Page 30 of A Hunter Turned
Shit. He was fully erect, throbbing against the front placket of his dress pants, and suddenly immensely grateful that the cut of the jacket would hide his arousal.
“Oh, my God! Your hair, your beard,” Jamie was suddenly exclaiming, shaking him free from his preoccupation but doing nothing to tame his hard-on as she actually came forward and cupped his jaw. Nuzzling his face into her palm was an irresistible instinct he couldn’t have contained even if he had tried.
She leaned back slightly but didn’t remove her hand, and Archer noted her hazel eyes were bright with approval and also free of glasses.
“Your vision?”
Another stroke over his jaw and his much,muchshorter beard before she slid her hand her away. “Back to normal.” And then with a smile, “You look very handsome.”
Archer felt almost bashful at the compliment and realized he’d forgotten to tell Jamie the same. Clearing his throat, he said, “You look beautiful.”
Great. Now it sounded like he was saying that just to reciprocate.
“Are those for me?”
“Hm?” Looking down to where she was gesturing, he mentally cursed.The roses. Shit. Practically thrusting them at her, he stammered, “Ah, yeah. Here.”
Oh, that was smooth. Dipshit. Some prince he turned out to be. Cady would not be impressed. Closing his eyes for a second in disgust, Archer attempted to pull himself together. He was fucking everything up and acting like a damn idiot and they hadn’t even yet made it out the door. All because of two perfectly shaped, creamy, distracting shoulders he wanted to lick. At this rate, if he didn’t pull himself together, he wouldn’t be surprised if he spilled on her at the restaurant, stepped on her feet if they danced, and all of that only if he could manage to walk out of this house with the massive hard-on straining in his pants.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to loosen them and mentally talked his dick down while Jamie put the roses in water. Feeling a bit more in control, he cleared his throat and attempted to get things back on track. “I, ah, thought we’d try a place my second recommended on Dauphine Street.”
Archer had thought about asking Marceline as Cady had suggested, but considering how nosy the woman was and how much of a gossip, he’d decided to ask Jeremiah instead. The pack would still figure things out, there were no secrets in such a close group, but he’d as soon not have Marceline leading the charge. Nor had he been in the mood to deal with any of her looks of disapproval at him taking Jamie out on a date. He also wouldn’t put it past the female to take advantage of Archer’s ignorance on such things and recommend a place that was a dive in hopes of sabotaging the date. He may have put aside his dislike of vampires for Jamie and her team’s sake, but that didn’t mean the rest of his pack had.
Jamie stepped up to his side with a grin. “I’m up for anything. I’m probably one of the least picky eaters you’ll ever meet.”
“Really?” Offering his arm, he walked with her to the door as he asked, “You even like Brussels sprouts?”
“Mm,” Jamie purred, making his dick stand up to attention once more but Archer gritted his teeth and ignored the misbehaving member, focusing instead on the sound of Jamie’s voice. “Brussels sprouts with melted cheese. Yummy.”
It became a game that had him relaxing as Archer drove them into the city. He would name a food that he, or someone he knew, vehemently disliked and Jamie would argue why it was great – most of which included the food being deep-fried or smothered in cheese. So, by the time they reached the restaurant, he was laughing and at ease, the conversation free-flowing and lively. He was also, he discovered after so much talk of food, incredibly hungry, and no longer just for Jamie’s still delicious looking shoulders.
Chapter Nineteen
Jamie was having a wonderful time. If someone had told her even a week ago that Archer Langley could be charming, and funny, and a delightful dinner partner, she would have laughed in that person’s face and told them to lay off whatever it was they’d been smoking.
“Dessert?”
Jamie sat back in her chair with a groan. “I don’t think I can eat another bite.”
Archer grinned, teasing, “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’re quitting already.”
Jamie let out a scoffing sound. “I already ate over half the plate of appetizers we were supposed to split, a salad, my entrée,” grabbing the cloth-lined bread basket, she tipped it toward him to show him it was empty except for a few crumbs. “And I’m pretty sure I demolished this all by myself.”
Holding up his hands in surrender with a little chuckle, Archer conceded with an “Okay, okay. Coffee?”
“Coffee I will do,” she agreed, and since they were on the subject of food and appetites, she said. “Now, if you want to witness someone with a bottomless pit, you should watch Kane eat.” She shook her head. “I swear, you could back a dump truck of food up to his open maw and he’d take it all down and ask for more. I have no idea where he puts it. The guy defies the laws of nature.”
Archer looked thoughtful for a moment, fiddling with the flatware as he asked, “You and Kane. Were you two ever…?”
“Together? No,” Jamie said with an adamant shake of her head. “I admit when I first met Kane I was all googly-eyed and giggly. I mean, the man’s gorgeous, but it only took one hunt, being shut up in close quarters with him for the attraction to fade.”
“That bad?” Archer asked with a chuckle of amusement.
Jamie rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, the man’s a slob for one. Morgan and I are always on him to pick up his wet towels. He leaves them on the floor, on the bed – most times, not even his own bed – and, is it so hard to put the toilet seat down? I mean, come on. Kane’s like an annoying sibling that you love, but also sometimes you just want to strangle,” she said, raising her hands in a choking gesture to illustrate her point.
