“Your friend is hot as hell, but why is she single?” I paused at the intersection, stopped by a red light on my way to pick up Sasha for our date.

“Uh, I’ll let her answer that for you,” Nadir said, voice filtered through the Bluetooth device curved around my ear. My older Lexus didn’t have phone to stereo capability like the truck.

“Man, come on. Don’t be that way. I need some serious intel before I go into this.”

“You’re not going into a combat zone.”

“If you knew how long it’s been since I dated, you wouldn’t say that. Anyway, we’ve been chatting and texting for the past couple days, and I can’t find one thing wrong with her. She’s breathtaking, but she has more than looks and a sweet body. She isn’t a gold digger, and she has a career of her own. What’s the catch?”

“Honestly? She asked me the same thing about you.”

“What’d you tell her?” I asked, watching for the green light.

“Nothing more than I’m going to tell you. She’s newly single, you’re newly single. Talk about it on your date.”

“I’ve been divorced for eleven years. That isn’t newly single.”

“And living like a widower the entire time, man. Look, take it easy and enjoy yourself. Both of you have a lot in common.”

I took him at his word and pulled in front of her building fifteen minutes later. She waited for me in front of the glass doors, dressed in a pencil skirt and an off-the-shoulder silver top. She wore her hair twisted into some kind of elegant, neck-baring updo, but a few wispy curls escaped the opal clips pinning it in place.

Everything about Sasha was sensual from the style of her clothes to the confidence in her stride. I lowered the window when she approached.

“Here,” she said, passing me a plastic card. “Scan this for entry and go down to lot four on sublevel two. Isisa doesn’t have a car, so we use her space for guests. There are a dozen places to eat here within walking distance. It’ll save us time in traffic.” Her pink-glossed lips pursed. “And we won’t need a designated driver.”

Smart woman.

I followed her directions and took the garage elevator to the building’s lobby. She lived in a posh skyrise with rental fees larger than my monthly paycheck. A well-dressed doorman in a spiffy suit and black coat opened the door for me, and I rejoined her on the sidewalk.

“I like your car. It’s yours, too? I was expecting the truck.”

“Nah. The truck is for work mostly,” I explained. “You decide on a place to eat yet?”

“Pappadeaux sounds good to me. Although we have one nearby, I’ve never been, so when you suggested it I looked the place up online and made a reservation for a table.” A genuine smile curved her lips. Then she peeked at me from beneath her long lashes, pulling off this coy look that sent a pulse right to my cock.

“And?”

“I’ve never had oysters before. Are they any good?”

“The oysters are awesome, but if you ask me, the gator is the best.”

“I’m willing to try it.”

A five-minute stroll from her building brought us to the seafood kitchen on the Discovery Green’s southwestern corner. An amicable hostess led us to a quiet table near the back, not too far from the enjoyable music of a live band playing rock near the standing bar.

Once the hostess left, I glanced up from my unfolded menu. “Are you one of those girls who picks at a salad the entire date because she’s afraid of picking up a pound or messing up her lipstick?”

“Or looking like a pig?” she suggested, a widening grin on her face. “One, I make it a point to never touch a salad unless it is covered in an overwhelming amount of bacon. Two, my lipstick is smudgeproof. Nandi sells it. And three, I’m not ashamed to stuff my face in front of anyone, and will probably eat more than you. I missed lunch today.”

“Outeat me? Doubt it.”

“You haven’t seen me in action before.”

“Wanna share a seafood platter then?”

Amusement danced in her blue eyes. She leaned forward, “You caught me during a generous moment, so I suppose I can share with you.”

When the waitress arrived to take our order, before I had a chance to utter a word, Sasha took command of the situation and ordered fried gator with baked oysters on the half shell topped with crab, spinach, and hollandaise sauce for our appetizers. She ordered the seafood platter with an upgrade for additional shrimp while slipping me a smug smile from across the table.

“Catfish or tilapia?” the waitress asked.

Sasha raised a brow at me. “One of each?”

“Fine with me.”

“Oh, and please bring a dessert menu. I would also like a Purple Voodoo.”

I passed the menu to the server. “And a Grand Hennessy for me.”

“Will there be anything else?”

“That’s all. We’ll keep one menu just in case.”

All right. Attractive, capable of taking charge, and unafraid of eating in public. All good qualities I’d been searching for since parting from Gabriela. All qualities she’d lacked aside from having a pretty face. At my age, pretty faces were just the cherry on the sundae, not the entire dessert.

Sasha sipped her water then leaned forward, blue eyes trained to my face. “What do you do for fun?”

“Sadly, nothing very exciting. I like to camp when the weather is nice. When it’s not, I stay home with a good book or help out with the dogs at the shelter. I spend time with my family and occasionally babysit a niece or nephew.”

“You volunteer at the animal shelter?” Her brows raised.

“I do. I foster pit bulls since it can be hard finding good homes for them, too. They’re likely to be put down before any other dog, so the shelter calls me when they have too many animals. The two I’m looking after now were seized during a fighting ring bust. The breeder intended to raise them as fighting dogs, but they were rescued in time. I’ve had them for a month now.”

“That’s…” I expected her to say lame when her voice trailed, but a soft look came to her expression. “That’s really sweet of you. My housemate has a little puppy that we drove to Kentucky to get. He was a puppy mill dog seized during a bust, and a friend of ours, well, she’s heavily into all that kind of stuff. So, Annette drove with us to pick up all these puppies and Isisa kept one.”

“What kinda dog?”

“A goldendoodle. Sweetest fuzzball you’ve ever seen. He has pretty much claimed Isisa’s lap as his own. Loves her to death, but he’ll come play with Nandi and me when he has no choice. She named him Simba.”

“Good for her. Takes a lot of dedication to help out a puppy mill dog.”

Her smile broadened. “Isisa is a good person. So… um, you said camping? Tents? Popup trailer? Cabin rental?”

“Tents, otherwise it’s like cheating,” I said. “My brothers and I go out to a friend’s property a lot to camp, fish, and hunt. Sometimes one of my little sisters comes along.”

“You hunt?”

Crap. Why’d I say that? The last time the subject of my hunting came up on a date, the girl expressed so much outrage the date was over before it had a chance to begin. She did everything but call me a filthy murderer.

“I’m not a trophy hunter or anything like that. I get a hog and a couple deer each season for meat, that’s all. We have a pretty big family and—”

“I’m not judging,” Sasha blurted.

“Oh.”

“I hunt, too,” she explained. “All three of us do, but Isisa and me mostly. Nandi’s the introvert among us. If it’s fish or small animals, she’ll clean whatever we kill and bring back, but God forbid she leaves the computer for a while to come with us these days. She’s always on the next story.”

“The next story?”

“Oh, yeah, about that.” Sasha chuckled and tucked an escaped curl of white-blonde hair behind her ear. My gaze followed the movement, attention lingering on her slim neck, defined shoulders, the hint of cleavage and plump bosom visible beneath the ruffled lace edge of her top.

“You don’t have to tell me, if it’s private.”

“No, nothing like that. Not really. Nandi is a writer.”

“Like for Random House or something like that?”

“Mm, no. Self-published. She hit the New York Times list for the first time about a year ago. Now they’re making one into a movie.”

“Really?” Everything about Sasha intrigued me, right down to her housemates. “Anything I’d be familiar with?”

Sasha cleared her throat and blushed. “Vampire romance. It’s all very, uh… quite steamy, lots of mutual biting and sex.”

Definitely not something I’d be familiar with. “I have a younger sister into books like that. Our mother is always on her for reading on her phone at the table.”

The waitress arrived with our appetizer and drinks, setting down my Hennessy cocktail then Sasha’s enormous glass. I squinted at it. My sister always ordered that one, preferring the coconut vodka, hibiscus grenadine, and pineapple over the other mixed drinks.

“What?”

“That’s a huge drink.”

“Pfft, yours is almost the same size. Besides,” she said, winking, “I’m not on call.”

I grinned back at her. “Have three then. I’ve been here enough with the family to know everything on the menu is good.”

We divided slivers of crispy potato stick and tender morsels of deep-fried, battered gator onto our plates then took a few of the baked mussels.

“Dibs on the crab cake when the platter gets here,” Sasha said.

“Only if I can have the stuffed crab.”

Her lips pursed. After a moment, she nodded. “Fine. But I get a bite.”

“You drive a hard bargain, ma’am.”

We demolished the appetizers before the server returned with our platter of steaming seafood overflowing with bits of deep-fried crawfish and butterfly shrimp.

As dinner progressed and conversation continued, we discussed everything from our time aboard our respective ships to adjusting to civilian life. Sasha offered me a bite of the coveted crab cake. From her fingers. It melted in my mouth, and then I wondered if she’d do the same.

The waitress arrived with another wave of drinks and our dessert, placing a honey-flavored martini in front of Sasha and a Cat-30 Hurricane in front of me. Her Queen Bee looked delicate beside my tall glass of rum, soda, cognac, and Fassionola syrup.

Without breaking eye contact with me, Sasha licked the rim of her martini glass, tongue tracing over the sugar and cinnamon-crusted edge like an unspoken promise. “I love this drink. It’s amazing.” Sasha’s satisfied moan caressed my ears like sex, a sound of pure pleasure and culinary delight. My imagination placed her beneath me, making those same noises.

Whoa, man. First date, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“You think that’s good, try this pecan pie. I’m not usually a fan of sweet potato—”

“Heathen.”

I grinned and took another bite. “But this is divine.”

Sasha leaned forward across the table, revealing another delectable hint of cleavage. “Do you know what else would be divine?”

“Uh-huh.” Desperate to claim her mouth, I leaned the short distance and kissed her. She tipped her face up to meet me, lips parted, the taste of lemon, honey, vanilla, and Hennessy on her tongue. I moaned at the taste of her and pulled back, aware of diners at adjacent tables.

“That wasn’t pie,” she whispered, her gaze fixed on my face. “But as far as dessert goes, I think that was my favorite.”

Our waitress showed up at precisely the wrong moment to ask if we needed anything else. Or maybe it was the right moment, distracting me from a raging hard-on and a desire to peel Sasha from the chair and into the nearest restroom. Two pairs of feet, one stall, and a possible arrest on my record for drunken, disorderly conduct.

Head in the game, man. Focus.

Meanwhile, my cock reminded me of how long it had been since I’d been laid. A two-year dry spell convinced me any trouble would be worth the cost of bail.

“Sir?”

I cleared my throat. “Just the check, please.”

We polished off our desserts while we waited. Once everything had been paid, which I insisted on doing, we strode out into the evening arm in arm, her plump bosom snugly pressed against my bicep.

The chaos of the city surrounded a green park lit by dozens of lanterns, setting romantic ambiance for the remainder of our date. “This is nice, living on the edge of the park.”

“Yeah, we love it,” Sasha said. “There’s a dog park and a jogging trail, so it works out really well for us. Nandi sometimes goes down to the reading room for a change in scene when she’s writing.”

Our stroll brought us to the edge of Kinder Lake where Halloween decorations hung from the trees. Music carried on the breeze from an outdoor stage with a large crowd gathered around it. The area was beautiful—and properly spooky, in a fun way—but fuck if it held a candle to Sasha.

We paused beside an oak strung with amber and purple twinkle lights, facing each other on the path with the glow of the colorful bulbs on our skin. Her smile was brighter, more dazzling than our surroundings. “I’ve never come here at night before,” Sasha said.

“It’s never too late for new experiences.”

Her touch skated down my forearm until she found my hand and laced our fingers. She linked our other hands and stepped in close enough for her breath to whisper against my cheek. “I’m glad we went out tonight. Thank you.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you for the company. You’re…” Wonderful. Like a gift from heaven. A golden angel just for me after years of unsuccessful attempts to get back into the dating game and losing interest within moments of sitting down alongside the wrong women.

“I’m what?” Her head tilted, blue eyes alive with mirth and laughter.

“Too good to be true.”

Sasha kissed the corner of my mouth. Wanting another taste of her, I turned my head to capture her lips, savoring the last trace of sweet dessert.

“Want to come up for a cup of coffee?” she asked at the end, breathless from our kiss.

Was she inviting me in for coffee or more? I hesitated. Head out of the gutter. She probably wants me to sober the fuck up before I hit the road. “Yeah. Coffee sounds great.”

The walk back to her building took us less than ten minutes. The same doorman welcomed us both with a smile and a tip of his hat. The lobby reminded me of a fancy hotel in a way, with marble floors, chandelier lighting, cozy seating, and a courtesy desk. Sasha bypassed the first set of elevators and led me to a second bay in the back. Swiping a card called one of them down to us.

Damn. Personal elevator?

“This one only goes to the top four levels,” she said when she caught me staring.

“Queen of the tower, huh?”

“Well, there are three of us. Helps when you’re sharing the cost.”

“True enough. Where’s Nadir at in here? I haven’t had a chance to visit yet.”

“Floor six. I’ve only popped in once. He asked me to help him move some furniture around. After moving the couch, like, five times I put my foot down.”

“Ha! Sounds like Nadir.”

The doors opened, and we stepped inside. Sasha hit the top floor.

“Fair warning. My housemates are inquisitive, so you’ll have to forgive me if they’re around.”

“That’s fine.” I’d play a game of twenty questions with them if it meant five more minutes in Sasha’s company.

She led the way inside and it took everything I had not to gape. They had a two-story penthouse from what I could see, and everything had a touch of opulence to it. Marble countertops, floors I was certain were real hardwood, and a vaulted ceiling in the main room. Through a set of glass french doors to my right, there was a large balcony with a set of patio chairs beneath an enormous umbrella. It was too dark to see anything beyond that.

“That you, Sasha?” a voice called from the kitchen.

“No, I’m a burglar come to take all of your valuables,” Sasha called back. She giggled and squeezed my hand. “Yeah, it’s me, and I have company.”

Holy shit. She’s hot, too, was my first thought when the woman came into view from around the corner. While Sasha was blonde and fair-skinned, her athletic friend could have been a sculpted bronze work of art given life, her flawless complexion as dark as cocoa. Radiant, like she was glowing.

“You must be Esteban. I’m Isisa.”

“Nice to meet you.” Somehow I managed to find the words instead of panting like a dog.

“Where’s Nandi?” Sasha asked.

“Picking up food from the desk downstairs. You must have missed her in the elevator. She should be back—” The door opened up behind us, and Isisa grinned. “Right now, actually.”

“You’re home!” a softer voice exclaimed. “Oh, and you brought your… date?”

“Yeah, this is Esteban, Nandi.”

I smelled cookies before the third woman came into view. She came around with a large white box in her hands marked with some bakery’s logo.

Wow. It’s like walking into a dream or something. Or an amateur porn flick. They’re all gorgeous, and this feels like a setup.

Isisa and Nandi could have been sisters with at least thirty or forty pounds between them. The slimmer woman wore her hair in thin braids, but Nandi—the curvier one—had wild, untamed curls floating around her shoulders, appearing rust red beneath the apartment lights.

My eyes didn’t know where to focus—on Sasha’s perfect ass, Isisa’s long legs, or Nandi’s generous cleavage. I wanted to bury my face between her breasts.

What the hell is wrong with me? I snapped out of it, dismissing fantasies of Isisa’s toned calves around my waist. Sasha wouldn’t be happy to know I’d just had a very detailed fantasy of banging both of her close friends moments after our introduction. I didn’t plan to share it.

Something about her—about all of them—kicked up my libido and brought back memories of being a hormonal teenage boy.

“Nandi?” Sasha whispered. “Are you okay?”

Nandi flinched and jerked back, her round eyes still trained on my face. “I’m fine. I… It was very nice meeting you, Esteban.” Without another word, she scurried away and ascended the stairs without a backward glance.

“I have some… things to put together for court. I, uh, enjoy the rest of the night. Both of you.” Isisa took Nandi’s lead and vanished up the stairs.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Sasha shook her head. “Nandi is shy, and Isisa is a workaholic. You didn’t do anything. Come on.”

After she dragged me by the hand into her kitchen, she made coffee for both of us and we settled in her living room on the couch. With her close against my side, we sipped our hot drinks.

“This is some place you have here,” I said, both to convey admiration and to break the silence.

“You’re not at all intimidated?” she asked.

“Should I be?”

She bit her lower lip and glanced away only to shyly dart her eyes back to my face again a moment later. “I’ve dated a guy or two before in the past who wasn’t comfortable with the way we live.”

“Why’s that?”

“The three of us pull a lot of cash. Between my pay as a doctor, Nandi’s royalties, and the money Isisa makes in her practice, we’re quite comfortable. I’m not saying that to brag, just to be honest with you.”

“If your career and their success is enough to chase a man away, then he’s not much of a damned man at all. Besides, I’m interested in you, not your money, chica. Relax. Now when do I get to see you again?”

Sasha’s expression brightened. “Whenever you want. Uh, within reason. I can text you a list of the days I’ll be free from the hospital, and we can work something out…” She set her coffee aside then turned until we faced each other. Electric blue eyes studied me in quiet scrutiny.

“Good.” Alone at last, I leaned in and claimed the kiss I’d wanted all along. Desire and growing hunger turned it into something more than I’d intended, rough and dominating, fingers threading through her updo. Receptive to my advance, her lips parted, her coffee-flavored tongue sweet against mine.

Everything I’d needed and wanted bubbled to the surface in one kiss. I squeezed one breast in my palm. She moaned into my mouth and pressed closer. Instead of a bra, I found the edge of a pasty denying the hard nipple I wanted to tease.

One yank would rip her top away and expose her to me. But not when her roomies could walk out at any moment.

Then again… A dirty little fantasy flit through my mind, involving Sasha naked in my lap and her two friends walking in on us. Then joining us.

I found my self-control and pulled back, leaving her lips swollen and pink from my assault. “Time for me to get going.”

“I’ll get my schedule to you tomorrow.” There was a breathiness to her voice, and her blue eyes were dilated and unfocused.

“I… I have a busy week ahead of me catching up on a project, and a weekend camping with my family, but…” Damn. I wouldn’t have time to see her for nearly two weeks.

“That’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.” She kissed me again, an affectionate brush against my lips. “If you find time, I can try to find time too.”

With a promise to consult each other the next day, she hugged me at the door and I made my way down her private elevator to the garage level. Somehow, I’d met the perfect woman. Sasha was smart, down-to-earth, a top-notch kisser, gorgeous, and kind—everything I’d ever dreamed of finding in a woman since my divorce.

So why couldn’t I get her friends off my mind?

---

After shutting the door, I turned around to find Nandi and Isisa standing at the rail outside of the office. Two pairs of dazzled golden eyes stared down at me.

“Did you both feel it?” I asked, uncertain.

“How could I not?” Isisa asked. “That was intense. I thought I’d tear his clothes off in the living room.” Nandi nodded in silent agreement, and they both came down to join me in the living room.

“It’s confirmed then. He’s the one. We didn’t have to troll a bar for him. We didn’t need an online Internet profile. You stumbled on him by chance and… he’s wonderful. We listened to both of you talking the whole time,” Isisa said.

Sweet relief released the tension from my shoulders. The last thing I ever wanted was for a man to come between us, and no amount of physical attraction between me and Esteban would have mattered if they didn’t feel the tug, too.

“What do we do now?” Nandi asked. “He likes you, but that doesn’t mean he’ll want…” She dragged in a long breath, exhaling it with a sigh.

“We tell him the truth. Upfront. We’re a package deal. If he’s into me, then he must feel something for you as well, no? That’s how fated mates work. Mom always said that when she and her pack sister met Dad, he couldn’t resist either of them.”

“Then why didn’t he show it?” Nandi asked. Uncertainty glinted in her eyes.

“Because he’s human, and that’s rude,” Isisa answered along with a playful shove. “Would he get another date with Sash if he drooled over us in her face?”

“Actually,” I mused, “I’m pretty sure I saw him checking out your tits, Nandi. Not that I can blame him.” I reached over and caressed the side of one full breast.

Nandi tucked her chin, perpetually shy and easy to fluster with compliments until we dragged the sex kitten out of her. When we made eye contact again, her golden eyes brightened. “So what’s next?”

“Next, I go and see what sort of man he is. I’m going to watch him hunt with his family.”

---

Esteban surprised me with Starbucks a few days later. I received a text from him asking how I liked my java, so we met in the hospital lobby and enjoyed a walk together in the cooling autumn breeze.

“God, it feels great,” I muttered. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Perfect hunting weather. My brother and cousin already prepared our gear for the weekend.”

“I don’t know… As much as I enjoy hunting, what I’d really like right now is time on a boat with a fishing pole. Peaceful, still water.” I wouldn’t mind a swim through a cool river, then a lazy bask alongside it in the fading sun. I sighed and sipped my coffee. We traveled arm in arm, me in my scrubs alongside a fine man in his construction boots, jeans, and T-shirt.

“We’ll have to go fishing one weekend. I don’t know about the boat, but I do have access to a cozy cabin up at Lake Conroe.

“Really? I’d love that.”

“Do you still want to go to the zoo?”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”

Maybe the Houston Zoo wasn’t the ideal second date location for some women, but for me, I’d be happy anywhere with the open breeze through my hair, the sun on my skin, and my handsome man alongside me. I squeezed up to his side again and kissed his cheek.

“We don’t have to go if you’d like something else.”

“Oh no, I’m cool with it.”

“You’re sure?” he asked again. “There’s about a hundred other points of interest around Houston if fuzzy animals aren’t your thing.”

“To be honest, I used to visit Club Hysteria hoping to meet a nice guy, and now that I’ve met you, I’m happy anywhere we can get to know each other.”

“Damn,” he muttered. “You’re making me regret I have plans this weekend.”

His pained expression made me laugh. “No, you go have fun. If you make a good haul and are feeling adventurous, I can cook dinner for you with some of the meat.”

“I’ll gladly take that challenge.”