by Moxie North
“Oh yes, I need to do something with you, Delaney. I like you. I want to get to know you. I know when something is too precious to pass up. You’re a gem, and any man that doesn’t give you the time and attention you deserve is an idiot. I’ve never thought of myself as an idiot.”
Delaney watched him as his hand touched her cheek lightly again. “You want to date? For the next week?”
“To start. After that, we can talk about the future.” He said it like it was a done deal.
“We can’t have a future, Will. I like you, I think. I mean you’re handsome, but you knew that. Uh, you seem nice. I may have Googled you earlier, so I don’t think you are a serial killer. But how can you know you want to see me? Maybe our first date will suck?”
“This is our first date. It doesn’t suck,” he said quietly.
Oh geez, this was a date? How the heck was she supposed to know that? A picnic next to the garage was not what she thought of as a date. Maybe an evening watching high school football and some beers tailgating could be a date. But then she’d never actually been out on a real date. She hooked up with her ex one night, and they went straight to couple-hood.
“Wait, you Googled me?” Will asked with a laugh.
Blushing again, Delaney admitted it. “Yes, but only because I thought you looked kind of fancy. So my curiosity got the better of me.”
“And what did you find?”
“That you work at a casino. That you’ve traveled the world and met celebrities. I’ve never really been outside of North Carolina and Tennessee. I went to Georgia a few times, but I don’t count crossing the border as actually visiting.”
“You need to see the world, little one. There is a big world out there just waiting for you.” Will liked the idea of showing her how amazing traveling was. He’d take her everywhere, and show her every imaginable wonder of the world.
Delaney didn’t know why, but she liked that endearment from him. Her father wasn’t a big fan of nicknames. Her ex occasionally called her B.J. thinking he was being funny.
“I don’t think I’ll be traveling anytime soon. My world is this town, the garage, and the occasional kegger near the dam.” Delaney hadn’t really thought about how isolated she was until she was reminded of it by out of towners.
“We could go to Paris or Tokyo. Do you have a passport?”
“Oh sure, let me go grab that,” she scoffed.
“Hmm, I know some people that could expedite it. Don’t you think you should have one? It’s the best form of identification you know.”
“I’ve managed this far with just a birth certificate and driver’s license. But hey, if I ever win the lottery, it will be at the top of my to-do list.”
Delaney watched him get thoughtful for a minute, and then he changed the subject. “Okay, we’ll put a pin in the trips for right now. So how about that date? We can go for a ride tomorrow, and then I’ll take you out for dinner. Any place you think would be good.”
“I should say no, because I normally don’t encourage tourists. But you seem nice; you brought me food and beer, so you are ahead of most of the guys I’ve met.”
“Don’t forget the chocolate.” His mouth turned up in a smirk.
“I never forget chocolate. But sure, how about you meet back here at noon, and we can take a ride. Your car will be done tonight if you let me get to it,” she teased.
“I’m in no hurry. You have plans tonight? I’m quite content to sit here and talk. We haven’t even gotten into the dessert yet. Although I have to say this is the biggest burrito I’ve ever seen. It’s the size of my head,” he said, looking down at the container in his hands.
“Hmm…well, leftovers never hurt anyone, and no, I don’t have plans tonight.”
“Good. My plans are only sitting by your side and trying to keep you talking so our evening won’t end.”
“You lacking in company and conversation in your life, Mr. Klein?”
“Up until today, I’ve been lacking in your company, Delaney. I don’t plan on letting that happen ever again.”
Chapter Ten
Will let her continue asking him questions about his work and how he grew up. He told her about his college experiences and his plans for the future now. He told her how he really wanted to expand out his family’s holdings to provide more opportunities for his employees. Delaney felt the gap between them grow even more, although he didn’t seem to think her life was any less than his. He asked about what she liked in school, her favorite cars, and what she liked to do in her spare time. They sat in the sun until the twilight started to creep over them.
Dusting her hands on her pant legs, Delaney started to get up.
“I should get to work on your car. I’d hate for you to leave me a bad review because it took so long to get your car back. It would be faster if you helped.”
“I’m at your service,” Will offered and started to clean up their food. “We’ll save the dessert for after we do our chores, yeah?”
They carried the containers of food back into the garage. Delaney set him up on a stool next to the toolboxes on the bench. It was a clear sign of you’re welcome to stay, but don’t get in my way. Will didn’t care. She was at home in the garage. Her ability to gracefully move around the room grabbing tools and keeping up on the conversation showed Will that most of what she was doing was all muscle memory. Her ease with the engine was mesmerizing.
He was no slouch when it came to car repairs. He was self-taught out of necessity. The first time he got the feeling a shop was trying to overcharge him, he endeavored to learn enough to not get taken again. Sure he could afford to have anyone work on his cars, but he didn’t like to be ignorant about anything.
Although he was listening to her, his cougar was encouraging him to think of all the surfaces in the area they could bend their mate over, fuck her, and mark her as theirs. Will knew his animal’s need; it was ferocious, and he couldn’t blame him. He knew there was a protocol involved with shifter/human relationships. You had to gain your mate’s trust and ease them into your world.
Will didn’t want to do any of that. He didn’t want to date her, woo her, or buy her flowers. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; he did want to do all those things with her and much more. He also wanted to be able to enjoy that sweet body of hers while he was doing all those other things.
What could be the worst that would happen if he just came out and told her the truth first? Granted, he didn’t know her all that well, but the fates wouldn’t have given her to him if she wasn’t right for him. So shouldn’t his perfect match trust him when he told her the truth?
He could show her his cougar, declare his love, and promise her the world. His cat was thinking that was a great idea and a fast one to get them to their goal. Will knew from the human side that would come across as crazy and potentially threatening. Smart women didn’t fall over for men who declared their love after just meeting them and then telling them they were a supernatural being. Definitely not on the approved list of How to Get the Girl.
Although he wracked his brain, he couldn’t figure out a way to extend the evening without scaring her. He was a little proud of his level of self-control.
Will managed to say goodnight without grabbing her and kissing the crap out of her. She’d finished working on his car as he stared at her ass and hid his erection. He handed her tools as she needed them, and he would sit back on the stool near the workbench, gripping the edge with white knuckles to keep from touching her. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, keeping his hands to himself.
Her voice was still as sweet coming from under the bonnet of the car. She’d answer questions he would throw out just to keep her talking. When something was funny, she’d look over her shoulder at him with that adorable smile, and his heart would stop beating. The glint in her eyes told his cougar that she was genuinely having fun talking to him.
He couldn’t help but hope she’d find something else wrong with his car so he wouldn’t have to manufa
cture more ways to be with her. She seemed to be willing to spend time with him. The ride tomorrow was a great start. His plan was to morph that into a meal, then another meal, and possibly a drive. Anything to keep her close.
When she’d finally finished and fired up the engine, his car purred, and it was a terrible sound to his cougar’s way of thinking. He’d never prayed so hard for a clunk or a clank with a plume of smoke. Sadly, she was an expert mechanic, and his car was back to normal or, more to the point, running better.
She’d taken the lead when he didn’t get up from his perch. She wiped off her hands with a clean shop rag and held out his keys to him. He took them, letting his hand hold hers for a second too long. It wasn’t enough time to get her scent on him or vice versa, but it was something.
When she gave him all the clear signs it was time for him to go, he reluctantly left. He didn’t go far. He’d told her that he would come back for his car tomorrow after their ride. Will waved goodbye and drove off only to pull over and turn around about a half mile down the road. He pulled back down the street near the garage but far enough away that he couldn’t be easily seen and turned off the car. His cougar eyes could pick up every detail through the darkness.
Delaney moved around the garage putting away tools. Eventually, she closed the large bay door and went into the office. She was in there a few minutes before Will saw the light flick off. Then to his surprise, he watched his mate exit through a side door and walk around the side of the building and disappear from sight. His cougar wanted to jump out and chase after her. His hand was on the handle of the door when he saw a light in a small window above the garage come on.
Will hadn’t noticed the window before, his focus completely on his mate. Now he could see shadows moving around with her slim figure passing by the window. He tracked her back and forth, holding his breath each time she moved out of view. Finally, the light turned off, and he could see the flicker of a TV casting a blue glow over the curtains
He knew he should leave and go back to the cabin, but it wasn’t really something his cat wanted to do. While he was waiting to drive back to the garage, he made another call to his assistant and had her make arrangements to fly out his motorcycle so it would be there in the morning.
Sure he could go buy another one, but his bike was like a part of him, and he didn’t want to look too ostentatious buying a new one. Then again, he really hoped Delaney didn’t ask how he got his bike there so fast. Saying he flew it in on his private jet would be a conversation he wasn’t sure he was ready to have. It was the first time in his life that he felt uncomfortable about his wealth.
His life had always had an ease to it that he took for granted. Not that he wasn’t well aware of how lucky he was. It just was a fact of life that things could be purchased and/or arranged for him. There were always helping hands either with pack members or people he employed that were at his beck and call. Now he’d had a car delivered, and his motorcycle was in the air along with his full set of leathers.
He could just imagine Delaney on her ride. She probably had one of those cute pink and black sets of leathers that matched a hot pink helmet. His cougar was urging him to focus on how she’d look in those leathers. Will already had been sporting an erection for the last few hours. If he wanted to get any sleep this evening, he needed to not let his mind stay too long on that topic.
Will sat for a while, watching the blue flicker and finally when the curtain went dark, he checked the time. Giving himself another half hour to make sure there wasn’t any good reason for him to stay, he started the car and headed back to the cabin.
Chapter Eleven
Sleep was not easy coming for Delaney. She’d sat on the futon in her apartment above the garage and blindly flipped channels. Her evening with William Klein was not at all what she had expected. Her normally secure shields against tourist advances were now full of holes. When he had mentioned that she felt something for him, he had been right. He was handsome sure; he looked like a model or a movie star. But that wasn’t what she found so attractive. It was something else.
The man smelled good. Like expensive body products, not the kind she bought at Wal-Mart. Not that she felt bad about shopping at Wal-Mart; they had a decent selection. But you could tell from the top of his head to the bottom of his probably perfectly manicured feet, he had top of the line stuff. That mixed with his manly smell was beyond appealing.
There was something else that she couldn’t explain. She felt incredibly drawn to him. Like a magnet was pulling her towards him. She wasn’t nervous around him, which she really should be considering who he was. But she’d talked her head off with him tonight. In fact, as she sat in front of the TV, she replayed how much she jabbered to him. He didn’t seem put out at all; rather he’d kept asking her questions which kept her talking.
She had to admit she was a little embarrassed as she recalled how much she shared with him. Hell, she even told him her favorite color and her obsession with My Little Pony dolls. Okay, not just the dolls, but the TV shows, the lunchboxes, and a few shirts she might own. But he smiled like he thought it was cute.
His eyes, man his eyes. She could barely keep eye contact with him. They were so stunning with the golden brown color searing into her when he watched her. And he watched her constantly. She knew every time her eyes flitted away from his that his were still glued to her. It should have made her skin crawl. Instead, it felt like he was protecting her. Although that was a ridiculous thought. He had probably just been staring at her ass. That region of her body along with her boobs seemed to get hotter around him.
Tomorrow he wanted to ride the Dragon with her. She was confident in her skills, and she had to assume he wasn’t lying that he knew how to ride. After their trip, she knew that he wasn’t just going to give her a “see ya” and leave. No, his intent towards her was hard to deny. She could deny all she wanted by saying that he was looking for a fling. But there was no reason for him to play her. As he said, he had a list of women, probably stunningly beautiful women who were just a phone call away.
So knowing that there was an actual chance that he liked her and wanted to spend time with her, that thought had her up for longer than she would have liked before she fell asleep dreaming about the curves of tomorrow. The road and the maneuvering with William Klein.
Will was glad when he returned to the cabin and had the chance to replay every moment from the seconds before he found his mate to the supreme joy of finding her. He wanted to talk to someone. He knew some of his brother-in-law’s family had mated to humans, but that wasn’t a phone call he wanted to make. He already knew what they were going to say. Take it slow, and the mating call will win out.
There was always option B. It was the one that he was leaning towards right now, and his cougar was thrilled.
Will was never the sit back and let things happen kind of man. He was a take charge man. The Platinum was one of the most successful hotels and casinos on the strip. When he saw what he wanted, whether it was a designer or a band to headline a show, he made it happen. He wanted Delaney in his arms, in his home, and in his bed, not months from now, but tomorrow. So he was going to do what it took to get her there.
After their ride, he was going to lay it out for her and show her his animal. She wouldn’t be scared when he told her how much his cougar liked her and that they were fated mates. How many women could resist that? A declaration of love and devotion from a man to make all their dreams come true.
Today was the last day that he would have to sleep alone. The last day he would be without his mate at his side.
Will’s cougar woke him up earlier than he would have liked. He was eager to get back to their mate. Will convinced him coffee and breakfast was an imperative if they were going to be spending the day proving to Delaney that she had no choice but to be theirs.
While he was making his breakfast, there was a knock at the door. A delivery service dropped off his bike and his riding gear. He signed for it and gave a c
ursory look at his Ducati to see if it made the trip just fine. It was red and black and looked fast even when it was parked.
His riding leathers were all black, and he was looking forward to being able to wear it and not feel like he was riding through an oven. Back in Las Vegas, he tended to only ride at night, which although cooler, was way more dangerous in a city that encouraged drinking and debauchery.
Will finished his breakfast and took a shower, the whole time watching the clock knowing he couldn’t rush over to the garage. The more time that ticked by, the less patience he had. His cat was roaring in his head, and he was ready to go.
Pulling on his smooth leather pants, Will was happy his physique never varied given that he was so active when he was in cat form. He pulled on a white long-sleeve Henley and tucked it into his pants. He pulled on his black motorcycle boots and grabbed his jacket and helmet before walking outside into the bright sunlight.
It was a perfect day; the temperature was going to be not too hot and not too cold. His plan after telling her about his love, his cougar, and his future plans was to take her back to the cabin. He had steaks marinating in the fridge he’d cook for dinner and then he’d spend the night making love to her. His plan didn’t include bonding with her tonight. The mating bite that would link them together forever was something she would have to be fully aware of and agree to. He would give her a day or two to come to that decision.
It couldn’t be delayed too long as the chance she could become pregnant was very possible. The mating bite would allow his DNA to change her physically ensuring she could carry their children. She’d also age slower so they would be able to have a long and happy life together.
Oddly, in the light of day his cougar was encouraging caution. Yesterday, the animal wanted nothing more than to have Will jump her. Now he’d had a small change of heart. He was urging patience. Too bad once Will made a plan he executed it with a laser focus. His cat was telling him they knew where their mate was, there was no rush. Will thought every second away was too long.