“I don’t know,” she whispered.
I didn’t scent a lie. The smell I inhaled was of an unknown male. I memorized it, locked it inside myself, and knew my wolf would hunt the man down.
“You’re scary when you look like that.”
For her, I pushed the feral beast back. “Let me wash up, and I’ll be right back. You,” I snarled and stabbed a finger at Coti. “See if there were cameras in the parking garage.”
Coti nodded. “On it.”
“I thought I was the boss.” Kellen drawled.
I flipped Kellen off as I entered the large bathroom, shutting the door in order to give myself and my wolf a moment to collect ourselves. Mate. I’d fought the knowledge, thinking I could fuck my way through a dozen, or more women and my wolf would forget the one meant to be his. The pain I’d caused her tasted like ash in my mouth. Honesty made me acknowledge I’d known for over a year. Funny how almost having her taken from me brought clarity, and it didn’t seem like a fate worse than death to have her for a mate.
I shucked my clothes and took a quick shower, washing the sweat and blood off. As I got out, I looked at the bloody jeans and decided I’d grab a pair of leathers out of the closet, but first, I’d check on Breezy. With a towel around my hips, I stepped out of the bathroom, glad to see Coti was nowhere to be found. Which meant my friend could breathe another day.
“What the hell, Xan. You forget to put some clothes on or what?” Kellen asked from his spot on the large leather sofa.
I smiled. “No, and no, you can’t see my junk. You’ll get all jealous and need someone to feed your ego and tell you yours is big, too.” I noticed Breezy had a glass of something cold in her hand. I grabbed a tumbler and filled it, then held it up to see if Kellen wanted one. A shake of his head, and I pushed away from the bar, needing to get close to my woman. Understanding now how the mated males were overly possessive of their females, even the image of another putting their hands on Breezy caused a red-hot rage in me.
My words made the people in the room laugh. I, who was not one to make jokes. Beat the shit out of others, and even kill, but joking was not what I was known for. Her face was already starting to heal thanks to our shifter genetics, but as I stared, she winced when she yawned. As an RN, she was on duty for twelve-hour shifts and more than likely was ready to fall asleep where she sat.
“I’ll take you home, just give me a moment to get dressed.” I ran a hand over her soft curls.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Her head swiveled around, following me. Nudity wasn’t a big deal with shifters. I let the towel drop as I opened the closet, selecting a pair of leather pants and pulling them on. I felt her eyes on my ass. No blushing for my woman. Once I had the pants buttoned, I returned to where she sat sipping her glass of water.
“You ready?”
She put the glass down with a clink. “I can’t leave my car here. What about when I need to leave?”
I was truly beginning to believe I was falling head over ass for her. “When you’re ready, I’ll take you. Until this bastard is caught, consider me your chauffeur.”
Chapter Two
Iblinked at Xan’s crazy words. No way on God’s green earth could I imagine him being at my beck and call. I possessed more brains than they gave me credit for. Maybe presenting the dumb blonde routine was working against me, but it had seemed that was what he looked for in a woman. If he’d taken the time to truly have known me, Xan would’ve realized I graduated at the top of my class in high school and went to university on academic scholarships. However, I had made my bed, and now I had to deal with it. I’d tried dressing the way he seemed to like his women, but it only made him turn away.
Standing, I brushed my hands down my thighs. “Thanks for the offer, but I just want to go home and sleep for a few hours after I take a warm bath, or probably a quick shower. I don’t think I’ll stay awake long enough to do much of anything else.” I yawned again.
“Which is why I’m taking you home.”
“I’ll fall off the back of your bike.” No way could I handle sitting behind him, my thighs straddling his, my breasts pressed to his. A shiver stole over me.
He inhaled and smiled. “I’ll keep you safe.”
No, oh hell no. “I can take care of myself.”
Xan’s dark eyes flashed to blue, looking me up and down. “Baby girl. Don’t tug the tail, unless you want to get bitten by the big bad wolf. I promise you’ll like it,” he paused. “After I turn that heart-shaped ass of yours a nice shade of red, that is.”
“Don’t even think about it. I’ll come at you sideways, and then whatcha gonna do?” I smirked.
He crowded me. The feel of his hand brushing against my face had me quivering, but I locked my knees in place. “You’ll like whatever I do to you, and you know it. Imagine me stripping you out of those jeans you’ve painted on.” He ran his palm down the front of my tank top. “Then I’d bend you over my knee and skim my fingers between the cheeks of your luscious ass. I’d test the firmness first. Once I had you nice and relaxed, I’d give you five swats for each time I deemed you deserved it.”
I snorted. “Well fuck, we’d be there for the next year or two. Your hand would get sore, and my ass would surely be bruised.” His words had caused equal parts fear and erotic sensation through me.
“I can smell your desire and hesitation. What’s wrong? Haven’t any of your many other lovers ever played with you before?”
His words jerked me out of the fantasy that he’d wanted me for anything more than a fuck buddy. “My sex life is none of your business, Xander. If I get an itch or a need for a spanking, and you are the only man or wolf available, I’ll give you a holler. As it is, I’m exhausted, and I just want to go home.” I tried to inflict just enough boredom and couldn’t care less in my tone, hoping my body wouldn’t betray me. His words had been like a cold shower to my nonexistent libido. Fucking porchdick. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to eat a bag of dicks, but I knew he’d make me eat my words.
