The Alpha Claims A Mate(42)
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed up against him, breathing in his scent, the smell of sweat and cologne mixed with the sweet scent of sex.
Her heart swelled in her throat, with an aching longing. In his arms she felt warm and safe. The thought of walking away sent icy shivers through her.
“I want to more than anything in the world,” she said. “But I can’t make any promises right now. We’ll have to take things day by day.”
He let out his breath in a frustrated hiss. “Miss Ginger, you’ve just earned yourself another spanking,” he said.
Chapter Thirteen
The setting sun lit the horizon on fire, painting the tips of distant treetops red and yellow. Marigold stood in the backyard staring into the distance, arms folded, a frown creasing her face.
“That’s not how you’re supposed to look when you’re standing out here in God’s country, watching a beautiful sunset,” Ginger said.
“I told Henry I couldn’t see him any more.” Marigold’s face was a mask of misery. Her eyes glittered with angry tears.
“Oh,” Ginger said. “Was he bad in bed?”
“No, he was incredible. Ten out of ten. Wait, make that twenty out of ten. He found erogenous zones that I never even knew existed, or maybe he just created them with his tongue.”
“I did not need to know that last part. Was he rude while you were out on dates? Flirted with other women?”#p#分页标题#e#
“No, he held the door open for me, acted like I was the only woman in the world, and seemed fascinated with everything that I said.”
“Wow. He sounds like such a douchebag. I’d have dumped him too.”
“I know, right? What a dick.” Marigold sounded aggrieved.
“Remind me again why we’re mad at him?”
“Because he’s acting like the perfect guy and then he’s going to do whatever it is that he does that breaks my heart.”
“Right. Of course. Dick.” Ginger turned to walk back to the house, but then she stopped.
Just because her relationship was doomed didn’t mean that everybody else’s relationship had to be doomed. She tried to think about how to diplomatically approach the situation. How to get Marigold to see how foolish she was being.
“Marigold, you’re being a total, pig-headed dumbass.”
Oops. That hadn’t come out in the loving, supportive manner that she’d meant it to. Maybe she was a teensy bit crabby because she was still stressed out about the situation with the sheriff.
“What?” Marigold said, shocked.
“Listen. Did it ever occur to you that you can affect the outcome of your psychic visions?”
Marigold started to protest, but Ginger held up her hand. “Hear me out. You’re so burnt out and bitter from having lived through your mother’s world-record-breaking number of divorces that you go into every relationship expecting it to fail. What if you decided to try your hardest to make this work?”
“Well, I-“
“I happened to have asked Loch about Henry. He said that word among the shifters is, Henry’s talking non-stop about how much he likes you.”
“Really?” Marigold blinked back tears. “But I already broke up with him. And he was really upset. It’s probably too late.”
“He was upset because he really likes you, you moron! Call him back and be honest with him. Tell him that you really really like him too, but you’ve been through so many bad relationships that it’s hard for you to trust anybody.”
“I saw myself in the future, going back to New York, alone!”
“But that’s what happens if you have the mindset that no relationship is going to work. Look, happy relationships are out there. We’ve both seen them. My parents are a perfect example. Change your mindset, for God’s sake. Go apologize to him now. Do something crazy, show up wearing lingerie under a coat or something like that.”
“I – I - ”
“Go! My love life may be screwed because apparently I’m the wrong color of wolf, but that doesn’t mean that everybody else has to suffer.”
“Well, if I’m a dumbass, so are you. You’re giving up way too easily,” Marigold said, and marched back to the farmhouse, leaving Ginger standing by herself watching the sun sink lower and lower into the horizon.
A sudden noise coming from behind the outhouse made Ginger start. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was; it sounded like two raccoons fighting, but the scent from behind the outhouse was definitely human.