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Nathan slips from my grasp as he moves to face me, standing so close I can feel his body heat radiating between us. The breeze catches his hair, blowing a curl across his forehead, and my fingers itch to reach up and touch it. He says nothing, just waits for me to elaborate, but I see the hope burning in his eyes and I can’t help smiling at his boyish grin.
“There’s no faking that reaction, Nathan. And I feel a... a connection between us. I’ve never felt anything like this attraction.” His smile is breath-taking, and he moves even closer to take me into his arms, but I place a hand on his chest to stop him getting carried away. “But my wolf is still silent. I… I can’t… maybe I’ll never know for sure.”
I swallow hard and wring my hands together in front of me, suddenly very interested in my shoes. Nathan’s finger slowly tilts my head up until I drag my eyes up to meet his.
My cheeks are on fire. Admitting any weakness is difficult for me. My childhood was a mess, and the only way Dean and I got through it was by leaning on each other and acting tough even when we didn’t feel it. When my father raged on Dean, taking out his frustrations on him after our mother died and he no longer had her as a punching bag, I’d patch him up. When he took a new mate but treated her terribly, we protected our little brother and got on with things as best we could. And we never spoke of our troubles outside the two of us.
My eyes well up and I blink rapidly, determined not to let them overflow. Nathan cups my cheek in his two hands, and swipes his thumbs below my eyes, brushing my tears away. Pulling me close and wrapping his arms around me, Nathan makes me feel safe. I press my cheek to his chest, and I can hear his heartbeat, strong and steady, and my own slows to match its reassuring beat.
“I know, Maya.I know.”
I frown as I look up at him from my position burrowed under his neck. What doeshe know?
“I think I know why your wolf can’t feel the bond. And it’s okay. Once you believe I’m telling the truth, that’s enough for me. You’ll tell me more when you’re ready.”
Anxiety creeps under my skin, and I feel physically sick. Our pack knows, but I’ve always worked hard not to let any outsiders find out. Dean always says it puts me in danger and, more than that, it’s embarrassing. How has he worked it out so quickly?
“You’re not annoyed? Disappointed?”
Nathan looks perplexed as he looks down at me, an indulgent smile on his face.
“Because you can’t smell? You’re perfect, Maya. I couldn’t care less about that.” At my stunned face, he gives me a bashful shrug. “No wolf should be able to sneak up on you, especially when you’re as well trained as you obviously are. You jumped in my office earlier when I came in. You didn’t scent me then, or smell Ross sneaking up on just now.”
Normally my other senses compensate. They’ve become stronger since I was injured, allowing me to hide my lost sense, but I’ve been distracted lately.
A warrior who can’t scent isn’t much good. In my pack, it’s a major issue. If I wasn’t the Alpha’s sister, I’d have been excluded from training. Only my position within the pack allowed me to take on other important roles and prove that I could do them. But maybe in another pack, one less obsessed with tracking and hunting and protecting its borders at all costs, it really isn’t a big deal.
Nathan slips his hand into mine and brings it to his mouth, kissing the back of my knuckles gently. My insides coil tightly, and my nervousness gives way to a hot, needy feeling. I can’t tear my eyes away from his lips as he straightens.
“Come, little mate. Let’s go for a drink, just the two of us, and get to know each other. There’s no rush, Maya. I learned my lesson last time. We’ll take this at your pace.”
I nod and give him a quick peck on the cheek before he wraps an arm around my shoulders and turns me back toward the packhouse. My legs are a little wobbly and my brain has been dazzled by lust. The more time I spend with Nathan, the harder it’s going to be to stop myself from racing ahead and getting carried away.
CHAPTER 17
NATHAN
Leading Maya to a quiet corner of the living area, I find her a cosy place to sit before leaving to get us some drinks. The house is almost empty, but the few people hanging around playing pool do a terrible job of pretending they don’t know what happened outside. If they didn’t hear the ruckus themselves, no doubt the rumours are already bouncing around the pack mind links.
Danny, the packhouse chef and a good friend of mine, nods and gives me a knowing little smirk. He’s the only person brave enough to acknowledge me. He was around when Rex similarly lost his cool over Leah, so he’s seen it all before.
“Everyone’s staring,” Maya whispers as I lower myself onto the couch beside her, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders. My thumb traces gentle circles on her shoulder as I hand her a beer and lean back into the plush cushions, relaxed with her by my side. Now that she isn’t pushing me away and is willing to accept there might be a connection here, my wolf is much more content. All the adrenaline from the earlier confrontation leaves my body, and between that and my sleepless night, I’m suddenly exhausted.
“Those girls are talking about us. About you.”
That gets my attention because I can’t hear a thing. Sitting up straighter, I glance over the back of the sofa to see Lisa and Deb, two she-wolves from the pack. They have their heads together, gossiping quietly on the far side of the expansive room. They’re speaking so quietly I can’t hear them, let alone make out what they’re saying.
“You can hear that?” I ask, impressed. That is some supernatural hearing. “What’s their verdict?”
I don’t really care what they think, but I’m interested in Maya’s reaction. I’m pretty sure I can guess what they’re saying.
“They think it makes sense that your mate would be from our pack, because it’s the only hope you have of meeting a she-wolf who won’t have heard about your reputation.” Maya’s slim, elegant fingers fiddle with her delicate gold bracelet and she won’t meet my eye. “Or that you haven’t hooked up with already.”
Fuck. I hate that she’s having to listen to this kind of rubbish because I was too immature to accept what everyone was telling me. Namely, that acting like a playboy wouldn’t go down well when I met my mate.
“I take it you’re paraphrasing.”
She remains fixated on her jewelry and won’t look at me. Deb hasn’t been a fan of me since we had one night together, and I turned down her invitation to a wedding. It gives the wrong signal to attend a family event with a woman, even if she says it’s just as friends.
