The Beast (Black Dagger Brotherhood #14) - J. R. Ward Page 0,113

rather, re-tucking the thing. Then he ran his fingers through his hair. Man, he needed to get the stuff cut. It was like a blond rug from the seventies, all shagged out.

At least the close shave he’d given himself before leaving the mansion was holding tough. And he was clean. He’d even washed behind his ears and in between his toes.

As the door to Safe Place opened and the females appeared between the jambs, he raised a hand, and got two raised back at him, one from each. Then Mary and Bitty were in front of him, the little girl staring up at him as if he might have been bigger than she remembered. Or blonder. Or maybe weirder-looking. Or something.

Who the hell knew.

“Hi,” he said, opening the car door for her. “You ready?”

“Yes.” Bitty scooted in. “Thank you.”

“Do you know what flavor you’re going for?”

“Vanilla?”

Frowning, he put the seat back into position and helped his Mary in. “Huh. Well. That’s good.”

When he was behind the wheel, he wrenched around. “You know, vanilla is great. It’s a good traditional choice. But they’ll let you try some of their other flavors before you pick. You might want to give that a shot—or stick with vanilla. Whatever works.”

“What kinds of flavors are there?”

“Oh, my God, sooooo many.”

He punched the clutch, threw the gearshift into first, but stopped himself before he nailed the accelerator. There was no time constraint here, and he didn’t want to paint-mixer the poor kid.

“Hey, is your seat belt on?” he asked, glancing up into the rearview.

“I’m sorry.” Bitty scrambled around, pulling the strap into place across her torso. “I didn’t think.”

Rhage reached up and put the light on. “Here.”

Click. “Thank you.”

Easing them out from the curb, he kept to the speed limit. And the traffic laws. And glared at an SUV who swerved out in front of them.

Bessie’s Best Ice Cream Parlor was painted bright pink on the outside, and milk-cow black-and-white on the inside. With pink tables and chairs, fifties music piped in from the speakers, and a waitstaff that had poodle skirts for the girls and soda-jerk shirts and pants for the guys, Rhage had always been impressed by how close to right they got the Elvis, goin’-to-the-hop vibe.

As someone who had eaten ice cream in 1950, he remembered firsthand what things had looked like, thank you very much.

And yup, he had chosen the right joint.

Bitty was enthralled by the place, her big eyes roaming around as if she had never seen anything like it—which was, sadly, no doubt the truth. Fortunately, there were only a few human customers: a couple who was over sixty in the corner, a father with three kids in the middle at one of the larger tables, and a pair of teenage girls who were taking selfies with their motor oil–glossed lips pursed out and their ice cream melting off to the side in little paper cups.

Leading the way over to where you ordered, he smiled at the twenty-year-old in her poodle skirt—and then really wished he hadn’t.

“Oh!” was all she seemed to be able to say as she stared across the tubs of ice cream in their glass-topped refrigerator units.

“I’d like to try out some samples?” he asked.

And could you please, please, please stop looking at me like that? The only whipped cream you’re putting on anything goes on my banana split.

No, not that banana split …

And you can skip the nuts—

Okay, come on, was he really arguing with himself over his own innuendos here—

“As many as you like.” She actually batted her eyelashes. “What flavors? And you can try the sprinkles out, too. If you want?”

The words were spoken fast and accented by all kinds of leaning over and flashing everything that that little button-down tucked into that big skirt failed to cover.

“Let me ask my wife.” He deliberately used the human term. “Mary?”

Mary’s smile was easy and relaxed and he loved that about her—she was so confident in herself and his love for her, she never balked, no matter how many females got up in his grille. “I’m fine with chocolate-chocolate chip in a waffle cone.”

“Bitty? Would you like to branch out from vanilla?”

The little girl surprised him by stepping in close. “I think … yes, could I please try some?”

As Bitty stared up at the human female, the waitress straightened a little, like the dimmer switch on her libido had been cranked down some. “You want me to get you and your dad a sampler? I’ll bring