Lone Wolf

How I Was Turned

Update (10/09): I will be editing each chapter to make it more cohesive with the overall story, so I apologize if some aspects are disconnected as I edit.

"I cannot believe you dragged me out here," I giggled, tripping over my own shoes as I attempted to walk along the uneven ground. Wedges were not the appropriate shoes to be meandering around the desert, but to my defense, I thought this first date was going to consist of having a couple of drinks at the bar, not traversing rocky terrain.

Dante glanced down at me, and we shared a big smile. "Oh, shut up. You know you are having fun," his deep voice slurred slightly, and he pulled my body closer to his. It was a hot summer night in Utah, but the crisp air of nighttime made walking through the park quite enjoyable. Dante had surprised me and made for an enjoyable first date. While making small talk at the bar and getting to know one another, Dante made me laugh and seemed attentive to what I had to say. I can admit his easygoing demeanor had me drinking one or two glasses of wine more than what should have been my stopping point. I did not feel like a lush, though, because Dante seemed to be in the same drunken boat as myself.

It felt nice when he pulled me into his side and curled his arm around my waist. Despite being slightly chilly, I enjoyed the change in temperature and reveled in knowing that I wouldn't be sweating so closely to Dante. Once again, my black long-sleeved shirt and jeans were no better a fit for the national park than my wedges. I could not believe Dante managed to convince me to sneak into the park after hours. I had just met the man tonight after matching with him on a dating app, and my dad was a sheriff for Christ sakes—breaking the law with a stranger was a novelty to me. But Dante, even in his fresh-pressed blue button down and khaki pants, held such an air of adventure about him that it took him no real convincing to get me to ride with him to the park gates and hop the fence.

I tilted my head back, letting my ponytail, full of my straight, brown hair, fall off of my shoulder and down my back. I saw that the sky was brighter than normal because we were so far out from the center of Moab that the city lights weren't polluting the view. The stars were shining along with the moon, which was our only source of light at the moment. When Dante told me our plans to sneak into the park, I figured he had done it before. As it stands, we were both thoroughly lost as to where we ended up, but too drunk to care.

"Okay," I conceded, "I might be having a little fun," I ended with a laugh. Breaking the law as a sheriff's daughter was exhilarating and I could not soak up enough of the night.

Dante pressed a kiss onto the top of my head, and I glanced up at him to see a smile in his eyes. His tanned skin was illuminated by the moon, making it easier to see him. I was having a lot of fun hanging out with Dante, and it felt nice to have that butterflies-in-your-stomach giddiness that I recalled having as a teenager. He had a passionate and fiery spirit that I spotted right away, and it was what convinced me to follow him out from the bars to the park.

The man in question saw me staring up at his oval face and grinned, making his white teeth shine in the moonlight. "You're beautiful." He leaned down to finally kiss my lips, which were already slightly puckered out with hope. I could still taste the faint remnants of the whiskey he was drinking earlier.

The kiss grew heated, and Dante's arms had slithered around my waist to be holding my lower back close enough that it felt like we couldn't be any closer. I dropped my purse that I had been carrying and gripped my hands behind his smooth neck to hold me steady. Dante was a good kisser, I will admit. He opened my lips wider with his own to sink his tongue into my mouth and I gasped slightly. He continued deeply kissing me as his hand migrated down its place at my waist to my ass. I pulled back and rested my head on his chest to catch my breath, but Dante continued placing kisses down my neck. His hands moved together to reach from my backside to the front waistband of my jeans. Dante's slim fingers slid around the button that fastened my jeans until it popped free from its hold.