He smiles at her and says, “Just thinking how proud I am of you and how much I love you.”
“Oh,” she says and blushes. “Well, I love you too and I am proud to be your mate.”
His turn to blush as her words warm him and start to heal his ragged heart. They arrive at the restaurant shortly after that and he ushers her inside. It is mid-week and fairly quiet, but all eyes turn to them as they enter. They must make a striking couple, and he is pleased of the envious stares. They are led to a quiet table by the window with place settings opposite each other. That won’t do. He quickly rearranges it, so he is sitting to her right. Close enough that he can touch her, but also so he can look into her face. She is eyeing up the breadbasket that was placed in front of them and with a quick look at him, she grabs one and stuffs it into her mouth. It is gone in three bites and he raises his eyebrow at her. She said she wanted food, but he didn’t realize it was quite as bad as that. She reaches for another but slows down to ply this one with butter and she relishes each bite as he watches her.
“Stop it,” she mumbles.
“No way,” he says. “Watching you eat is fascinating.”
Her blush returns, but it doesn’t stop her from buttering a third roll.
He looks over the menu and asks her what she wants.
“Everything,” is her reply and he laughs.
She takes it from him and casts her eyes quickly over it and hands it back. She has decided and by the looks of it can’t wait to get started.
He calls the waitress over and Liv starts. “Soup, green salad, and stuffed mushrooms to start. Rib-eye, very rare, with lots of fries and onion rings, the spaghetti and meatballs and more bread please.”
She hands the menu back and the waitress makes to leave, assuming Liv had ordered for the both of them. He clears his throat and puts his hand out to stop her from leaving. She looks astounded but doesn’t say anything as she takes Lincoln’s order of, also, rib-eye, very rare, with lots of fries and onion rings, he adds to Liv’s delight. He wanted to order more. That won’t fill him up or keep him going very long, but he is certain that Liv won’t eat even a quarter of what she just ordered.
She leans towards him and smiles her beautiful smile at him. “Kiss me,” she says, and wild Wolves couldn’t stop him. It gets very heated, as he gets carried away with being able to do this here with her and when someone mutters, “Get a room,” he laughs and pulls away. He can see her desire for him burning in her eyes and he wants to take her away from here and to their clearing in the woods, where he can take her repeatedly. He is about to suggest it when her starters arrive and she dives into it, shoveling the salad into her mouth at a rapid rate. He frowns at her now. He was enjoying watching her before, not that it makes any difference. She won’t gain weight no matter how much she eats, but it pleased him anyway as she is so tiny. Now, he is starting to worry. It is completely unnatural for her to be heaping this much food into her mouth. The salad has gone, the mushrooms are half finished, being washed down with cream of tomato soup, in between bites of bread. He seriously hopes this doesn’t make her ill. It won’t be a pretty sight.
The steaks and pasta arrive, and she is on it immediately, savoring the taste of the bloody meat before she grabs handfuls of fries.
“Liv,” he says to her. “Perhaps, slow down a bit?”
She stops mid-chew and looks down at the smorgasbord in front of her. “Sorry,” she says. “I have no idea where this is coming from.” She replaces her fork and takes a ladylike sip of her wine. It makes him laugh and he shakes his head at her, but his worry only exacerbates as she is sitting there, eyeing up the rest of her dinner, dying to get stuck in again. She doesn’t wait for permission before she picks up her fork and finishes both dishes off before he has got halfway.
Then she starts eyeing up the rest of his!
He sighs and hands it over to her. She will only order something else if he doesn’t comply with her hunger. She grins at him and accepts it with grace, before she ruins it by picking it up with her fingers and eating it like some sort of cavewoman. She licks her fingertips and wipes her mouth and hands on her napkin and sits back, finally looking replete. Lincoln and the rest of the restaurant are staring in open shock that someone so tiny could put away so much food so quickly.
“Finished?” he asks her sardonically and she laughs.
“For now,” she says. “Want to get out of here?”
“Well, that had to be the shortest date in history,” Lincoln says as he asks for the check.
“Oh, it’s not over,” she says. “I know exactly what we can have for dessert.” She licks her lips and he nearly keels over at the suggestion in her voice.
He helps her up after he has paid and amidst stares of awe, they leave the restaurant.
“The clearing?” he asks, desperate to get her on her hands and knees on the mossy ground.
She shakes her head to his disappointment. “It’s too cold,” she says. “I really feel it now. I need a nice warm and comfy bed.”
Well, that’ll do, he thinks as he starts the car. “Where to?” he asks.
“Go home, but then I am taking you back to L.A. We will have privacy, but also showing my face is high on my list of priorities,” she says.
“Good idea,” he says and drives off. Although, there is going to be a bit of conflict once Chrissie wakes up, he isn’t sure he wants Liv around to deal with that. It will be up to him this time.
A few hours later, after “dessert” proved to be one of the best moments in his life, he holds her close to him. He needs this closeness and comfort from her. She drifts off as expected so he just lies there with her in his arms. He must have fallen asleep as well, as he suddenly wakes up when he realizes she isn’t next to him. He panics for a moment until he sees her over by the window.
“I should get going,” she says.
He nods, wishing that she didn’t have to go.