The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 190: Chapter 190

Cole never told lies if he could help it. Especially not to other Shifters. What would be the point? Still, he hated the flash of disappointment in her eyes, and he reached out to stop her as she stood up.
“Hang on, now. Wait just a second. What about dinner?”
“What about it?”
“Come on. Let’s finish our drinks, then we can get some sustenance. Okay?”
“This is all very confusing,” she said. “I mean, I had no idea what to expect when I got here, but I was curious about this place.”
“You were?”
“Um, yeah. But it’s getting late, and maybe I need to sort through my feelings. I only found out tonight that this bar was owned by legendary Dire Wolves. I’ve been wanting to meet one of you since I was a cub,” she confessed. “My Dad had great stories of some he met when he traveled across the country on the back of a Harley straight out of high school before he mated my mom. Anyway, I didn’t even know my prospective date was with one of them.”
“Megan,” Cole interrupted, but she shook her head and kept right on going.
Little steam roller.
“But then I met the Alpha fem, who is awesome, by the way. I really like Lucy. She reminds me of Elissa, that’s my Pride’s Nari. Anyway, it took a lot for me to get enough courage to come inside here, and I almost immediately got into a fight with two normals. Right after that, I was turned down by my date, even if it was gently,” she said without embarrassment. “So yeah, I’m thinking call it a night.”
“Before you decide that, answer me this. Why did you contact a matchmaking service, Megan? Huh? Explain to me how a woman like you needs help to find dates,” he growled and gave her a long, slow perusal from head to toe.
“Isn’t that obvious?” she said, eyes wide as she glanced down at herself.
“Um, no. And I don’t know why you are looking at yourself. You’re hot as fuck, woman. I’m seriously considering Lucy’s whole friends with benefits idea,” he growled.
“That was not an idea. It was a question!” Lucy shouted from where she stood down at the other end of the bar.
“You don’t have to feed me lines, Cole. I know exactly what I look like. I contacted Uncle Uzzi because I want a mate. My Tiger wants a mate, and someday, cubs. I’m looking for something real. I understand if you got roped into this somehow. Sorry about the hassle⁠—”
“Whoa. Slow down, woman. Where did you get the idea any of this was yours to apologize for?” he asked, standing up too.
“You just wouldn’t understand,” she said, closing her eyes.
“Then explain it. Please,” he added.
Cole needed her to look at him. He couldn’t explain why. Shiiit. He didn’t even want to ask himself that question. Still, he waited, simply taking her in while she gathered her calm. She really was something. Cole was used to being big compared to other Shifters and normals, but Megan was less than a head shorter than him. Surprisingly, he liked that.
She exhaled softly, and something in his chest stirred as she opened her eyes. She stared right at him then. Direct and without guile, then she huffed out a sigh and waved her hand between them.
“What does that mean?”
“Need me to spell it out, do you? Fine. Just look at you,” she said, as if that was obvious.
“I need a little more than that, lily,” he growled, confused as hell.
“For Pete’s sake, fine,” she mumbled and rolled her pretty eyes.
Shiiit. She got even better looking the more annoyed she was. But he didn’t like that she was pissed at him. Hell. He didn’t even do anything yet. At least, not to his knowledge. Damn. She was talking already, and he needed to pay attention if he wasn’t gonna fuck this up any more than he already had.
“I’ll explain it to you then. See, you’re like a ten, Cole. A hard ten! And I am like a six point four. Now, that’s not so bad. I mean, look I’m not bad to look at and all my girly bits work just fine.”
“Good to know,” he said and grinned.
“Zip it till I’m finished, buster. Now, I’ve got an excellent work ethic. I’m responsible. Oh, and I’m an excellent conversationalist when I am interested in the topic. I am a little jumpy and I don’t always know my own strength, but the point is, I have a lot to offer a good man, and I get it. You don’t need help finding a woman, even for one night. But this meant something to me, and friend or not, I don’t enjoy wasting my time. Uncle Uzzi must have gotten his magical wires crossed and for that I am sorry,” she said easily, standing up. “But no worries. We can be casual friends, and that’s cool. But excuse me if I am a tad disappointed. You have a good night.”
Then she was gone. She just walked away, leaving him drowning in her wake.
“Hey, hang on a second,” Cole said, pushing through the crowd to catch up with her.
He knew she heard him. Her ears twitched, and she canted her head to the side, but Megan didn’t even slow down. Sassy little thing, he mused, liking her even more.
“Dinner! You owe me dinner,” he said, and that seemed to do the trick.
Megan stopped in her tracks, turning around with her mouth open wide.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“Nope. I said, you owe me dinner. Now, whether I signed up for Uzzi’s services or not, I told my Alpha I would go on this date and have dinner with whoever the old Witch sent here tonight. That’s you.”
“So what? You can eat with anyone here,” she scoffed.
“No, I can’t. I gave my word. And I haven’t eaten since eleven this morning. You know what happens when a Shifter doesn’t eat for a very long time, lily. Come on. Eat with me. Please, lily.”
Cole watched her face closely, gauging her reactions. Surprise, then pleasure, next confusion, followed by a wariness he wanted to chase away. Megan straightened her shoulders and nodded her head once. Oh, but that little affirmation made him want to pump his fist in the air and whoop out a victory call. He restrained himself. Barely.
He placed his hand on the small of her back, biting his lip at the sting of pleasure buzzing through him at the slight touch. The feel of that sheer material covering her spine beneath his fingertips made his beast want to come out and play. She didn’t seem to notice what she was doing to him, walking in front of him, so his eyes followed the sway of her hips with every step. He growled at every male he saw watching her, possessive instincts he did not know he even had were rearing their ugly heads.
Oh, she was trouble, this one. Trouble with a capital T. A fierce, beautiful, proud, no nonsense tiger lily. Sexy, sweet, tempting woman, daring him to reach out and take her. Make her his. Did she know? Could she tell she was making him curious, getting his Wolf all riled and protective?
Mine.
He wrestled his beast down, pushing the Wolf to the back of his mind. Cole had relied on his animal the last time he’d picked a woman, and he’d chosen badly. This time, it was going to take more than animal magnetism. This time, he wanted to see if there was a connection. A soul deep, life altering, heart wrenching connection that could span the ages. Like the matebond his Pack shared with their fated mates. Lucy and Derrick. Weylin and Gwen. Phoenix and Tracey. Leo and Sheila. Brock and Ariella. Thor and Nica. All of them had been blessed by the gods, and fuck, that was what Cole wanted for himself.
What? No. We don’t want that, he argued with his Wolf.
Grrrr. Yes we do.
Was that selfish? Maybe. Was that why he’d stayed single so long after Carly? Perhaps. Cole couldn’t see the future like Thor, and he wasn’t an Alpha like Derrick. So, maybe he needed something they didn’t. Maybe he needed Uncle Uzzi’s help to guide him to his mate after all.
The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. There was no shame in it either. Plenty of supes used matchmaking services or dating apps. Hell, he was kind of embarrassed he hadn’t thought of it first. How incredible of her to put herself out there, taking a chance on love when he’d been hiding from it for years. His esteem for Megan went up another couple of decibels.
Brave woman. Sweet woman.
Proud to be the lucky man who got matched with her, Cole guided his date to a table and held out her chair, noting the surprised smile on her face as he slid it in behind her. She wasn’t used to a man doing something as simple as holding out her chair, and fuck, but that made him angry as much as it made him proud. Oh, something was happening to him.
His animal never got protective of strangers, but she felt like more than that. She felt important, and his chest grew warm whenever he looked at her. Cole practically vibrated with the need to do more things like that for her. Simple tiny little caring things every woman should have in her daily life.
It made no fucking sense. She was a stranger. He didn’t know a thing about Megan Sudak. But he was curious, and after a decade of not giving a fuck, that was something. It was a hope. It was a spark. And where there was a spark, fire could possibly follow.
Cole had been resigned to living the life of a lone Wolf in the middle of a Pack filled with fated mates and happy pairings. But maybe that wasn’t his destiny after all. Something about the sassy female with the bright eyes was changing his point of view. Disrupting everything,
Trouble. This female is trouble with a capital T.
But he couldn’t stop that warm feeling from growing every time he looked at her. Even Wolf was watching quietly from inside his mind’s eye. Yeah, maybe he was wrong about being a loner. Maybe Megan was supposed to be his. He didn’t know for sure yet, but Cole was willing to take the time to find out. And that was another fucking miracle.
“Alright, so we’re here. You and me. Having a friends only dinner. So, what’s good on the menu?” she asked, taking stock of things in that way she had while she perused the list of specials.
Friends only.
Suddenly, Cole found he didn’t much care for that particular phrase. His Wolf grumbled and Megan’s Tiger bright eyes flashed up at him. Fuck. She was pretty. Interesting too. She seemed unsure of herself, but the sexy see-through bodysuit she wore beneath her cropped rock band tee with some torn up jeans said the opposite. This was a woman who knew what she liked.
He wondered why all the uncertainty and contradictions. But he wouldn’t pry. Nope. Cole wanted to earn those stories from her. Patience. She needed patience, and he could give her that.
“You trust me?” Cole asked, head cocked sideways as he waited for her answer.
It was important, for some reason. And when she nodded, he released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.
“I might be rushing things, but yes, Cole. I think I do trust you,” she replied softly.
“Good,” Cole growled.
His pulse was racing again, and his Wolf howled inside of him. The beast wanted to celebrate. Megan trusted him. That sweet, pretty, daring little she-Tiger trusted Cole. Him. Dire Wolf. Monster.
“Hey Carlos,” he called out to a passing waiter.
“Yeah, boss?” the young male asked, nodding at him then at Megan.
“Tell Brock I’m here with a special guest and to whip us up whatever he thinks is best.”
“You got it, boss,” the younger male replied with a nod.
“Wait, so you didn’t mean do I trust you? You meant, do I trust this Brock, whoever he is, with making my dinner? Pretty sneaky, sir,” Megan replied saucily.
Cole laughed out loud. Surprised and delighted, he gasped in mock outrage.
“Are you impugning my honor, woman?”
“Oh, no, never that!” She laughed, shaking her head.
“Ha! I guess I did. But seriously, lily, you can trust me to get you fed, and you can trust Brock with dinner. He’s the Pack Beta and an excellent chef,” he told her, and he smiled.
Hell, he just couldn’t stop grinning at her. After a few minutes, Carlos returned with a bottle of mineral water and two glasses full of ice and slices of lime. Next, he brought out a couple of appetizers, including Brock’s famous hot honey wings and riblets.
“Ohmygawd, this really is good,” Megan told him as she scooped a bite of tuna sashimi salad with a fried wonton chip and popped it into her mouth.
Her pink tongue darted out of her mouth, licking a dollop of ginger soy sauce from where it spilled, and his eyes followed the movement intently. Cole had never been particularly aroused by food or the act of eating, but there was something so deliciously sensual about watching this woman eat, it filled him with yearning.
Cole canted his head as he watched her greedy as a toddler addicted to that Bluey cartoon. Hell, he only knew about that show because Lucy had already started playing it in the background for her and Derrick’s triplets. Little cuties. He wondered how Megan would react to the cubs. Likely she’d be wrapped around their tiny little fingers. She seemed like the type who’d love a family.