Ted spluttered a laugh as he dropped back to the floor. “You’re a freak of nature, Ice, I’ve always said it.”
Sloane rolled his eyes. “Jealousy will get you nowhere, my friend.”
They talked and laughed and bickered among themselves for another thirty minutes before Flint checked the clock hanging on the wall and got to his feet.
“Time to get out of here. The B team has the gym booked this afternoon, and you know how they feel about us showing them up.” A few chuckles answered his words as the rest of the team set down weights and climbed off exercise equipment. The team leader’s next words put an end to their amusement. “Let’s get some paperwork done.”
They hit the showers and then all went to their desks to do the paperwork that Sloane was sure all of them had been putting off. It was Sloane’s least favorite part of the job. He was an action man at heart and hated being confined in the office shuffling papers. He needed to be out in the field, it kept his mind and body active and allowed him to burn off some of the excess energy that all shifters had. He was confident that everyone else on the team felt the same way. Despite his dislike for the task, the afternoon went relatively quickly and then he was riding the elevator car down to the underground parking lot, a wide smile stretched across his lips at the thought of seeing his mate again. He could hardly wait.
Sloane went home to get changed before hopping in his jeep and heading back to Ray’s condo. He parked nearby then strode to the bar she’d named in her text message. It was a short stroll down the block from her condo and it was a nice place with a cool atmosphere. He and his brothers had been there a time or two and Sloane couldn’t believe that all those times he’d been so close to his mate without even realizing it.
He expected to find her waiting outside for him, but she wasn’t there and when he peered in through the window, he saw her sitting alone on a stool at the bar. Jesus, she was beautiful. His stomach lurched as he opened the door to the bar and stepped inside. He felt like the luckiest man on the planet as he walked up to her and watched the smile that stretched across her lips when she saw him approach.
“Hi,” she greeted him.
Sloane walked right up into her personal space and kissed her. It began as a gentle peck on the lips, but it didn’t end up nearly so chaste as it started. When he pulled back, Ray looked dazed and Sloane let out a little chuckle.
“Hi yourself,” he said, before taking a seat on the stool next to her.
She smiled wryly. “That was some greeting. What if I’d asked you to meet with me so that I could tell you I didn’t want to see you again?”
That wiped the smile off his face. It was like getting doused in a bucketful of iced water. “You didn’t, did you?”
“Of course not,” she said, making him sag in relief. “But I could have.”
He considered that for a moment, then shook his head. “Nah, not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because we were made for one another.” He shrugged. “It’s fate. I don’t think you could have stayed away from me any more than I could have stayed away from you.”
She glanced around as if checking to ensure no one was listening before saying, “I’m not sure I like the idea of all this fate business.”
Sloane frowned. “Why not?”
“I don’t know, I suppose because it makes me feel like my free will has been taken away from me.”
Sloane leaned in closer to her. “I can understand that. But your soul mate is literally like the other half of your soul—a missing part. That means we’re a perfect fit. You don’t find that romantic?”
“Well, when you put it like that…”
“But look, what you have to understand is that the mate bond can’t force you to do anything. You’re still you, and I’m still me, and we’re both still in control of our own choices.” He thought back to their initial meeting with a wince, and added, “Mostly. The mate bond is the foundation, but it’s up to us what we build on that. And I swear to you, if you give me the chance, I will build you a palace.”
She coughed and broke eye contact, and Sloane tried to work out if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Shouldn’t his mate be easier to read than this? Giving up, he got the bartender’s attention and ordered a soda for himself then nodded to Ray’s wineglass. “Would you like another?”
She shook her head. “Not just yet.”
Sloane liked that answer. It suggested that Ray intended to stay for a while. After he’d paid for his drink, Sloane nodded to one of the sofas in the corner of the room.
“Do you want to go and sit somewhere more comfortable?”
“Sure.”
He led the way over to the corner and waited for Ray to take a seat before sitting down next to her. Right next to her—so close their bodies were touching from shoulder to shoe.
“Ah, this is much better,” Sloane said.
Ray let out a melodic sounding laugh. “Can’t you get any closer?”
