Chapter 19
It was easily the best date Harper had ever had. Granted, it had been years since she had actually been on a proper date, and even her dates in high school and college had been more group dates, occasionally ending with some heavy petting or quick kisses that had left her cold. She hadn't exactly been celibate the last few years, but her partners had been few and far between, and nothing more than a mutual scratching of itches that sadly had only reinforced Harper's preference for a portable boyfriend she could tuck away into the drawer and forget about until later. No muss, no fuss.
But tonight?
With the early Spring sun setting behind the Rockies, the air filled with a crispness similar to what she remembered from the Pacific Northwest, yet more earthy, while a cool breeze carrying the ever-present scent of pine, melting snow, and fresh growth, with Bard sitting across from her?
Yep, already the best date ever.
They talked about their families, their careers, and interests; finding that while she was a Falcon fan, he still proclaimed himself a Viking fan (of course), despite living in Colorado for a while now. They laughed as they enjoyed an incredible "house" wine, shared a huge basket of fresh cut French fries covered with what was definitely an unhealthy amount of rich gravy, shredded cheese, and bacon bits, then while he proceeded to demolish three massive burgers (cursed shifters and their uber-metabolisms) while she enjoyed hers, some kind of black pepper and blue cheese-encrusted deliciousness that had her groaning, which in turn had Bard growling.
"Darling, those sounds are going to kill me. I'm trying to be a good boy, here!"
Being able to make a grown man growl like that? Totally empowering! Particularly since his growls made her all tingly in the best possible ways.
Is it too early to say, 'fuck it, let's have sex'? I mean, we're mates, right? Fate, God, whoever, decided that we were meant to be together and maybe have children...
Harper paled at the thought of having children. Little boys or girls, with Bard, together. Them, becoming parents. She didn't know how to be a parent!
"What is it? What's wrong," Bard was suddenly at her side, one hand coming to rest almost hesitantly on her shoulder, as if he were afraid to touch her.
Placing her hand over his, looking up into his concerned face, Harper felt her fears melt away. Giving a slight shake of her head, Harper pulled out her calm, reassuring face to mask her thoughts.
"Nothing's wrong, sweetie, I'm fine."
Crouching down beside her so he could meet her eyes, he gave a small shake of his head, "Darling, you don't need to do that. You never have to wear a fake face with me. I'm a big bad wolf, I can take it. Hopefully, we're going to have a very long time with one another. Let's start it the way we plan to live it, alright?"
"I..." Harper blinked, for once in her life, trying to actually make some sense of her own thoughts. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand. When he closed his eyes and damn near purred as he rubbed into her touch, she smiled. "I'll need some help, Bard. I'm not used to this. To any of this."
This time, he was the one that covered her hand with his own. Once more, he captured her in the glowing azure of his intense eyes, when he said, "I'm here, darling. Right beside you, every step of the way. We'll figure all this out, then be so ridiculously happy, our kids are going to be disgusted by the very sight of us together."
Hunh. Looks like I'm not the only one already thinking about kids.
That was oddly comforting!
Blinking back the sting of tears in her eyes, and wouldn't her clients and coworkers be surprised to see the Bitch Queen crying, Harper nodded. Then, giving in to the instinct she had been resisting since her first sight of him all those very many hours ago—had they really only just found each other this morning? —and leaned forward to press her lips to his.
Fire. Explosive, all-consuming flames raced through her body, setting every nerve to immediate attention.
Reaching out, she tangled her hands in his shirt as she felt his large hands wrap around her shoulders while he leaned into the kiss, parting his lips to tease hers with a flick of his tongue.
The taste of him, of the fruity red wine he had been drinking, burst across her senses, and she gave a whimpering cry of need when he pulled back.
He was panting deeply, the pupils in his eyes blown out as both man and beast stared at her intently. With a broken chuckle, he huffed, "Woo. Well now, that was worth the wait."
With a grimace, he was forced to adjust his stance, wincing in discomfort as he rose to his feet. She had to admit, she was pretty damned impressed he rose from that crouch without bracing himself, without her feeling any additional pressure from his strong hands as he gently stroked her shoulders. "It's alright, darling, we'll get back to that, I promise. But first, let's have some dessert then go for a little walk."
She tried not to stare at the prominent bulge straining against the front of his jeans, a shiver of mingled anticipation, fear, and raw lust racing over her body as her mind struggled to interpret that bulge in actual size.
Nostrils flaring slightly, Bard gave her a small, knowing smile, but he asked, "Cold, darling? Here..." Grabbing his leather jacket from the back of his chair, he hooked it around her shoulders, cocooning her in the leather warmed from his body.
Wrapping it around her, thankful for the excuse, Harper simply replied, "Thank you kindly."
Rubbing her cheek against the leather, Harper realized she was now wrapped in his scent—the same scent that only fanned the flames barely banked within her.
Giving him a narrow-eyed, teasing glare, she muttered, "Sneaky wolf," before pointedly turning her attention to the dessert tray Siobhan was bringing out.
Three words can take you to both Heaven and Hell: Guinness. Chocolate. Cake.
Yet, as good as the dessert was, and it was danged good, it was the taste of Bard's lips she couldn't get out of her head. He was more intoxicating than either the wine, or the Irish Coffee, that had accompanied the dessert. Although, it was both flattering and a little disconcerting to have his undivided attention locked on her lips as she ate the cake. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn his ears were perked, listening for any hint of a groan.
She almost gave into the temptation to tease him. If not for the fact they were out in the open, kind of, and there was an audience of one in the tavern—one that was most likely another shifter, going by the fierce energy she radiated—Harper decided to keep the Imp of Perversity chained up. For now.
Finally finished with the meal, Harper leaned back in the chair with a satisfied groan. Looking up at Siobhan as she walked up, Harper said, "My compliments to the chef! That was great!"
With a cheeky grin, Siobhan winked and performed a perfect curtsey, though she only mimed having on a skirt. "'twas a pleasure, dear! Besides, now Bard owes me a new sign for the bar, so I came out on top! Believe me!"
"Oh?" Harper asked, laughing as she glanced over at an amused Bard, who just shrugged.
"Yeah, she's been on my case for a few years now to do something big for the ASS, but I didn't have the proper incentive."
"Your man's got great skill with the steel," Siobhan added, thwacking him with her dish towel, "But he can be a lazy beast without the proper motivation."
Snapping his teeth at the cheeky wench, Bard growled, "Yeah, yeah, just keep your grabby paws off my woman and we'll be good."
Fluttering her eyelashes at Bard, Siobhan gave him a big air smooch. "Fine, fine. You're just lucky you saw her first. You know I have a sweet tooth when it comes to Southern Delights."
"Yeah, well, this Southern Delight is mine, and I'm not planning on sharing, demon woman."
Realizing they were talking about her, Harper gave a burst of startled laughter, cheeks flushing as she shook her head at the both of the loony lupines. Holding up her hands to stall them from continuing their banter, Harper said, "Right, on that note, while this Southern Delight is delighted you both find her sweet, I'm going to have to go home with the Viking this time."
Catching her hand with one of his own, Bard tugged her up and spun her into his thick arms, cradling her back against his chest as he teasingly rubbed his chin on the top of her head. "Every time, darling, every time."
Saying their goodbyes, Bard used his body to walk Harper away from the tavern. She didn't resist. She was too busy enjoying the heat of him pressed against her back, palpable even through his thick leather jacket she still had tucked around her shoulders. Though she did notice he made sure to keep his hips a safe distance, which only made her want to press even more firmly back against him. You know, purely for warmth! It was getting dark, after all!
With the sun having set a good hour prior, it was well into dusk, the sky that bottomless indigo with the glitter of stars swimming out from the depths of the beyond. Far from the city lights of Denver, which backlit the Eastern Rockies with a dim golden halo, and with the moon yet to rise, the stars were startling clear, close enough you could almost dance amongst them.
The slow, shuffling walk, with Bard's arms wrapped around her shoulders made her giggle. Finally, reluctantly, she pulled free and turned to grin up at his pouting face. Grabbing his huge, strong hand in hers, she tugged at him.
"Come on, show me around. I haven't had much of a chance to see the Faire."
Her smile spread as he gave her hand a warm squeeze than, once more, tucked it gallantly on his impressive bicep. Bard was so large and rock-solid, she didn't feel self-conscious walking next to him at all. Hell, she could wear her favorite "hooker" heels and still not tower over him. For a woman who had been rapidly approaching six feet tall by the time she was 12, it was an incredible feeling.
As the evening grew deeper, lamps lining the cobblestone paths slowly began to illuminate, flickering with false flames. She finally noticed the Unseelie side of the Faire was decorated very differently than the Seellie side, where both she and Bard had their shoppes. Where the Seelie side was all warm colors, glowing golds and deepest scarlets, brilliant azures and bright ivories, the Unseelie side was all midnight indigo and iridescent silvers, shadowy emeralds and darkest ebonies.
Even the buildings and structures were constructed differently, with odd, often jarring angles and a sense of Gothic horror. Beneath their feet, even the cobblestones that formed the spiraling pathways through the Village were slate gray, contrasted against the warmer sandstone of the Seelie side.
Bard pointed out a few sights of interest, but mostly they just meandered aimlessly through the Village, until they came upon the huge amphitheater that divided the two sections. It had been carved deep, placed at the base of a small hill, against the cliff-face. Overhead, a small stone fort overlooked the entire Village.
"That's the Knighthold," Bard said, noticing her attention. "It's used for special occasions, ceremonies, weddings, stuff like that. But it's also the headquarters for security and the Faire workers."
"Ah," Harper's attention strayed down to the stage at the bottom of the amphitheater, barely discernable in the murky gloom of the shadowy evening. "I bet the acoustics down there are amazing."
"Oh yeah," Bard laughed. Gently pulling her hand, he started down the stairs towards the stage. "The Leanaí love their music, and wolves love to sing, so yeah, the amphitheater gets quite a bit of use throughout the season. Besides regular performers of all sorts, they'll occasionally bring in bands, have movie nights."
He flashed her a grin. "Red Rocks isn't too far from here, and it's definitely bigger, but guess they figured we should have one of our own."
Reaching the bottom of the amphitheater, Bard pulled her out into the center of the stage, where he turned and wrapped her in his strong arms, rocking her slowly as he hummed a tuneless, contented melody.
Harper placed her hands on his chest, rocking her body with his. Shaking her head, she laughingly confided, "I warn you, I love to sing. In the shower, in my truck, wherever, just randomly break out into song like I'm living a musical...but I can't carry a tune to save my soul."
Leaning in, Bard nuzzled his cold nose against hers, grinning as she flinched back, wrinkling her nose in response.
"Darling, if you're not singing professionally, who cares? Any wolf would tell you, we don't sing to please others, we sing because we have to just let it all out, get those emotions we keep locked down inside and just put them out there in the world."
Spinning her around, he pointed over her shoulder at the empty amphitheater. "See? No one's here to judge you, this isn't a talent competition. Believe me, I'm not going to be selling out shows either, but I'd be the happiest wolf in this life or the next if you'd sing with me, whenever and wherever you wanted."
"That sounds suspiciously like a dare," Harper muttered, trying to remain light and teasing, though the feel of his huge body looming behind her once more ignited that blaze licking at her core.
Pulling out his phone, Bard thumbed it on, unlocked the screen and fired up his Spotify. "What do you wanna sing, darling? I'll sing with you, if I know the words."
Turning her head, Harper looked up at him. Eyebrow up. Lips pursed. Fishing out her own phone, she flipped through her playlists, then showed him the screen.
He shook his head, "Don't know that one."
He showed her his screen, she shook her head. "Nope, sorry."
The Imp of Perversity tickled her, hard. Flicking to another playlist, she showed him the song.
He winced, then sighed and nodded. "Yep, know that one by heart. How did you know?"
Smirking, Harper said, "You have two little sisters. There's no way you couldn't know this one by heart."
"You are an evil, wicked woman, my Harper," Bard grumbled, but he couldn't hide the amusement twitching his lips and glowing in the brilliant incandescence of his eyes.
"Well then, time to Let it Go, darling," Harper teased, hitting play and letting the opening strains of the song echo throughout the amphitheater.