Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
She noticed several women look toward Rocco, and she hated this but gritted her teeth. They were some of the biker groupies she heard the guys talking about. No one realized Rose was standing around waiting and listening, and there was a lot she heard. Most of the time, people treated her like she was invisible.
“Come on, let’s get to the bar,” Rocco said.
He didn’t take her hand again, and walked on ahead. People made way for him, but not for her. She had no choice but to work her way through the crowd and join Rocco at the bar. He hadn’t even realized she hadn’t been following him.
She’d not been on any dates, but she already knew this had to be one of the worst in history. What was even more pathetic about their situation was they were mates. Their wolves had connected, and the truth was, Rose was attracted to Rocco, even though she hated him and didn’t want anything to do with him. Why did life had to be so unfair?
Her mother had always talked about that moment she finally saw her father. It was like the whole world had faded for both of them. Her mother had never met a man so handsome, and her father had never met a woman so beautiful. They made mating seem like a good thing.
Rose had even looked forward to one day finding her mate, and now that she had found him, it was nothing but disappointment and heartache. Her parents had never shed a tear due to the pain the other caused, but she had shed a tear, more than a few. She wanted to cry right now, but instead she kept her shit together and just ignored it.
Rocco was clearly used to dates going a certain way, and it was not like this one. He ordered them both a beer and then turned toward her. Rose didn’t drink beer, not that it would have a huge impact on her body. She had tried it once, one of her dad’s, on the night after her first transition. They had done so to celebrate.
She hated the taste, but rather than tell him and run the risk of making it even worse, she picked up her bottle. Rocco looked at her, and then he moved again. They found a booth somewhere in the back, away from prying eyes.
Sliding into the booth, she noticed he kept looking around at the bar. Rose put the beer on the table, sat, and waited.
Seeing as he was intent on staring around the bar, she did the same, noticing several couples and a lot of people enjoying themselves. They made dating look fun. This was anything but. She couldn’t help but think about that care package in the car, and her thoughts drifted to Graham all alone in that cage. He must be so afraid.
Rocco’s attention came back to the table, but only long enough to have a drink of beer.
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” Rose asked.
There was only so much silence she could take, and it’s not like she wanted to force him to be with her. It was why she had given him a wide berth. She had even tried to turn down her cleaning services because of him, but the Poison Wolves MC needed her. This was about the whole pack, not just the two of them.
“What?” Rocco asked.
“Look, I get that I’m not Miss Popular, but if you didn’t want to be seen with me, you could have asked to come for dinner or something.”
Rocco frowned. “No, it’s not that.”
“It’s not?” She found it hard to believe.
“No, look, I’ve never been on a date,” Rocco said.
Now, this time she was the one frowning. “You’ve never been on a date?”
“No, I haven’t, and I know that is a shock to you, I can see it.”
“I do find that hard to believe. I know you’ve been with a lot of women.”
Rocco puffed out his cheeks. “It’s not … I know, and with you, I know I have already fucked up big time, and for that I am sorry. I don’t want to mess this up, I don’t know what to say or do.”
“Well, maybe you could start by looking at me,” she said.
He lifted his gaze and she offered him a smile.
“Was that so hard?” she asked.
“I like looking at you.”
Rose stared across the table at him. “You’re saying a lot of things tonight that I am finding hard to believe.”
“It’s true. I do like looking at you, even when you’re cleaning. It’s why I always volunteer to stay behind. To keep an eye on you.”
“You know, if you weren’t a wolf, that would sound very creepy.”
He chuckled.
“I always figured you stayed behind so I wasn’t tempted to tell the others that we’re … you know.”