Drive towards dinner
At seven o'clock, Nate parked in front of the building.
He waited for Lara and the pups to come down, leaned on the car and pretending to be not-so-nervous.
He had spent the whole afternoon directing the chef. In the end, he made him cook even more food than he needed. But he couldn't be sure what Lara liked.
His penthouse had been cleaned thoroughly, and he even bought some new furniture for one of the empty rooms. It now had a huge bed and a wardrobe. It could be perfect if he could convince Lara to stay the night, for the pups could sleep there.
He would buy two separate beds later when they started living together. Or, most probably, he would move to his villa. He got plenty of rooms there. The pups could have one each.
For the moment, though, he had to focus on the little improvements that would bring Lara to trust him.
The first was: a dinner without incidents. Then, he would offer her a glass of wine. He would wait until it was late, and then he would propose she and the pups slept there.
He prepared counter-measures to any problem she could have.
And he was damn determined that night. He would at least let her realise he wanted her. Then, it would have been up to Lara whether to accept his court or not.
But he didn't have any intention to give up that easily. Thankfully, the pups were a link among them that could never be severed.
«Sorry for making you wait!» Lara exclaimed as soon as she was close enough to talk. She had a bag with her, probably with spare clothes for the pups.
«Let me help,» he offered, and he carried the bag to the car.
After getting confirmation there was nothing that could be broken, he stored it in the trunk.
«I bought security seats for the kids,» he informed Lara. «You should sit in the front; the twins will be perfectly safe on the back.»
The girl blinked, surprised by such a move.
«You bought the seats just to drive us once?»
«Oh, it won't be once. I plan on driving them more often from now on.»
«Oh, yes... Sure...»
She opened the car door and lifted Jaden to fasten the belts first.
«They're heavy for you,» Nate said. «I can carry them; there is no need to...»
«I can do,» Lara replied. She wasn't weak as not to be able to pick up her cubs. And they were still little.
She didn't want Nate to think she couldn't take care of them because she was a plain human.
He scoffed, picking up Scarlet and circling to the other side.
«I'm just worried for your back, Lara. They're growing up fast, aren't they?»
«You can say that!» she replied.
While he walked, Scarlet took the chance to strike his shoulder. She wasn't feeling all that bad in his arms, but she couldn't let that man think he stood a chance to conquer her mommy.
Nate didn't even notice until he leaned her down. His shirt was wet where the little girl drooled while biting.
He pinched her nose playfully, and the pup frowned. She showed her fangs, and her eyes glowed in the car.
«Don't do that on the street,» he warned her. «If someone notices, you might be taken away from your mother.»
Those words were more effective than a thousand threats.
Scarlet closed her mouth and calmed down, peeking around in search of walkers. No one was there.
«You can't be sure that no one sees,» Nate explained. «When you're in a public place, you have to control yourself no matter what happens. Am I clear?»
She pursed her lips, unhappy she didn't have an argument against his words. Yet, she nodded.
Everything was fine, as long as she stayed with her mommy.
Nate checked a second time the belt was fastened correctly. He even threw a glance at Jaden to see if the situation was the same. Then, he sighed in relief. He didn't mess it up.
He sat at the driver's place and waited for Lara to reach him. Oh, maybe he should have opened the door for her. He was thinking about the pup's belt, so he forgot!
«Good!» Lara said when she finally sat.
At least, he did take two big, big seats for the pups. That way, Lara would have preferred to sit next to him in the passenger seat.
He smiled at her and noticed her red cheeks. Either she was embarrassed by the situation, or she was feeling shy.
She fastened her seatbelt so fast that he couldn't find any other reason to stay there and look at her.
He started the engine and drove in the evening traffic. His penthouse was in the centre, in a quite expensive area. Yet, he preferred to live there rather than at the villa.
And there was his mother at the villa. It was too soon to make her and Lara meet. He needed to make sure his mate wouldn't get scared of his family, and his pack... Lara still didn't know enough about him.
He couldn't rush if he wanted her to stay with him. His long-term plans had priority over immediate satisfaction.
He waited six long years just to meet her again. A few months more shouldn't have been such a suffering trial.
«Are you hungry?» he asked.
Jaden shook his head, set on defending his mother from Nate.
Scarlet, on the other side, was still too wary to think further than the moment. She nodded, hoping there would be some meat on the table.
«Awesome! I've made sure there's plenty of food,» Nate said. He could see Scarlet from the mirror while Jaden was in the other corner, hidden.