Braelyn nodded. “Yes.” She then turned to look at her mother. “Sorry to leave you alone, Mom.”
Bev waved her daughter’s apology away with a flick of her hand. “I’ll be fine. I’m used to being alone when your father has to work late. Go enjoy your date.” She stood and walked over to them. “It was nice meeting you, Skylar. If I were single and my daughter’s age, I’d be making a play for you.”
“Mom!” Braelyn said with a laugh. She then turned back to Skylar. “Never mind her. She isn’t serious. She’s been head over heels in love with my father since they first met, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“So true,” Bev said. “But there is no harm in me admiring a good-looking younger man like Skylar.”
“All right, I think it’s time we leave before my mom gets out of hand,” Braelyn said as she shook her head.
He chuckled at the banter between his mate and her mother. They were obviously very close. If only they knew he was way older than they thought. They had no idea he’d celebrated his thousand and sixth birthday four months before.
With a goodbye to Braelyn’s mom, Skylar guided Braelyn out of the house and to his car. He held the passenger door open for her and closed it once she got in. He walked around the front and climbed into the driver’s side.
Skylar started the car and pulled away from the curb. He took a quick glance over at Braelyn. “Are you hungry?” He knew he was, and not just for food.
She turned her head in his direction. “Yeah, I’m starved.”
“Now don’t take this the wrong way, but you are going to order something more than a salad, right? I know most models tend not to eat enough to keep a bird alive.”
Braelyn shook her head. “I’m not like that. I do have to watch I don’t overindulge too often, but I’ve been blessed with a fast metabolism. I eat pretty much what I want so long as I do it responsibly.”
“Good, because it takes a hell of a lot more than a small salad to fill me up.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Skylar watched Braelyn look him up and down. “Seeing you, I never would have guessed,” she said with a grin. “I would imagine you have the opposite problem from me—not getting enough food.”
“More than you know. With five brothers who are as tall and as muscular as I am, and a brother-in-law who weight lifts, it’s hard to keep food in the house. My sister and my sisters-in-law are always complaining about the number of trips to the grocery store they have to make.”
“You all still live together? That’s a big family. My parents only had me so I can’t picture what it would be like with that many siblings around.”
“We’ve lived in the same place for quite a while now. I’m used to it. We all have our own separate rooms. If it gets to be too much, I can go up to mine and lock myself in.”
“You’re house must be huge. Where do you live?”
“In one of the mansions in Marin County.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I’ll take you there sometime and you can see it for yourself. Just be forewarned that it will also mean I’ll have to introduce you to my entire family. And it won’t be the same experience I just had with your mom.”
Braelyn laughed. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
“You have no idea,” he said drolly. “I have one brother, Jager, who basically says whatever crap is on his mind and doesn’t care who he offends. Then, until recently, my other brother, Leif, used to consider himself a ladies’ man and would flirt with anything female. Now that he’s married, he no longer does it. The others will just be nosy.”
“I think I can handle your family.”
They fell silent as Skylar turned into the parking lot of the Supperclub. It looked on the full side, and he wondered if they’d be able to get in when he pulled into one of the few empty spaces. He hadn’t thought about calling to make reservations.
Once he helped Braelyn out of the car, he said, “I don’t know if we’ll get a place to eat. It looks busy. I didn’t think to get a reservation.”
She wrapped her arm around his and started them walking toward the restaurant. “Don’t worry about that. I took care of it. They were booked, but once I said who I was, they had a sudden opening.”
Skylar chuckled. “I guess dating a famous model has its advantages.”
“Yes, it does,” Braelyn replied with a smile.
Inside the restaurant, he let her do the talking when they stood in front of the hostess. The woman put on a big show of greeting Braelyn and then taking them to the bed reserved for them. Once they took a seat on the mattress, the hostess smiled, and with one last gushing welcome and the assurance their server would be with them shortly, she left them alone.
Skylar shifted closer to the center of the bed. “This should be an experience.” He looked around, noticing how some of the other diners sat up like he did while still others reclined on their sides.
Braelyn folded her legs to the side and moved closer to him. “You’re going to enjoy this. You don’t get to order food. The menu is picked by their chef and served throughout the night in small portions. As you can hear, they have a DJ playing music. They also have live performances.”
He wasn’t exactly sure if he liked the idea of the food coming at such a slow rate. He’d planned to get through a leisurely dinner, but not too leisurely, and then take Braelyn someplace for the rest of their date to get to know her even better. But if it would take most of the night just to eat, he didn’t think there would be time for it.
Looking at Braelyn, he found her watching him expectantly as if she waited for his reaction. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her do it, either. While shopping, he’d gotten the feeling she used some of the things she did or said to test him in some way. He had no problem with it. The only thing that bothered him was the fact she felt she had to do it in the first place. Something must have happened in her past that had her putting a new man through a series of tests. Who and what she was seemed his best guess for the root of it. A lot of men could be dumb fucks when it came to beautiful women.
“It sounds different,” he said. “And should make for an enjoyable evening.” Skylar watched the expectant expression on Braelyn’s face turn into a bright smile.
“It will be. And the meal is basically all finger food.” She leaned closer. “We’ll also have to share from the same plates.”
“I guess that means I can’t make a pig of myself and eat everything off the plate before you get your share,” he said jokingly.
“If there’s a chance of that, I guess I’ll have to hand feed you. That way I’ll be sure to get my portion of it.”
Skylar’s cock twitched inside his jeans at the thought of Braelyn feeding him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist licking off every last bit of food from her fingers while she did it. He’d then have to feed her, of course. He could almost feel the warm wetness of her mouth closing over his fingers.
Horny as hell from his thoughts, Skylar cupped the back of Braelyn’s head and brought her lips to his. He kissed her thoroughly, sweeping the inside with his tongue before he released her. “You can feed me so long as I get to feed you in return,” he said huskily.
“I’d like that,” Braelyn said, her voice just above a whisper.
At that moment, their server arrived at their bed. She asked what they wanted to drink. After she took their orders, she left to get them and returned a short while later with his beer and Braelyn’s glass of red wine.
Soon after that, their food started to arrive. Skylar only recognized half of what was on the plate for the first course. It figured the food would be just as trendy as the restaurant itself. Having never been a picky eater, he didn’t care one way or the other. As long as it tasted good, he’d eat it, especially if the food came from the hand of his mate.