Samantha

The ride to wherever we were going was passing in silence.

I tried to keep my eyes on the road, the view through the passenger window, the fancy dashboard – anywhere else but on Sebastian. But my gaze kept drifting towards him.

He was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, leaving his muscular forearms bare. Its blue color went well with that of his hair and beard. He had brushed the dark-blond mane to perfection, not a single hair out of place.

I was very, very tempted to ruffle it.

For the big man that he was and the even bigger car that he drove, Sebastian wasn't an aggressive driver. In fact, he followed all traffic rules to a T.

At some point a teen overtook us from the wrong side of the road and with lots of honking, for no other reason than to show off his sports car. Sebastian's reaction? A huff.

It was me who swore and flipped the bird at the young idiot. He drove off, too chicken to try anything against our SUV.

"Hangry?"

I glanced at Sebastian. He sounded amused yet wore the slight frown that seemed to be his usual expression. "Hungry yes, angry... not yet. Depends on where you're taking me."

The frown disappeared. "You'll see."

Someone enjoyed being mysterious... Well, I did like a good surprise.

We went back to silent mode afterwards. Which, I realized, was progress for us since we weren't arguing.

Some ten minutes later, Sebastian pulled up in front of a small two-story house. How he squeezed the SUV in the cramped tiny parking lot was beyond me. And he did it by turning the wheel with the palm of one hand only.

"Showoff," I muttered when he killed the engine.

"Impressed, darlin'?"

I was, actually. As well as excited by the sight of the expert control he had over the huge car. But no way was I going to admit it to him.

"A Korean restaurant?" I said instead, looking at the sign Kim's Kimchi in yellow letters over the entrance.

Sebastian was suddenly on the other side of my window and opening the passenger door for me.

Trying to impress me with manners now? Or was he simply old-school? Dean had indeed mentioned Sebastian originated from a conservative shifter group, one living off the grid in a mountainous village far from here.

"Thanks."

While he was locking the car, I took a better look at the restaurant.

The house was cute, like someone had built a life-size doll house. The facade was painted light-blue with white ornaments, and there were yellow curtains on the windows on either side of the entrance. Numerous figurines decorated the window sills, Chinese in style as far as I could tell.

"It's an Asian family restaurant," Sebastian said, coming to stand beside me. "Kim is from South Korea, his wife is from Japan, and their son's wife is from China. We'll eat sushi. Best one in town."

I looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "What if I'm not into sushi? Am I allowed to eat something else on the menu, General?"

One corner of his mouth crept up for a second at the nickname then he shrugged. "Suit yourself. But be warned: I'm not sharing a single piece of my sushi with you."

I rolled my eyes as we headed for the entrance. Dean claimed Sebastian was the sharing type but that clearly didn't apply to food. So typical of a dominant shifter: touch their plate and you would have your finger - or your entire thieving hand - chewed off.

I almost felt compelled to test Sebastian's reaction to me helping myself to something on his plate. My tigress loved teasing dangerous creatures, it seemed.

The interior of Kim's Kimchi was as homey as the outside suggested. With four tables only, covered in floral tablecloths, the fact that the place was full didn't take away from the cozy feel.

"Up," Sebastian told me and put his big hand on my lower back to direct me towards a narrow staircase to my left.

His touch, though lasting no longer than a heartbeat, sent warmth up my spine.

What was it with the electricity shooting through me every time I came in physical contact with one of the guys? It was like a constant tease that Eric, Dean, Sebastian and I would be explosive together.

The second floor of the restaurant was more charming than the first as there was no client in sight. Just me, Sebastian and four tables with a Reserved sign on them.

That was when an Asian woman in a flower-themed apron emerged from a side door. "Bas! Welcome, welcome!" she exclaimed upon seeing us and rushed to our side.

"Good evening, Jin-soo."

Since she seemed in her early twenties, this had to be Kim's daughter-in-law. A married human, I reminded my tigress who was baring her teeth in my mind, displeased with the woman smiling so invitingly to her fated mate.

"We'll sit at the table by the big window, if that's okay," Bas told her.

She smiled even more broadly, and I had to bite back a snarl. "You know you can sit anywhere you like, Bas. It's not like you haven't booked the entire floor."

My jaw dropped. "You booked all four tables?"

He shrugged. "We needed privacy. And I was sure you wouldn't like the other option: takeout at your place. Here we have our own space but in public."

I didn't know what to say. It was scary how well he knew me already. Our date being in a public place put a dampener on our mating urges. Having the room to ourselves allowed us to talk openly – or argue as usual. Sebastian was giving me exactly what I needed to relax.

Darn, he was thoughtful.

"I'll leave you two to take a seat," Jin-soo spoke in that moment. "The menu is on the table, I'll be back to take your order in a few."

Then she quickly disappeared behind the door she'd come from, leaving me and Sebastian on our own again.

Just as quickly, he pulled a chair out for me, the perfect gentleman.

"Thank y–Oh!" The moment I looked out the window by the table, I was rendered speechless.

The big window overlooked a back garden of magnolia trees, all in full bloom.

"It's... magical!" I managed to say eventually. Ungluing my gaze from the view outside, I found Sebastian's eyes were on me across the table. I cleared my throat. "I didn't know magnolias could bloom in mid-summer."

"Certain types can. The funny thing is that Kim thought he was planting spring-blooming magnolias. His idea was to have trees in pink blossoms out back to remind his wife of her Japanese cherry blossoms, which bloom in spring."

"How sweet."

"Were we human, I would have booked a table under the magnolia trees. But with our acute sense of smell..."

"It's fine, Sebastian." I couldn't help but smile his way. "The view from here is breathtaking enough."

That erased the frown from his face. "You like this place."

I laughed. "If you say so."

He grunted. "I was making an observation, Samantha. I am glad the risk paid off."

It was my turn to frown. "Bringing me here was risky?"

"Asian cuisine is very particular, and we cat shifters are picky. Fish may be to most of us' liking, but there are exceptions. Then there's allergies. But I love Kim's Kimchi and I wanted to share this love with you, the risk be fucked."

I bit my lip. "Actually... I'm crazy about sushi. Always have been."

Sebastian smiled. It wasn't a broad smile like Dean's or a shy one like Eric's but it was equally dangerous to me.

How could the three of them be so different from each another and yet be exactly what I liked in a male?

I picked the menu up and, like any mature person would do, I hid behind it.

Lest he saw the walls around my heart crumbling.