His Arrogant Human Mate novel Chapter 49

"I am prepared to give this my all if it would mean you giving me a real chance," Dominic stated, pulling my chair out for me. I thanked him and sat down, biting my lip as he scooted me into place. Then he bent down and kissed the skin in front of my ear slowly, making the mark on my neck tingle and shiver, chills spilling down my spine. "You feel it, don't you, Caroline?"

Taking a deep breath, I gave a short shake of my head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dom."

He chuckled and took his seat, going silent for several moments as he gazed at me. I ran my fingers through my hair, praying he would stop looking at me like that. I could handle him being angry and being a dick. That I was used to. But for Dominic to act sweet and be looking at me with something other than annoyance or some other negative emotions was making my stomach flip.

Realistically, there was no reason that I should be sitting here with him. After everything we have done to each other and everything that has gone down, neither of us should be here. We both deserved better. "Caroline." I looked up at him through my lashes curiously. "I can't tell exactly what you are thinking, but I know that you should stop. Will you just be in this moment with me, not anywhere in the past?"

"Dominic. Do either of us deserve this?" I asked seriously. "And think about it."

He sighed, leaning across the table slightly. "I have thought about it, Caroline. It's been weeks, of course I thought about it. You may think that I am completely impulsive and have the brain the size of a peanut, but I promise you that a lot more thought has gone into this than you will ever know," Dominic explained. "I do think we deserve this. We deserve to be happy and be with our other half. You deserve to have someone that can support you, even if you think you don't need it. I deserve companionship and someone to share this role with. But I think you deserve to not be alone anymore. A family. And I want to give that to you."

Dominic and I finished off a bottle of wine together with our meal - which was incredibly delicious. By far the best meal I had ever eaten. The wine went with it well, even if it did make me a bit nervous that I was underage and drinking. Dominic promised that no one would know and even if they did, they wouldn't deny his mate of a little alcohol. That meant that this was an exclusive Shifters-only country club.

He got up and held a hand out to me, nodding to the dancefloor. Had I been completely sober, I would have refused, but I figured I could at least make Dominic do all the work. All of the songs they had been playing were slow, ones to waltz to, so I couldn't embarrass myself too badly.

Dominic placed a hand on my lower back, pulling me up against his chest. When I stood stiffly and uncomfortably, he laughed and guided my arm around his shoulders and entwined our other hands, holding them close as he started to move to the music. "You've never done this before, have you?"

"Dominic, I've never been on a real date before," I said with a laugh. "Let alone danced with someone."

We danced for a while, but really it was more like Dominic rocking me back and forth as if to make me fall asleep. "Thank you, Caroline," Dominic murmured. "For giving me this."

I nodded slowly, not looking up at him. "You sleepy?" he asked. "One more dance and we'll go home, I promise."

My eyes opened momentarily and I saw a flash of red, which had me blinking rapidly. On Dominic's white button-up were several red splotches. The longer I stared at them, the more I came to realize my nose felt funny. The arm that was resting on his shoulders came down so I could touch my face. My fingers came away smeared with thick crimson. Much more than any regular nosebleed would produce.

The world titled suddenly, but I wasn't sure if I was feeling faint from sudden anxiety about this blood, or if something was wrong with me. Dominic's nose pressed into my hair and inhaled, oblivious to what I was doing.