Escaping Monsters - Rita Stradling Page 0,78

my mind, we’re pretty far into this.”

I pushed my face into Lucas’ shoulder, hiding what I was sure was very red cheeks. Peeking up at him, I said, “Lucas, we need to work on hiding our flirtatious banter in front of people, or they’re going to think we’re into some freaky shit.”

“Oh, we already know about you two…” Declan winked down at me. “And, I think I’m supposed to leave anyway, so you can continue your kinky talk without me listening in. But, for the record, I have no plans to give you away, Teagan. At least not for longer than tonight.” The big guy leaned down and kissed me on the top of my head. “I will, however, get out of your hair for your date.”

“Thanks, Declan,” I shot back at the massive werewolf as he turned around and headed for the other side of the roof.

Lucas smiled after Declan and then turned to me, his gray eyes warm. “Want to sit?”

I glanced down at the couch that the men must have carried up from the living room. They’d also carried up our thick wood coffee table, and several candles sat on it, flickering with flames.

“The kitchen table wouldn’t fit into the stairwell…” Lucas began to say, but I squeezed his arm.

“It’s all so perfect, Lucas. Thank you for doing this for me.”

We sat side by side, and I immediately wiggled out of my boots and curled up into Lucas’ side. An unimpeded view of Grayhaven lay out before us. As the sun set over the pine forest, the city glowed with twinkling lights.

Behind us, Chad strummed his guitar, starting up a low, soft melody that didn’t come from his grunge rock days.

Someone crunched over the gravel toward us, and I glanced up to find Jasper’s bright blue eyes on mine as he set a tray of food before us.

I reached out and touched his hand. “Hey, Jasper.”

He squeezed my fingers. “You two have a good night. I’ll be patrolling around the building, so yell if you need anything.”

“We will,” Lucas said.

Ace stopped by our table next to pour the wine, giving us each a smile as he handed it over. The guy had claimed no responsibility for saving my life, even though it was his coded message about the memory eater that had given us all the opportunity to stop Oliver.

No one had seen the creature, but Ace said that the night before the Oliver incident, a demon patron told him that the memory eater was from North America and looked like a union of a puma and a bear.

This sent Ace on a full night research binge on North American legends, only to find a note about the fearsome critters, seemingly invented by lumberjacks in the eighteen-hundreds. There was one creature that fit the description that was said to take a person’s memories if you looked it straight in the eyes.

As Ace handed me my wine glass, his fingers brushed mine, and a small smile lit on his lips. “You two have fun,” he said as he pulled his hand away. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“You’re a mystery, Ace. I have no idea what you wouldn’t do,” I called after him.

“Neither do I,” Lucas said as he took a sip of his wine, “And I’ve known Ace for years.”

The bartender shot a smile back before heading down into the stairwell.

When we were mostly alone, Lucas and I leaned into each other. His arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I tucked my hand into his tux at the waist.

I took a big sip of my burgundy wine and set it on the table. “Can I say another thing you’re not supposed to say on a first date?”

Lucas’ fingers ran through my curly hair, brushing it over my shoulder. “Your honesty doesn’t scare me, Teagan. I love how authentic you are.”

Everywhere his fingers touched me, tingles spread over my skin. The sweet feeling and the warmth of the wine in my belly bolstered my courage, and I said, “I wanted to get married to a man exactly like you, Lucas. I wanted someone smart, kind, considerate, caring, funny, and genuine. It was like I was trying to find you. I wanted you so much, I let someone trick me into believing that I had, but it was complete lies. And yet, even after everything, this month has proven that I’m still the same woman who wants to spend her life with you.”

His gray eyes sparkled with humor, and