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Typical dominant male shifter, she thought, catching up to him. If you offered them a helping hand with anything, it seemed to offend them. “You don’t have to look at me like I’m attempting to unman you.”
“Quin, I’m fine. The bags aren’t that heavy.”
Her hormones went all gooey whenever he abbreviated her name that way. No one else called her that. She liked it. Liked that only he did it. “But there are plenty of them.”
“That there are,” he acknowledged, casting her a quick look. “I thought you only needed to buy ‘a few things.’ There’s more than a few here.”
She pulled a face at what she could admit was in fact an understatement. “I may have downplayed it a little. Or just gotten a bit carried away while shopping. Or both.” It wasn’t her fault the storefront windows had such amazing Christmassy displays that they sucked her right in. “At least we’re heading to the last shop now. Then we can go.”
“You said that about the previous two stores we went to.”
“You weren’t supposed to remember that.”
He snorted. “Hard to forget when each promise had filled me with hope both times.”
Quinley chuckled. “What a big baby you are.” She gave a polite “No, thank you” smile to a worker who tried offering her a free beauty cream sample.
Much as she teased Isaiah, she could totally understand his eagerness to leave. He preferred to shop online, and they’d been at the mall for hours. Her cat was just as fed up.
The building was all glass, tiled floors, bright lighting, and fake foliage. It was also decked out for the holidays. Fairy lights flashed and danced. Tinsel curled around plants. Inflatable Santa’s and snowmen were perched here and there.
This mall was different from the one she’d ventured to with Blair, Elle, and Bree. There were plenty of stores, kiosks, coffee shops, and juice bars, but this mall was somewhat smaller and not so much about big brands.
It was also closer to their neighborhood and less busy. Well, usually less busy. It was currently more hectic than it would typically be due to it being the holidays.
An endless amount of shoppers carted around bags of all sizes that bore various logos. A jumble of voices, laughs, and cell phone chimes echoed throughout, barely overridden by the Christmas music. Lots of squeaking and clicking came from the soles of wet shoes that left damp trails in their wake on the tiled floor.
Though she was enjoying herself, she’d be glad to leave. Her feet were sore, every shop was jampacked, and the lengths of the cues at counters were ridiculous. She kind of felt sorry for the workers—they had to be both shattered and frazzled.
Of course, she hadn’t told Isaiah that her feet hurt. Overprotective as he was, he’d either carry her around or pressure her to leave. She wanted to grab just one little last gift for her nephew Ren first.
She hadn’t been able to find this particular toy anywhere—no mall, no market stall, no public street store, not even online. There was only one toy shop here that they hadn’t yet searched. She had her metaphorical fingers crossed that the place had the item in stock.
A teenager preoccupied with scrolling through his cell almost bumped into her. Isaiah’s arm shot out wicked fast, protectively acting as a blockade.
The teen’s head whipped up, and his eyes went wide at the sight of Isaiah.
“Move, kid,” her mate ordered.
Oh, the kid moved. Quickly.
She smiled. It had to be said that the dude came in handy. And there was something about him acting as a living shield that made her all tingly.
“Just to let you know,” she began as he dropped his arm, “I’m thinking of always taking you shopping with me from now on.”
He cast her a sideways glance as they resumed walking. “Why?”
“Because I don’t have to weave my way through the throngs of shoppers when I’m with you.” They naturally parted for him. Maybe it was his large frame, or maybe it was that they sensed the predator in him. Either way, it worked out nicely for her because it meant they also moved out of her way.
His lips curled. “It has to be hard to be sma—”
“Height-challenged.”
His smile grew. “Yeah. That.”
Ass. “You’re not going to protest to being my shopping buddy?”
“No,” he replied, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the sound of water pattering the base of a fountain. “Unless it’s a day when I can’t get time off work. I usually can, but sometimes it’s necessary that I stay local to the pride or that I accompany Tate somewhere.”
