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It shouldn’t be like this.
“I want to apologise.” Running my hand through my curly mop and across the back of my neck, I wait for some kind of reaction. Anger or disgust. Something. Maya merely tilts her head to one side and wrinkles her brow in confusion.
“Okay. For what?”
For what?
Now I’m getting suspicious. Is this a ploy to get me to admit exactly what I was up to last night before she unleashes her fury on me? But she looks genuinely perplexed. Maybe she was distracted by Leila and thought it was completely innocent.
“For earlier. In the hallway… and what you, uh, saw.”
The penny drops and she makes an O with her mouth, eyes wide, and a slight flush spreads across her chest. So, she did see.
She clasps her fingers together tightly. Wringing her hands, the bouncing finally stops and she stares up at me, waiting for me to carry on. When I don’t, she fills the awkward silence as I hoped.
“I didn’t really see anything. And it’s none of my business, anyway. There’s no need to be sorry.”
She edges away from me, angling her body toward the door, and that’s obviously my cue to leave. There’s no anger radiating from her, just an infuriating indifference that has me completely off-kilter.
None of her business?
My mind has gone blank with a mixture of panic and disbelief. Is she rejecting me? Does she think I’ve rejected her by not rushing straight here? Stubbornness keeps me rooted to the spot.
“I am truly sorry. That’s not the first impression I wanted you to have of me. It matters what you think of me. It matters a lot.”
Her nose twitches at that, but she says nothing, just watching me curiously as I take a couple of slow, tentative steps toward her. I feel like I’m approaching a wounded animal. Maybe I am? If I move too quickly, she might bolt out that door and straight back to Dean Reynolds, and I’m not willing to risk that. I need to make my intentions clear while I have the chance, so there is no confusion about how much I want her. How much I want this.
“Are you coming to the welcome dinner?”
She nods, and her pink blush deepens. It’s adorable. My fingers itch to trail across the delicate skin of her neck and collarbone. I know it’s going to be silky smooth and warm to the touch.
“Will you have a drink with me? Maybe a dance?”
I give her my best charming smile and lean in closer, so she can feel my strong alpha aura and breathe in more of my scent. Anything to tip the scales to my advantage. I absorb as much of her delicious aroma as I can before I leave, but her face falls. It’s exactly the opposite response to the one I normally get when I turn on the charm.
“What?” I ask, straightening, giving back her personal space when I see the look of disappointment that crosses her beautiful features.
“Does that work on all the ladies? Your charming alpha routine?”
Her eyes drag up and down my body, eyebrow raised. There’s no malice in her voice. Or venom. She’s just making a point. Observing what she assumes to be my modus operandi. Using my talents at wooing women on my mate now seems sleazy. She’s not someone I’m trying to pick up at a bar, but that’s exactly what it sounded like.
“No. No. I…”
Fuck. I scramble, trying to backtrack. I must look pathetic because she finally takes pity on me.
“Maybe a drink,” Maya offers slowly, meeting my eye, and hope blooms in my chest. I can turn this around. I know I can. I have to.
“I’ll take it.”
It’s not a ‘no’, and that’s enough for me. Taking a chance, I reach out and grab her hand, brushing my thumb briefly across the back of her knuckles before releasing it. The jolt of electricity that shoots up my arm startles me and my chest rumbles. No wonder my brothers are constantly touching their mates.
Her wolf flashes in her eyes in response to mine, and she looks surprised and slightly concerned at her reaction to me. Her pulse flutters in her neck. Even though I long to kiss it, I force myself to leave with a quick smile and a nod of my head before I do something I will regret. Like grabbing her, kissing her, and throwing her down on the sofa nearby, or letting my hands roam every inch of her tempting body.
Maya shuts the door softly behind me, her polite smile and neutral expression giving nothing away. She might appear shy, but I have a feeling she’s not as timid as she appears. After all, she is an alpha female in a notoriously tough pack. I’m pretty certain she won’t be easily won over, and the thought of that gives me a thrill.
While it would have been nicer to have an easy first meeting, I love a good challenge.
MAYA
