“Okay then, man whispering genius.” I dab my lips with my napkin and hold up my phone. “Ray offered to take me home if we go late tonight. How do I play it with Tag? He always picks me up when I work late.”

Jess strokes an imaginary beard. “Tell him you have a date.”

“I don’t have a date. I have a client.”

“Seriously?” Jess throws her napkin on the table. “He shows up at your studio demanding your ink, kisses you, then invites you to Redemption on the pretense of seeing your designs but in reality so he can show off his cut, half-naked, muscular fighter’s body, then he says you’re sexy, and you don’t think you have a date?”

“Not really.”

She shakes her head. “That’s how the males of most species work. They show off the plumage in the hopes of attracting a mate. And as a vet’s assistant, I would know.”

Leaning back in my seat, I raise an eyebrow. “You know about dogs, cats, snakes, gerbils, fish, and other small city-type pets. You ever get a peacock or a baboon or even a lion in your clinic?”

Jess pouts. “Now you’re just being mean. I took the job because I like animals. I read about them. I watch Nature and the Discovery Channel. I’m telling you, this is primal stuff. After the display, the winning alpha males make an assertion of dominance.”

“He didn’t pee on my feet, if that’s where you’re going with this.” I bite my lip to keep from laughing because Jess is dead serious.

She frowns and takes another bite of her tofu. “Did he beat his chest?”

“No.”

“Shout and wave his arms?”

“No.”

“Drag you around by your hair?”

“No.

“Did he assume a physically superior position?”

“Ah…”

Jess’s eyes widen. “Ah?”

“Well, when Tag came storming toward me, Ray kinda…stood between us. At first I thought I imagined it, but I wasn’t too sure.”

“Protective. Key alpha-male trait. He’s marked you. It means he wants you on a primal level.”

I give my lentil mush a vigorous stir. “How about if he just likes me on a normal level?”

Jess snorts a laugh. “I’ve seen him in the ring. That man is one hot, dominant alpha-male package all wrapped up with a fancy, badass bow. Men like that don’t do normal. They live on the edge. Push it to the max. It’s all or nothing. All out or all in. No mercy. No surrender.”

“No control.” I sigh and put down my fork. “Too dangerous for me. I need someone calm and predictable. Someone I can trust.”

“You had that and you were bored out of your mind.” Jess waves the waitress over. “And now the epitome of alpha male-dom is clearly interested, and you don’t want that either. What do you want?”

Emotion wells up in my chest, and I drop my spoon on the table. “I want to let someone into my life without worrying that I’ve totally misjudged him or that I won’t be safe. I want to be normal, Jess. I want to be able to trust someone, intimately.”

“What’s so great about normal?” She keeps her voice low. “Taking a bottle of sleeping pills and slitting your wrists at the age of seventeen isn’t normal, but I do okay.”

“Jess…” I’ve never been able to understand how she can be so candid about what happened to her the night we met, or about the abuse she suffered that led her down that path. But that’s Jess. She puts it all out there, and if you can’t deal, she walks away.

“He’s perfect for you. Don’t push him away like you have everyone else.” She asks the waitress for dessert menus and another two cups of coffee. Jess and I share many things, a coffee addiction being one of them. “You need someone to shake you up, pull you out of your cocoon. He’s the calculated risk your therapist told you to take. You need a little badass, but you know he’s a safe badass. He’s no stranger. Tag knows him. The guys at Redemption know him. And you like him. Who spends a year watching someone if they aren’t drawn to them for some reason?” She leans over and grins. “A primal reason. Just like him.”

I squirm in my seat and then take a menu from the waitress. “He just wants a tat, Jess, so let’s talk about something else. What’s good for dessert?”

“He wants you and you want him.” She pulls out her purse and throws twenty dollars on the table. “Twenty says you make out by the end of the night despite all your hang-ups.”

Hmmm. Can I afford to lose twenty dollars? Just the thought of making out with the Predator sends a delicious shiver down my spine.

“Okay.” I throw a twenty on the table.

Jess grins. “And no turning him down just to win. If he makes the move, you play the game.”

“No hardship there.” So long as it’s just a game.

The waitress arrives to take our orders and Jess points to my phone on the table. “Call Tag and tell him Ray’s driving you home. I want to hear the explosion.”

“Not this time. Tag’s been acting kind of strange since last weekend. Almost punched Ray in the gym. And down on the wharf he was close to losing it. I don’t know what would have happened if Ray hadn’t shown up. I think it has to do with a new case he’s on. He tried to tell me about it, but I just couldn’t listen.”

Her face creases with concern. “Poor Tag. He takes on too much. Sometimes you need a little help when you’re trying to save the world.”