She’d be lucky if Matilda didn’t become ex-boss number six this year.
With a sigh, she rolled down the window. “Can I help you?”
“I’m thinking I can help you. Car won’t start?”
“That’s right. Can you fix cars?” She opened her door, and he scooted backward so he wouldn’t get hit with it. “What are you still doing here?” He’d left five hours earlier.
“I had some things I couldn’t get out of my mind. A person I expected to see earlier didn’t show up. I drove by to see if he was here. And, well, I wanted to see you again.”
“You did? Why?” She’d done nothing but stumble and stammer the whole time he was around.
“Because.” He smiled, and her heart stuttered. Small lines dotted his face. Laugh lines. Travis had a dimple on his left cheek. It made him look softer and she liked the effect. With his ink and the sheer size of Travis, he intimidated her. However, the laugh line showed her that he had a gentle side too. She wanted to reach out and touch them. Only that would be weird and she really worked on not doing odd things. That had to be one of her goals. “Pop the hood for me.”
She bent over to flick the switch to show the engine for his inspection. Her shirt rode up her back just a touch, and when she stood up, she noticed him watching her from the corner of his eye.
Lilliana bit down on her lower lip. No sex. No men. No. No. No. Somehow she had to remember that meaningless sex made her feel exactly that way…meaningless.
The next time she took a man to bed he had to be the right one.
Even if Travis made her wet just by looking at him.
He bent over and studied her engine.
“Is this what you do? For a living?”
He raised his head, leaning to the side so she could see him. “I own a collection of body shops in Philadelphia. I don’t repair the cars myself anymore, but I certainly remember how.” He moved away from the car. “This one is shot. When was the last time you changed the oil?”
“Um.” She’d done so much to the car. Had she really forgotten to have the oil changed?
“Um.” He laughed. “That says enough. Regular maintenance on all cars keeps this situation from happening.”
She could have taken anything but him patronizing her. Unable to stop the surge of anger that flowed through her veins, she banged on the side of her car.
“You know what? You don’t know the slightest thing about me. Do you think that I’m just some stupid woman who couldn’t be bothered to change her oil? Because I was, what, going to the mall?”
“No…”
Whatever he would have said she didn’t hear because she kept going. “I have bills beyond bills. My mother is dead. She left a ton of debt, and my name was co-signed on all of it. I’ll never be able to pay any of it off. Not ever. This car is the only thing I own in the world, and now you tell me its dead. Before yesterday, I hadn’t eaten more than a cracker with a slice of cheese on it in two days. You can take your superior attitude and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
She turned on her heel and stormed back toward the diner. A tow truck would cost and arm and a leg, but what choice did she have?
“Wait.” Travis grabbed her arm, and she spun around, her fists clenched. If he didn’t let go, she might punch him in the nose.
“Relax.” His eyes met hers, and the strangest thing happened. Her heart rate started to calm down. Little by little she could feel herself doing as he’d told her to do. He smelled really nice. She could make out the scents of soap and sandalwood. Her mother had often said she had a gift for aromas. In another life, maybe she could have designed perfumes. Made millions of dollars.
Travis raised an eyebrow. “You okay now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t usually have a tantrum when things don’t go my way.”
“I think it sounds like you’re entitled.”
“I really don’t know what came over me.” Her throat clogged, and she feared she might start to cry.
Anger to weeping in less than a minute. A new record for her. What kind of hormonal mess had she become?
“Maybe you really wanted to tell me about it. That’s okay. People talk to me. I’m good at listening.”
To her surprise, he pulled her against his large chest. “I’m going to give you a ride home, and I’m going to take care of your car. It will be outside your home tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to.”
He petted the back of her head. “Consider it already done.”
His actions were highly inappropriate, but she liked the feeling of being taken care of, even if it was temporary and by a stranger. For once, maybe it was okay to take a deep breath and just say thank you. Her shoulders sagged. Maybe the universe was finally giving her a break.
Chapter Two
Travis pulled up to her apartment and turned off the car. He didn’t like this neighborhood one bit. Several of the apartment buildings were really run down, and two of the houses seemed abandoned. The whole block smelled of rotten food and rust.
How long did humans like to date before they moved in with other humans? He’d give Lilliana two days. The wolf side of her couldn’t need more than that to recognize they were supposed to be together. More would just be ridiculous. Once he had her set up in his place in Philly, he’d breathe a lot better.
She’d fallen asleep in the brief ten minutes it had taken to get to her home. He leaned back in his seat and studied her. He’d been so overwhelmed with her presence, with her ability to defy him—something few humans, let alone wolves, did—and with the fact that she was downright beautiful, that he hadn’t made proper note of the dark circles under her eyes and the red skin on the palms of her hands. She must have them in water constantly. Her sneakers had a hole in the left side of one shoe and the front of the other.
His mate should not be living like this. If she’d been raised surrounded by Pack, this wouldn’t have happened. Even half-wolves were part of their community. Why had her family kept her from her people? Hidden the truth from her? He had lots of questions and no answers.
He walked to the side of the car. The closer they got to full moon the better his senses would get. Two weeks away meant he wasn’t at his peak, but his Alpha abilities made him more capable than most. He opened her door. She stirred when he did, and he knelt down so they’d be at eye level.
“I was going to carry you.” He stroked the side of her face and then frowned. No one would ever accuse him of being gentle or romantic. His mate brought out certain instincts in him he hadn’t anticipated. With war on the horizon, he couldn’t be gentle, not on the inside or out.
“I’m sorry I conked out. How did you find the place?”
He pointed to his phone. “You gave me the address, and I plugged it in. GPS is a magical tool.”
She laughed, a low sultry sound. “I guess I must have been exhausted.”
“Bone deep, I think.” He reached over her to undo her seatbelt. This Lilliana, the easy, smiling lady without the care of the world on her shoulders, was even more beautiful. She should look like this all the time.
He extended his hand, and she took it. Together, they moved through the night, Travis focusing his hearing on the neighborhood around. If something—or someone—threatened, they’d wish they hadn’t.
“I hadn’t realized this area got so bad so quickly.”
She shrugged, her lips pursing. “It’s the best I can do right now. I’ve lived in worse.”
“I don’t like to hear that.” He shook his head. Trying to keep cool proved harder than it ever had before. Usually, he did a pretty good job of concealing his animal nature. Since he’d met Lilliana, he’d already growled in public and just then he’d wanted to do it again. If it had been a full moon, he’d be completely out of control.
He continued speaking because he had to know more about her. If he had knowledge of her circumstances, he could try to make her life better
. Assuming she would let him and not cut him down verbally as she had before. He’d melted into the ground at her words, in a way no one had been capable of doing to him in decades.
“Tell me about your family.”
“Tell me about yours.” The defensive tone of her answer told him more than the words she spoke. The girl had boundaries she’d set up to protect her heart. They weren’t going to come down just because he ordered her to speak. Sometimes wolves had to be coaxed into trusting him. He knew how to do that.
“My parents are both dead, but I am surrounded by family. I’ll never be alone. You?” How else to explain pack to her? He really missed his mother in that moment. She’d have taken Lilliana away, and when she returned, Lilliana would know everything about werewolves and accepted all of it.
One way or another, Travis knew he would somehow screw this up.
“I’m sorry about your parents.” She reached out and rubbed his arm. “I know how that is. My parents are gone too. My dad died when I was two and my mom just last year after a very long battle with cancer.”
“I’m sorry for you too.” He really was. It couldn’t have been easy. His had gone very quickly in battle and together.
She rounded the corner, and he stayed tight on her tail. “You were saying earlier about being in debt.”
“I wish I hadn’t.”
“Well, you did.” He wanted to close his eyes and rub his head in her hair, but she might run away and refuse to see him ever again. Travis needed to convince her to stay with him forever, not force him to leave her alone.
“My mother had credit card debt. After a while she, apparently, faked my signature to take out some loans. I know, it sounds really bad. She had some mental problems. I’m working on forgiving her.”
“You can go ahead and do that.” Dead or not dead, he wouldn’t be letting that woman off the hook. “How much money do you owe?”
“Oh.” She sighed loudly, sticking her key in the lock. He hated the paint peeling off the walls, the smell of mold wafting from the stairwell. The landlord needed to be reported for not up keeping the place. His mate did not belong here. “Who knows anymore? I shouldn’t let you in. Only you drove me here. I fell asleep in your presence. It’s probably too late to start being cautious now. Besides, Matilda likes you. I’m hoping that means you’re not dangerous.”
She had no idea just how dangerous he could be. Only never to her. “Give me a ballpark figure.” There was no way that she didn’t know.
“A few hundred thousand. Look, it’s not your fault or your problem.” Her back stiffened, and he nodded. Lilliana had her pride. He wouldn’t step on it anymore that night.
Her apartment appeared clean. She clearly took care of what little she owned. There were small touches everywhere that spoke to her tastes. A small figurine of an angel positioned in the center of a coffee table, a music box in the corner of the room. Hung on the wall, two fairies in mid-flight. His mate had whimsical tastes. He wanted to spoil her and would.
“Why are you so interested in me?” She put her hands on her hips. Physically, her latency might put her at risk, but no one would make his mate cower emotionally. He grinned, and she cocked her head. Travis figured he must seem crazy to her.
“Why do you think?”
“Look. I really don’t get it. I’m not that pretty, kind of plain, actually, but lately men can’t seem to get enough of me, and I’ve sworn off meaningless relationships. If nothing else, I can take care of how I feel about myself. I appreciate you walking me in, but nothing is going to happen here.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Have I made a move on you?”
“Kind of. With your why do you think remark.”
“You don’t back down.”
She shook her head. “Never.”
“Good.”
They stared silently at one another, and his hands itched to reach out to caress her. He put them in his jacket pockets.
“Listen, I don’t mean to be so tense all the time.” She crossed to the refrigerator. “Can I get you something to drink? I don’t have much. Maybe two diet sodas.”
“No. Thanks. I’m fine.” Tomorrow her fridge would be full. He’d see to it. His mate wouldn’t go hungry or thirsty. That much he would insist on, with or without her consent to his interference. Basic necessities had to be taken care of.
She pulled out a can for herself, opened it, and took a large sip before speaking again. “I get a little defensive when it comes to my family. I can’t help it. I was adopted, and sometimes I wonder what my life could have been like if I’d ended up somewhere else. Then I feel badly for even considering that, and it starts this whole nasty cycle.”
“No one gets hurt from your private thoughts. If that’s how you’re feeling, you’re entitled to go there in your head, if nowhere else.”
She shrugged, her blonde hair rising and falling on her shoulders. “People really do talk to you, don’t they? All the time.”
“It comes with the job title.”
That was only part of what she didn’t know about her heritage. Perhaps the fates had been kind giving her no wolf to shift into. What would her human family have done if every full moon their daughter had gone furry and torn up the house? He shuddered to imagine it.
“Owners of repair shops give out a lot of free advice, do they?”
“Bartenders. Repair shop owners. Psychiatrists.” He smiled. Bantering with her proved to be a lot of fun. He wanted more. It wasn’t his nature to go slow. Waiting for Lilliana would either make him a better man or destroy him in the process.
“Would you do something for me?” He pulled at the necklace he always wore around his neck. Most of the time he kept it hidden beneath his shirt, as all the Wolves in his pack did if they were lucky enough to have their own totem.
“If I can.”
“Smart girl. You don’t make promises you can’t keep.” On the string, he had two figurines, one female wolf, one male. They lay side by side. If he’d had any siblings one of them would have the female wolf, but as he’d been an only child, he’d inherited both totems when his parents had died. He’d found his mate, and although she wouldn’t understand the significance of what he offered her, he wanted his mother’s ancestors to watch over her when he couldn’t be with her.
“What did you want me to do?” She stared at his hand.
“I want you to wear this. Don’t take it off, not even in the shower. It belonged to my mother, and it’s kind of a…good luck charm.”
“Oh.” Her eyes got huge. “I can’t take your mother’s necklace.”
“Yes you can. We need to get to know one another, but I can tell you’re going to be very special to me. Call it instinct. I want you to wear this. I want to know it’s keeping you safe.”
Her hand came up to touch her neck where the female totem would touch it.
He put his male totem in his pocket. He’d find a new chain for it later. She turned and raised her hair off her neck. “I should be saying no.”
“Then why aren’t you?” He tied the necklace beneath her blonde strands and admired from his vantage point behind her the way it sat right above her breasts. Beautiful, supple….
“Because, until recently, I tended to have good instincts too. I want to be important to you.”
She turned around and leaned up to kiss him. He knew she meant it as a light thank-you, but after that beautiful answer she’d given him, how could he treat it as such? Travis kissed her back, deepening the kiss in the moment until she melted against him.
He pulled back to look at her. “That’s one kiss. You said no sex, so I need to respect that.”
She growled, but he doubted she recognized the sound for what it was. “I take it back. I take it all back.”
Lilliana leapt at him.
****
He stumbled but didn’t fall. She had to give him credit. Travis was strong. And he smelled like…. She took a deep
breath to confirm the scent she’d gotten earlier…sandalwood. What was it about that smell that made her so horny?
The thought brought her up short. She leaned back so she could see his face. He held her in her arms, and he hadn’t uttered a word when she’d stuck her nose against his body to get a good whiff. He must have noticed, and now she’d have to explain.
“I’m sorry.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. Really? So much perfection shouldn’t be allowed on one man’s face.
“For what?”
“You know.” Her cheeks heated up. “Launching myself at you. Sniffing at you like some kind of animal.” Her cheeks heated up, and she squirmed until he set her down. She wiped away the errant sign of weakness and busied herself moving around her apartment. There had to be something to straighten up while she waited for him to get the hint and leave her to her embarrassment. “I’ve always had behavioral problems. I simply can’t act like everyone else all the time. Then I slip into some kind of weirdness I’ve never been exactly able to manage—”
Travis interrupted her speech with a loud growl. He pulled her against him. “You will not speak of yourself that way again. Do you understand? I have a good mind to throw you over my shoulder and take you back to Philly with me until I’m sure you won’t.”
“Look, that’s very nice of you to say but…” She paused, his words sinking in. “Philly? You’re all the way from Philly? Did it take you two hours to get here?”
He shook his head as though he wanted to clear it. “About that. Have you never been there?”
“No. You came to New Jersey to have a meeting at Matilda’s diner?”
“It serves my purposes.” He walked toward her. “Can we get back to the subject at hand, please? You do not have behavioral problems, and any time you want to go ahead and sniff at me, you do so. I really like it. When you did it a few seconds ago, I got hard as hell.”
Her eyes traveled downward to the evidence of his hard cock bulging through his pants. He wasn’t kidding.
Alpha Rising Page 2