in California and got lost in Los Angeles. After finally figuring out where to go, they’d hit a massive traffic jam and been forced to sit for hours on the expressway. It was the first time she’d ever heard her Nan swear.
The conversation flowed easily between them. Apart from Mia and Nan, no one had ever shown so much interest in Tabitha and her life, no one had ever listened to her stories so attentively, had ever made her feel so heard.
The waiter returned at some point to clear away their empty plates. The food had been so good that Tabitha had been tempted to lick her plate clean. He left them with a dessert menu and told them to take their time in deciding.
Tabitha perused the menu out of curiosity. Unsurprisingly, almost everything sounded delicious. “The cheesecake is tempting, but I don’t think I could eat another bite,” she said, sliding the menu toward Zevris. “You can get something if you want. Don’t let me stop you.”
Eyes locked on her, Zevris slipped a finger beneath the menu and flipped it shut. He pressed the pads of his fingers down atop it, turned it, and slid it to the edge of the table. “I already have plans for dessert, Nykasha.”
Tabitha blushed under that heated stare and the promise in his voice.
When the waiter returned, Zevris paid for their meal. He helped her from her seat and, rather than walking ahead of or behind her, remained at her side as he guided her through the restaurant, his hand resting possessively just above the curve of her ass.
She looked up at him in surprise. He met her gaze and smiled. There was no shame on his face, no embarrassment, just pure want and tenderness in his eyes. Zevris was walking with her as though he were proud that she was his date.
As though he was claiming her for all to see.
As though she was his.
Twenty-One
Cool night air swept over Tabitha as she stepped out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk, sending a shiver down her spine. Tonight, the breeze carried just a touch of winter, which was totally unacceptable—she refused to let fall be skipped over before it had truly begun. The chill wouldn’t have been so bad were it not for the pleasant warmth she’d left behind in the restaurant and the fact that she’d not brought a coat or a cover-up.
She hadn’t wanted to cover this dress, not with how Zevris looked at her in it. Not with how beautiful he made her feel.
Zevris released the door he’d held open for Tabitha and moved to her side, placing his hand once again on her lower back. She loved the feel of it there, but there were more than a few other spots she was eager for him to touch tonight.
They turned and walked down the sidewalk. The street was bathed in a yellowish-orange glow cast by the streetlamps and businesses along it. It was that particular quality of light, artificial but somehow charming, that seemed to settle upon most cities after dark. Each of the many trees lining the sidewalk cast multiple shadows, none of which were very deep or dark. The cars parked along the curb to either side of the roadway gleamed with reflected light, just like the river was somewhere behind Tabitha.
Parking had been the only real issue this evening, not that she’d considered it much of a problem. They’d had to park a few blocks away from the restaurant. Zevris had woven along the nearby streets in search of a spot to fit his pickup truck, muttering about the lack of parking places like a man who’d lived in a big city all his life.
She’d laughed a few times at the things he’d said, especially when he’d refused to find a parking garage, saying that the whole concept was criminal. Why, in a place where such methods of transportation were all but required, should someone have to pay to register their vehicle, to be licensed to operate that vehicle, to fuel and maintain that vehicle, and then have to pay to turn it off for a while, too?
That Zevris had laughed along with her had proven that his grumpiness was only on the surface, and that he’d not let anything so trivial as difficulty finding a parking spot put a taint on their evening.
There were a few other pedestrians out and about, including a well-dressed couple walking toward the restaurant Tabitha and Zevris had just