9. Lonely

Torin’s pov

I have never felt this nervous around a woman. I’m trying my hardest to be charming, to be myself, and to make sure I’m not doing too much.

If I want to get to know Raelyn, it has to be as friends, at least at first.

But it feels impossible not to compliment her, not to look at her or notice every little thing about her.

The way she looks when she’s nervous, the way she blushes when I compliment her.

It’s impossible not to admire the woman next to me.

And when she was daydreaming and smelling like desire next to me, all I wanted to do was kiss her.

No, that’s not all. I wanted to do so much more. I wanted to eat her pussy, be balls deep inside of her while she screamed my name, and take her over and over again until her legs felt like jelly.

Of course there is the possibility she’s thinking of her husband when she’s looking like she’s lusting for something more than food, but I know for a fact it’s me. It’s not just because of our bond; it’s how she looks at me, how she acts around me.

I have an effect on her, and it's so damn hard not to act on this knowledge and see how far I can push her.

I don’t know much about Raelyn, but I get the sense she’s loyal to whoever she loves. She’s not the type to cheat or lie, so I would rather not put her into a position where she feels guilty or bad about the choices she’s making.

“Right there,” she pointed to a small lunchroom.

I parked my car and opened the door for my mate, giving her a hand as she stepped out.

Once again my actions made her blush. Was she not used to being treated like a lady? Or was it because I was the one doing these things?

“A table for two, please,” I said as we walked inside.

We were led to a table, and I pulled Raelyn’s chair out before sitting down myself.

“So, let’s see what they have here.” I said, looking at the menu.

We sat in awkward silence, staring at our menus until the server came to take our order. Raelyn ordered one small dish, while I ordered several.

I wanted to give her a chance to try different things, but it was mostly because, as a werewolf, my appetite is huge compared to that of a human.

It was adorable to see Raelyn’s eyes growing bigger and bigger with each item I ordered.

“How can you eat like that and stay so…?” She asked, before stopping herself from finishing the sentence.

“Charming? Fit? Handsome?” I joked while I winked at my mate. “I have a big appetite and rapid metabolism, I guess.”

“Me too; my grandmother used to joke I had the appetite of a wolf,” Raelyn admitted. “But it’s not really ladylike, I guess.”

I frowned, “who told you that? It’s hot seeing a woman devour a big meal.”

“Until she gains weight, right?” My mate questioned me.

I was stunned by her words. Whoever put these thoughts in her head was dead wrong. “No. I don’t mind a bit of meat on a woman. Every woman is beautiful in her own way, and I would never want anyone to starve themselves just to fit a certain image of what they think I consider attractive.”

She seemed to think about my words for a bit. Her eyes darted around the room as she thought. I loved being able to see her facial expressions this up close.

“But if you love someone, you would want to be the perfect version of yourself for them, wouldn’t you? If someone falls in love with you when you look a certain way, you should try to continue to look like that. For them?”

I shook my head, “no, Dimples. You’re perfect regardless.”

I didn’t mean to say you… We were talking about hypothetical relationships, and here I was speaking directly about her. Thankfully the server brought over our food, and we both dug in.

I started putting a bit of my food on her plate, a little of each dish.

“You don’t have to…” But I shook my head to stop Raelyn from finishing that sentence.

“This way you get to try a bit of everything…” I explained.

My leg brushed against hers, and I let it stay there, hoping she wouldn’t move either. Being close to her just felt right.

“So, what do you do for a living?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

She looked embarrassed, “I, um, I am not working right now. I used to work in a grocery store.”

“Okay, any specific reason for being without a job? I’m sure there are some positions in my company that you could be perfect for.” I have several positions in mind…

She shook her head, “we just figured it was better if I stayed home.”

“We?”

“Me and Dylan. I mean, for the time being. But um, Dylan told me you often work from home. Why is that?" She tried to deflect, and I let her. If she didn’t want to discuss certain things, I wouldn’t force her.

“Yeah, I let my bet-, best friend, Colton, handle the day-to-day office stuff on most days. I’m,-“ How do I explain my job as alpha in human terms? "Besides being the owner of the Valko Enterprises, I’m also the mayor of the small town I live in. It’s up to me to handle any disputes and keep the community safe, so to speak.”

“Wow! You must be busy all the time.” She said as she took a small bite.

“Yeah, pretty busy, but not too busy to make time for things or people that are important.” I would never be too busy for her. "Being the boss means I get to make my own schedule."

She blushed, “is it lonely at the top, like they say?”

I nodded as I swallowed another bite. The food here was pretty great, but nothing compared to the packhouse food. “Yeah, it can be.”

She nodded sympathetically. It must be really lonely to stay home all the time.

I took a sip of my drink while pondering my next move. “It must be lonely while Dylan is gone. I’m sorry for taking him away from you.” I really am not sorry. I wish I could take Dylan away from my mate permanently.

She shook her head, “it’s fine.” She must have realized what she said, “I mean, of course I miss him. I can’t wait until he’s back.”

Lies. I could see it on her face.

“Maybe while he’s gone we can meet for lunch more often? We can be lonely together.” I suggested. “People at home and the office all want something from me. It’s nice to just talk with someone, you know?”

She giggled, “how can we be lonely together when we’re together?”

I smirked, “even better. We won’t be lonely at all.”