get the memo that the mysterious man wasn’t going to suddenly want her, and she needed to find love elsewhere.

Roland was a gentleman and opened the door for her, his hand on the small of her back as they made their way through the restaurant following the ma?tre d’. He even pulled the chair out for her.

“It’s so nice to meet you in person,” Roland said, his voice a nice bass.

“You too,” she replied. The waiter came over, filling their water glasses and dropping off a warm loaf of bread.

Roland held the basket out for her first before taking a piece for himself. “What do you do for work?” he asked.

“I’m a librarian.”

“Really? That’s amazing. I love libraries, especially the older ones. They have so much character. I remember when we used to have to use the card catalogues to find books. Does that make me old?” he laughed.

“I love those! I wish I had bought them when the library was selling theirs. I was in college though and didn’t have that much extra cash lying around. I should have just eaten rice and noodles and bought one. They’re hard to find now. What do you do?”

“I’m in sales,” he replied, adding butter to his bread before taking a bite.

Viv waited until he swallowed before talking to him again. “What kind of sales? Do you like it?”

“Right now, I’m a pharmacy rep. I’ve done a few other things, but that’s it for now. I do enjoy it. I get to meet all kinds of people, even travel a little bit. What kind of books do you read?”

“Mostly romance. All different subgenres and tropes, but usually romance. Are you a big reader?” she asked.

“I would say I’m more of a medium reader. I like to when I have the time.”

“What do you like to read?” Viv asked. At least this date seemed to be going better than the other two had. Of course, it didn’t take much to top those.

“Suspense and mystery mostly, with a few biographies thrown in.”

They ordered their meals and were talking about their favorite TV shows when Thomas showed up.

“Viv! You look amazing,” he said, dragging D over behind him. “I can’t believe we ran into each other. Who’s handsome?”

Viv had to keep from laughing. Thomas was really playing it up. But it was another good test. If someone couldn’t handle her bestie, then they weren’t going to work out anyway.

“Hi, I’m Roland. Nice to meet you,” he said, standing up to shake Thomas’ hand.

“I’m Thomas and this is my boyfriend D,” Thomas introduced himself.

Roland shook Thomas’ hand easily enough, although he did pause when he saw D. Their waitress was still waiting there to seat them at their table.

“We better go. It was nice to see you,” D said, leading Thomas away.

“They seem nice,” Roland said.

“They are. Thomas is my best friend,” Viv replied.

Her phone buzzed and she discreetly pulled it out, seeing it was a message from Thomas.

Meet me at the bathrooms.

“I’m going to run to the restroom before our food comes. I’ll be right back,” she said, grabbing her purse as she stood up. She saw Thomas was already gone from his table, although D gave her a smile. It must not be too bad then.

“We need to talk about some things,” Thomas told her, dragging her down the hallway.

“Last time we did that, I learned your boyfriend was a demon. Is this guy bad news? A serial killer? Puppy torturer?”

“What? No. I would have called you for that and gotten you out right away. D says he’s good on that front.”

“Then what is it?” she asked, a little perturbed because this date had been going well so far and he could have just texted the all clear.

“Sex,” Thomas said, his cheeks red.

“Yes, sex. I’m hoping to have some someday, hence the date. Which you seem to be cockblocking.”

“Okay, but see, this guy is a nonhuman. D thinks he’s an incubus. Now, they’re not bad like the stories. But they do like sex. A lot of sex. They get energy from having sex and they’re not always monogamous unless it’s their mate. I thought you should know what you’re dealing with before the date ends. He’s hot and seems nice, but if you’re not his mate then he’s probably not going to be around long term.”

“Thanks for letting me know. Maybe a hookup is what I need to take my mind off of…someone,” she suggested, even as her stomach churned with the thought.

“You’re not the hookup type. Never have been. I think it’s a bad call. But just in case, you should get a quick nonhuman sex ed rundown. Sex with a paranormal is different. They’re uh, larger usually. Tails come into play sometimes. But their dicks are the biggest difference. Depending on who you’re with, there’s barbs if you’re with a cat shifter, or ridges if you’re with a wolf. Demons tend to be extra-large, have ridges, are uncut, and they have a, um, a knot.”

“Knot? Like in the romance books?” she asked incredulously.

Thomas nodded. “That’s why I couldn’t chase you down right away when you walked in on us,” he admitted. “Of course, being walked in on made it go down quicker than normal, but we were still stuck together for a few minutes. He can control it popping out, but we thought we were going to be alone, so we went for it.”

“And you decided to have sex bent over the couch knowing that? That seems like it would be uncomfortable,” she said, looking at her best friend.

“Maybe, but it was totally worth it,” he replied with a grin. “I don’t know about incubuses. D said they’re rumored to be great lovers.”

“I could try dating him for a while even if I know it won’t be forever,” she suggested. She knew she was reaching. He was a nice guy, but her body seemed to not be interested.

“Do you really think that’s a great idea? That’s settling and not what you want,” he pointed out.

“I don’t know. I’m lonely, I think. If we both know going into it that it’s not forever, it’s not hurting anyone.”

“You’re not made that way. You would catch feelings,” Thomas warned her.

Viv shrugged. It’s not like the current object of her affection was returning said interest.

“Don’t jump into anything yet. Think about it a little more,” Thomas advised. “You should get back out there, or he’s going to wonder where you are.”

As she walked back to the table, she swore she saw a pair of black eyes staring at her, the shadows watching. She chided herself. Mac wasn’t here. He was at home healing. Plus, he never stayed where she was, so it clearly wasn’t him.

Roland was at the table, his face a little paler than when she had left.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

“I am. I need to leave but didn’t want to abandon you before you came back.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is everything alright?”

“Just something at work. I already paid the bill. It was so wonderful meeting you. I think we could be great friends, if you’re interested,” he said earnestly.

“Sure. Friends would be nice,” she replied. He gave her a hug before he left.

“What happened?” Thomas asked as he stormed over.

“Work, I guess. He thought we’d be great friends,” she said.

Thomas winced.

“Yeah. At least he was polite and paid for dinner,” she murmured. She flagged down the waiter to get her food boxed up. She wasn’t going to eat alone. “I’ll see you back home. You guys should stay and have a date,” she said, finding a smile for her friend.

Sitting on the couch, eating her perfectly cooked steak, she had to wonder. Was she really that undatable?

Mac gritted his teeth against the pain in his leg. D had called to tell him he would bring dinner over later. Viv had a date and they were going to supervise after the last one. It was at a steak place, so he would order a meal to go and bring it over when they were done.

Mac sat at home fuming, stewing in his own anger. Anger at his case, anger over the pain in his leg, anger at his pouting demon. He finally pulled a portal and stood in the back of the restaurant where he could watch Viv.

Her date was better than the last ones; both better looking and better behaved. When Mac slid closer, he realized her date was a damned incubus. There was no way she was his mate, so the guy was just looking for sex. Not that there was anything wrong with sex, he’d had plenty of hookups in his life, but the guy didn’t need to be looking at his Viv for one.

He debated what to do when the perfect opportunity presented itself when she went to the bathroom. Thomas was gone too, so he would guess he had a few minutes before she came back. Keeping himself mostly cloaked in the shadows, he stood by the man’s chair.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, keeping his voice low. He didn’t want D to realize he was here.

“What the?—?”

“Shh,” Mac hissed. “What are you doing with Viv?”

“We’re on a date. Why do you care?”

“She’s my mate,” Mac told him, his voice harsh.

“Shit, man. I didn’t know. She didn’t say anything. I never would poach on a mate.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not claiming her as my mate, but that doesn’t mean that I want an incubus playing with her either. She’s looking for love and commitment. Not a one-night stand.”

“Why don’t you claim her? She’s beautiful and funny. She’s smart. You’re a fool if you don’t claim her,” Roland scolded.

“It’s my business.”

“You can’t have her, so no one else can? What kind of life is that for her?” Roland asked.

“She can find love with another human. If she’s not your mate, then you’re not sticking around for the long haul. Say something came up with work or some other excuse to end the date but do it nicely. She doesn’t deserve to have another shitty date.”

“She doesn’t deserve having a coward for a mate who scares off other potential matches,” Roland countered.

“End the date or I’ll cut off your dick,” Mac threatened, grabbing his knife and making sure the incubus could feel its point through his pants.

“Fine. She’s a wonderful girl and you’re a horrible mate,” Roland told him, sweat breaking out over his forehead.

Mac saw Viv walking back from the bathroom and withdrew the knife. “Remember what I said,” he threatened as he pulled back fully into the shadows.

He was pleased when Roland followed directions and ended the date. He followed Viv home, making sure she got inside before heading back to his house.

It was about forty-five minutes later when D popped in.

“I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you’d be lurking outside the apartment still,” D said, his face stony.

“What are you talking about?” Mac said, feigning ignorance.

“You forget that I’ve known you for a really long time. I could sense you at the restaurant tonight. Maybe no one else could have, but you’re my family. I know when you’re nearby.”

Mac sat there, not willing to admit to his behavior quite yet. He knew it wasn’t rational, but he also had no plans on stopping.

“I can wait all night,” D threatened.

Mac looked at his oldest friend, not surprised to find disappointment on his face.

“I’m looking out for her,” he justified. “I saved her from the last date. The guy had laced her drink, and she would have been another one of his victims. I let the police know where to look, and now the bastard’s rotting in jail.”

“That was good, but what about tonight?”

“He wasn’t good enough for her. He was an incubus. She’s not his mate, so he would only be using her for sex.”

“Maybe she wanted to have sex. I don’t think she’s had any in all the time that I’ve known her.”

“She’s not the hookup type, and you know it. She would get attached to the stupid incubus and then one day he’d move on, and she’d get her heart broken.”

“I think that was up to her to decide. Thomas was telling her about Roland. She had the right to make her own decision. I know you’re not listening, so I’m just going to leave your food. I’ll see you later.”

Mac sat there in the silence, eating. He was going to keep his mate safe, even if he never claimed her. It was the only way to keep his demon side in check.