Page 18

Mack

Fuck, Harper was beautiful.

How the hell did that idiot sit there talking to her about… anything? I had no bloody words at all.

“What?” Harper stopped eating to look up at me, and that had the wolf growling.

He was pissed as hell that we walked away from her last night.

Watching her eat the food we provided for her was the only thing I had to stop myself from taking fur in front of all these well-dressed diners.

“Have I got sauce on my face?” she asked, grabbing a napkin, ready to dab at her chin, but I leaned forward and took possession of her hand.

My thumb rubbed against the back of it, that electrical feeling of connection increasing with every swipe.

“No, it’s just…” I shook my head, unable to hold this shit back.

“You look incredible tonight.” The pretty pink flush in her cheeks was everything.

“That dress.” My eyes slid down for the umpteenth time.

I had pretty much created a three dimensional model of her breasts in my mind after staring at them during the entirety of dinner.

I cocked my head sideways, looking under the table. “Those heels. They’re phenomenal.”

“Oh, well.” She waved her knife through the air. “Please continue.”

But I couldn’t. I didn’t have the words to describe all the different shades of brown in her hair, from dark gold to almost black. What did I call that sparkle in her eyes? One that told me just how much trouble she’d be once she accepted the bond.

So instead I said something stupid.

“So why the hell did you go out on a date with a dickhead like Brendan?”

I’d had a… chat with him when Harper was in the bathroom.

That was always gonna happen, but at least this way she didn’t have to watch the little prick almost piss his pants when I came and sat down opposite him.

He knew he was outmatched as soon as he saw me but persisted for a few minutes, spluttering some bullshit until the wolf pushed forward, staring at him through my eyes.

A long sigh from Harper brought me back to the table.

She shot me a dark look, setting her cutlery down.

“So you’ve never gone out on a date with someone and realised you’re not feeling it?

” she asked. “Never sat there going shit, this is not someone I want to spend another moment with, let alone the rest of my life?” She looked me up and down, her eyes hardening.

“I’m guessing if you did, you’d just tell a girl you weren’t into her.

I mean what’s she gonna do against a big, tough wolf shifter? ”

“Never,” I said, and by the look of Harper’s frown, she misunderstood what I meant. “I mean I’ve never gone on a date before.” A slow blink, but that line between her brows smoothed away. “Never gotten close to a woman. Never wanted to, before you.”

“Never…?”

She waved her hand in a way that could’ve indicated anything, but I knew what she was getting at. I leaned closer, noting the way she took in my arms as I did so.

“Never anything, Harper.”

“So that’s why you?—?”

“How’re our meals going?” I nearly snarled as a server appeared at our table. The girl blanched, then forced herself to smile. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“The bill,” Harper said with way too much urgency. The server nodded and then went to do just that.

“Had enough?” I asked, sitting back in my chair.

“Mostly wondering how the hell I’m going to pay for this.” Harper shook her head as she stared at the table. “I don’t have a crypto reserve to pull from.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”

She went to say something, but the server returned with the black leather folder. I didn’t even glance at the bill, sliding my card in and then handing it back to the server. As she disappeared, Harper nodded.

“Just like that, huh? Well, to answer your question, the reason why I go out with idiots like Brian, it’s because they ask. You didn’t.”

“I’m asking now,” I said. “I’m asking you to get up and walk out of this restaurant on my arm, so every guy here turns and wonders what the fuck I did to find a woman like you.

I’m asking you to get in my car so I can drive you home and make sure you get there in one piece, unlike that idiot that brought you here.

I’m asking you to let me walk you to your door so I can reassure myself you’re home safe.

If you say no to that?” I took a sip of my beer.

“Then I’m likely to take fur and sit on your doorstep in wolf form. ”

She let out a little snort of amusement at that.

“So what do you say, Harper?”

The server returned and slid the folder with my card back to me. After returning it to my wallet, I stood up and offered Harper my arm, knowing damn well I shouldn’t. There was a reason why I’d sworn I’d never take a mate and that remained true.

But I hadn’t anticipated the power of hope.

What if I was better than my father? What if I could be the kind of male I’d always wished he was? What if I looked after Harper, rather than hurt her? I couldn’t answer any of those questions definitively, but right now I knew I’d do my damnedest to achieve that today.

I offered her my arm, and she rose up with a smile, linking hers with mine. Blokes turned and stared as we walked past, just like I thought they would.

“So the whole growly wolf thing?” she said, then wrinkled her nose. “Not sure if I’m into that, but the fact I can wear heels and you’re not put off by how tall I am? That’s fucking hot.”

“I could be five foot nothing and all I’d be thinking about is how I’d want those long legs of yours wrapped around me,” I said, pushing open the restaurant doors.

A cool breeze played over my skin, making clear how overheated I was. The wolf was too close to the surface. I could almost hear him panting in my ears, wanting out, but I forced him back down.

Come out and we lose her , I told him. She’s human. You have to let me deal with this.

All I got was a sullen growl in response. He left me be, allowing me to escort Harper over to the car, opening her door with a flourish.

“You’re totally old school, aren’t you, Fur Face?”

She stood in the doorway, smiling as she ran her fingers along the stubble on my jaw.

“There’s something to the old ways,” I explained, unable to stop myself from moving closer.

“You can open a car door with little effort, but if a guy is making a move to do just that? He’s trying to set a precedent.

That he’ll care for you, look after you, be a protector.

The gesture is meaningless, but the intent… ”

Words died in my mouth as she slid into the passenger side seat, because that black dress rode up, showing me all of that bare flesh. I knew what lay between those thighs, having watched them until my eyes ached and my cock ached more.

“The intent?” She leaned out of the car, getting closer by the second. “What were you saying?”

“That I need to get you home, stat,” I growled, shutting her door the moment she was back inside the cabin.

Striding around to the driver’s seat, I was reciting conversions from metric to imperial, trying to keep my fucking head. Trouble is the moment I got inside the cabin, it was filled with her. Her presence, her scent, floral and tasting like honey on the tongue, her flashing smile.

“Seems like you’re feeling a little pressed, Mack. Something you need help with?”

Gods help me, I didn’t push her away the moment her hand landed on my thigh. My hands wrapped around the steering wheel, gripping it too tight as it slid higher.

“Harper…”

I barely panted out her name, trying to warn her, but damn me, this woman had no sense of self-preservation. When I dared a sidelong look, I saw her lips twist into a sly smile. That was the moment when her fingers clamped around my cock, forcing the pants fabric to stretch around it.

“Most guys would want a little something after paying for steak dinner,” she said. “How about?—”

“We don’t.”

The wolf howled its fury as I picked up her hand and then cradled it against my chest, bending down to press a kiss to the back of it.

A quick slideshow of the steps we needed to take to convince Harper to accept the mate bond was all I had to keep him back.

That was when I dared to look down at Harper.

I wanted to kiss her fucking mouth until those ruby red lips grew all swollen and pouty. Then I’d push my thumb between them, feeling the velvet suction of her tongue. She’d taste me and once she needed more, I’d slide my zip down, and?—

“We need to get you home,” I said finally.

“You need to get me home.” She settled back into her seat with a low laugh. “Because you’re too scared of what would happen if you don’t.”

I nodded to myself before turning the key in the ignition, but the minute I was focussed on the road, that hand was back. Smoothing over my thigh, making every nerve come alive, stroking up and down like I was a dog.

And the wolf?

He sat back, panting like a pup, placated by her touch.

I don’t know how I found our way back to her apartment.

The whole drive took place in a heated haze.

My body was on fire, my knot so swollen it was almost painful.

But as we pulled up out the front of her block, she pulled away, reaching for the door.

I slammed the child locks down, then marched around to her door, opening it for her.

“So if you’re going to be boring,” she said as she slid out of the car. “Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?”

“You do.”

I should’ve just escorted her to her door, kissed her chastely, then backed away. Once I got home, I’d get the other two sorted, developing a plan to woo Harper.

That’s not exactly how it went.

I pulled her behind me, her heels click, click, clicking on the pavement as she fought to keep up. This was happening too fast. The idea was to escort her, make sure she was safe, not find a darkened alcove on the balcony at the front of her apartment and push her into it.