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Aaron couldn’t believe he was here. He couldn’t believe he had not only showered (contrary to what Keyah had said, he showered every single day) and shaved, but he had also bought new clothes for this meeting since every piece of clothing he owned was dirty. And what was more, he was early. When Keyah Wilson had driven away, literally leaving him eating dust, it had taken him only moments to spring into action. He had gotten onto his Ducati Monster and given chase. She hadn’t made it easy to catch up with her at all. Man, did she handle that sexy little car like a pro. But his Monster won, and he forced her to pull up just as they had entered the desert. He had asked her if they could meet at Charlie’s to discuss what she had in mind. She had stared at him for a really long time before agreeing. When she had agreed, Aaron had felt relief flooding through him. The way he had reacted didn’t make sense. Neither did his actions. He thought he wanted to be rid of Keyah. Why then had h
Keyah was trying her best to act nonchalant. But holy smokes, was Aaron ever making her blood thrum and her spine tingle. If she had been attracted to him earlier, she was practically willing to beg him to take her now. She always had a weakness for leather, and Aaron’s riding gear was all leather. Black and shiny. Her fingers itched to trace the stitching on his windcheater. He had trimmed his wildly unkempt dark hair and nearly shaved his face clean. It showed off his strong, square jaw. There was a prominent cleft in his chin that made her want to dip her finger in it. And without the beard, she could see the deep dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.Dimples! The man had dimples! How the hell was she supposed to resist that?She had been pleasantly surprised when he had chased her down and apologized. She might not have any experience living with a pack, but she was willing to bet her precious tote bag not many arrogant alphas owned up to their mistakes.Charlie was trying to eng
Keyah fought for control. Being snooty wasn’t going to help her get revenge. He was offering to help. That’s all that mattered.She forced a smile on her lips.“We need to discuss strategy.”Aaron shrugged nonchalantly. “What’s there to strategize about? We show up on Boulder Mountain and say we’re fated mates.”Keyah placed a hand on her hip, fixing him with a glare.“Oh yeah? How did we meet?”Aaron rubbed his jaw, pretending to think.“Hmm… let’s see… you sought me out at my garage, saying you scented me, your fated mate, from the other side of the country. When you actually found me, it was too much for you. You were so overcome with joy and adoration that you fell on your knees and begged me to make love to you. The kindly male that I am, I obliged. And the rest is history.”He was baiting her, and from the twinkle in his gorgeous blue eyes, enjoying himself thoroughly. Keyah closed her eyes, praying for patience.“Right. My pack will believe that ridiculous story immediately.”O
The diner was in the middle of nowhere on a dusty little road. Aaron parked his Monster next to Keyah’s Prius in the empty parking lot, next to the diner.The diner was a small, rectangular building with a large neon sign hanging above the door. ‘Desert Diner’, the glowing pink and green sign read. Quite a few letters in the sign flickered feebly, as if they’d stop glowing any second.The sun had dipped low beyond the horizon, lending the desert landscape a golden-orange glow. Aaron loved everything about the desert: the sandy, rocky, barren landscape, the lack of prying human eyes in the huge vastness, the pockets of shifter communities and shifter towns, safely tucked away in its womb.He wished he could sit on one of the boulders and soak everything in. There was something immensely peaceful about being in the middle of the desert, watching the sun dip lower and lower below the horizon. The sky would change from brilliant blue to blazing orange, then inky black. Watching the first
Aaron was shocked. Not many wolves lived without a pack. How had she lived amongst humans for so long? How had she managed to keep her shifting abilities a secret?“Nobody discovered your secret?” he asked, taking a large bite of the cheeseburger. The meat was overcooked, and the bun was stale. Still, it was better than what he cooked for himself. He had mostly subsisted on cereal, canned meat, jerky, and spam, barring the occasional visit to Charlie’s.“We moved around a lot,” she said with a nonchalant shrug.As he looked at her, he saw the brief shadow of sadness cross her face again. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know she longed to belong. Just like him. Maybe they were more similar than he had initially thought. He couldn’t even imagine never living with a pack. It made him realize just how acutely he missed his pack.It was her fault: these uncomfortable feelings. He had avoided them for all of last year, even made himself believe he was content, if not happy. She was ya
Keyah licked her suddenly dry lips. Aaron was playing dirty. Sparks were erupting over her skin wherever Aaron touched her. She shouldn’t have made that stupid bet; she didn’t trust herself not to kiss him before the night was over.And that question about her fated mate–she had almost shared her heart’s deepest fear with him. It wouldn’t do at all. Catching feelings for Aaron, getting friendly with him, thinking of him as her confidant was wrong on so many levels. For one thing, there was certainly a fated mate for him. If she got in the way, it would make everything that much more complicated. One of them would be heartbroken at the end of it, and it wasn’t going to be Aaron.But she wasn’t worried about that, she told herself confidently. The only feeling Aaron induced in her other than lust was extreme annoyance.Keyah jerked her hand away and finished the rest of her meal in record time.“You know what? Let’s just start the road trip. Like you said, there’s plenty of time to get
Aaron swung his legs around the seat and stood leaning against his motorcycle, his eyes on Keyah. He crooked a finger in her direction, beckoning her to come to him.Keyah’s blood went very hot and really cold. Her legs felt like jelly as she took one step toward him, then another. Her heart was beating against her ribs like a drum. Thump, thump, thump.She was looking forward to kissing him as much as she was dreading it. Despite dragging her feet, she closed the short distance between them in a few short seconds.Aaron pushed himself upright and put one hand on her waist. With his other hand, he cupped her chin.When they were standing toe-to-toe like they were now, he dwarfed her. From her purely bookish knowledge about werewolves, Keyah knew she was well below average height, even for halflings. Although, in her wolf form, she was larger than she should have been. Was it because she was a Silver Wolf? She didn’t know, and hated that she didn’t know. She would know these things if
Two days later, the incessant honking of a car horn woke Aaron up. Cursing, he sat up in bed, naked. Opening one bleary eye, he reached for his phone. It wasn’t there.Of course. The events of last night came flooding into his consciousness. He moved the jaw from side to side, checking if the fracture had healed. Thanks to his wolf genes, it had.Grabbing the digital clock on the nightstand, he tried to focus. Six am. Fucking six am. Who the hell was it? It felt like he’d been asleep for just two minutes. He’d maul the bastards making the ruckus. After the night he’d had, he was in no mood for this nonsense.Pushing himself to his feet, he walked to the window overlooking the street and pushed the curtains aside.A ruby red Prius. Keyah.His mood improved, but only very slightly. Walking to the front door, he opened it and stepped out on the porch, not caring he was naked. Keyah apparently did.“What are you doing? Why aren’t you dressed?”One corner of his mouth lifted up as he stood