Read Online Mating Dance by Bianca D'Arc - Free Book Online

topic she’d been
avoiding for the past hour. When it came down to it, she was
actually somewhat shy, even if she had jumped Tom’s bones a few
hours ago.
    “So did I,” he agreed amiably. “Want to do
it again tonight? I can get some fresh fish from Sig, if you like
grilled salmon.”
    She felt a smile bloom inside her soul. “I’d
like that.”
    “I’ll come by and pick you up again?” he
asked, though it wasn’t really a question.
    “Sounds good.” She grinned. Just like that,
she had another date with him. Another chance to prove to him that
they were good together. No. Not just good . Spectacular.
    Tom stayed for breakfast, sharing what was
fast becoming a ritual with them, of feeding Gus the seagull and
sitting outside for a bit, watching the sun rise. When the first
customers started trickling in, Tom sat quietly at one of the
out-of-the-way tables, reading email on his cell phone while he ate
a Danish and drank coffee.
    Everyone greeted him in some way, either
nodding or going over to shake hands, and she got the idea that a
great deal of speculation was flying as they looked from him to her
and back again. Ashley didn’t know what to make of it. For her
part, she didn’t mind anybody knowing that she was dating Tom, but
she didn’t really know how he felt about their possible notoriety.
It was a very small town, after all.
    She watched him carefully as each new person
said hello, but he didn’t seem to care that the other townsfolk
were putting two and two together and coming up with four. Maybe he
didn’t mind that they knew. Or maybe—and this sort of speculation
could get her in trouble—just maybe, he wanted them to know
that he and Ash were an item.
    Maybe his very obvious presence in the
bakery this morning was meant to stake some sort of claim, or warn
other men off. A little thrill of excitement sizzled down her spine
at the thought, but she had to be careful. She could be totally
misreading the situation. Maybe he just wanted to hang out, drink
coffee, and eat pastries. It wasn’t all that uncommon.
    Although…up ‘til a couple of days ago, Tom
hadn’t even set foot in the store before. And now, it seemed he
couldn’t get enough of the place. At least in the morning, when she
was there.
     
    Nell showed up mid-morning. Brody dropped
her off and stopped by the table Tom had claimed to chat. Tom
wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about anything serious just yet, but
if anyone would understand how he felt about Ashley, Brody would be
the man.
    “How’s it going?” Brody asked casually,
taking one of the empty seats at the small table. He placed his cup
of coffee on the table and bit into a honey bun he held in his
other hand.
    “It’s going really well, I think,” Tom said,
his gaze following Ashley as she moved behind the counter.
    “You got it bad, bro,” Brody commented after
a short interlude where he devoured the rest of the pastry while
Tom sipped coffee and watched Ashley.
    Tom put down the coffee cup and looked at
his friend. “Yeah, I do,” he admitted. “You got any advice for
me?”
    “Don’t fuck it up,” Brody answered
immediately, capping off his words of wisdom with a shit-eating
grin.
    “Perhaps I should have said, do you have any
advice besides the obvious?” Tom clarified. They’d been friends for
a long time, and he was used to the kind of banter Brody
enjoyed.
    “Treat her right,” Brody added, pausing to
think. “Don’t rush her.” He sipped his coffee. “And make her
happy.” He placed the empty coffee cup on the table. “Do those
three little things, and you should be okay.”
    “What’s it like, mating a human?” Tom felt
the need to ask. He knew it was more common for bears to mate with
humans than most other shifters, but none of their immediate
friends had mated until Brody found Nell.
    “She’s more fragile than a shifter woman,”
Brody answered honestly. “But my Nell has a core of steel. She’s
stronger than she looks—both