Seated alone at one of the tables outside the bar, his mate’s long brown hair shone like glass and when she tossed it over her shoulder, her scent, carried on the evening breeze, grew strong enough to send Sloane’s bear into a frenzy. It was so strong that a wave of dizziness hit him, and he reached out and grabbed hold of his brother’s arm in an effort to keep himself upright.
“Sloane, man, what’s wrong?” Brody asked. “You’re starting to scare me. Are you ill? What’s happening?”
“Mate,” Sloane whispered, surprised he was able to get the word out without tripping over it on his tongue. “Mine.”
Brody’s mouth fell open. “You’re shitting me?” He turned to look at the woman and drew in a sharp breath. “She’s really yours?”
Joy unlike anything Sloane had experienced filled his mind and a warm glow started at his heart and spread out over his entire body. He couldn’t tear his gaze away. She looked like a goddess—high cheekbones, perfect nose and full fleshy lips that begged to be kissed.
Her eyes were dark and soulful.
Mysterious.
Even though she was seated, Sloane could tell she had beautiful curves in all the right places. The pastel-colored summer dress she wore was just short enough to show a flash of long, shapely legs that were lightly tanned and looked as smooth as silk.
When Sloane’s cock stiffened, he suppressed a groan.
Could this woman really be meant for him? How in the heck had he gotten so lucky? He let go of his brother’s shoulder and straightened. It was time to introduce himself to the woman he would spend the rest of his life worshiping.
Just as Sloane took a step in her direction, she lifted her head and looked his way. A wide smile stretched across her lips, and Sloane’s heart leapt. Right up until someone brushed past him, and walked straight up to her. Her eyes stayed fixed on the man approaching her, and her smile widened even further.
A surge of white-hot jealousy washed over Sloane. She hadn’t been smiling athim.
Inside, his bear roared, and it was all he could do to keep the animal contained when it wanted nothing more than to burst free and get to his mate before this man could touch her and try to lay some sort of claim on her.
Too late.
Sloane’s mate stood, took a step forward, and kissed the man on the cheek. Then she reached up and threw her arms around his neck, and pulled him into an embrace. A very intimate looking embrace.
“Oh, shit,” Brody mumbled.
How Sloane managed to suppress the roar of anguish that wanted to tumble from his lips, he would never know. It was all he could do not to march over there and rip the guy’s head right off his damn shoulders, then carry his mate away, caveman style.
Now that he came to think about it, half of that plan sounded perfect.
He took a step forward.
“Sloane, what are you doing?” Brody asked, putting a hand on Sloane’s chest to halt his progress. “You can’t just storm on over there. What’s gotten into you?”
“She’s mine,” he groused, glaring at his brother.
“Jesus, man, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Brody grabbed Sloane’s arm and pulled him to the side. “Let’s think about this rationally, okay?”
Sloane listened to his brother talk, but he didn’t take his eyes off his mate for a single second.
“She’s clearly out with her boyfriend, which means you can’t just—”
Sloane’s bear roared and, without pause for thought, Sloane curled his hand into a fist, then slammed it into his brother’s face. The bone in Brody’s nose crunched beneath his fist. Sloane winced at the sound, already mumbling an apology. He tried to get his bear to settle, but it was pissed at the idea that his mate had a boyfriend, and it most definitely did not like the idea of a rival for their mate’s affections. Jesus, his bear had never been this close to the surface without him shifting. He had to try to get control of himself or he was going to get in a whole heap of trouble. And no matter how riled his bear—and hell, who was he kidding, no matter how riledhewas—enough logic was still rattling around in his skull that he knew exactly how much shit shifting and murdering that smarmy mate-thief would land him in. And not just with his mate. Though, now that he thought about it, it might not make the best impression with her, either.
“Ow! Son of a bitch!” Brody lifted his hand to his face just in time to catch the drop of blood that trickled from his nostril. “What the hell was that for?”
His brother’s loud curse had the occupants of all the tables outside Bar Italia looking their way, including Sloane’s mate and herfriend. He refused to even consider the idea that the man was her boyfriend. Look at him. He was just…average. In no way worthy of so much as looking at a goddess like her, never mind anything else.
He heard her shocked gasp as clearly as if he’d been standing next to her.
Damn it all to hell.
Sloane really didn’t want his mate’s first impression of him to be as some sort of vicious psycho. He and his brothers fought all the time, but females could be skittish. They weren’t always as welcoming to the violence that could be part and parcel of a male shifter’s life.
