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Reece

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  I wanted to stand there, enjoying the sound of the music, but I also wanted to go in there and see my Little Bunny. Would she be willing to play music with me sometime? I would love to produce beautiful music with her,

  I pushed the door open, and my Little Bunny didn’t even pause in her strokes when she spoke to me.

  “I was wondering how long it would take you to come in, is there a problem Snoopy?”

  “Snoopy? That’s a new one.” I told her, a smile on my face.

  “Well, you’re snooping on me aren’t you.” I laughed, she was funny and quick on the uptake.

  “I’m not snooping, I wanted to talk to you.” She stopped playing the music, the last notes of which reverberated solemnly in my ears before they died.

  “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Your playing was lovely.”

  “Thank you, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what you came here to tell me.” She grinned lopsidedly, the half-smile raising one cheek making her look sweeter that I had anticipated.

  “No, but your playing distracted me. Can you really blame me?” I asked sheepishly, I was embarrassed and didn’t know why. I could feel my palms sweating, my heart rate rising. I wanted this conversation to go right.

  “I’m glad you liked it, now, what do you need Reece?” She looked at me full on, a look of skepticism in her eyes and a wary set to her shoulders and jaw. She was nervous too.

  “Will you have dinner with me again tomorrow?” I saw the shock register on her face, chased by the embarrassment as her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. Her mouth opened in an attempt to speak but nothing came out, she just stood there, rooted to the spot unable to say a word.

  “I promise, I will be on my best behavior. My hands will be kept to myself. Nothing will happen unless it’s mutual, right?” I reminded her of her words, her promised threat to me. “I will not do anything to make you uncomfortable.” I added.

  “Why?” She asked me. That one word felt like it could be the knife that finished me off.

  “Because I have to return to my normal schedule soon. This holiday and the subsequent weekend are the end of my vacation.”

  “That’s nice and all, but that doesn’t answer my question. Why do you want to have dinner with me?” She still didn’t trust me yet.

  “I want us to get to know each other. I want us to learn to trust each other, to start over.” She narrowed her eyes at me, like she thought I was plotting something. Her lack of trust and confidence in me was painful, but I only have myself to blame.

  “Alright.” She finally said. “We can have dinner.” I smiled, grinned really. I couldn’t help it. She was giving me another shot. Goddess knows I could have blown it completely long ago, and she didn’t have to give me a chance at all.

  “Good, that makes me so happy. Thank you, Little Bunny. I will see you for a late dinner tomorrow around nine, will that work for you?”

  “Why so late?” She asked me warily.

  “I have a few things to do tomorrow during the day, so we have to push things back until the evening. But I promise, I will make things perfect. Do you have a preference for dinner?”

  “I’m assuming Abigail will be cooking?” She asked me.

  “That or we can order out. Anything you want.” She actually thought about it for a moment, lost in thought momentarily, before she answered me.

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t need anything in particular.” The smile she gave me then looked forced. She clearly wanted something specific, but she felt she shouldn’t ask. “I’m going to get back to playing, I’m out of practice.” She turned away and raised the instrument again.

  I watched her for a moment as she rested the violin under her chin and placed the fingers of her left hand on the strings. The bow, held lightly in her right hand, gently began to move back and forth. She was playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto NO. 3, and it sounded beautiful.

  I left her then, the music following me out of the room. The notes chased me down the hall. I was happy, happier than I probably should have been. Given our track record, I knew something was bound to go wrong, but if I kept trying, things would get better. Right?

  I went to her room to ‘pick her up’ just like I had done the other day. I knocked gently on the door and called out to her. I secretly hoped I would get to watch as she bent forward to put on her shoes again. The halter top she wore last time didn’t leave much to the imagination, and the view was quite pleasant as she leaned forward. I remember having to tie my wolf up and gag him at the sight of her breasts straining against that top.

  She opened the door quickly, and unfortunately, she was fully ready to go, shoes included. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at having missed out. Oh well, I got to see her still, and she hadn’t disappointed me with her choice in clothes.

  This time, instead of blue, she was wearing a deep wine-red colored dress. It was simple in its style, but it was beautiful and flattering on her. It stopped just above her knees, and it appeared to be made out of silk. The cut was low but not obscenely so. The straps went up and over her shoulders like a halter top, but there was also a set of thin straps criss-crossing three times across the back of the dress, which was cut very low.

  I wanted her the moment I saw her. The color made her look like her skin was glowing. Her hair was done in beautiful cascading curls, for once she hadn’t pulled it back at all. The amount of skin she was showing was so alluring and seductive that I needed to fight for control. I felt my palms itch, and a tightening in my jeans, when I could finally have her I would savor the moment.

  I swallowed hard, fighting past the lump in my throat.

  “Shall we go?” I asked her as I held my hand out toward her.

  “Yes.” She smiled at me sweetly, testing the tenuous control I had over my wolf. I took her hand and walked toward the stairs. She was wearing a pair of strappy heels, but these heels were far from excessive so she should manage them just fine.

  I led her down just two flights of stairs to the second floor. She was not expecting this. She turned to look at me with a perplexed look, but she said nothing. We continued on in silence until we got to the library.

  I pushed the door open, allowing her to see the inside and the changes that had been made for tonight. A candlelit table for two, a roaring fire in the hearth, a serving cart with the food covered. I heard her sharp intake of breath as she gasped, I didn’t know if it was at the sight of the romantic scene I was trying to create or the smell of the special meal I had prepared.

  “Reece, is that-?” She stopped, unable to finish. She could tell what I had prepared. I think that was probably the most surprising thing of the night for her. If what Noah told me was true, then I had gotten my Little Bunny’s favorite of favorites. I grinned.

  “How? How did you do this? How did you?” She was surprised, but I could see how happy she was.

  “I asked Noah. I could tell you wanted to ask for something yesterday. I don’t know if it was this or not. But I decided to ask what a good choice would be for tonight.”

  “Is it from where I think it is?” She was looking at me hopeful.

  “See for yourself.” I said as I led her over to the cart of food.

  I took the lid off the tray and there was an array of white take-out containers bearing red Chinese lettering and playful looking panda bear.

  “Lucky Panda’s Garden?” She exclaimed happily. “Oh Goddess, I haven’t had this in months.”

  “You can order take out still you know. You don’t have to eat in every night. And it would be nice to give Abigail a night or two off from time to time.” I smiled at how happy she looked.

  “I just didn’t know if it would really be acceptable to have this here.”

  “Why wouldn’t it?” I asked her, confused.

  “Well, think about it, we’re always eating the food here but the one time you took me out it was to a super fancy restaurant. I just get the feeling that take out Chinese food would not be welcomed in a house like this.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Yeah, we live in a big fancy house, but we’re still just people.”

  “That’s easy for you to say, but to me it feels like a completely different world.” She was looking nervous now, that was not what I wanted.

  “That was never my intention. I wanted you to be comfortable here from the start. I asked your cousin your preferences. I chose your room because he said you liked the color blue. I had the staff learn some of your food and drink choices, all so you would transition easier. I didn’t want you to stress out.”

  “I think stressing was going to be inevitable. I was moving into a new home with no warning. It was a scary thought.”

  “Did you find me that scary?” I asked her, a hint of sadness in my voice.

  “There were times I was afraid, but more so because I don’t, or didn’t, know much about you. But mostly, it was because I was afraid of the changes, and the choice being taken away from me.”

  “I’m sorry, but you know we don’t get to choose our mates. The Goddess picks them for us, we simply need to accept that and let the bliss that follows be ours.” I smiled seductively at her.

  “Yeah, except my mate told me he didn’t want me, that he rejected me, and that he hated me.” I saw the pain in her eyes. It was raw and open. Even now she was hurting every time she thought about those words.

  “I’m sorry Little Bunny, I never should have said any of that to you. I was wrong.” I regretted those words, from day one I regretted them. I just needed to make her understand that. “That’s why I want to start over. I want us to pretend that never happened.”

  “I’m willing to try, that’s all I can promise you.”

  “That’s all that I can hope for.”

  We sat down to dinner then. My Little Bunny looked elated to see the food I had in store for her. We had chicken chop suey, General Tso’s chicken, Chinese rib tips, wonton soup, egg rolls, fried rice, and white rice. I got everything that Noah said she loved the most. I had never seen her eyes look as big as they did then.

  We talked about different things, typical date topics and get to know you questions. We were enjoying ourselves. I couldn’t be happier with how the dinner was going. I kept it calm and didn’t try to rush anything. I was letting everything happen naturally tonight.