‘You’re not posturing in front of a rival werewolf pack and you’re not recruiting baby werewolves to your cause. You’re not preparing for a fight.’ She raised her eyebrows meaningfully. ‘You’re looking for the love of your life.’
He folded his arms and frowned. ‘At no point have I mentioned love. I want a partner I can respect, whom I like, who understands werewolves and my position as alpha. I don’t need love.’
Mallory patted his shoulder. ‘Everyone needs love.’
‘A relationship with the right person willdevelopinto love,’ he stated firmly. ‘You’re talking about lusty thunderbolts. That type of love doesn’t last.’
‘Do you want to be attracted to your mate?’ she asked patiently.
‘Of course I do!’
She ticked off her fingers. ‘Attraction, respect, understanding. Sounds a hell of a lot like love to me.’
MacTire was already shaking his head. ‘You can’t define love. It’s not a checklist, it’s a feeling.’
Mallory hesitated. ‘You sound as if you’ve experienced it, as if you know love.’
He dismissed her words. ‘I’ve seenothersexperience love. I know whattheyfeel like. As an alpha, I need to be more circumspect. My mate has to be someone for my entire pack.’ She raised her eyebrows and he grimaced. ‘Not like that!’
‘Are you sure that you want a mate?’ she asked carefully.
‘My pack wants me to find a mate. The MacTires will be more settled and stable once I do.’
‘So are you pleasing them or yourself?’
‘Can’t I do both?’
‘I suppose so – but a little vulnerability still won’t go amiss. The right woman doesn’t want a hard, unfeeling man as her partner. She wants someone who can be soft with her, who can share his true feelings even if it’s only with her.’
MacTire’s mouth tightened. ‘I’m not an unfeeling bastard.’
‘I didn’t say you were, but you need to show that side of yourself.’
Out of nowhere, he flashed her a grin. ‘See? I knew you were the right person to help me.’
Not for the first time, Mallory hoped she wouldn’t regret this. ‘Just sign the contract, give me the guest list for the Wolf Ball and I can get started.’ She paused. ‘Any particular turn-offs that I should know about? It’s important that you’re honest with me.’
‘Nothing comes to mind. I’m easy-going in that regard.’
‘In that case, this will be a piece of cake.’ No sooner had the words left her mouth than she knew it was a lie – and from the look in MacTire’s eyes, so did he. He coughed slightly, indicating not only his faint embarrassment but also that hedidpossess the ability to be more than simply the arrogant alpha of the MacTire pack. Good. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
She nodded approvingly and he offered her a crooked smile. ‘I’m already looking forward to working with you,’ he said. He pointed towards a door at the side of the courtyard. ‘Let’s head inside.’
Mallory expected to be led into a drawing room or a study, but MacTire took her through the main building towards the back where there was a large, gleaming kitchen. He gestured at an elegant leather-covered stool before turning to a cupboard, taking out a bag of coffee beans and decanting them into a hand grinder. He started to turn its handle.
She ignored the stool and gaped at him. ‘You’re making coffee?’
‘That’s what you want, isn’t it?’ He pointed at the word scrawled across her hand. ‘If you’d rather have something else, there’s fresh orange juice. Milk. Water. Any number of flavoured teas…’
She shook her head. ‘Coffee would be amazing.’
He grinned. ‘Sit down. This will take a few minutes. Once it’s brewed, I’ll take you through to the study and sign the contract.’
Mallory eyed the stool before she hopped onto it. It was surprisingly comfortable; MacTire wasn’t simply concerned with aesthetics and that was useful information, though she still reckoned he had a type – at least when it came to partners.
While he boiled the kettle and prepared a pretty silver coffee pot, she decided to go for it. ‘What’s your preference?’
‘Excelsa,’ he answered without missing a beat. ‘But I’ll take arabica in a pinch.’
