by Lola Kidd
“So there will be a second date, then?”
Cade laughed. “Was that your sneaky way of getting me to ask you out again? I knew I had to watch out for you.”
“What, are you asking me out again?”
Cade leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. “I am. Would you like to see me again?”
Kira smiled and touched his forearm. “I would very much like to see you again. I had a great time tonight.”
“Me too. It’s so refreshing to date a girl who already knows I’m a shifter. It’s always such an awkward time when I meet someone new and have to explain it.”
Kira sighed. “I know exactly what you mean. When I meet a guy online and we don’t exchange pictures, they’re always surprised when they see me in person. It makes online dating a little awkward sometimes.”
“Whoa, I didn’t even think about that one. I bet that’s led to some really uncomfortable moments.”
Kira laughed. “You have no idea. Probably just as awkward as having to explain that you turn into a giant cat.”
“See in this is why I like you. You just get me.”
Kira beamed. “I feel the same way. I know we just met but it just feels like I’ve known you forever. I can just say anything and you’ll totally be right there with me. Is this a shifter thing?”
Cade stood up and went to the window. Kira wondered if she had made him uncomfortable or said something wrong.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He turned around. “It might be a shifter thing. I didn’t want to say this to you and freak you out, but since you brought it up, do you know anything about shifter mates?”
Kira frowned. “A little. You only have one, right? It’s not like humans, where if you get one and you don’t like him, you divorce him and get a new one. One mate for life, right?”
Cade nodded. “That’s right. One mate for life.”
“Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?” Kira felt like she was missing something. The way Cade was looking at her, it had to be something obvious.
“You might be my mate.” Cade put his hands up. “Don’t take that the wrong way. I don’t want you to think I’m getting too serious too quickly. I’m just saying that it’s possible. Again, it’s something that’s hard to find the right time to explain to a human.”
Kira pursed her lips. Mate? It had a nice ring to it, but it was too early for that kind of talk. This was their first date. She couldn’t agree to forever because a guy had great taste in movies and was funny. And handsome. And kind. Sure, he looked great on paper, but what if he secretly hated Scrooge? Or didn’t ever put the seat down? What if he got bad road rage?
No, she couldn’t let this mate talk go to her head. It was just like a human guy saying he loved you after the first date. Cade seemed great, but she had to be sure. LK Brides had a great track record, but she had to know for herself if Cade was the real deal.
“That’s very nice of you to say, but any girl could be your mate,” Kira said. “We’ve only had one date. Let’s hold off on the mate talk until we’ve gone on a few more.”
Cade nodded enthusiastically. “Sounds like a plan. Man, I’m glad that’s over. Didn’t think you’d take it so well. Thanks for being cool about this.”
Kira cocked her head. “How did you think I’d react?”
Scrooge appeared from wherever he’d been hiding and rubbed against Cade’s leg. He bent down and picked up the big cat. Cade scruffed him behind the ears and Scrooge purred.
“I’ve had a lot of different reactions. Some women love it and think we’re going to get married that night. Other women have freaked out and left me in the middle of a date for being a creep.”
Kira cringed. “Ouch. I see why LK does so much business. I bet most of the women who sign up know all about shifters.”
He put the cat down and brushed hair off his shirt. “I think he’s starting to warm up to me.”
“You don’t know Scrooge. That means he loves you. I’ve never seen that cat let anyone pick him up so fast besides me. He’s been a misanthrope since he was a kitten.”
“That’s cats for you. We’re a tough bunch to get close to.”
“What do you look like when you shift?”
“Would you like to see?”
Kira’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“No.” Cade pointed out the window. “There’s a big field right out there. I can shift there and nobody will even notice.”
He didn’t have to ask her twice. Kira was already up putting on her boots.
“I’ve never seen anyone shift before.” Her fingers were shaking with excitement. “I’ve always been curious what it feels like.”
“Like taking off a pair of wet jeans.” He picked up a blanket from her couch. “Mind if I go outside in this? I don’t want to have to lug my clothes in and out with me.”
Her cheeks burned. She’d forgotten that when they shifted from animal back to human, shifters were naked. That was probably a bit too much for a first date too. Lord, what was going on with her tonight? But it was too late to say no now. She had seemed so excited. If she said she didn’t want to see it anymore, he would think it was about him being naked. She didn’t want him to think his nudity bothered her. It was a part of his shifting. She was just going to have to work extra hard to keep her eyes and hands off his goodies.
“Not at all. I can throw it in the wash.” She zipped her coat. “Ready?”
“In one minute. Could you check outside while I’m in the bathroom? I don’t want to run into any of your neighbors right now.”
Kira nodded. She went outside while Cade got undressed. There wasn’t a soul in sight. The cold air bit at her cheeks and stung her fingertips. She was going to need to get a scarf and gloves if they were going to the field. She went inside and dug around her front closet to find the glove set her mother had found on sale over the summer. Kira was glad she’d held on to it. The rainbow gloves, scarf, and hat weren’t her style but they would do.
“Nice gloves,” Cade joked, coming out of the bathroom.
Kira put her hands on her hips. “You’re wearing a blanket and you’re making fun of me.”
Cade clasped both of her hands in one of his. “These don’t seem like something you’d wear.”
“My mom picked them out,” Kira admitted. “But I don’t have anything else right now and it’s cold out there.”
“How have you not bought gloves yet? It’s the middle of January.”
“I had some.” Kira glared at Scrooge. “Someone thought my leather gloves and knitted scarf were play toys.”
Cade laughed. “I’ll give you a pass on the gloves this time. And I happen to think I look pretty good in this blanket. It brings out the warmth in my skin.”
He posed like the statue of David and then did a few muscle man poses.
Kira giggled. “Enough, Mr. Universe. I want to see this shift.”
They went outside and crossed the parking lot to the field just behind Kira’s townhouse. It was supposed to be filled with more townhomes but construction had stopped abruptly in 2010. She knew it was bad for her city, but Kira had hated being woken up by the workers every morning. Now that the company had run out of money, she wouldn’t have to worry about the noise ever again. By the time someone else wanted to build there, she would be long gone. Renting was getting old. Once she settled down, she couldn’t wait to own a home.
“I’m pretty good at shifting.”
Cade unknotted the blanket around his waist and threw it to Kira. She couldn’t help but notice the ridges of his muscular abs. His body was phenomenal. She kept her eyes above the waist even though his happy trail was leading her eyes lower.
“Yeah, yeah, get to the shifting.”
“Don’t blink.”
Kira was about to tease him for talking up his shifting prowess, but it had already begun. Before she could get a word out, Cade the human started to melt away. There
was no other way to describe it. It was like his skin and bones melted into a new shape. She had been expecting a small cat. She had looked up mountain lions on the Internet after seeing Cade’s profile. They were deadly predators but they weren’t large.
Instead of a wildcat a few feet high, she was eye to eye with a giant man-eating cat. She could see why her ancestors had been so afraid of shifters. She knew Cade, yet she couldn’t keep her stomach from flip-flopping. Her heart hammered in her chest and all her instincts told her to run.
Cade walked around her, kicking at the snow and sniffing it. Kira gripped the blanket tightly as the big cat sniffed her. She hoped Cade remembered who she was. She had heard stories of people shifting and then attacking humans. She assumed they were rumors since those stories were always in tabloids or on conspiracy sites. She didn’t think Cade would hurt her, but she’d never been this close to a shifter in his animal form.
Tentatively, she reached one hand out to touch the mountain lion’s nose. The animal stood still as she brushed its nose experimentally. Once her hand stopped shaking, it moved its head forward and nuzzled her hand softly. Kira relaxed. It was still Cade in there.
The animal took a step back and shook the snow from its tawny fur. It sunk to its haunches and began to transform again.
“Can I get the blanket?” Cade asked a second later.
Kira handed it to him and he wrapped it around his waist again.
His eyebrows knitted together. “Wasn’t what you were expecting?”
“Nope.” She gulped and laughed nervously. “I didn’t think you were going to be so big.”
“You know I wouldn’t hurt you, right?” He got closer and put a hand on her arm. “It can be scary at first. But I’m still me when I shift. I may look like a mountain lion but the human part of me is still there too.”
Kira nodded. “Okay. I think it’ll take some getting used to, but I’ll be fine.”
Cade leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers softly. His lips were soft and warm against hers. Kira stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him back. Cade put his hand on the side of her face.
“I wouldn’t hurt you, Kira,” he repeated, looking in her eyes.
“I know,” she said.
“Come on, we don’t want the neighbors to see.” He took her hand and led her back to the townhouse.
It was her most unusual first date, but so far, it had been her best. She didn’t know if they were mates or what the future held, but Kira was sure of two things. One, she wanted to go on many more dates with Cade. Two, she really, really wanted to see what was under that blanket.
Five
“You look very happy this week,” Cade’s mom said.
“Do I?”
Cade hadn’t been able to keep the dopey grin off his face all week. Ever since his date with Kira, he had been on cloud nine. on one date but he was smitten. The guys at work had been giving him grief all week. He thought about her all day and all night. During the day, they texted constantly. They spoke every evening after work on the telephone. But once he texted her good night, he was alone with his thoughts.
He had barely gotten any sleep the whole week. As soon as he closed his eyes, all he could think about was her perfect curvy body. He wanted to run his hands all over her silky brown skin and wrap her long black hair around his hand as he pulled her in for a kiss. He pictured it over and over and over. His animal was eager to meet the curvy beauty.
Cade knew he had to take it slow, but it was much easier said than done. Kira was his mate. He knew it. His mountain lion knew it. And he was sure that Kira knew it too. But that wasn’t how it worked with human women. Which was fine by him. He was going to have to work a little and woo her. He could do that. He was just as romantic as the next guy. His animal would appreciate having her even more after a hard chase.
“I have been feeling pretty good lately,” Cade said.
His mom narrowed her eyes. “You hiding something from me?”
“I think I found my mate.”
Cade slapped his hand over his mouth. He couldn’t believe he’d let the cat out of the bag. He hadn’t meant to tell his mom until they’d been on a few more dates. He didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“Are you messing with me?”
Cade shook his head and smiled. “I’m not, Mom. I think I found her.”
“Cross your heart and hope to die?”
Cade made a cross over his heart. “Cross my heart.”
His mom hopped up off the bed and Cade hurried over into her arms. She hugged him so tight his ribs ached.
“You found her! I can’t believe you finally found her. I’ve been waiting for this day so long. I’m finally going to be a grandmother.”
“Whoa. Don’t get ahead of ourselves here. Nobody said anything about grandbabies yet. I just said I think I found my mate. There’s still a chance for things to go sideways.”
His mom let go of him and waved her hand. “Pshh, how many girls have you dated? Dozens, I bet. Never once have you called one of them your mate. This is the real deal.”
The dopey grin spread across his face again. “I think so too. I just don’t want us to get our hopes up.”
His mom sat back down on her bed. “Tell me everything about her. How did you meet her? Is she from Maple Creek?”
Cade sat in the recliner across from his mom and kicked his feet up. “I found her using an online service. You may have heard of them before. Lovely and Kind Brides?”
His mom threw her hands up in the air and rolled her eyes. “I told you! I’ve been telling you for years. You finally listened to your old mom and look at what happened. Why do you ever doubt me, son?”
Cade chuckled. “I knew you would get a kick out of that one. Yes, you did tell me. I have to confess, I’ve been a part of the site for a long time. So I told you. This didn’t happen overnight.”
“You’ve been a part of the site for years?” His mom threw a decorative pillow at him. “You let me go on and on about it all this time. Why didn’t you just tell me you signed up?”
“I was nervous. I didn’t think it was going to work. And I didn’t want you to think I had no chances left. At least LK was always an option.”
“All right. I’ll forgive you for this. Now tell me about the girl.”
“Her name is Kira Temple. She isn’t from Maple Creek. She lives about half an hour away in Trenton. She’s three years younger than me and has lived in Trenton her whole life.”
“What does she do for living?”
“She works as an office manager at an accountant’s office. She has a college degree in business administration.”
“A college girl.” His mom nodded, satisfied. “Do you have any pictures?”
Cade sat up and took out his phone. They didn’t have any pictures together. He was going to have to remedy that on their next date. He opened her LK profile and handed his phone to his mom.
“She’s beautiful.” His mom swiped a tear away from her eye. “You did good, Cade. When are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“I can’t ask her that any time soon. She’s a human. They don’t court like that.”
“Rubbish. She signed up for a mail-order bride agency. She wants to get married, Cade. Human women don’t go after shifters without one of two things on their mind—sex or marriage. I don’t think this girl signed up with LK to get a roll in the hay.”
“Mom!”
“Well, look at her.” She turned the phone to him. “If she wanted fun, she could have gone down to the Brazen Bull and found herself a shifter man. No, she wants to get married. Do you love her?”
“Maybe.” The grin spread across his face again. He had to stop this. The guys at work were never going to stop teasing him about it.
“You love her.” His mom rubbed her hands together. “Time to get the ring.”
“The ring?”
His mom looked shocked. “Your great-grandmother’s ring. You know I’ve been saving it for you. Your fa
ther had a family ring that he gave to me.”
She looked down at the classic ring on her right hand. “This will go to you too, of course. You can give it to one of your children. But I also have your great-grandma’s wedding ring. You remember it, don’t you? Your grandma wore it.”
Cade tried to remember, but it was too long ago. He could barely remember his grandmother, let alone her jewelry.
“I don’t remember it but I would be honored to use the ring.”
“Good. We’ll need to make a trip to the bank during the week. It’s in my deposit box.”
“Okay. We can go any day you’d like.”
His mother nodded and stood up. “We need to get down to the cafeteria. I need to tell Blanche.”
Cade got his mother her walker. “Tell her about what?”
“About your fiancée. She’s going to be so excited.”
“Hold on. I don’t have a fiancée yet.” Cade tried to slow her down. She was so fast when she was determined.
“Fine. Tell her about your girlfriend, then.”
The cafeteria was almost empty when they entered, but Blanche was at a table with a nicely dressed young man. He was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans but they were much nicer than the work clothes Cade owned. The guy also had square glasses with a thick black frame. The sides of his head were shaved but his hair was longer on top. Too stylish to be from Maple Creek.
When they got close, the guy stood up and embraced Cade’s mom. “How are you doing today, Roberta?”
“I’m doing better than usual.” She kissed the young man on the cheek. “Creek, this is my son Cade. Cade, this is Blanche’s son Creek.”
The two men shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Creek.”
“Same.”
Cade hugged and kissed Blanche before an attendant came and took their orders for lunch. Creek went to get drinks for everyone. While he was away, Mary teased Blanche about her big news.
“I’ll wait until Creek gets back to tell you,” Roberta said smugly.
“Hrump.” Blanche crossed her arms. “I’ve had enough of your game. Cade, tell me how your week was.”
The dopey grin was back again. Luckily, Creek came back with drinks before he could spill the secret. Roberta would have been annoyed if she didn’t get to give Blanche the good news.
