“I was just doing my duty to protect my pack.”
He clapped me on the shoulder, and I forced myself not to shove him away. I couldn’t remember his name. Ricky, maybe? I was usually good with names and faces.
Right now, I could barely remember my own.
“What did you do in Seattle?” Angie asked.
“It’s kind of a long story…”
“He didn’t tell you?” Ricky stepped closer, and I snapped my teeth at him.
He backpedaled, studying the bruise on Angie’s neck. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t marked.”
Another shifter had stepped up behind Ricky, also a wolf. “Who brings an unmarked mate to the cantina?”
My wolf’s hackles were up. That sounded like a challenge if he’d ever heard one.
I shouldn’t fight him. He was right. Coming here was a horrible idea. It was an excuse to delay the inevitable because I was being a coward.
But what if Angie didn’t want a mate? What if she couldn’t feel the bond and she just walked away?
I pivoted, pushing Angie behind me and facing him. “I don’t see how that’s your business.”
His eyes flashed blue with his wolf. The animal wasn’t as dominant as mine, but he would fight when threatened.
Angie’s arms were suddenly around my neck, and I was forced to take a step back. She smiled widely, seemingly unaware of the dangerous aura crackling around me.
“Should we give them a good show?” she whispered.
Then her lips were on mine, and the world around me faded. Lightning struck me right on the mouth, radiating down my body in electric waves. It traveled over my skin, into my bones, hitting every single nerve ending. My heart roared in my chest. Blood rushed between my legs until it hurt.
My hand came around the side of her neck. With the other hand, I pulled her flush against me, drowning in the sensation of her. The bond moved between us like a tangible force.
Like roots taking hold of the surface of my soul.
When our lips parted, the music was louder. The lights brighter.
Angie’s cheeks were red. Her eyes sparkled, mouth parted in a stunned expression.
She recovered faster than me, shaking off the haze from our kiss and pulling me back into a fast-paced dance.
I almost stumbled, only keeping track of the movement because my eyes were following her constantly, mesmerized by the sway of her hips.
The bond pulsed under my ribs, fiercer and more demanding than before.
I was getting the faintest glimpses of Angie through the bond. The way she masked her trepidation with excitement. Arousal and panic swirling together into a confusing mess of emotion.
She wanted me as much as I wanted her.
And she could have me. I would give her all of me.
But not yet. Not until she gave that ring back.
Then, she would get her fresh start.
Chapter 9
Angie
