by Olivia Arran
I had sworn to that, and I intended to keep my promise.
CHAPTER TWO
Tarq
What the hell was going on in that beautiful blond head of hers? One minute, she was looking at me with barely disguised fury in her eyes, her wolf peeping out to play, the next, she was staring at me, and I could see the cogs turning. Her amazing mind weighing up and dismissing possibilities, considering.
But what was she considering? And why the hell was it taking her so damn long?
It had started out as a way to wind her up and throw her off balance, moving into her space and claiming what was hers. I’d been hoping to rile her up, giving me the chance to flirt and tease. The first step in my plan for seduction.
This—? I hadn’t been prepared for. She was viewing me like she was actually considering my offer. Which meant…what? I was drawing a blank. Hadn’t a clue. But if she wanted to climb onto the bed with me, I sure wasn’t going to say no!
She opened her glossy lips, and my breath caught in my throat. Just one touch, one taste, and I’d be able to convince her that we were destined to be together. But I wasn’t going to press her, no, I wanted her to come willingly. It was the only way with a woman like Amanda, one so strong and independent. She had to admit that she wanted me. It was the only way.
And I didn’t force women. Ever.
“I think I’ll pass.”
What? I had been so sure that she was considering it—me. I searched her face, freezing my own in its smirk. I thought I saw a glimmer of regret, but I could have been wrong, it was wiped away so fast.
I rolled onto my back, looping my arms under my head. “Your loss.” Play it cool, careful steps.
“I think we need to get some things straight.” She marched further into the room, crossing over to the dresser and pulling out the chair. Sitting down, she crossed her legs primly, smoothing her hands over her jeans.
I wanted to roll off the bed, stride over to her, and drag her to her feet. I’d pull her up tight against me until I could hear her heart beating next to mine, then I’d taste those lips. The same lips that had been haunting me for weeks now, invading my dreams, causing me to wake up gripping my aching, hard cock, straining for release. Yep, I’d kiss the pout right off those luscious lips.
I grinned at her, knowing it annoyed her, and sure as anything, she scowled back at me.
“Do you always have to look so happy? Is nothing serious to you?”
She was. But I wasn’t going to let that little fact out of the bag. “I’m a happy guy,” I drawled, shrugging.
Her frown deepened, even as her eyes flicked from my face down to my stomach, then dragged back to my face.
She eventually continued, though her words seemed a little strained. “I need to know if you are going to support me, actually be reliable, and not be messing around with some…” She trailed off, flicking her fingers in the air.
I wasn’t going to let her get off that easy. “Some…?” I raised my eyebrows in question.
“You know what I’m saying,” she replied dismissively.
“No. Actually. I don’t.” I was getting angry, and I hardly ever got angry, but what kind of guy did she think I was? Who did she think I was?
“What you do on your downtime is up to you—”
“Don’t you mean who I do?”
“Exactly. But when we’re working, which we are here, I need you one hundred percent behind me.”
“Behind you? Now that can be arranged…” I leered at her, but inside, I was fuming. “Anyway, aren’t you the one looking for a mate?” Everyone at Colstone knew that Amanda was on the prowl, assessing candidates—like choosing a mate was as simple as popping out to the grocery store for a jar of sauce. I’d always been amused, but now that I knew she was my mate? Not so much. At all.
“Yes, I am. But that won’t interfere with my work. My duties as Alpha.”
“But me getting laid would? While you taking a mate, for fuck’s sake, wouldn’t?”
“Any future mate that I decided on would have to understand that I have commitments, duties to attend to—”
I sprang off the bed and her lecture ground to a sudden halt, her mouth dropping open in a perfect ‘O’ as I stalked toward her. “Like a fucking business transaction? That’s what you want?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity from my voice. The woman had lost it!
She jumped to her feet, backing away from me until her ass hit the dresser. “Why not? It’s got to be better than losing my head over some guy.”
“Don’t you mean losing your heart?”
She flinched. Jackpot!
“That would never happen—”
I stalked closer, cornering her. “Why not? Maybe you just haven’t met the right guy yet.”
“Maybe he isn’t out there…”
“Maybe you just haven’t been kissed by the right guy yet?”
I didn’t wait for answer, dragging her to me and stealing the breath from her lips with my own. Her lips tasted like candy, the gloss sticky and sweet. I groaned against her lips, pressing harder, rubbing the seam with my tongue, asking her to let me in, just for a taste.
It was like she had been made for me, her body fitting snugly against mine, her softness yielding in all the right places. Her scent invaded my nose, green tea and grapefruit. Nothing sweet about my mate, she was utterly complex and full of zest. Perfect.
And I now knew for sure, was one hundred percent certain that Amanda was my true mate. My wolf howled inside my head, the good-natured beast overjoyed at finding his twinned soul mate.
Which meant, she would know, too.
She moaned softly, her lips parting, and I swept in, claiming her mouth, my fingers threading into her silky hair, imagining the strands drifting over my skin, teasing and tantalizing, as she rode me hard and fast.
She kissed me back, fighting for control as I had known she would, unwilling to yield—even in lust. Tugging my hair hard, she deepened the kiss even further, her teeth knocking against mine with a ferocity that nearly bowled me over.
Pressing her back against the dresser, I urged her to sit and wrapped her long legs around my waist, allowing me to press fully against the scorching heat between her legs, the moist arousal that I could smell, could almost taste on my tongue. Soon, I promised myself, reining in the need to rip her jeans off and tongue her pussy like I was tonguing her mouth.
My hand reached for her top, wanting to rip it off, to feast my eyes on the softness I felt pressing against me, but she startled, pulling away abruptly.
Her eyes were ringed with amber, her wolf close to the surface, lust flushing her cheeks pink.
“Babe, don’t think too hard,” I murmured, moving back toward her, but she stopped me with a hand on my chest.
“This isn’t right.”
“Of course it is! You must feel it…?” I growled, stroking her cheek gently.
She flinched back, her eyes wide with suppressed panic. “No! I don’t feel anything. Except lust, which is hardly surprising, as you’re not exactly hard on the eyes.”
I let my hand drop, blinking rapidly, trying to clear the confusion that clouded my head. What did she mean? Why was she denying it?
She pursed her lips, which immediately made me think about kissing them again, but one look at her face told me that if I didn’t want to be gelded, I’d better think again.
I moved back a fraction. Pressing my aching cock against her didn’t seem appropriate somehow. Not with the cold water she was busy dumping on proceedings.
She sighed, closing her eyes briefly, then looked at me. Her eyes were blue again now, the clear sapphire of my dreams.
“I admit, I am hot for you. But I’m not just a she-wolf in heat. I have control over my base urges, and the good sense to choose a suitable mate. Which is not you,” she added, not bothering to soften the blow.
In fact, she seemed to be deliberately making the words crueler than they had to be.
I sucked in a breath, the ai
r having just been knocked out of me. I had known winning Amanda as my mate would be a challenge, that convincing her to look beyond the fun-loving guy I showed the outside world would be hard. But, shit! I’d thought that when she felt it, the mating bond and the urges that came with it, she would just…know me. The real me. But either she wasn’t even bothering to look very hard, or she just didn’t care.
But she had felt it, I know she had. Because underneath that controlled mask she had pasted on, she looked scared as hell.
Which meant I was on the right track, but maybe it was time to switch tactics. I had gotten under her skin, now I just needed to figure out why she was reluctant to accept me.
Why she didn’t want to find her true mate.
***
Amanda
He was looking at me with a glint in his eyes, his breathing still ragged with lust, his chest straining his t-shirt with each inhale.
When he had kissed me, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from kissing him back. I could tell myself it was because he’d caught me off-guard, that I was taken by surprise, but I’d be lying to myself.
When he had touched me, it had felt like my soul had come alive, and my wolf had surged forward, eager to meet his wolf. His body had felt like warm granite against me, and his mouth had tasted like spearmint and lime, the same as his scent, cool and refreshing.
I had been weak, savoring his taste, the feel of him under my fingers. And I was paying for it now. When he had pressed up against me, a growl trickling from his lips to mine, and I had felt his hardness fitted snugly against my core, rubbing and teasing, I had nearly lost control.
And that would be bad. Because after that kiss, I knew he wasn’t just fooling around. I desperately tried to call to mind the list of qualities that I required in my future mate, but they were blurred, replaced with a gray-eyed, dark haired, drawling, hot-as-hell wolf.
When he’d hinted that we were true mates, I knew that couldn’t be true. I wouldn’t allow that to be true. Which meant I had to extract myself from this situation as fast as possible and make sure he understood there would be no repeat performances.
I opened my mouth, and I don’t know what came out. I was in a state of panic. But it must have done the trick because he backed off, deep furrows in his brow.
Sliding down off the dresser, I smoothed my jeans down, pulling my shirt back into place.
“Okay,” he finally said, his voice easygoing and normal. “Whatever you say, Alpha.” Then he sauntered out of the room, letting the door bounce closed behind him.
“Meeting in—” I quickly checked my watch, “—one and a half hours. I want us to be the first there, to show a united front,” I called after him, knowing that he could hear me. With his shifter hearing, he could probably hear my heart still beating a little too fast, damn him.
“Yep. I’ll be there.” His words floated through the wall, sounding deceivingly close. Just how thin were these walls? I couldn’t very well drag the bed over to the other side of the room—he’d hear me, and think it hilarious—but I wasn’t sure I could calm down enough to nap knowing he was right there.
The lust he had ignited still burned hot. I felt raw inside, my traitorous body aching for release, knowing that the man who could give it to me was only feet away.
Time for a shower, I decided, nipping any ideas that my libido could come up with in the bud. All that was left was to decide if it was a cold one I wanted, or a hot one in which I could daydream.
Because dreams never hurt anyone. Right?
CHAPTER THREE
Tarq
I heard the shower switch on in the next room, and the breath I had been holding escaped in a rush. My bedroom was an exact replica of hers, only turned around, so our headboards met the same wall. Which meant I would be inches away from her when sleeping. I would be able to hear her breathe, hear her cry out if she had a nightmare. I’d even know if she snored.
I chuckled at that last thought, images of a perfectly ladylike Amanda parading through my head, her mouth open in raucous snores. It was too much to imagine with a straight face.
My chuckle died off as I returned to brooding in silence. What was I going to do with her? She was quite willing to admit she was hot for me. So, the chemistry was there. But something was holding her back. What would make a woman reject her true mate—deny it completely? Was I not good enough for her? I turned ideas over in my head, the sound of the shower soothing me into near sleep, the moans drifting through the wall.
Huh? Moans? I blinked my eyes awake, straining my ears. There it was again, a soft feminine sigh, a whisper of sucked in air released on a groan.
So, she definitely wasn’t immune. But, should I join her? My legs itched to take me to the next room, to see Amanda naked and wet, slippery skin and parted lips. To join her under the pounding spray and slide into her, joining us in the ultimate dance. Then biting down, sealing her to me, claiming her for my own.
My thoughts stuttered, coming to a halt, the hand that had been trailing down to my cock stopping in mid-motion. She might let me join her, but she wouldn’t give me what I wanted. What I really wanted. Which was the complete package. Heart, mind and soul. So I would wait until I had convinced her to accept me—fully. Now I just had to figure out why she was so reluctant.
The shower switched off, and I could hear her padding across the room, the sound of the bed creaking as she crawled in.
I pressed my hand against the wall, where I thought she might be. I will figure it out, I promised silently, listening to the even sound of her breathing, the rhythmic in and out finally lulling me into deep sleep.
***
Amanda
Tarq must have gone down without me. I hurried down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He could have at least woken me up! He must still be mad about what happened earlier… A twinge of regret thudded in my chest, but I brushed it away. Now was not the time.
Pushing open the door to the living area, I saw Tarq sprawled out on one of the many couches, his feet propped up on a table he had obviously dragged over, one arm looped behind his head, the other filling what looked to be a notebook with graceful sweeps of a stubby pencil. His hair was wet from a shower, spiking on top of his head. The latest t-shirt was just as tight as the one before, this time a pale blue color, which looked striking against his tanned skin.
Did the man not have any other poses in his repertoire? Though it was obviously working for him, as I could see from the admiring gazes being thrown his way by various women who were finding a reason to be in this room.
My wolf bristled inside of me, demanding that I chase them off, stake my claim. What utter nonsense! I scolded her, pushing her back. She might have a soft spot for the man, but it didn’t mean I had to as well.
Walking over, I shoved his feet off the table, causing his eyes to flash up, pinning me with an awareness. Then it was gone, replaced by the same easygoing charm I had come to associate with him. Before I got the chance to look, he closed the notebook quickly, shoving it in his pocket, and tucked the pencil behind his ear.
“Hey, Amanda,” he drawled, grabbing my arm and pulling me down next to him.
Immediately, I was surrounded in a cloud of mint and lime, the scent tickling my nose, infusing my senses. I jumped back up, putting some space between us.
He grinned, as if he knew why I had retreated.
“You have quite the fan club going on?” I snapped, hating that my voice rose in question.
His grin widened as he glanced around the room, acting as though he were noticing the women for the first time. But I wasn’t fooled. I folded my arms across my chest, then immediately dropped them to my sides. I wasn’t going to let him know that it bothered me. Because it didn’t. Not one bit.
He shrugged at me, trying to act sheepish, but amusement glittered in his eyes. I gritted my teeth.
“I’m sure you’ll have a fan club soon, babe. I know I’m your first one.” His voice rolled over me, husky and filled
with promise. A small part of me, a tiny, insignificant part buried deep inside, shivered in delight at his admission.
“I don’t need a fan club. Just a suitable mate will be fine. One who I can have an intelligent conversation with, who respects me, and doesn’t expect me to be barefoot and pregnant at all times. One who understands the arrangement.”
“But bare is okay? I mean, you would disrobe to complete your mating, right? Or would that part be purely functional, too?”
I glared at him. He was poking fun at me, and I was letting him. Why was I even having this conversation with him? I suppose I was trying to tell him why we wouldn’t work, subtly, but I didn’t think it was working, the lug-headed fool.
“We’re not animals. There’s no need for any of that out-of-date nonsense, like biting.”
His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, his mouth dropping open as he looked at me. “No need for biting? So, no need for a proper mating? You would ask a man to be your life partner, but not share any part of yourself with him?” His tone was incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“It works for the humans. They seem to do quite well with marriage.”
“You’re serious?”
“Completely.” There. That should sort that out.
“What about a true mating, with your true mate?”
“Not going to happen.”
“Why?”
I sighed, wondering how much I should tell him, just how much would make him give up. He was like a dog with a bone, digging at me.
“Because I don’t believe in it.” Not quite the truth, but near enough. I hadn’t believed in a long time. Not since—
My wolf whined inside my head, curling up into a ball of misery. I closed the door on that memory firmly. There was nothing good to be had from traveling back down that road, only pain and loss to be relived.
“You don’t— But didn’t you feel—? When we—”
“I felt nothing. Only lust,” I said quickly.
