His grin was going to get us both into trouble. I resisted the urge to squirm in my seat. Casersis had outdone himself with our date today, and apparently, it wasn’t over yet. It wasn’t dinner time yet, so we still had a while before sunset. Would it be another outdoor adventure, or would we do something calmer?
I didn’t bother looking out the windows. Not when I had Casersis sitting next to me smelling like musk and candy. My mouth filled with saliva at the thought of him getting that wet for me, and it was all I could do to stay in my seat and let my mate surprise me.
When we landed, I picked up our duffel bags as requested and let Casersis lead me out and to what looked like a construction site. Raw synthetic wood boards were lashed tight to a rusted chain-link fence. At the front end was what looked like a rundown shack that might be used as a mobile office. And the name over the door looked like it was painted on by hyper toddlers.
But then I saw what it said: “Jackson’s Paintball Arena.”
“Holy shit.”
“Beauty?” He darted a startled look at me. “Is this not okay?”
I laughed and hugged him to my side. “This is… are you going to be okay getting bruised, painted, and dirty?”
Casersis grinned at me. “This is why I had us bring so many changes of clothing. I told you we were going to get filthy and that we needed layers.”
“I didn’t realize filthy meant paint. But I’m nowhere near complaining. This is going to be so much fucking fun!”
“I hope so,” Casersis said with a fond note in his voice. “We should get in there, so we’re not late for our appointment. We’ll be joining a team and mustn’t keep them waiting.”
“I admit, I’m not looking forward to the bruises.” I didn’t particularly like the thought of ending up with bruises a mile wide.
Casersis grinned. “We will be using the low-impact ammunition to reduce the chances of bruising.”
“You really did think of everything,” I said, squeezing him to my side a little tighter.
He practically beamed. “I tried. Though, Kevin and Don helped immensely.”
“I’ll have to thank them, too,” I said. “This has been perfect so far.”
“I am glad, beauty.” He turned and kissed the side of my head, and then we headed into the shack that turned out to be a deceptively large building with changing rooms, showers, safety equipment, and other things.
We met our team, and I grinned. We were surrounded by military men and women who looked like they could be buddies of Kevin’s. They each gave us a good stare-down before nodding and introducing themselves.
“I’ll go ahead and say I’m a terrible shot,” I said with a grin. “Cass, here, never misses with his crossbow, so he should be good with a paintball gun.”
The large guy with the black goatee and bald head, Matt, appraised Casersis and nodded. “Seen better. Seen worse. Get changed. I hope you brought layers. Even with low-impact paintballs, they can leave some nasty welts.”
Once we’d changed and donned our protective gear, the owner of the paintball arena, Jackson Spencer, came to check gear, make adjustments, and hand out the guns and paintballs. We were on the red team with red paint and red armbands. Our opponents, who looked like a bunch of desk jockeys, grinned at us with blue armbands and blue paint. “We’ll go easy on you.”
I didn’t believe that for a minute. I wouldn’t be underestimating them. The more they looked at us, the more I had to wonder if the bastards had any paintball trophies from tournaments. Just because they looked like desk jockeys, whether they were or weren’t, didn’t mean they were any less dangerous. You didn’t need muscles to aim and fire a paintball gun. And without bulk like mine, they’d possibly be more agile and faster. Fuck.
“Okay,” Jackson started. “Blue team, follow Cathy to the other side of the field. We start in five.” He looked at our group and nodded. “You may have protective gear, but we don’t allow any head or groin shots. If it happens, you’ll be removed from the game. Understood.”
We all answered with a chorus of “Yes, sir!”
The excitement was building, and I could barely contain myself. As soon as our guns were loaded and Jackson checked our gear again, we exited the building and got into position. There were stacked tires, wooden structures, wooden poles, stacked sandbags, and all sorts of other things to use as cover while we tried to get more paint onto our “enemies” than they got on us.
“Stay close, beauty,” Casersis said with a wicked grin. He had something up his sleeves, and I just chuckled because he looked like a kid who’d been given a hundred-dollar credit and let loose in a candy store. His entire face lit up behind his face shield, and I wished we weren’t wearing the damned things so I could kiss his smiling lips.
A horn blew, and Casersis nodded and sprinted around the side. I stayed right behind him. We ducked behind a rusted-out antique car with no tires, destroyed rims, and no seats inside. And just as a few of the blue team rounded the corner, Casersis and I laid into them, turning them both red with enough paintballs to make it look like they were fatally wounded.
I tapped Casersis’s side and nodded toward a two-sided ramp. He grinned and followed me, both of us crouched low. We made it without incident. Whispers came from the other side, and Casersis and I went around either side, pinning them and coating them in red paint before they even knew we were there.
Someone came around to the right of us, and Casersis grabbed me by the back of my camouflage uniform and almost jerked me off my feet. Blue paint splattered in mid-air. Gasping, I let Casersis drag me away while I laughed my ass off.
“You cheated!”
Casersis sniffed. “I did no such thing.”
“You used magic,” I whispered hoarsely. “That’s cheating!”
“No, beauty,” he said serenely. “Using magic is just like hiding behind that ancient, rusted shell of a vehicle.”
Still laughing so hard I wheezed, I followed Casersis around to the right. We met up with two others of our team and followed Matt’s lead when he beckoned us to get behind him.
When we rounded a corner, though, seven thuds hit my back. Matt cursed, and Casersis let out a growl that made my dick twitch. I looked up, and two guys and a girl stood on top of a tower of huge tractor tires. They’d shot us from above.
Since we were all hit, we retreated to base, where we waited to see which side would win.
While we sat inside, though, Casersis nudged my shoulder with his. Now you see why I should be allowed to cheat.
I patted his leg and grinned at him. “We still had fun. And we’ve got another round once this is over. It’ll be okay.”
Jackson came over and checked us out and nodded to Matt. “Your team won the first round. Get your guns ready. You’re green. They’re orange.”
When everyone got back in, we traded our red paintballs and armbands for fluorescent green. We headed back out, taking our places on our side of the field. I poked Casersis in the side. “No cheating.”
He feigned offense. “I would never!”
“Mmhm.”
We chuckled as we waited for the game to start. The horn blew, and Casersis grabbed me, and we both sprinted for the opposite side of the field, keeping close to the fence. I had no idea how, but we managed to dodge six paintballs that hit the fence instead of us. Casersis easily picked off each offending shooter until we overtook the enemy base and started down the middle, acting like we were part of the orange team.
We snuck up on a woman, and both of us fired at her back. She let out a screech and growled. Since she was hit, she couldn’t alert her team to the threat behind them.
I grinned evilly and nodded to the right. Casersis nodded back and headed left. We lost each other, taking out the enemy one at a time from behind while they were kept busy with the rest of our team in front of them. And by the time we made it back to our side of the arena, we were both sweaty messes.
Matt took one look at us and raised a brow. “That was ballsy.”
Casersis shrugged, still grinning. I doubted he’d stopped since we began the first game. “Taking the enemy from behind is a valid tactic. They never knew what hit them.”
The man removed his helmet and scratched at his black goatee. “Still ballsy. Good game.” He shook both our hands and headed for the back where the changing rooms and showers were. We followed in his wake. Casersis and I were both sweaty, smelly messes.
Dropping our gear in the marked receptacles for cleaning by the staff, we shed our layers, stuffing them into our duffels after removing our clean “good” clothes, grabbed towels and toiletries, and headed for the showers.
Twenty minutes later, we were dried, dressed, and back in the shuttle, both of us grinning like loons and chuckling at random. “That was the most fun I’ve had in centuries,” Casersis murmured close to my ear. “We should do that more often.”
“No cheating next time,” I teased. “I still can’t believe you did that.”
He didn’t even look sorry. “It was nowhere in the rules that we couldn’t use magic shields.”
“Wait.” I stared at his profile and turned his face toward mine. “Are you saying you kept a shield around us, and that’s why we didn’t get shot?”
“Until you caught me, yes,” he said, unrepentant. “After that, no. I had no shield up. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten hit from behind.”
I shook my head, grabbed his hand, and laced our fingers together, giving his hand a squeeze. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I really am,” he agreed.
With a sigh, I turned him around and started pulling his damp braid apart with gentle tugs until his hair flowed freely. I combed through the strands with my fingers. It made Casersis purr like a contented cat and melt into the soft leather seat. He let out a soft breath and patted my thigh, rubbing his hand on the fine slacks Mr. Cipriani had made for me.
“We have one last stop on our date. It will also be a surprise.”
“Hopefully, that surprise includes food,” I said with a groan. “I’m starving.”
“You will just have to wait and see.”
Where could he take me that would top today off?
We landed not too long later. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes. The shuttle landed smoothly, without even a bump to let us know we were on the ground. Soon after, we climbed down the stairs, and I let out a laugh. “Oh, God! Cass!”
I pulled him to me and hugged him so tight he wheezed. “You didn’t have to!”
No wonder he didn’t ask me to change into something fancy. We weren’t going to a fine dining establishment. Instead, we went to an old-fashioned 1950s themed diner where they sold the thickest milkshakes in the state, burgers the size of my head, and the absolute best waffle fries I’d ever eaten.
“Cass…”
He kissed me on the cheek, then frowned. “What is it, beauty?”
I hadn’t meant to show my pain, but apparently, I did. Or he felt it through the bond. I leaned against him and kissed his jaw. “The last time I was here was with my parents,” I said softly. “It’s a good way to remember them. The memory just punched me in the gut, is all.” I gave him a sincere smile and nudged his shoulder with mine. “I promise I’m okay. This is perfect.”
Casersis gave me a gentle smile, and I led him in, my hand possessively at the small of his back. He might have been treating me to a date, but I loved how subtly submissive he became when I did certain things. Like guiding him with a hand on his lower back made him relax and lean into me just enough that no one but me would notice. And I always noticed.
I opened the door for him, but I let him pick out the table. It surprised the shit out of me that he picked a booth right up front with the sun shining over the treetops just enough to make it feel romantic.
When the waitress came to give us our menus, she smiled at us both and told us the soup, sandwich, and shake of the day. Casersis looked puzzled, and it dawned on me he’d probably never been to a place like this.
“Those aren’t the only options, kitten,” I said quietly, a gentle tease in my voice. “Those are like the chef specials. It changes each day or each week, depending on the establishment. You can absolutely choose something else from the menu.”
He relaxed infinitesimally and gave me one of his rare bashful smiles. “Understood. Thank you,” he said to the waitress.
She bustled off in a flurry of baby blue poodle skirt and saddle shoes clicking on the laminate floor in her wake. The entire place exuded a 1950’s era charm with white and black checkered floors, soda fountains of shiny red metal, chrome accents and red leather everywhere, and the long, red-tiled bar. Pictures of 1950’s stars hung on the walls giving it that luster that brought the era to life, and I’d always loved it.
I especially liked the jukebox and went over to the one in the corner that had been restored and amended so that it reacted to people’s CommLink implants to pay instead of using ancient coins. I bought an array of music from Elvis Presley to Patsy Cline, Ray Charles to Little Richard.
The first song started the moment I sat back down in front of Casersis at our booth. “Find anything you want to try?”
My kitten gave me a finicky look, and I chuckled. “It’s not going to give you an instant heart attack,” I reminded him. “You won’t die from trying things.”
He pursed his lips and went through the menu again. “I am unsure…”
“Want me to order for the both of us?”
Casersis took another moment to peruse and finally nodded. “I’m curious as to what you would choose.”
The waitress returned and collected our menus. I went with easy things—a strawberry shake and a chocolate one so he could try both and see which he liked best since I loved them both. The strawberry one was made with real, fresh strawberries and was the best thing ever. I got a loaded burger and waffle fries. For Casersis, I chose a club sandwich and onion rings. We could always share, and I wanted him to try everything. And since I knew my kitten, I got him seltzer water and me a soda.
“You can stop pouting now,” I said with a grin. “I promise, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it. Just try it.”
“I will do my level best,” he said with mock solemnity. “I shall trust in your judgment.”
Guh. Casersis was giving me a lot of slack, but I was up for the challenge. Both meals were awesome, or at least, they were when I had been here last.
We waited, talking about everything and nothing until our orders came out. The first thing I did was cut my gigantic hamburger in quarters and give him one to try. I also gave him a few waffle fries since they were my favorite. And when Casersis lit up like a Christmas tree with the first bite, I laughed and watched as he tried everything in front of him. I ended up giving him half my burger, a quarter of my waffle fries, and he handed me half his grilled club sandwich and a few onion rings.
Then came the fun.
“That one’s mine,” I said about the strawberry milkshake.
He stared it down as if he could magically make it his. “You’re making me try everything, remember?”
Laughing, I passed it to him, and he took a sip—or tried to, his cheeks hollowing out as he tried to get some of it up through the stainless-steel straw. I tried and failed to hold in my laughter as his face grew red, and finally broke down into giggles as I handed him a spoon. “They have the thickest shakes in the state,” I said in explanation. “You need to let it thaw a bit before it’s straw-ready.”
Undeterred, he used the spoon on both the chocolate and strawberry shakes and all of a sudden, he looked mournful. “I like them both.”
“Aww, Cass. We can share.”
That got him to perk up again, and silence reigned as we both fell to our food, stuffing our faces as slowly as possible because my kitten didn’t know how not to savor his food. I found it endearing, so I followed suit. If I got him hooked, that meant more dinner dates to normal-for-me places in the future, and I was all aboard that idea.
When we were ready to leave, Casersis rubbed his belly and tried so hard to stifle a belch that would not be denied. It ripped out of him, and I died laughing until I doubled over and wheezed. The look on his face was the epitome of “mussed kitten.”
He gave me an unimpressed look. “That’s disgusting.”
“Nah, Cass. That’s the sign of great, greasy, delicious, unhealthy food. Compliments to the chef.”
“I’d like to not compliment chefs with gas.”
Still chuckling, I guided Cass back to our shuttle, and when I sat down, he went to sit in the seat beside me, but instead, I pulled him down onto my lap. “Thank you for the amazing day,” I said quietly as I combed my fingers through his soft, midnight black hair. “It helped relieve a lot of stress and pent-up aggression.”
“I had hoped that would be the case,” he said. He squirmed until he was comfortable and had his head resting against mine. “I think we both needed to get out and have some fun.”
“I still can’t believe you went zip lining with me.” I tickled his ribs until he chuckled and batted my hand away. “You really surprised me today.”
He gave me an uncharacteristically bashful smile and murmured, “I hope to surprise you often, beauty.”
Once we got home and changed into more comfortable clothes for lounging in, I grabbed Casersis’s hand and led him to his bedroom. “Let’s go. Time to get my kitten wet.”
Then I sniffed and grinned when I smelled his slick perfuming the air around him. “Sorry. Wetter.”
