‘We both know that’s not true,’ she retorted. ‘When we first met, you were so suspicious of me that you kept growling.’
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘You’re complicated. Anyway, the jury is still out on you.’
This was ridiculous. ‘I can leave now and we can call it quits for good,’ Mallory said firmly. ‘All you have to do is say the word and we can cancel our contract. Besides,everyoneis complicated. You can’t give someone a single look and decide you know exactly who they are and what they’re like. Go and talk to Alicia.’
‘Is that an order?’
‘Yes.’ She gave him her sternest look.
He chuckled. ‘If you want me to do your bidding, Mallory, you’ll have to look fiercer than that.’
She abandoned her attempt and smiled sunnily. ‘Actually, I don’t have to look fierce at all.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Alicia is taking the initiative and coming over here.’ And with that, Mallory reached for her glass of wine and spun away, leaving Alexander to meet the woman on his own.
She wove in and out of guests to the other side of the hall; the more space she could give him, the better. Other than her lack of werewolf heritage, on paper Alicia Van Borgen was an ideal candidate. All he had to do was give it a bit of time, talk to her properly and?—
‘I told you she was a no.’
Mallory’s head jerked up. Alexander was beside her again. ‘Seriously? You couldn’t have spoken to her for more than thirty seconds.’
‘It was more than enough.’ He took a sip of his wine, grimaced and put the glass down. ‘There must be something else here we can drink.’
‘Don’t change the subject.’
He gave her a long look. ‘There’s nothing more to say. She’s a perfectly nice woman but she is not who I am looking for.’
Mallory winced internally.Nice? As compliments went, that was damning by faint praise. She shook her head, then a thought occurred to her and she glanced at him, assessing him with fresh eyes. ‘You want a chase,’ she said.
Alexander’s brow furrowed in a brief scowl.
‘You think that if it’s too easy it’s not worth having,’ she said, warming to her topic. ‘You want to be in control. It pissed you off that Alicia showed initiative and approached you. You have to be the alpha, not just in your own pack but in all things.’
‘That’s not true!’
She ignored him. ‘So my second suggestion will be even better because you’ll have to work for her. She’s got far less confidence than Alicia, but what she lacks in that department, she makes up for in quiet strength and brutal intelligence.’ Mallory nodded. ‘Yes. This will be much better.’
Alexander didn’t look convinced. ‘Who?’
Mallory searched across the heads of the crowd. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Lynnia McIntosh. She’s a druid. She’s standing by the bar ordering a drink.’
They watched as the tall woman handed over some money and received a balloon-shaped glass filled with a bright-green liquid, a puff of dry ice, a little parasol and sparks of orange flame.
‘She’s drinking some sort of hideous cocktail.’ Alexander’s lips were pursed with disapproval.
‘So she doesn’t like the wine either.’ Mallory shrugged. ‘You’re allowed to have different tastes to your partner.’
‘That particular cocktail is a Green Goblin. Having different tastes is one thing but enjoying the nastiest concoction in the world is something completely different.’
‘You can teach her about wine,’ Mallory said. ‘You can mansplain about corkage and vintage and different types ofgrape to your heart’s content.’ She nudged him. ‘Go and chat her up.’
He huffed dubiously but thankfully he squared his shoulders and set off across the room to speak to the druid. This time Mallory watched; if he turned away after anything less than a full five minutes of conversation, she would have serious words with him.
Fortunately he finally appeared to be taking the venture seriously. He adjusted his cuffs, smoothed his hair and approached Lynnia McIntosh with a smile that suggested friendly, polite interest.
Alexander’s lips moved and the druid nodded back. He spoke some more, angling his head towards her in a way that suggested enthusiastic engagement. She shook her head. He spoke again. She rolled her eyes, scowled, finally opened her mouth and spoke at some length. She didn’t look pleased. Oh dear.
