Page 91 of Filthy Fae

“Oh, you want to know.” He winked. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.”

“Butthead.”

He stepped away. “All right, you go on before you’re late for your very first date.”

I gave him a quick peck on the lips and turned for the door. Heading across the apartment, I detoured toward Lance’s room, where he and Darrel sat talking. Leaning into the doorframe, I looked between my mates. “You guys sure you’re okay with this?”

They glanced at each other and then at me.

Darrel ran a hand over his short beard. “You’re really only asking me, huh?” He closed the distance until he towered over me. “Scarlet, if I tell you that I’m sure about something this important, you know I’ll never go back on it.”

Studying his intent expression, I nodded.

“Now, go have a good time on your date.” Leaning in, he whispered, “I love you.”

My heart skipped at his words, even though it wasn’t the first time I heard them, and I wrapped my arms around him and whispered back, “I love you, too.”

A knock came at the door, and I broke away from Darrel.

Mingled nervousness and excitement churned in my belly, and I dashed to lean over Lance’s desk and give him a quick kiss.

He rubbed his fingers down the side of my neck. “You have a good night.”

I opened the front door to Mack’s grinning face. His aquamarine eyes brimmed with happiness as they met mine. “Hey, beautiful. Ready?”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Mack

“What do you talk about on a date with someone who already knows everything about you?” Scarlet asked as she climbed into my Ecomarion.

Naveen hadn’t been happy about letting the car go. He’d even played the “our mother almost killed me so she could have sex with a demon impersonating your other half-brother” card. On any other night, I might have given in.

Not tonight.

As we drove through the darkening streets, I had a hard time concentrating on the road. My heart felt like it was literally swelling with love. Needing to touch Scarlet, I offered her my hand, and she threaded her fingers through mine.

“I guess we talk about anything,” I said.

“What?” She blinked at me, looking lost.

“You asked what we could talk about on our date.”

“Oh.” She laughed, and maybe it was just me, but I thought she sounded nervous.

“Hey, Scar.”

She looked over, the low light casting a warm glow over her beautiful face.

I squeezed her hand. “It’s just me, like always.”

Scarlet returned the pressure on my fingers and bit her lip. “You know what? I’m too nervous to eat yet. Mack, would you mind pulling off somewhere for a minute? It’s kind of on the way to the restaurant.”

Scarlet led me down a side street and into a cul-de-sac at the end of a road. We parked before a three-story old Victorian with an elevated first story. It looked recently restored with a fresh coat of blue paint and white shutters. The front of the house boasted two bay windows, a porch, and a wide wooden swing.

Scarlet hopped out and beckoned with a wave. “I was going to wait until after dinner, but if we do it that way, I’ll ruin our date obsessing about this.”

“Okay,” I said. “We have some time. Honestly, I could care less if we make it to dinner or not, Scar. I just want to be on a date with you—at a fancy restaurant or in a random neighborhood, it really doesn’t matter to me.”