Chapter Six

Although his jeans weren't awful, Dominic didn't have a shirt to wear. So, he waited in the car while I went into a chain store and bought him some new jeans and a T-shirt that read, “Savage as hell, but I still need cuddles.”

I gave him his change and the bag. The shirt was on top.

When Dominic saw it, he burst out laughing. “You are my perfect woman. Do you know that?”

“Put it on already. I'm getting hangry.”

“Yes, ma'am.” He snapped off the tags and pulled on the shirt. Then, after leaning the seat back, he slid off his old jeans and handed them to me. “Can you grab my phone and wallet out of the pockets?” He pulled on the new pair.

“Sure.” I cleaned out his pockets and then watched Dom wriggle and shimmy until he could zip the front of his new jeans. “You good? They fit okay?”

“Yup. A little stiff, but that's to be expected.”

“Not as stiff as these.” I tossed the bloody jeans in the backseat of my old Honda Accord. “Come on. The cafe I want to go to is just around the corner.” I got out, waited for him, then locked up.

Dominic hurried around the car to take my hand as I stepped up on the sidewalk. Like a couple who'd been together for years, we strolled along, nodding at the people we passed.

I looked over and caught him grinning at me. “What?”

“I can't believe that just last night, I followed some random woman home, and it led to this. To you. Talk about turning a tragedy around.”

“You got shot. A lot.”

“Angel, I'd do it ten times over again to meet you.”

Was I blushing? I didn't blush. But I ducked my head to hide my face anyway, anyway.

Dominic released my hand to slide his arm around my waist and pull me in against his side. He kissed the top of my head. “I feel so damn lucky.”

“Okay, stop,” I said. “I love compliments as much as the next girl, but this is getting . . .”

“Creepy?” He grinned in a maniacal way.

“Oh, that's just wrong. Terrifying actually.”

Dom chuckled and stood back to take my hand again. “All right. I get it. Slow down, Dominic.”

“No, I like the speed we're going at. I'd just like to put it toward getting to know you too, not just getting flattered by you.”

His grin softened. “I want that too.”

I waved at the restaurant. “Maybe over breakfast.”

“Definitely.” He held the door open for me.

“Hey, Amélie,” Cassie, one of the waitresses called when we walked in, and then hurried over. “Table for . . .” she trailed off and stared at Dominic. Then she cleared her throat. “Two?”

“Yes, please,” I said. “Cassie, this is Dominic.”

“Nice to meet you.” She grinned brightly. A little too brightly. Then she waved us over to a booth. “Cassie likes this table.” She flushed, then hurried to correct herself. “I mean, Amélie likes this table. This all right with you?”

“Anything my angel wants is good with me,” Dominic said.

Cassie whimpered.

Dominic slid onto one of the benches and as I did the same across from him, Cassie leaned over to set down the menus. She turned toward me to dramatically mouth, “Wow!” Then straightened. “Uh, we have a couple of specials this morning. Maple pecan pancakes or we're doing a scramble of bacon, zucchini, mushrooms, green onions, and potatoes with Bearnaise sauce. You guys want anything to drink other than water?”

“Coffee, please,” Dominic said.

“Me too,” I said. “Decaf.”

“You got it. I'll get those for you while you look over the menu.” She hurried away.

We spent a few minutes looking over the menu, and then Cassie was back with our coffee. I got the pancake special and Dominic got pancakes as well, but he went with the chocolate chip and added a side of bacon. I fixed my coffee with cream and sugar, then sipped it, feeling oddly shy. Mentally, I chided myself with, This is what happens when you get intimate with someone you barely know.

“So, I, uh, like cream and sugar in my coffee too,” Dominic said.

“What?” I frowned at him.

“Well, we're getting to know each other and we're drinking coffee. I thought it was a good time to get that out of the way.”

I snorted.

“I also love that you snort,” he said.

I snorted again. Then I laughed. “You don't think it's unladylike?”

“Oh, fuck that. It's an expression of humor, and I love to laugh. It's my favorite thing. Well, my second favorite.”

“Yeah, I figured that out. Your energy is very lighthearted. Kinda unexpected after the way I found you.”

Dominic's good mood vanished, and he glanced out the window. “Shit. I need to be more careful with you. One of the Host could see us.”

“So what?”

“They might target you to get to me.”

“They won't get past my ward.”

“And what about when you're out in town, like this?”

“I have ways to protect myself.”

“Yeah, so do I. And they still got me.”

“Because you let your dick rule your head.”

Dominic barked out a laugh. “Fair enough. But women used to be a weakness for me.”

“Used to, eh?”

“Yeah.” Dominic's expression went tender again. “I think it's just one woman now.”

I stared at him.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Sorry. That was too much.”

“No, that was sweet. But it felt real.”

“It is real.”

“It can't be. We barely know each other.”

“All I need to know is that you're the one.”

“You're the one,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Oh. No, sorry. I was just thinking about someone else who said that to me.”

“You're thinking about another guy?” Dominic gaped at me. “Already? Wow, I'm really insulted.”

“Well, he said it to me yesterday. It's odd timing.”

Dominic blinked. “Yesterday? Someone said those very same words to you yesterday ?”

“Yes.” I frowned. “You know what's even stranger? He kinda looks like you.”

“Does he?” Dominic said, his expression going blank. “How interesting.”

“Now you sound strange.”

“What's this man's name?” Dominic asked. “How do you know him?”

“He comes into my bar a lot.”

“Your bar? You work in a bar? I wouldn't have guessed that.”

“No, I own it. I serve my potions there along with regular drinks. It gives me a way to help people without being obvious about it.”

“Now that I can see. So, back to this guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “He's a total man-whore. Well, sort of. He comes in, picks up a woman, dates her for a week or so, drops her, then comes in again for someone new. His name's Darius.” I frowned. “He has a D name too. Weird.”

“Yeah. That's really strange.” Dominic's eyes twitched. “But it sounds like this guy is an asshole.”

I laughed. “And you're not just saying that because he's competition?”

“He's not competition.” Dominic snorted.

“Here you go!” Cassie said brightly and slid several platters of food between us.

I leaned back. “Thank you.”

“Anything else I can get you?” She looked back and forth between Dom and me.

“No, we're good,” Dominic said. “Thank you.”

“I'll be back to refill your coffee.”

“Thank you,” I said again. I smiled at her until she was gone, then lifted a brow at Dominic.

“What?”

“You're jealous.”

“No, I'm not.” He chuckled. “You said he's a total man-whore. I assume you put him in his place.”

“Oh, I did. Very much so.” I winced. “And then I accidentally doused him in a potion.”

Dominic burst out laughing. “You did what?”

“It was horrible,” I whispered. “He kept hitting on me, so I left the bar and went into my office. I was working on a potion when he snuck in. He startled me, and I tossed the potion at him.”

“What potion was it?” He leaned forward over his pancakes, totally ignoring the steaming stack of deliciousness.

“It's called Open Your Heart. It's to make people more open to love.”

“Oh, shit.” Dominic laughed again. “That's perfect for a man-whore like this Darius guy.”

“Normally, I'd agree. The problem was; the potion needs to be consumed. When taken properly, it doesn't affect free will, it just opens the person to possibilities they may not have considered. But Darius got drenched in the stuff and instantly started spouting all of this romantic nonsense. He said he dates all those women because he's looking for his soul mate. And then he said that he was certain I was her.” I shook my head. “It was the potion.”

“Ah. Well, there you go. That explains it. It's a coincidence, but he was enchanted while I mean every word.”

I stared down at my pancakes. They were covered in an ooey-gooey maple sauce studded with candied pecans. I cut into it and took a bite. Then I groaned.

“I'll slow down,” Dominic said, then took a bite. He groaned too. “Wow.”

“Yeah, they make the best pancakes here.”

“The bacon's good too.” He waved a piece of thick-cut bacon at me. “Damn. How have I never been here? We've lived in Spokane for centuries.”

I glanced around to make sure no one had overheard him, then widened my eyes at Dominic.

“Don't worry about it.” He waved his fork. “If someone hears me say shit like that, they assume I'm joking, or exaggerating, or that they misheard.”

“Have you really lived here that long?”

He nodded. “Since before it was a big city.”

“Wow. Immortality. It must be nice.”

“It is.” Dominic paused, then added, “Now.”

I shook my head and went back to eating.

“What kind of movies do you like?” he asked.

“Anything but horror. I used to like zombie stuff, back when The Walking Dead was popular, but then I realized how it brought down my mood. It hung around, you know? The brain can't differentiate between what it sees on a screen and what is really happening to you. So, for your brain, watching a horror movie is like you're getting chased by monsters. I started to watch happier stuff and guess what?”

“My angel got her wings?” Dominic shoved another forkful of pancake in his mouth.

“I certainly felt better.”

“Well, try this and you'll be flying even higher.” He held out a forkful of chocolate chip pancakes.

I ate it and groaned. “So good. Here.” I repaid the favor and offered him a bite of mine.

“Oh, damn!” Dominic leaned closer. “Can I have some more?”

“No way! Eat your own.”

“Pardon me.” Dominic waved down Cassie.

“What can I get you?” Cassie hurried over. “More coffee?”

“That too,” Dominic said. “But can I get an order of those pancakes?” He waved at my plate. “Amélie won't give me more than a bite, and I need them.”

Cassie chuckled. “You got it!”

“Well, in that case, you can share more of your pancakes with me,” I said and stabbed the piece he'd just cut for himself.

“Hey!” He glared at me. “You denied me, woman. You don't get to eat my pancakes and have me too.”

I laughed. “I think I can.”

His glare slid into a smirk. “See? You do know me.”

My smile softened. “I'm getting there.”