Free Never Give You Up by Shady Grace Page A

in here for her to be insulted.” He stroked Mary’s lower back and smiled to himself when he felt her body relax. The urge to continue rubbing, and maybe moving further down was an exciting thought, but he pushed the urge aside and gently cupped her hip instead.
    The woman swallowed and nodded, her face red. “M-my apologies.” She grabbed two menus and immediately guided them to their private booth. Without another word she set the menus down and went back to her post.
    Every time she glanced their way Terry raised his brows. She immediately blushed and looked away.
    He’d put everyone to shame if it pleased the cute little thing sitting across from him. He focused his attention back to Mary. “You look beautiful tonight.”
    Her blush made her cheeks deliciously pink. It made the color on her lips brighter. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
    Terry glanced up at the stuffed northern pike on display a couple of booths down. A large red and white daredevil hung from its gaping mouth. He almost lost his appetite at the rustic decor reminding him of death. Above every booth hung something killed by somebody.
    He turned away from the huge moose head next door and focused on Mary instead. “I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while. I had some business to tend to.”
    “I know. Gabriel told me about Ben.” The sad look on her face said much more. Terry wasn’t sure where to lead the conversation.
    Thank God the waitress arrived right away. He was beginning to think this date would end in disaster before it started.
    “Would you like to start with drinks?”
    Terry grinned at the waitress. “Bring us a bottle of your best wine, please. I have a woman to impress.”
    The waitress gave him a knowing smile and winked at Mary before she walked away.
    Mary looked like she was completely out of place. Her eyes said it all. Beautiful, sad brown eyes with liquid gold around the iris. They mesmerized him, made him want to stare at her, read her thoughts. Her gaze darted around the room, staring at the animal mounts as well, but she seemed genuinely impressed by the décor, unlike him.
    He stared at her while her attention was everywhere else. She was a damaged woman. Maybe she’d never been on a real date before. Maybe she was still scared of him, or didn’t trust him, and he deserved it. He knew she needed to be treated with kid gloves, which was a whole new game for him. It was a challenge, and he loved a good game of cat and mouse.
    His life had been filled with the type of women who liked bad guys. They wanted the attention, the jewelry, the yacht parties, and expensive wine, and they were fake. Mary Billings would probably be satisfied at that burger joint, and she was real. No fake tits and lips on her.
    He leaned back in his seat and stared at the wolf head right above her. The beady eyes reflected a cunning creature ready to pounce. Terry tried to hide his wolfish grin as he returned his focus to Mary.
    Being around Mary made him feel good, like he had nothing to worry about. He felt like he owned the biggest piece of earth. “So what have you been up to lately?”
    The waitress brought the wine and glasses, and took their food order.
    “I don’t really have anything exciting to tell. I’ve been taking care of nuisance beaver in the area, and did some minor repairs to the house. Gabe has helped out quite a bit too. That’s about it.”
    Terry leaned forward. “Not only are you a knockout, you’re a handyman, too. Impressive.”
    Her unladylike shrug made her even cuter in his eyes. “Not really. I just do what needs to be done.”
    “Anything I can help with?” Maybe pet you to madness?
    “Well, I do have a wood shed that needs to be filled before winter. I’ve been busy with nuisance beaver lately and haven’t had time for it.”
    He’d never chopped a piece of wood in his life. “Consider it done.”
    Mary nodded, and Terry felt a small shred of hope. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad