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When Maeve was done, she handed the phone back. “You’ll have to let her in.” She glanced at the doorway. “Wait a minute, I don’t remember releasing the security spell. Did I? When we got back?” She reverted her gaze to him.
He shook his head and smiled. “I’m channeling your witchness these days. The spell, through my eyes, had purple waves.”
“That’s the one. But, wow. I’m amazed you could see it.”
“Me, too.” He thought maybe now was the time to begin his courtship. “So, I’m wondering about something. How would you feel if I marked you?”
At that, her lovely reddish-brown, arched brows rose. “You mean an alpha-wolf kind of mark?”
He didn’t want to scare her off, so he added, “It’s not a bond. That’s much more intricate and requires a big commitment. But a mark will keep other alphas from poking their noses where they don’t belong.” Literally.
To his nose, she smelled like heaven. From the moment he’d decided he wanted more from her, her lemon and lavender scent had been tearing at his mind and keeping him in a partially-aroused state.
She looked away from him and appeared to be thinking hard. She had a deep furrow between her brows. When she met his gaze again, she sighed. “Are we getting in too deep here, Braden?”
Several rebuttals came to mind, but he chose the simplest route. “Maybe we are, but this is for my benefit while we’re working together. If I mark you, I won’t have to think about any other unbonded alphas we might come across.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but she was gun-shy and he was trying to be wise.
“Just a maybe, huh?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I won’t pretend you haven’t become important to me, because you have.” His wolf ears picked up the sounds of footsteps. He’d been half-listening anyway. He could smell the food as well. “Chef is here.”
“Whoa. That was fast.”
He stood up, then leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Everyone’s been on standby waiting for you to wake up, including chef. I’ll be right back.”
~ ~ ~
She watched him go, her fingers touching her lips. She loved the long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans. He wore rugged boots as well. The whole look worked for him. Dammit, the man shouldn’t be so good-looking.
And he wanted to mark her.
Maeve wasn’t a fool. Besides, she could sense his emotions and that something had definitely changed with Braden. He wanted to be close.
She swallowed hard. She did, too. That was her truth. She wanted to shrink Braden down and carry him around in her back pocket for the rest of her life. But how wise would that be?
Her heart still ached something fierce for Frank. Besides, her memory still had one huge gap from the night she’d escaped Veyda’s clutches. She didn’t know who the woman was that had died. Somehow, she’d blocked seeing her face. And she had no idea how she’d made it out of the compound or gotten to Kiara’s home when she’d never met the witch before. Maybe if she could recall everything about that night, she’d have more confidence moving into a relationship with him.
Of course, he hadn’t used the word ‘relationship’, but he’d been a happily married man before. A man often took a wife again if he’d enjoyed his marriage.
Was that what Braden wanted? To marry her? To be her husband?
What did she want?
She hardly knew.
She glanced at her left hand. Her fingers still tingled at the tips. When she’d fallen asleep, her arm had vibrated all the way to the shoulder, a sensation just short of pain.
Now she was back to herself.
A few minutes later, when Braden returned carrying a large tray, she realized she was completely naked under the sheet. She held onto it as she scooted herself to a sitting position. She really didn’t want to expose her breasts to Braden. He stared down at her smiling as she worked to stuff some of the sheet behind her to maintain some decency.
He chuckled. “Don’t bother on my account.”
When she was ready, she took the tray and settled it on her lap. “Why don’t you grab a chair and talk to me. I want a full report on Kiara’s condition.”
“Be right back.” He left the room in search of something to sit on.
She turned her attention to her meal. On the tray was a cup of black coffee, a bowl of ripe, sweet chopped mango, and a bear claw. As she lifted the lid to what was an oversized oval plate, the aroma flooded her nostrils. She groaned loudly. Frying a few evil witches sure boosted a woman’s appetite. Steak, scrambled eggs, avocado, jack cheese. Her stomach rumbled.
