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T he animal within him jumped for joy. Alice.

He had gotten a name. It had almost cost her a panic attack but there had been progress.

When he approached the girl, Alice, he thought it would be a piece of cake.

He hadn’t considered this vulnerability, this total fear.

His protective instincts had flared even as his libido had awoken.

If there had been any doubt she was his mate, it had

dissipated as soon as he approached her.

His whole being sang like a violin string at the proximity of her, and he could sense it was mutual.

Perhaps that was what had triggered her reaction.

He took a quick glance at her notebook. No.

By the words scribbled, there was more. It wouldn’t be difficult to seduce her, the difficulty would lie in gaining her love and affection.

It would be a slow process, one he hadn’t savored in a long time.

One he hadn’t realized he yearned for until now. Until Alice.

“I’m Axel.”

She nodded. “Nice to meet you, I guess.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alice.” He sat down on the stool next to hers but didn’t remove his hand. He was dying to entwine their fingers together, but he had to act slowly, or he’d spook her again.

“What are you doing here by yourself?”

“Um, writing. Having a drink. What happened to your companions?”

Her cheeks flushed as she seemed to realize the inappropriateness of her question. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s a fair question. They are in the back entertaining themselves. They don’t need me. They just wanted to come into the bar.”

“Oh.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

He smiled.

“Baby Girl.”

“I’m not a baby,” she protested.

“You are to me. I’m forty.”

“You don’t look—” Her cheeks reddened.

“A day over forty,” he chuckled. “Lying doesn’t become you. I know you can see the gray in this light.”

“You still look young.”

Axel laughed. He debated what his next move should be. Be brazen and hope for the best, or wait to see if she said something? She seemed to be at a loss for words, hastily taking a sip from her almost empty glass.

“Would you like to go somewhere with better lighting to see them?”

Her eyes widened and she hastened to remove her hand from under his.

Too fast.

At that moment, something in her purse started to vibrate and jingle.

“I’m sorry. No. I must go. I ... um, it was nice meeting you.” She scrambled out of her seat and hurried to grab her belongings. “Thank you for—”

“Give me your number.”

“I’m sorry, no. I’m not that type of ... um ... person. I need to go,” she repeated.

“Alice.”

She paused briefly and glanced at him. Her cheeks flushed red. Her pulse beat frantically in her neck. Axel pressed his lips together. He had to let her leave, didn’t he?

“Bye.”

She almost ran out of the bar. He watched her leave, slightly stupefied at his inability to keep her with him.

What was he going to do now? He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at the empty stool next to him.

His gaze fell on the floor. A smile flitted across his lips.

He bent over and picked up the notebook.

In her haste she must have dropped it on the floor instead of into her bag.

Now, if she was the type of girl he suspected, she would have written her address somewhere.

He flipped the pages to the front. Bingo.

Name and address. He grinned. His Baby Girl was not escaping him anytime soon.