Chapter 5

Sophia

" Is this how we ' re going to spend the rest of the week? " I asked when Roosevelt shut off the open sign and flicked on the closed one.

" What do you mean? " he asked as he seated himself across from me in a booth.

" I mean, are you going to take me out for any romantic dates? Get to know each other? By my calculation, we ' re down to six days. "

He chuckled.

I really liked the sound of his laughter. Maybe it ' s because he seemed so grouchy all the time that when the scowl broke it made the occasion all the more special.

" As a matter of fact, I do have an idea for tonight. Before we go, I just want to say that I was really impressed with you today. I didn ' t expect you to help, you certainly didn ' t need to. And honestly, I didn't think you'd be very good at it. I was wrong. I ' m sorry. "

She smiled. " I wanted to do it. It was nice getting to know the people here. I ' ll admit that at first, I was hesitant, it ' s not every day that you meet a real-life leprechaun, but I did today. The people here seem nice. Genuine. It ' s refreshing."

" What do you mean by that? "

" I mean, you weren ' t entirely wrong. I have spent a life of privilege. All I need to say to my father is that I want something and it ' s mine. You were right, I ' ve never worked a real job. It felt good to be needed."

Reaching across the table, he took my hand in his. His hand was nearly double the size of mine, his grasp firm. " It felt good having you here helping me today. I ' ve been alone for a long time, and while I put up a good front pretending that I don ' t need anyone or anything, it gets lonely. This was one of the happiest days I ' ve had since I got here. And it was because of you."

Heat colored my cheeks and I suddenly felt myself becoming shy. " I can only imagine. What about the people living here? You ' ve never connected with anyone else? Romantically, that is."

" No. That ' s not really how it works here. You ' re either already with your destined mate or you ' re waiting for them to arrive. There ' s no draw to anyone here, because we ' re waiting for the one destined for us. " He flipped my hand so it was palm up and ran his thumb along the inside of my wrist and palm, sending a surge of arousal through me.

My mouth went suddenly dry and my pulse began to race. Springing from the bench, I took a deep breath and exhaled. " You said you have a surprise for me? "

With an amused gleam in his eyes, he stood. He knew what he did to me. Bastard. Although I had to admit, I really liked this flirty, sweet side of him.

" I do. Let me pack us a picnic and we ' ll be on our way."

I crinkled my nose up at him. " A picnic? At night? "

" Trust me, it ' ll be worth it. This place may be isolated, but it's also magical – especially when you have someone special to share it with. You ' ll see."

Sophia

He was right. Sitting in the passenger seat of the Jeep with the top down, driving down an overgrown trail with the sounds of the night creatures in the distance, was peaceful in a way that no spa could ever compete with.

As he focused on the road ahead of us, illuminated only by the round headlights of the Jeep, I focused on him. Sure his physique was incredible, and he had the dick of a porn star, but his features were also striking. His strong square jaw and high cheekbones were what modeling agencies look for in their male models. The one thing that did stick out as unusual for me was his canine teeth, they were longer than an average human ' s. It made me wonder about how he transformed. Would it be rude for me to ask about it?

" Out with it. What ' s on your mind? "

" You can read my mind already? "

He chuckled, glancing at me. " You ' re not that hard to read. "

" What does it feel like when you turn into a werewolf? "

He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth, then remained silent for a moment. " You never get used to the pain of a full shift. The beginning is fine. When my emotions are elevated, my ears and fingers get longer and my teeth grow out, stuff like that. That doesn ' t hurt . But when I do a full change, where my bones snap and reform into a wolf it hurts like hell. I hate it, yet love the feeling of being in full wolf mode. I can ' t even begin to describe how free it makes me feel , and how at one with nature."

" It sounds horrifically beautiful, " I whispered.

" That ' s a nice way of putting it, yeah."

Another few minutes of driving took us to a lake with a small beach. Hopping out of the Jeep, I grabbed the blanket Roosevelt had in the back. Clutching the blanket to my chest, I headed to the beach, with Roosevelt carrying the picnic basket in tow.

As I spread out the blanket, he began unloading the wicker basket that was filled with an assortment of fruit and cheese.

" I also brought a bottle of wine I brewed myself. I'm thinking about adding it to the menu, but I'd like you to be the first to try it. Most of the scoundrels here haven ' t had wine from the outside world in a long time, so I don ' t trust their judgment."

" Sure, sounds good. So, what keeps you all from just leaving?"

" We can ' t. We physically can ' t. Trust me, we ' ve all tried. But the town isn ' t willing to let go of us."

" I can leave when I want to though, can ' t I? "

His smile faded. " You can. But if you decide that you want to be with me, then you won ' t be able to leave. At least until the curse has been broken or lifted. "

" That ' s a lot to process. I ' d never see my friends and family again. It ' s a huge leap of faith. "

" I know. And it ' s not something we need to discuss right now. Tonight is about us getting to know each other." He pulled the cork from the bottle and poured me a glass of wine and then one for himself, before putting the bottle back in the basket.

" What do we toast to? " I asked, settling down on the blanket, laying on my side, with my head propped up on my hand.

" Hmmm. How about we toast to us? And the potential start of something magical. "

A grin spread across my lips. That was so sweet. " To us. " I clinked my glass to his and took a tentative sip of the wine. " This is nice. "

" Thank you. I think. "

I giggled, taking another sip. " What ' s wrong with nice ? Nice is a good word."

" True enough. As good as the stuff in the outside world?"

Taking a third sip, I nodded. " Definitely. My father has an extensive wine collection. I think it ' s a requirement for old guys with money. Gotta have a wine collection."

He laughed. " I seem to recall that."

" Can I ask how old you are? I ' m having a hard time pinpointing your age. "

" I ' m thirty-two. I ' ve been here a few years now. I think. It ' s really hard to say, every day here is exactly the same so time gets hard to track." He cocked his head to the side, eyeing me. " Twenty-five? "

" Twenty-one. "

" Oh …" The moonlight hit his features enough for me to see that he wasn ' t excited about my news.

" I ' m hardly a child. I know you don ' t know how I grew up, but I ' ll inform you that even though I got everything I wanted, there was a trade-off. I was raised by nannies and the hired help. So I grew up quick. Always trying to gain my father ' s approval. "

" And your mother? "

" She passed away giving birth to me. I almost feel like my father blamed me for her death. Maybe that was why he never had time for me. Just gave me money and sent me on my way. "

It wasn ' t until I said it aloud that it hit me how much it hurt. I sniffed, wiping a rogue tear from my eyes then took another drink from my glass of wine.

" I ' m sorry, it sounds like you know how it feels to be lonely yourself. " He cupped my cheek in his hand, urging me to look up at him.

Tilting my head upwards, I lifted my gaze to look into his eyes. He understood what I was feeling. He was a stranger, but he seemed to share my pain. Two wounded people thrown together. It had the makings of a sad country song.

He dipped his head, his lips just an inch from mine. Damn, he smelt good. Delicious. Like a variety of spices. Would his lips taste as good as he smelled? I needed to know.

Closing the distance between us, I brushed my lips across his.

He groaned, a low feral growl that sent a shiver of desire through me as he responded to my kiss. Taking my wine glass from my fingertips he set it to the side. Deepening the kiss, his tongue slipped past my lips in search of mine, while his hand slipped to the back of my head, his fingers threading into my hair. His hand fisted my locks, tugging lightly, making me moan in response.

Grasping the front of his shirt, I fell back onto the blanket, pulling him with me, needing to feel the weight of his body over mine.

He shifted his weight so that he was settled between my legs, with a hand braced at the side of my head to keep his weight from crushing my smaller form. His tongue danced with mine, sending pulses of pleasure and anticipation through me, amplifying the need building between my legs and moistening my panties.

Sliding my hands up his chest, I clasped my hands behind his neck as I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling his groin tighter to mine. I knew we needed to stop, but I didn ' t have the willpower to push him away when all I wanted was to explore every inch of his body with my hands, lips, teeth …