Chapter 2: Her Hips Don’t Lie

One good thing about having a wolf as an alter ego was that he tended to be braver than the man himself.

At least, that’s what Cade thought when he walked into the Half Moon Bar his first night in New York City. By word of mouth from the underground magical world, Cade had found himself in the most raved-about bar in New York.

Word was that the owner had connections to the NYC Pack and he’d hoped to get in contact with them to find out all he could about the Dark Moon Curse that had plagued his family for generations.

At least, that was his initial goal. After he’d taken only a few steps inside of the bar, he’d spotted the girl behind the bar. She appeared to be one of the bartenders there and she was chatting with her co-worker.

He saw her laugh before he heard it, but it’d blown him away nonetheless. The way her eyes crinkled into slivers and her nose wrinkled… The way she lightly touched her nose with her knuckles as if she were trying to hide her smile… She was beautiful.

Cade sat at the table a little ways away from the bar and listened to her occasional laughter. He had the urge to make her want to laugh like that. He wondered what she and her friend were talking about.

Before he knew a single thing about her, he was intrigued by her radiance. And the wolf in him was interested as well. In fact, the wolf in him had made Cade’s gaze linger on her much longer than he would have if he hadn’t been half-ruled by those wolfish instincts.

He just hoped that it didn’t look like he was stalking her like prey.

The girl was young, probably in her mid-twenties, and she had long, sandy-blonde hair. When he’d seen her step out in front of the bar for a moment, he took a moment to appreciate her curves, her long limbs and strong thighs. He clenched his teeth and willed his wolf to calm down.

When their eyes met for a moment across the bar, he couldn’t help but want to talk to her. She looked away as if she were embarrassed, which cooled his spirits for a moment.

While the waitress took his order, he spotted the girl behind the bar watching them in the corner of his eye and he automatically regained his confidence.

It was taking too long for his food to arrive and the girl was trying her hardest not to look at him. Unfortunately, that caused Cade’s mind to run back to his whole reason for coming to the Big Apple.

His father’s health was declining quickly, and if Cade didn’t find a way to break the family curse, he’d have to watch his father wither away just as his grandfather and great grandfather had.

Additionally, Cade selfishly wanted to use this time to figure out what kind of person he was, what kind of wolf he possessed.

He’d spent his entire life in the Colorado Mountain Pack listening to his father drone on about broken hearts and curses and fates worse than death. It was depressing, but Cade knew there had to be more to life than heartbreak.

There was more in New York. Guaranteed. After all, he had connections. His best friend Devon Delaney was there.

At first Cade was annoyed and offended that his best friend had left him behind, but having an insider on the east coast was nice. He’d been able to tell Cade about the NYC Pack that worked primarily under the city’s nose.

But all of that nonsense just went away the moment she came up to him and slid his plate of food in front of him. She smelled wolfish, magical, but there was something more powerful that he couldn’t put his finger on. Nonetheless, he was relieved and excited that she’d finally approached him.

“I was hoping you’d come over here,” he said, not bothering to hide his smile.

The girl was holding back her grin, the corners of her mouth twitching adorably. “How could I not when you’ve been ogling me for the last thirty minutes?”

“I guess it worked then,” he said with a grin. “What’s your name?”

“Fiona. And yours?”

“Cade.”

Fiona shifted her weight, jutting one of her hips out slightly. “Well, Cade, enjoy your burger.”

Cade felt a pulse of desire go through him at the sound of his name on her lips. “Well, actually, I was hoping to enjoy some time with you,” he said, leaning forward onto his elbows.

“I’ll be off in an hour… if you can wait that long,” she said. Her smile was confident and mischievous.

“I’ll wait as long as it takes,” he muttered as she turned and went back to the bar. He watched her until she looked back at him and chuckled.

He was almost embarrassed to have been caught looking at her again. He began to nibble on his burger— suddenly a different kind of hunger —and he waited until Fiona reappeared about forty-five minutes later with her hair up in a low ponytail.

He thanked her in his mind for not making him wait any longer. He wanted to know her.

“I can’t help but notice that you’re from out of town,” Fiona said, sliding into the chair across the small round table. Her knee bumped into his and it shot a volt of warm electricity through him.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I’m from Colorado.”

“So I was right,” she said with a grin. “I guessed you were from out west.”

Cade smiled and nodded. “What’s your opinion of a westerner then?”

Fiona blushed and looked down at the table. “Well if I’m judging off of you, I’d have to say that they’re quite handsome and have striking brown eyes.”

A girl had never made him feel butterflies before. Actually, he thought that was more of a girl experience. He didn’t realize it was possible for him. But one little compliment and a glance up at him through those lashes had those butterflies swarming inside of him.

He chuckled and scooted forward in his chair. His knee brushed her lightly again, but he didn’t want to be too aggressive, so he let it fall out and rest against the metal leg of the table rather than Fiona’s leg.

“This is the part where you tell me what you think of easterners,” she said, scooting forward in her chair. She pressed her knee into his and left it there, daring to look right into his eyes.

“So far I’d say that they’re stunning and brave. I really appreciate their directness. It’s refreshing,” Cade told her. He pushed his plate out of the way and let his arms take up the space instead.

With both of their arms on the table in front of them and both of them sitting on the edge of their seats, their knuckles were all but two inches away from touching.

Fiona hummed pleasantly. “So, what brings you out here?” she asked.

How much could he tell her without freaking her out? The minute he said something about a love curse on his family, she’d probably think it was some kind of lame pickup line.

For some reason, he still wanted to tell her about it, but he decided to refrain from the big details.

“I’m here visiting a friend, exploring. I’ve been trapped in Colorado my whole life, so I wanted a new perspective. I guess I’m out searching for something and hoping to find out more about myself along the way,” he said. He hoped she didn’t think that was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard.

She smiled softly. “So you’re on an adventure…” she said quietly. “Is there anything in particular you’re hoping to find?”

Talk about a leading question… Cade thought. His chest was filled with a rapid fluttering that left him feeling exhilarated and out of breath all at once.

What was that feeling? How could she have stirred it up within minutes of talking to him? There was something special about her…

Cade straightened up slightly in his seat and extended his index finger to bridge the gap between them. He brushed her knuckles lightly, nervous to meet her eyes. He was confident that she was interested in him, but he’d never done this type of thing before.

“I think I just found the first little unexpected treasure,” he said.

Fiona responded by extending her index finger as well, sliding her finger against his intimately and smiling at him. The sensation was nothing like he’d felt before. It tickled in the most pleasant way and it left his whole body tingling, wanting more of her.