Chapter 3

Sean

John happily agrees to look after things at the bar for me for a few days while I take a break. Truth be told, I think he’s relieved to get rid of me. It’s probably fair to say I’ve been moping since Sam left.

As I toss an overnight bag into the bed of my truck, I shake my head in disbelief. I can’t believe I let myself be talked into driving hours to see a woman who ran away from me before, and who hasn’t asked to see me now. Talk about setting yourself up for another fall. I’ll probably be on my way home again in a few hours after being told with words instead of actions this time that she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I have a feeling it’s going to hurt just as much second time around.

Driving gives me too much time and nothing to distract me. My thoughts return repeatedly to three months ago and I replay the time we had together over and over in my mind. Driving myself crazy and reminding me why I will always need to know that she’s okay. Even if it’s without me.

Three months earlier

The second that Sam landed in my arms; I knew was in trouble. Something inside me woke up and decided she was to be protected at all costs. I watch on in horror as the building in front of me crumpled. This beautiful woman would have been killed if she had stayed in there mere seconds later.

The ambulance driver slams the door shut, hiding the unfolding tragedy from view as I hold her delicate hand in mine. Her face is covered in soot and her head lolls side to side with the movement of the ambulance as it winds its way along the narrow-forested roads of Grey Ridge toward the hospital. She’s in adorable, albeit dirty now, pale pink pyjamas with flowers on them. Given her performance in my bar earlier, knocking back tequila shots and singing at the top of her lungs along with every rock song she lined up on the jukebox, she didn’t strike me as the fluffy jammies type.

She caught my eye as soon as they arrived. Slinging her fitted black leather jacket on the back of a stool, she stood up on the foot rail to meet me at eye level and order two rounds of shots. Her sparkling blue eyes sparkling with mischief as Hayley pleaded with her not to go straight for the hard stuff.

“What do you think?” she asked, locking eyes with me in a way few people can. My animal is powerful, intimidating to most shifters, but not to this tiny human.

“Sorry Hayley, I’m not about to turn down this pretty lady. She can have whatever she wants,” I answered with a slow smile, and Sam’s lip tipped up in an amused smile as she considered my response. Her painted red nails tapped the bar and her eyes narrowed slightly as she took me in from head to toe.

“Anything I want?” she asks with a laugh. I can’t help it. My eyes drop to her full lips, glossy and sumptuous looking as she speaks. I run a bar. I get hit on all the time. Rarely do I flirt with the customers, and never as blatantly as this.

“Anything.” My voice is low and steady. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve piqued her interest.

“Sorry buddy, girl’s night.” She throws back a shot before grabbing hold of the tray full of shots John has filled for her.

“I don’t mean tonight, sugar. If you’re staying around tomorrow, I’ll take you out.” She rolls her eyes at me, even though I can tell she’s considering the idea.

“How do you run a bar if you disappear off on dates with all your customers?” she purrs.

“John, when was the last time I took a night off?” I ask, without taking my gaze from hers.

“Never,” he answers without missing a beat as he grabs two beers from the fridge behind me.

“And the last time I hit on a customer?” I ask. Sam quirks an eyebrow at that one. John pretends to think about it for a second before I level him with a stare.

“To be honest, I thought you were gay, boss,” John deadpans as he takes money from one of the old timers who frequent the bar and heading for the till. Sam laughs despite herself.

“That’s quite the double act.”

“Not an act, sugar.” I raise my eyebrows at her, daring her to accept my offer and see what happens. She licks her lips and taps her nails on the bar again.

“Hmm. Let me think about it,” she purrs as she turns and lifts the tray over her head, calling out for the girls to clear the way before placing it down on a tall table. Her hips sway rhythmically as she walks and somehow, I know she’s a dancing. Even her walk seems in time with the music. What I wouldn’t give to get a night with a woman like that. All confidence and raw sensuality.

As the night goes on, there are heated looks, stolen glances, and flirty exchanges. When she finally takes to the floor, dancing just as sexy as I knew she would, our eyes never leave each other. It’s a good thing I’m standing behind the bar because she has me hard from the other side of the room. Needing to clear my head, I disappear down to my office, but I’m kidding myself if I think I can keep away. She has me hooked.

Admitting defeat, I leave my office just as Sam turns into the dim hallway on her way to the bathroom. I stop, hoping to get some of her undivided attention, but she keeps walking even though there’s a teasing grin on her face. As she passes, she lets her fingers trail up my arm and glances coyly back over her shoulder at me before disappearing around the corner. My heart is pounding just from that tiny bit of skin-to-skin contact and her amazing scent is making my mouth water.

This girl is something else. 

She spends the rest of the night laughing and dancing with her friends. Hayley seems to be having a ball even if she is a little tipsy after all the shots and prosecco being passed her way all night. As a white stretch hummer arrives to bring them all home, Sam struts out of the bar with a wave, still refusing to tell me whether she’ll be back the next day. I know that even if she doesn’t come, I’ll be trying to find her.

Fast forward a few hours and I’m trailing her gurney as they wheel her into the emergency room. It’s not exactly the reunion I had hoped for. I stay in the waiting room as doctors examined her, tense and feeling out of place. Would she even want me here?

My stomach twists in a way that doesn’t make sense for a woman I have only exchanged some witty banter with. When the nurses finally take pity on me and allow me into her room, I vow to stay until I know she was okay. And so I do. Reclining in the chair and staying by her side day and night until doctors are finally happy to let her out. I was there through restless dreams, night terrors and to make the days a little less boring. We chat about everything. Work, family, friends. Where we’ve travelled. Where we still want to go. And somewhere along the way, our connection shifts from attraction to something stronger, something real. For me anyway.

When Sam is discharged and comes to stay with me, even though Hayley offers her a room in the pack house or even Cooper’s cabin, it tells me she feels it too. When she wakes up from a nightmare, it’s my comfort she seeks. I can feel myself falling for her and I’m like a nervous schoolboy as I show her my small house on the outskirts of town.

Seeing her stuff in my bathroom and having her scent in my bed feels right. Even though nothing has happened between us, this isn’t just friendship. It crackles in the air whenever we get close. It’s in every look and heavy silence. We can both feel it, and we won’t be able to resist it for much longer. I want her to heal and rest, but I know that once this thing starts between us, it’s going to explode.