by M. L. Briers
She looks good is all I’m saying …
His beast had to agree with that one…
Mine…
The wolf growled, and Wade’s head went back on his neck as his body snapped rigid, and his mind spun out of control…
For one moment; he thought that someone had pulled that stump from out beneath him. Then he had to wonder if she’d zapped him, or spelled him in some way…
Yeah … that’s not …
CHAPTER TEN
~
Wade narrowed his eyes on Meredith and she noticed his newfound sudden change of character. It was hard not to. There had been interest in those eyes only moments earlier, and now there was something new … confusion … suspicion … and neither of those things were a good sign in her book…
“Well, nice talk – gotta go,” Meredith said, eager to not find out what had happened to him.
She turned away, but hesitated … stopping to talk to him had kind of turned her about, and she wasn’t sure which way led back to the cabin…
Then he was right there in front of her. She caught her breath and snatched her head back on her neck in surprise, and she slowly craned it backwards to look up from that hard chest to an even harder stare…
“Something …?” She started to ask, unsure what he was about, what had happened, what had changed.
Did I say something wrong? She wondered as he stood there like he was suddenly rooted to the spot just staring down at her.
She tried to replay the conversation within her mind, but when he started to lean in towards her, and she stumbled backwards a few steps away from him as her footing became entangled in the undergrowth, any thought took flight…
Wade’s hands shot out and he curled them around her upper arms, yanking her back towards him like she was a yoyo.
“Don’t move…” Wade’s gruff, growly tone sent a shiver racing along her spine…
“I …” She wanted to look about her to see if there was danger, but she didn’t get any further as he started to lean in again and she started to pull her upper body backwards away from him.
Meredith knew that if he let go of her arms then she was going to hit the floor with her backside, there was no doubt in that, but from the look in his eyes … he wasn’t about to let go…
“I need to scent you…” Wade growled out, and the alarm bells started to ring like giant cathedral bells, clanging in her mind and echoing through her body with the rush of heat and a jolt of excitement mixed with a big dollop of trepidation…
She lifted her hand and her palm met his face as he drew nearer … she hadn’t meant to touch him, but she wasn’t sorry that she’d stopped him in his tracks…
“Now you hold on there a minute, buster!” She bit out, not liking where this was going for one little nanosecond.
Wade did as she asked, stopping in mid stretch of his neck and having the damn need to go further while pulling back at the same time…
Hell, if she was his mate, then he wasn’t certain that he wanted to know about it.
He hadn’t taken her scent in the whole time that they’d been together so far. Hadn’t … and hadn’t wanted too, except now he did, and he hated his beast for sensing what he’d probably already knew somewhere deep within his psyche…
Idiot!
Stupid!
A mate, and right under your nose, and you never even sniffed it out … he berated himself.
She could have gotten away…
You could have sent yourself rogue…
Damn!
A witch, a witch of all things…
I should never have laughed at Jared! That’s tempting fate or karma, right there.
I should never have stopped…
I should never have pulled over to check on them…
Then I never would have found her, and I’ve been waiting for so damn long…
Too long…
This is bad!
This is so damn bad that it’s just good…
Idiot! What does that mean?
“It’s just a …” Wade protested.
He wanted to take her scent at source. He already knew what she was to him. His beast already knew what she was to him…
“Oh!” Meredith’s eyes went wide as she snorted her contempt for him. “I know what it is. It’s sniffing, and sniffing leads to growling, and growling leads to stating a claim, and stating a claim leads to…”
“You and me and a happily ever after,” Wade gave her one of those damn grins, but there was also a little something in there like he was holding back, not committing himself the whole way…
“You and …!” She gave a small shake of her head in denial of his words. “I don’t believe in fairytales.” She rushed out.
Stupid really, considering that she knew that matings weren’t fables that some writer had written onto paper, but fates design … the will of fate …
Damn fate!
I’m too old to be a mate…
But, then mother is…
Not the point!
I’m just getting rid of my mother and now this?
Will I ever live alone and get some damn me time?
Some peace? Some … well, there has to be something I want for me…?
He’s definitely … no, don’t think of all the things he is, concentrate on all the damn things he’s not…
He’s not a night in with my fluffy slippers and sweats on in front of the TV set!
Or curled up in front of the fire reading book, after book, after book, as if someone was going to ban them all tomorrow and I had to get my fill!
He’s not no makeup, bad hair, and a whole chocolate cake to myself…
He’s … he’s … damn it, he’s sugar and spice and all things nice … no wait, that’s girls … but he’s definitely sugar … I can’t get enough of sugar and I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to get enough of…
Oh, make it stop!
“Feel that?” Wade asked, not moving an inch and having her palm still resting against his face as she tried, in a lame sort of a way, to ward him off…
“Your … nose?”
“The tingle of skin against skin…” Wade grinned, and she was grateful that she could only partially see it, because that grin was way too potent a thing for her to have to deal with right then.
“Makes me want to scratch,” she lied, and offered him a frown.
“I can certainly feel an itch I’d like to scratch…” Wade grinned harder, and that smile was in his eyes … she couldn’t escape it and she felt her womb kick her in the backside…
Sex! With him …? Goddess yes … I mean no!
That would be so bad … all my bits and pieces on display …
Why don’t I just go viral with that? Give the world a good laugh?
The embarrassment factor… mother was right!
Oh God, now I’m agreeing with my mother!
This is bad … this is like going to the bakers dreaming about chocolate cake and finding they only have cookies left…
Oh, wow, I’m a hypocrite … I can throw my mother under the bus but I want a seat on that bus back out of town to ‘run and hide-ville’…
Yes. Yes I can feel it … damn it!
“That’s not good…” Meredith frowned…
“Kind of depends on your prospective, now doesn’t it?”
She snatched her hand back and went to take a step away from him, but he matched it.
“Y-you … just don’t sniff… I need to think…” Meredith bit out as she rubbed the palm of her hand down her jean clad thigh; absently trying to rid herself of that tingle…
“What’s there to think about?”
“Stuff!”
“I’d rather sniff…”
His dark eyes sparkled with teasing and something else – hunger – she could eat, hell, she could always eat, especially anything chocolate, but she didn’t think that it was food that he had in mind…
“I’d rather you didn’t…”
“I know that y
ou’re my …”
She slapped her hand over his mouth to silence him, and just one of his eyebrows arched in amusement, but that damn tingle was back like a red flag to a bull.
“Don’t say it again – not yet – let it sit like a good Scotch for a while…”
There was an idea – Scotch. Scotch by the bucket load and chocolate cake too…
He reached up and snatched her hand away. That big hand wrapped around hers only made the tingle worse – not that it could get much worse as it made all her little bits and pieces fire to life.
“You’re serious?”
“I’m a very serious person…” She lied, but she was desperate for him not to sniff and not to hear that one word again – not now – not yet…
“I doubt that…”
“Ok, so I lied about that. But just don’t say it and please Goddess – don’t sniff. Sniffing and speaking is bad…”
“If I don’t get to sniff or speak what else am I going to do with you?”
There was that look again, hungrier now, as his eyes flared with amusement and he looked like the big bad wolf.
“That either!” She balked at the idea.
“You’re limiting my options…”
“And that’s a good thing…”
“Not for me…”
“I’m being selfish right now…”
“Yes, you are,”
“That’s a good thing too,”
“Again, not for me…”
“If I were thinking about you then I wouldn’t be being selfish now, would I?” She stopped and thought about her words … they didn’t sound right, but she hoped he got the memo nonetheless.
“When is it my turn to be selfish?” Wade had a wolfish grin on his face that ignited some parts of her that she hadn’t even been thought about in quite some time.
“Two thousand and fifty four…”
“That’s a little long for me to wait…” He arched his eyebrows in mock surprise.
“Too bad!”
“That selfish streak of yours is sure gonna last a while…”
“Yes, yes it is. Live with it. I’m living for me!” For a change … ah, if only that were true.
“Well by then I could well be boots up…”
“Bonus!” She exclaimed and then rolled her eyes. “Not that I want you dead…”
“Perish the thought, even if it would make your life easier…”
“I know, right?” She rolled her eyes again. “Look, I’m going to back off and you’re not going to sniff…”
“What are the odds?” Wade teased, his eyes were flashing with humour – right up to the moment that she bopped her little fist against his nose as hard as she could.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
~
“I don’t believe you hit me!” Wade growled.
She was a girl – she shouldn’t be able to punch that hard, but his damn eyes were watering and his nose was throbbing.
“You don’t have to cry about it…” Meredith chuckled to herself, even as she shook out her hand.
She’d put a little magic behind that punch, but she’d neglected to protect her fist from the damage that hitting him would cause to her knuckles. It throbbed with pain, but it was worth it – at least, she felt a little bit better.
“Cry!” He was incredulous. “I’m not damn crying…”
“Your eyes are watering…”
“That’s not the same as crying – geez, what the hell did you hit me with? I thought it was a fist…”
“It was my fist…” Meredith was slowly backing off from him. One small step at a time so that he didn’t notice, while he was concentrating on his nose and wiping the tears from his eyes with the backs of his big hands…
“But … you’re a girl!” Wade grumbled…
“Wade…” The deep, gravelly tones of the big shifter made her jump in place, and her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment, or was it guilt…? She wasn’t quite sure… “Are you crying?”
“No! Dumbass, I’m not damn well crying…” Wade growled out.
“I hit him…” Meredith offered with a small shrug.
“Y-you … hit …?” Sam’s eyebrows drew downwards as he stared at his alpha for a long moment. He looked both confused and amused at the same time.
Wade did a double take of the beta through his water logged eyes and growled a hard warning at the man…
“What are you staring at?” Wade growled out.
“You … crying…” Sam couldn’t hold the grin in a moment longer; it spread out wide across his face and only made Wade madder. “From a girl punch … it was a punch right, not a slap?” Sam turned to Meredith for confirmation and she held up her red fist.
“Got him right on the nose …” Meredith offered back.
The guilt had been chased away by the fact that the big beta was enjoying himself and that could only be a good thing, because it was taking Wade’s mind off her. His dignity and pride aside, she’d finally got what she wanted.
“Oh, man – I need to get a picture of …” Sam reached towards his back pocket.
“That phone comes out of your pocket and it’s going right up your…”
“Smile …!” Meredith clicked the picture for prosperity on her phone and Wade growled longer and harder.
“Not funny …” he grumbled.
“It is from where I’m standing …” Meredith offered back with a shrug.
“Yeah …” Sam nodded – still grinning like an idiot.
“Walk on, Sam, before I rip off your arm and beat you to death with it.”
Wade took one long step towards the beta and the man shot off on fast feet, but that didn’t stop the sound of his laughter from reaching back and jumping up and down all over Wade’s sense of pride…
“Yeah, me too …” Meredith turned fast to followed the beta, but before she could take that very first step; Wade was in front of her.
His eyes looked a little red and puffy, and they still looked a little watery, but they were also jet black and glaring at her…
“You used magic,” Wade growled out.
“Does this look like I used magic?” She held up her red, throbbing hand and his eyes flicked to the knuckles. His frown turned into a scowl…
“Did you break anything …?” Wade demanded, reaching for her hand, but she snatched it away before he could get a grip on her again.
She really didn’t need any more of that tingly goodness.
“Nope!” She took a step back. Wade twisted his head on his neck and narrowed his eyes on her. She certainly looked guilty of something…
“You sure…?”
“Yes, Goddess, yes. It’s throbbingly fine.” She assured him.
“And yet there is something you’re lying to me about…”
Meredith’s top lip twitched and she swallowed hard. Then she offered him a small shake of her head.
“Nope, nothing.”
“Really?”
“Truly.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, instead she was flickering her gaze anywhere but at him.
“I call bullshit …” Wade grumbled.
“Well, while you do that – I’m off…” Meredith went to step around the man, but he just swayed to the left a little and his big, muscled body blocked her way…
“You used magic … didn’t you?” Wade asked.
“If that makes you feel better about crying, sure…”
“I was not crying …” Wade growled back.
“But neither were you sniffing, so, if you don’t want me to do it again then get out of my way.” Meredith offered back.
Wade twisted his head to the other side. Then he folded his big, muscled arms, across that broad chest of his and stared back at her with a long, hard look that snapped on that inbuilt guilt button that everyone seemed to know just how to push and she had no clue as to how to turn it off…
“You want to hit me again?” Wade asked, eyeing her…
“Right now … yes.” She nodded.<
br />
“Take your best shot, but this time; remember to use your magic to protect your knuckles and not just to add that little extra power to the punch.” Wade offered…
“I did not use magic!”
“And I wasn’t crying, but it seems like we have a lack of trust here between us.”
“Tears equals crying…” she muttered, looking anywhere but at him again…
“And you punching like a sledgehammer instead of a girl doesn’t happen without magic.” Wade offered back.
“Ooooo, fine!” Meredith tossed up her hands in frustration. “If I say I used magic will you get out of my way?”
“Nope.”
“No?” She gave him a look of pure disbelief.
“Because I know you used magic…”
“And I know you were crying, and hey, guess what?” She held up her phone. “I got the damn picture to prove it, alpha…”
Wade dropped his arms to his sides and mulled that one over for a long moment.
“Delete the picture and I’ll move.” He offered.
“Or I could keep the picture and use my magic to move you,” she offered back.
“You’re a stubborn woman…” he bit out.
“You have no idea,” she offered back with as much sincerity as she could muster.
“I still want to scent you,” Wade bit out.
“I still have another fist. I wouldn’t want to make you cry again.” She offered back.
Wade snapped his head back on his neck and chewed an imaginary wasp.
This … this is the mate you send me?
I’m not sure which one of us might get through this wooing part alive…
Damn, but she’s a stubborn damn witch!
Wade’s wolf growled long and hard inside of him. The beast wasn’t sure if it should be impressed by her challenge or if it should rise to the bait.
You and me both, buddy … do we kill her or woo her?
Mine… His wolf growled…
After all these years and you still don’t have a sense of humour, wolf!
Wade took one step to the right to let her pass. Meredith didn’t wait for a platinum invitation – she set one foot in front of the other and started off down the worn path…
“You do know you’re going the wrong way to get back to the house – right?” Wade called after her and she stopped dead in her tracks and bit down on a curse…