“True. You may run away screaming by the end of the night when you realize how terribly dull I am.”

“I'll save my judgment for after you’ve fed me.”

Eli glanced around before looking up at the apartment building, his eyes narrowing, a confused look spreading across his face as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I think we're being watched.”

Whirling round, I looked up and, sure enough, Beth was at my window, peeking through the curtains from the third floor.

“Ignore her!” I squeaked, grabbing Eli and turning him around, shoving him lightly in the direction of the car.

“A friend of yours?” he asked.

“Unfortunately. Usually, she has more manners than this, but considering she's looking after my child, I can't be mean to her right now.”

Eli threw his head back and laughed deeply. The movement drew my attention to the veins in his neck. God, he smelled so good, I wanted to bite him there. His laughter only intensified his scent, making my mind go all wobbly.

I needed to get my hormonal omega instincts under control immediately, or my date was going to descend into chaos.

Eli took a few steps toward the car, opening the door on the passenger side and gesturing for me to enter.

“Are you going to tell me where we're going?” I asked.

“It’s a place on Emerson Street, you’ll see.” He smirked. “I'm assuming you've shared your location with your friend?”

“I haven't, actually. I probably should do that,” I admitted.

Eli's smile fell. “While I have zero intention of hurting you, you still need to look after yourself. I could be a serial killer!”

“I thought we already covered this. I'm the serial killer and you’re my innocent victim.”

He rolled his eyes. “No amount of being cute is going to stop me from telling you that you need to take better care of yourself. Now, share your location with your friend before we go, then I can continue wooing you.”

Wooing me?

I could get used to the idea of being wooed.

Pulling out my phone, I shared my location with Beth. The only answer I received from her was a bunch of emojis with heart eyes and a few that I was pretty sure meant something sexual. There were several vulgar emojis.

Turning my phone screen so he could see, I beamed at him. “See, all shared.”

“Good girl.”

Good girl.

Fuck me, the date hadn’t even officially started, and I was a quivering mess.

It turned out, Eli was taking me to a café.

“I thought most cafés closed before the evening,” I said. It was past seven, so surely, they should be closed.

“This place is a little different,” Eli said as he led me through the doors and to the front counter. “It's open late, and it serves drinks and food, but the biggest attraction is the fact that there are over a hundred types of board games we can play.”

My eyes widened. “I've heard about these kinds of places, but I've never been to one!” I rushed to say excitedly.

“If this isn’t your sort of thing, we can go to the Italian place next door,” Eli said, a hint of nerves entering his voice.

“No way! Just look at how many games there are. What can we start with?” I asked, peering around the room and the shelves of games.

Eli’s smile widened as he gazed down at me. The tension dissipated from his shoulders, and he relaxed, wrapping an arm around my waist from the side and pulling me closer to him.