by Vella Day
As he stepped from the room, Izzy was standing in front of the window, the light illuminating her sensually curvaceous body. Her auburn hair was tied back with a green velvet ribbon, and the sunlight streaming in the window created a halo around her. Any man would fantasize about her, so her being his mate wasn’t creating this draw. Add in her other talents and she would be a fine catch—for another Wendayan.
She spun around. Her pupils had dilated as if she was now feeling something for him, but he dismissed it. The change from the bright sunshine to the subdued lighting of her living room must have caused it, or else he somehow reminded her of the bond between the Wendayans and the shifters. He thought he spotted some tiny sparks bursting off her skin but chalked that up to the backlighting too.
To test the theory that this attraction was merely lust and not because they were destined to be together, he thought it best to ask her out. His uncle owned a pub, and while it might not be the classiest place, it was safe and clean. “You interested in having a drink tonight at McKinnon’s Pub and Pool?”
“A drink? Sure. I’d like that. It will be nice to visit with some old friends.”
Good. Her apparent reason for going with him was as her escort. Her friends probably consisted of shifters as well as other Wendayans, so that made sense. His parents once mentioned that her mom, sister, and cousin interacted with humans on a daily basis, so Izzy’s circle of friends might include them too. Regardless of the reason for accepting his invitation, Rye was happy to help. “How about I pick you up at seven? We’ll eat some food and maybe shoot a game of pool.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself.”
Certainly she didn’t mean she wanted to ravish him. His ego wasn’t that big. “Meaning what?”
She walked over to a table that had some loose paper on top. Holding her hand over the stack, she drew an imaginary circle above it, and suddenly the papers lifted and swirled. As she raised her arm higher, the papers floated upward. His awe increased proportionally with the height of the papers. She then lowered her arm, and as quickly as the papers flew, they dropped, a few missing the table on the way to the floor.
“That was incredible.” He bent down to retrieve them at the same time she did and their fingers touched. Holy goddess. It was as if she’d plugged him in and then jacked up the electricity by two hundred or more volts. “Sorry,” he said without thinking.
Rye swiped up both pieces of paper and stood. Izzy, whose top of her head only came to his nose, rose too, and his inner wolf wanted to devour her right there. He drew on his control and pretended as if his body wasn’t about to transform in front of her.
She smiled. “I love testing my powers, but I fear I might forget where I am and move some balls.”
His mind went into the gutter. “Balls?”
“Pool balls.”
He swallowed a groan. “That’s what I thought you meant. I agree that doing that at the bar would be difficult to explain.” Smooth, Ryerson…
She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Don’t worry. I promise to keep my magic restricted to the Cove.”
“That’s smart.” Rye needed to get out of there. “I have to head back now. How much do I owe you?”
She waved a hand. “We never charge your family or the Murdochs. It’s a courtesy.”
To pull out a stack of bills would have insulted her. “Thank you. I’ll pick you up here at seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Not wanting to seem as if being in her presence made him uncomfortable, he walked instead of ran. The fresh air and scent of honey helped settle his screaming libido, but many more doses of Isadora Berta and Rye wasn’t sure how he could keep from losing control and ravishing her.
*
Once Rye’s SUV disappeared from sight, Izzy needed something to keep her busy. She was out of sorts for some reason, something that never happened when she cleansed someone’s aura. Trying to figure that out, she stepped into the massage room and straightened the already aligned crystals. Her stomach was twisting and churning at a hundred miles an hour. Sure, Ryerson McKinnon was divinely built with the most perfect ass she’d ever seen and shoulders wider than Silver Lake, but come on. Italy and France had their share of good-looking men too, but for some reason, none of them had made her want to do her magic for them.
There had to have been a reason why she’d shown off, only she didn’t know what it was. There also had to be an explanation for why pricks of electricity were jumping up and down her body whenever she was near him.
Missy would be working at the spa in town, so there was no way Izzy would prance in and discuss her sexual longings with her sister when their mother was close by. Come to think of it, Mom had acted rather strange this morning when she suggested that Izzy take on Rye as a client. Hmm. Had Naliana given her mom a direct order? Even if Izzy asked her, Mom would never tell.
Perhaps it was time to get to the root of all this unease. Was it being around Rye or because Naliana had insisted she return home in the first place? None of her family members had been sick or in any kind of danger.
In the past, she hadn’t been able to summon Naliana at will, but on a few occasions, the goddess had answered her plea. Had the white moon appeared instead of the red moon yesterday, Naliana would have descended from the heavens to enjoy her conjugal visits with her immortal husband right here in Silver Lake.
To improve Izzy’s chances of making a connection, she picked up the pink quartz, held it to her chest, and then closed her eyes. “Naliana, may I speak with you?”
No matter the number of times the goddess had contacted her, Izzy was always a bit nervous. When the goddess didn’t answer, Izzy thought Naliana might be upset that she’d played with the papers in front of Rye, but it wasn’t as if the shifters weren’t aware that the Wendayans had talents beyond normal humans.
“Naliana?” She tried to telepath her goddess again.
After patiently waiting a full minute, Izzy set down the crystal and hopped up on the table, needing time to think.
Elana. While her best friend from high school was human, the two of them had shared everything—including the knowledge that werewolves existed. Her friend had always been her sounding board when the kids bullied Izzy, and she in turn, had listened to Elana when her home life turned particularly bad. In fact, for much of middle school, Izzy spent more time with Elana than she did her own sister. It wasn’t surprising since Izzy and Elana were in the same class in school and her friend practically lived with them.
Now more than ever, Izzy needed a level head. She called her friend who answered immediately. “Blooms of Hope, Elana speaking.”
Pride swelled. Izzy had helped Elana name her flower shop. The Hope part came from the fact Silver Lake was in Hope County. “Hey, it’s me. Do you have a minute?” She’d seen Elana yesterday but only briefly.
“Sure. I’m just cutting the tips off some flowers and making sure the arrangements I’ve made still look fresh. What’s up?”
“It would take too long to tell you now. Are you up for an early lunch?”
“Sure, where?”
“Nate’s Pizzeria in about twenty minutes?”
“Perfect. See you there.”
A bit giddy at being able to have a girl chat like back in school, Izzy changed into a pair of capris and a cute pink tank top and headed out. Because she had a few minutes to spare, she decided to see what new herbs Natalie Fremont, another Wendayan, had at her herb store. As soon as she walked in, however, Izzy realized stopping there had been a mistake. A slew of enticing fragrances sprang out at her, and she wanted to sniff each and every one of them. She instantly recognized she would need hours instead of mere minutes.
One side of the shop was lined with dried flowers and plants. While Izzy had the ability to find herbs and flowers that could ease her worries, she wasn’t good at locating any that would help settle her stomach. That ability belonged to her sister, Missy.
With Nat
“Hey there,” Elana gave her a hug. “So tell me what’s so important that you’d skip out on work.”
Since they arrived before the lunch rush, Nate’s was mostly empty but would probably be packed around 12:30—or at least it used to be that way four years ago. The sign at the front said to Seat Yourself, so they snagged a booth in the back. While the décor was a little tacky, the red and white-checkered tablecloths and lit electric candles reminded her of some of the restaurants in Italy.
“Mom said she didn’t need me this afternoon. Besides, I worked this morning.” The waiter came over, and as soon as they ordered drinks, Izzy leaned forward. “What do you know about Ryerson McKinnon?”
Elana’s brows rose. “From the gleam in your eye perhaps I need to ask what you know about him. You’ve been home all of two days, and he already seems to have you hot and bothered.”
Perhaps coming here had been a bad idea. Elana may not be able to relate to what Izzy was going through. A human without powers might not understand what it was like to be drawn to a shifter in such a strong way. “Let me start from the beginning, so you’ll understand what’s been happening. About a week before I came home, I sensed a presence.”
“You mean like a ghost?”
“No. This presence was creepier than a ghost. It was a man who was quite talented at following me without me catching onto him.”
She sucked in an audible breath, her eyes wide. “You have a stalker?”
“Had a stalker. Yes. I’d been in Scotland for only about two weeks, when I sensed someone following me, only I never actually saw him.” She held up her hand. “And don’t say it was my imagination. I can sense things, you know.”
“I believe you. I’m just glad you listened to your sixth sense. Is that why you came home months sooner than you’d planned?”
Elana was the only person outside of her family who Izzy had kept apprised of her schedule. “Yes.”
That was a white lie, but it couldn’t be helped. While she was convinced Elana would never give away Naliana’s secrets, Izzy thought it better not to tell her friend about the gods in heaven and their abilities. Some things would be too much to handle for the human mind.
“Are you still scared this guy will come after you?”
Izzy smiled. “No. Not all the way from Scotland. And I didn’t say I was scared, but I wanted to be cautious.” She held up a hand. “I wouldn’t have said anything, but I brought it up because I didn’t want to keep anything from you.”
Elana leaned back against the padded seat and let out an audible breath. “Thank you.”
“The reason I called you was because this morning my mother gave me some lame excuse about why she couldn’t do Rye’s aura cleansing, and then said to be sure to give him a long, hard massage.”
Elana placed a hand on her chest then looked around, probably to check if anyone was listening. She leaned forward again. “You saw him naked? Was he perfect? Not that I’ve noticed, but he and his friend Kalan, are both so hot.”
Relief washed through her. If Elana swooned over the idea of being next to a naked Rye, then it made sense she might be affected too. Sure, Izzy had special talents, but deep inside, she was still a female. Any woman would have swooned over the tribal tattoo integrated with a wolf paw around his upper arm. “I couldn’t touch him.”
Elana’s brows pinched. “Why not?”
“Without thinking, I asked him to take off his clothes and slide under the sheet. Only then did I worry that if I saw the outline of his cock, I’d want to jump his bones. Touching him might have caused that to happen.”
“You should have jumped his bones. You told me you didn’t do anything with anyone while you were in Europe.”
“No one really excited me. Besides, you know what would happen if a human found out about my powers.”
Elana nodded. “He’d feel inferior and not be able to get it up. But Rye’s a shifter, right? That means he has powers, so you’re equal.”
“Our powers are different, but yes we both have abilities.”
“Did Rye question why you didn’t give him a massage?”
“No. I had wondered why he didn’t say anything, but since this was his first cleansing, he might not have known what to expect.”
Elana nodded. “True. I heard his dad is stepping down as Alpha, and Rye will be taking over as soon as his father returns from his vacation.”
She was happy for Rye, but that didn’t change things between them. “The problem is that I haven’t been on a date in so long, I’m afraid I’m going to mess it up.”
“Going to?” Her eyes widened. “As in, he asked you out on a date?”
A giggle escaped. “Yes, tonight.”
Elana lightly clapped. “Where to?”
“McKinnon’s Pub and Pool.”
The server came over, and once he took their order, he headed back to the kitchen. Elana unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap. “I still don’t know what the problem is. Are you afraid you’ll end up sleeping with him?”
Heat raced up her face. “Shh. I don’t know.”
“Isadora Berta. I’ve never seen you this flustered.”
She wished she knew the cause. “I know, right? Rye is just a man.” One with thick, dark hair she wanted to run her fingers through, and eyes so green she’d do anything to be able to dive into them.
“To say he’s just a man is a stretch.”
“Fine, he’s just a man like I’m just a woman.”
“I’ll ask you again. What’s the problem? You’re both consenting adults.”
She was twenty-seven, old enough to have the urge to settle down. “He’s five years older, a hot fireman, and about to be the Alpha of his Clan, which means he’s busy. Not only that, I don’t want to do anything stupid. What if I become too excited and let loose a power or something?”
Elana giggled. “You mean if you inadvertently light a fire under his ass?”
She’d mentioned what she’d been able to achieve in Scotland. Thankfully, werewolves healed quickly if she did let a fireball escape. “Yes. I’ve just returned from being away for four years, and I have no business even thinking about getting into a relationship. I should settle in first.”
“Did you take a class in excuses over in Europe, because that’s all I’m hearing? When you go out with him tonight, have a good time. It’s not as if you have to marry the dude. Sheesh. News flash—women are allowed to have fun before they tie the knot.”
Heat raced up her face. “You’re right. I don’t know why I’m so worried. I’m going to be in a public place with lots of people. Nothing is going to happen.”
Elana leaned on her elbows, her brows raised. “There’s always afterward. You live in your own little cottage and he lives in a place by himself too. I say, let whatever happens, happen. There’s nothing wrong with having heart pounding, to die for sex. And after you two decide to have the fun escapade, I want every detail.”
Oh, boy. Izzy was in for a tongue-lashing tomorrow regardless of the outcome.
Chapter Three
‡
Rye tossed the old newspaper in the trash then picked up his scattered clothes from the living room. As he dropped them into the laundry basket, his mind raced. He could use someone to talk some sense into him, but Kalan wouldn’t be off work for another hour, and he needed to leave soon for his date. Even if his folks weren’t on a cruise, he probably would have been too embarrassed to speak with his dad about what it was like to be with a mate. It wasn’t just the sexual attraction that made him think Izzy was the one, though it had been his first clue. Hell, any man would want to make love with her, but there was something else going on. He’d be damned if he understood it though. Being around her twisted his stomach into knots, and her scent drove him wild and made his inner wolf howl.
For the last few hours, he’d been debating the issue of her being his mate. He’d gone back and forth so many times that he might as well have plucked the petals of a daisy in a love-me, love-me-not fashion.
Rye stepped into the bathroom one more time to make sure he looked okay. He ran his fingers through his slightly shaggy hair. He’d need to have it cut soon, especially with the Alpha ceremony approaching, but waiting another week wouldn’t hurt. He could shave again, but many women said they liked the scruffy beard look.
Good to go.
The faded jeans and plain white button-down shirt was a little dressed up for the Pub, but Izzy deserved better than some ratty, slogan T-shirt he usually wore when he shot pool.
His goal for tonight was all about assessing the situation. If Izzy wasn’t interested in going out again, he’d pull back. In a week or so, he’d conveniently run into her and perhaps ask her out again. He wanted to understand what excited her, and then plan from there.
Time to go.
The drive along the river had to be one of the prettiest in Tennessee. When the leaves changed in the fall, he loved to head into the Appalachian Mountains to run or ride his bike, confirming he didn’t want to live anywhere else but in Silver Lake.
At two minutes past seven, Rye pulled into her driveway. Perfect. He didn’t want her to think he was anxious, yet he wasn’t the type to keep a woman waiting. Whatever happened tonight, he had to keep his cock in his pants. That much was a given. Rushing her might ruin the chance of her wanting to see him again.
As he walked up the pathway and spotted the flowerbeds, it was clear a classy, world-traveling woman like Izzy was probably used to having a man bring her a gift when they went out. Shit. He hadn’t even thought about that. The men from Europe were probably experts on how to treat a lady too. He hadn’t been on a real date in so long that he’d forgotten what it was like to be with someone sophisticated.
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