Caitlin saw he was earnest and sincere, his eyes glistened with sincerity, she felt a pang of remorse and decided to soften her approach, With a slight tilt to her chin, Caitlin found her voice.
‘I’ll always be understanding of your unique situation. Look, I know life can be hard, and I’m not here to make your life any harder by being difficult.’
‘Caitlin, I would love to be romantic with you as well as life in general and sexually. I would like to take you to romantic dinners to buy you flowers. Walk along the street holding hands arm in arm. Kissing in the park on the beach or on the road. Take you to movies and do the things romantic people do. I would treat you like a lady you so richly deserve. I would love to do all that for you, my gorgeous sex goddess.’
Caitlin observed him, she could see he was putting his cards on the table, he was open with her about his strange heritage and about what happened that night of the Full Moon.
‘That all sounds so sweet and romantic, I can see that you really know how to treat a woman. That's why I am giving you this forum to address my concerns, you are such a gentleman. I'm so lucky to have found you, it is the Werewolf I take umbrage with, he takes liberties, don’t you think? I love the idea of snuggling up to the real you and having your warm body keep me warm. You're so sweet, and I have missed you too.’
A waiter came and took their orders, Caitlin ordered seafood and seasonal vegetables, Lycan ordered a bottle of Shiraz for them to share and asked the waiter for a rare steak accompanied with berries. As he nodded to the waiter that was all, and smile crossed his face, and he said to Caitlin in the way of explanation at his unusual order,
‘I’m not big on vegetables, but I do like berries with pretty much everything.’
Caitlin remembered the red rose left behind on her nightstand the morning after the werewolf had visited, he was such a curious and unusual creature, she couldn’t help but be intrigued. A delicious tingle went down her spine, she was mesmerized by this sensitive man who came from the forest and ate berries.
Lycan put his hand on the leather folder.
‘I’m in the city on business, would you like to see the plans?’
Lycan’s eye widened, a hopeful look on his face, this was clearly something he was passionate about.
‘Sure, what’s been going on.’
Caitlin leaned closer to him, drinking in the smell of his musky scent, she resisted the urge to close her eyes as she drank him in.
‘Well, I’m glad you asked.’
A broad smile crossed his face as Lycan unzipped the folder and pulled out a sheaf of papers. He separated them, laying them out for Caitlin to see. It looked like aerial photographs of a wilderness property, googles map images in several, others looked like drone captured screenshots.
‘You know that I’m big on conservation and am involved in reclaiming land to give back to the environment, right?’
Caitlin nodded, curious about his plans and goals.
‘Well, I have been negotiating with the planners to allow access onto a corner of my property for hikers, a throughway which is safer than the current course. It wouldn’t replace the current thru-hike track but be available as an adjunct should hike conditions be poor on the original path, they could take an alternate route through my property with a clear way to follow and springs available in two places which would provide water. It’s about forty miles of hiking tracks, and in return, I am asking this area over here,’
Lycan pointed to another sheet of paper. ‘I want to be able to buy back or lease another 800 acres for the wilderness. So far, it’s looking promising, I have a meeting at the town hall with the planning officer to go over the details, I’m hoping to wrap things up then and head back to the wilderness tomorrow night.’ Lycan fixed a steely gaze at Caitlin, ‘Unless of course, you ask me to stay.’
Caitlin warmed under his gaze and felt a blush rising, she wasn’t ready for this, hurriedly she sought distraction, picking up the closest piece of paper and feining a studious look, she asked. ‘So where on this is your place?’
‘Tempted to come home with me, my lady?’
Lycan was grinning now, a mischievous look in his eyes.
‘Had I thought of that option, I would have prepared a better brief for your perusal. My cave and dwellings are actually not shown on this map, they are about 100 miles south of this border,’
Lycan pointed to one edge where a river ran through the corner. ‘see this river here? Well, that continues up in a southerly direction and actually forms one edge of what I think of as my homelands, the 100 acres in closest vicinity to my home.’
Caitlin noticed the backs of Lycans hands were planted with tufts of hair growing out in patches, a wild feeling rose in her groin, she felt herself getting moist, and she squirmed in her chair. Funny, I hadn’t noticed the hairy hands earlier in the night, Caitlin thought as a perplexed look cast a shadow on her brow. Just then, the waiter arrived with the food, and that thought was pushed aside in favor of a delicious meal.
Chapter Ten
After the meal and the wine, Caitlin was enjoying Lycan’s company so much that she lost track of time, he was full of engaging and entertaining stories. Vivid and bold, kind, and sincere, she couldn’t help falling for this curious beast of a man.
Caitlin excused herself to go find the lady's room; she needed to collect her thoughts as well as empty her bladder.
