Trager knew he was fucking this up. He wasn’t used to making small talk. And it was even harder with her, with his wolf howling and possessive.
Silence stretched between them like a thin sheet of ice, until she broke it. “Did your motorcycle survive?”
“Nah. It’s totaled. But I’ll get a new one.”
Her mouth formed a judgmental line.
“What’s your beef with bikes?” he asked.
“I don’t like them.”
“Yeah, I noticed that. Why?”
She hesitated, toying with the lid on her cup. “It’s personal. And besides, it’s not the motorcycles I despise so much as the drivers of motorcycles.”
Drivers of motorcycles. That told him more than she’d probably intended. Time to lighten things up.
“That explains your attitude Friday.”
Her dark eyebrows shot upward.
“Oh, come on. I kind of saved you and you didn’t even say thank you.”
This time her brows nearly touched her hairline. “Saved me?”
He nodded. “Shielded you from the stray shrapnel.”
“What shrapnel?”
He smirked. “See? Because of me, you were completely oblivious to the bike pieces flying at you at high speed.”
“Riiiiight.” She rolled her eyes. “Something tells me I would have been just fine whether you mauled me or not.”
Using his thumbnail, he scratched a T into the side of his cup. “Mauled. Hmmm. Not sure if I like that word for what happened between us.”
His mate’s mouth popped open, her eyes skirting away, shyly. Her reaction made him giddy. She might not want to want him, but she did. The knowledge was something he grasped onto like a life preserver.
“I could think of a few better words,” she muttered.
“Oh, me too. Like, sheltered. Protected. Handled …” Trager’s voice purred, “felt.”
She swallowed, once, twice, and then reached for her cup to swig the coffee. That was when he noticed the change in her scent. It was… she was… holy mother of fuck, she was aroused.
He gripped his knees under the table as his wolf went crazy, pawing inside, demanding Trager do something about it. He needed to touch her, to hold her, to satisfy her. Instinct demanded it. But he couldn’t. Not yet; maybe not ever.
If only he could get her alone, maybe he could show her what she meant to him. He could make her happy, he just knew it. He was born to make his mate happy. The Elders couldn’t be right about her, they couldn’t be. Look how responsive she was. And with just a few murmured words.
Her blush spread from her cheeks to her neck. He wanted to tease and nibble the hot skin there. If she’d let him, he would drive her positively wild. He would give it his all, and when he was finished, she would be his. He’d win her over, if it was the last fucking thing he did.
His breath came hard, as his chest pumped with the determination of the wolf. Each heavy breath brought more of her scent into his lungs. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever known.
Can’t touch her.
Her eyes returned to him, her gaze hot and troubled by her reaction. With that, he was lost to the wolf. And he didn’t care a single bit.
Chapter Five
Well, wasn’t this just peachy. A few flirty words and smoldering looks, and she was burning up her undergarments. It had been over a year since she’d had any physical contact with a man and her hormones could definitely tell.
The most ridiculous thing was that she couldn’t figure out why he was here, buying her coffee and flirting. Did he just flirt with every girl he came in contact with? He seemed like that type. Extremely enticing and fully aware of it. And all too willing to take advantage of his good looks.
What did he want?
Kerrigan raised her gaze to ask him but when her eyes tangled with his, her intended words froze in her throat.
His eyes were narrowed, eating her up as if he could sense her reaction—and liked it. Lips were pressed into an appraising pucker. He looked fierce and powerful. Wild, yet in control. Rough, but somehow soft.
In her entire life, no man had ever looked at her like that. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once, that this man would be attracted to her. She wasn’t his type. She was responsible and put together, and… a kindergarten teacher for god’s sake. She didn’t barhop and wear leather. Not that the idea didn’t appeal to her at times. It just wasn’t her thing.
Trager leaned across the table, his torso moving in a fluid way that screamed pure sex, and inhaled, slow and deep. “You smell amazing.” His voice was a low purr, but hard around the edges. Like a fresh cotton ball, soft but thorny.
It was the thorny part that broke through her hormone induced fog. The terrifying outweighed the exhilarating in that moment, and she jerked to her senses.