Grace

I walked into the small entrance where the bouncer looked me over. I created a small ball of light in my hand to show him that I knew exactly what this place was. I walked in and started taking off my hat and gloves. My brown hair messy from being in a ponytail and under a hat all day. I took it out and arranged a random messy bun on my head as I looked around the small space. I didn’t feel like sitting at a table, so I looked at the bar. There weren’t many people there, so I headed in that direction. There was a spot next to a very large man. I appraised him from behind. He had blonde hair, shorter on the sides and longer on the top and incredibly broad shoulders. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt that showed his tapered waist. The light jeans he was wearing showed off his thick thighs and since he didn’t have any sleeves, I could see the incredible muscles on his arms. He lifted his glass of amber liquid, and I watched as his muscles rippled through his arms and his veins popped out. God, how easy it would be to stick an IV in those babies. It had been a long time since I looked at a man and I figured, why not? I went up next to him and cleared my throat. He looked at me and his eyes made me forget what I was going to say. They were the most beautiful mixture of blue and green I had ever seen. I must have hesitated for too long because he cocked his eyebrow like he was waiting for me to say something.

“Is this seat taken?”

“Not at all.”

I couldn’t tell if he had a slight accent or if that was just my imagination. He kept looking at me as I sat on the stool and ordered a drink. When I turned back to look at him, I caught his eyes again. They looked wide in surprise. That’s weird. I thought to myself. I took a moment to look over the rest of his features. Strong nose, sharp jawline, full pink lips and the most beautiful long neck.

I bet that neck would be fun to suck on. What the hell where did that come from?

I need to get my shit together. It’s not like I’ve never seen a hot guy before. But this guy, he wasn’t just hot. He was beautiful. When my gaze traveled back up to his eyes, they were still on me. Now instead of surprise, his eyes had narrowed, and his eyebrows were knitted together in confusion. I wasn’t expecting this reaction at all. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his and as I stared at him, I felt a warmth travel through my body and goosebumps appear on my skin. It had been a long ass time since I had gotten laid, but I have never had a reaction like this to a man.

“What’s your name?” The question pulled me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

“Your name?” Oh my God get it together Grace!

“It’s Grace. What’s yours?”

“Owen.”

“It’s nice to meet you Owen.” Definitely an accent, I’m guessing British, like this guy needed to get any hotter. Of course, I would be wearing the most unflattering pair of scrubs and have my hair a hot mess when I met the most beautiful creature that exists in the entire world. He must have noticed what I was wearing considering his next attempt at conversation.

“Most women don’t wear outfits like that to a bar.”

“I’m not most women.” I smirked at him. Yeah Grace. Be cool!

He chuckled and it was a low rumbling sound like the last few bits of thunder after a summer storm.

“Actually, I just came from work. It was a hard day and I needed to drink my feelings.”

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that. What do you do?” His eyes twinkled and he seemed genuinely interested.

“I’m a nurse in an intensive care unit of a local hospital. We had a patient die today.”

“I’m so sorry.” He reached across the small amount of space that separated us and rested his hand on my arm. It felt like sparks of electricity shooting up my arm. It scared me and I pulled back quickly and put my hands in my lap. I couldn’t meet his gaze for a moment, worried I wasn’t affecting him the way he was affecting me. I cleared my throat and gave him a small smile.

“What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m in town for a few weeks doing security.”

“Security? Like a bodyguard?”

“Yes. People will pay good money for… someone like me to protect them.”

“Someone like you?” He gave me a sly smile and I caught on immediately. I had almost forgotten where I was. Obviously, he was some kind of supernatural being.

“And what exactly…. Are you?”

He narrowed his eyes at me again, like he was trying to decide if I could be trusted with this bit of information. Then he took a deep breath, turned his body on the stool to face me and looked me straight in the eyes.

“I’m a werewolf.”

Holy shit.