The Alpha's Temporary Mate(30)

"We need to talk."

That was the last thing she wanted to do. No doubt he'd be kind,  explaining exactly why this was a bad idea for their charade. She'd nod  along, all the while knowing if she'd been Candy or any one of his other  nameless lovers he would have taken her every which way, until neither  one of them had the strength to move.                       
       
           



       

"We can do that at home," she said. "I'll be back by seven or so."

"And leave you spinning worst-case scenarios in your head all day? I'm not a dumb man."

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. He wouldn't let this go. Fine.  She could handle it. "What do you want to talk about? I'm busy."

The one lone file on her desk mocked her. Vivian had taken one look at  her sorry, hungover self and banished her to her office with barely  anything to work on.

"Last night … "

"I told you alcohol was a bad idea."

He snorted. "It was a brilliant idea. You never would have told me the  things you did last night. Not without dating for far longer than we  have been."

"And you wouldn't have mentioned Lisette," she snapped. "It's not as if you're any more open about your thoughts than I am."

"I don't regret our confidences."

No, just stripping her body bare. "Then why are you calling?"

"I want to apologize for what came after."

She squeezed her eyes shut. Even though she'd seen it coming, it still  hurt that he regretted the fiery embrace that was imprinted on her  brain. He'd told her that he'd been looking for her and then pushed her  away, all in the space of minutes.

"Apology accepted." Her tone was harsh even to her own ears. She wanted this conversation over.

"You're getting things twisted again, aren't you?" He sounded amused.  The bastard. "Sweetheart, I'm only apologizing for pushing you away. I  didn't want to take advantage of a situation you'd regret this morning."

"Convenient excuse," she said. "Just call things as they are. We were on  track for what I thought would be some pretty epic sex and you lost  interest."

His snort of derision mocked her. "Is that why I've been hard as iron all day?"

"Your own fault."

"Yes," he agreed. "I let things get out of hand. Whiskey or not, I  should have stopped everything the moment you climbed on top of me."

Her cheeks heated at the reminder that it'd been her actions that  started them on the path to the awkward conversation they were now  engaged in.

"If we'd had sex last night, how would you have felt today?"

She wanted to say she'd have been perfectly fine, but the words died on  her tongue. In truth, she would have berated herself for her poor  decision. She would have cursed the alcohol she'd drunk, and probably  cursed the wolf in her bed for taking advantage.

"You would have regretted it, Chloe. We both know that."

"And you cared about that so much you restrained yourself?" she asked, her words dry.

"Yes, that is exactly what happened."

She blinked. "You don't walk away from things you want, and you've been trying to get me into bed since I first moved in."

"I told you things were different with you. I meant it. When you finally  yield to me, witchling, you're not going to have anything you can blame  for your decision other than lust."

A flare of hope sparked to life within her. He sounded sincere. If he  was telling the truth, then he cared about her. Far more than she'd  suspected. Cared enough to protect her from herself, even when it went  against his desires.

He'd put her needs first.

"Do you believe me?"

She chewed her lip. "I want to."

A chuckle sounded through the phone. "Chloe Donovan, I swear to you on  my pack that I want you with a goddamn need I haven't felt in decades.  If I had my way, we'd be having this conversation at home right now, and  once you believed I only stopped because of the alcohol in your system,  I'd carry you to bed. Hell, we probably wouldn't make it that far. Not  that I'm opposed to bending you over the table and introducing you to  such pleasure you wouldn't remember your own name, let alone your  reservations."

Heat flooded her cheeks. "I believe you," she hissed. "Stop that."

"Good. Then believe this, I'm done trying to separate business and  pleasure. You can try to resist, my witch, but I'm going to do my very  best to seduce you."

Her mouth went dry. "I was clear about what I wanted, Kieran. That  hasn't changed just because I'm in possession of all my faculties now. I  don't do temporary."

"I know. Hurry home tonight, Chloe. I've been dreaming of kissing you again."

The line went dead.

She stared at the phone in her hand. What did he mean, he knew? Knew she  wanted a mate and was happy to ignore that fact, or knew and still  wanted to pursue her?                       
       
           



       

"Damn the man," she breathed, returning the phone to its cradle.

Kieran on his best behavior had been hard to resist. How was she  supposed to survive the next two weeks with the wolf turning every ounce  of charm and determination he had on her?

"I'm in trouble," she said, dropping her forehead back to her desk. Last  night might have gotten her the secrets she wanted, but it also gave  her a taste of what she was missing.

A taste that just made her crave more.



He heard the door close as he pulled the meatloaf from the oven. Chloe  was right on time. As he portioned out dinner on to two plates he  listened for her movements. Usually she kicked off her heels and made a  beeline for food. Tonight, she lingered in the hallway.

A grin curved his lips as he walked the plates over to the island. Looks  like she wasn't as sure of her self-control as she wanted him to  believe.

Even after their phone call he'd been haunted with memories of her half  naked and spread out beneath him. He deserved a bloody medal for having  the self-control to turn her down. Not that she'd thanked him for it.

Just as she wouldn't thank him for seducing her if he didn't want to keep her.

He went to fish out some utensils from the drawer as he thought about  that quandary. Chloe wanted something real, something long term if not  forever. And he …

Lisette had broken something in him. He wasn't sure he could handle the  kind of relationship Chloe would need to thrive. Wasn't sure he wanted  to find out if the man he'd been with Lisette was still buried somewhere  inside him.

But Chloe was worth the effort to find out, wasn't she?

His wolf let out a happy whine of approval within him.

"I know you like her," he whispered to himself. The damn beast had been  overjoyed last night. Kieran couldn't remember a time when the two  halves of him had been so in sync, so focused on the pleasure of one  woman. His wolf wanted to keep her. It was the man holding them back.

"Smells great."

He turned to see Chloe slip into the room, her back pressed against the doorjamb.

As always, she looked good enough to eat. Her dark suit complemented her  curves, even as it gave her an air of professionalism. How did her male  clients manage to sign up for Fated Match without trying to catch her  eye?

"Long day?" he asked, crossing his arms.

She shrugged. "Vivian had me on grunt work."

He eyed his partner, noting how she hugged the doorway. Did she think  he'd pounce if she got too close? A wolfish smile tugged at his lips.  Probably. He wasn't even sure she was wrong. Still, Chloe would bolt if  he moved too fast, and though he'd always run from commitment, he didn't  want to chase her away.

A mess of contradictions aren't you, Clearwater?

"Hope you like meatloaf."

"Yeah." She stepped forward, moving toward her usual chair.

As she did, Kieran grabbed the teapot off the counter and headed toward the mug beside her.

"I figured you wouldn't want wine tonight," he explained as he poured her a cup.

"Smart man." Chloe wrapped both hands around the mug and inhaled the earthy aroma, closing her eyes in pleasure.

It was her favorite oolong. That he knew that fact had surprised him.  Usually he never noticed such small, personal details. But with Chloe he  knew which tea she preferred, what chair she liked to curl up in, what  food made her sigh in delight. Necessity might account for learning more  in their brief time together than he normally would have, but not for  the desire within him to know her. Her likes and dislikes, her motives  and fears. He wanted more than just a bedmate.

Which was a damn complication.

A couple more weeks. If they could just survive a little longer then …

Then what? He'd try to date her like a normal man?

The wolf inside him growled. It didn't want such a temporary arrangement.