“This is amazing,” Penny murmurs as I pull her seat out.
I walk around to my side, sitting down with what I hope is a smile. Or at least something less severe than my usual smirk.
“Only the best for my first date in almost ten years.”
She flushes. A visible reaction that has me howling within. The color slides down her cheeks, over her neck, and disappears into her dress. It makes me want to tear down her dress just to see how far that blush goes.
If it wasn’t for the fact we’re in public, I just might.
But nobody, ever, gets to see my woman like that. Only me. Her body is mine, mine alone, and I’d go, full berserker, if another man tried to claim it.
After ordering drinks, the host leaves us, telling us the waiter will be in soon.
“You weren’t lying when you said private.” Penny gazes wide-eyed around the room, as though this level of luxury isn’t her right, as my woman, as the person I’m going to protect. Forever. “I feel like I’ve won a competition.”
“I’m the one who should feel that way,” I say, leaning forward. “I can’t take my eyes off you in that dress.”
She shakes her head, as though her first instinct when receiving a compliment is to deny it. My hands fight not to curl into trembling fists, a volcano rumbling deep inside of me when I think of that. It seems impossible that no man has ever told her how downright beautiful she is.
But at the same time, I know that it’s probably for the best. The animal inside of me wouldn’t be able to take it if there was another man out there, sniffing around, waiting to get his hands on my woman.
I can’t even think about that without wanting to snap his neck, even if this person doesn’t exist.
“You really like it?” she murmurs, staring down at the table.
“Yes,” I say fiercely.
“I was so nervous about wearing it. I don’t normally dress up like this.”
“But this is a special occasion, eh?” I smirk. “Now I feel underdressed.”
“No,” she says quickly. “Don’t say that. I think you look handsome. And… and hot.”
She averts her gaze when she offers the last bit, staring off to the side like she can’t believe what she just said. I find myself grinning even wider, enjoying her discomfort because it makes her flush again, an even deeper shade of crimson this time.
“I’ll take the compliment,” I say and change the subject to take the heat off her for now. “What are you thinking of ordering?”
She picks up the menu. The paper shakes in her hands, telling me she’s as filled with deep-rooted desire as I am… or not. Maybe she’s just nervous.
She smiles softly, looking at me as though it costs her a great effort, and then back down at the menu.
“I’m not sure. There aren’t any prices…”
I chuckle, nodding. “The richer you get, the fewer people like to talk about money. It’s something I’ve had to learn over the years. But don’t worry about the cost. Everything’s on me, of course.”
“There are some girls who’d be offended by that.”
“Oh, really?” I say, enthused by the sudden spunk in her tone.
“Hmm-mm,” she replies, the sound making me think of how she’ll moan when I’m buried deep inside of her. “They’d say it’s not your place to offer to pay. That everything should be equal.”
I raise my hands. “Listen, Penny. I’m all for equality when it comes to you doing what you want, following your dreams, and working how and when you want. But tonight, right now, there’s no damn way I’m letting you pay a cent.”
She glows, her smile so captivating I almost lean across the table and kiss her. We’ve made progress, admitting that we’re not doing this only for her blog. But that doesn’t mean she’d instantly melt the moment my lips touched hers.
“But I’m an old man,” I go on jokingly. “You can’t hate me for my old fashioned beliefs.”
“I don’t hate you for it. I think it’s romantic.” She looks away again, the same way she does any time she says something that may leave her vulnerable. “And you’re not old.”
“Older than you,” I say. “How old are you, anyway, Penny?”
“Twenty,” she murmurs. “Is that too young?”
The truth is she’s the perfect age, but I can’t tell her specifically why. Not yet.
I have to remember what happened when I rushed into things with Lena, how she grew to slowly despise me, and how she resented me toward the end. I have to remember how she wouldn’t move out for weeks, hanging on, making a bad situation worse.
But Penny would never behave like that. I refuse to believe it.
Even so, I can’t tell her that she’s the perfect age to bear my children. She’s the perfect age to give me several, over the years, maybe four or five. She’s perfect, full goddamn stop.