Setting his fork down, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he stared her down.
She glared back at him, refusing to look away as she picked up the bottle and refilled her glass.
He growled out a long sigh. “You’re my mate.”
Holy shit. She set the bottle down a little too firmly, rattling the dishes on the table. “What? I’m your what?”
10
TORIN
She didn’t believe him. Of course she didn’t. He hadn’t treated her like she was his mate. If he were a better wolf, he would have courted her properly instead of barking ultimatums at her and pretending to ignore her. He needed to make it up to her because his wolf would never forgive him if he let their mate slip through his fingers.
He watched with the intensity of the predator he was as she scooped the last of her potatoes into her mouth and set her fork down with a satisfied sigh. She was so fucking beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to pull her onto his lap and kiss the hell out of her, to unwind that messy twist piled on top of her head and plunge his hands into her silky hair as he tasted every inch of her.
“So, you’re telling me I’m your mate,” she finally said.
“Yes.” When she didn’t respond, he asked, “Do you know about shifters and their mates?”
“I’m familiar with the concept. A couple of my friends are mated, and their mates worship the ground they walk on.” Settling back in her chair, she twisted her wineglass between herfingers. “So, that begs the question: what’s up with you? Because that is definitely not how you’ve been acting around me.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. “My wolf knew you were our mate from the first moment we scented you.”
“At the bar?”
He fought the urge to duck his head, though he’d been doing his job as alpha and looking out for his pack. “At the train station.”
“Are you kidding me? I knew it wasn’t just a dark, creepy station.” She kicked him under the table. “You freaked me out, stupid wolf.”
He grunted as her house shoes made contact with his shin. “I was patrolling. You were an unknown human in my territory. I had to keep an eye on you.”
“Oh, did you now?” Crossing one leg over the other, she leaned an elbow on the table. “So you were just keeping an eye on me, huh?”
Why did he feel defensive? A good alpha knew who was in his territory and what they were doing there, and he was a very good alpha. There was nothing wrong with that. “Yes.”
“And what about kissing me in the pub?”
He laced his fingers behind his head, his muscles flexing. A smirk lit his face when he noticed Sophie was having trouble keeping her eyes off him. He flexed again, enjoying how her breath caught at his movement. “As I remember it, you’re the one who instigated that. I was just responding to a beautiful woman throwing herself at me outside the toilets.”
“I did not throw myself at you,” she huffed. “You ran into me, and I just… took the opportunity presented to me.” She tapped a short nail against the edge of the charger. The porcelain chimed. “You think I’m pretty?”
“You are a stunning woman, Sophie,” he said, his voice low and husky. “And I cannot wait to take you to bed and make love to you.”
A flush of red stained her cheeks, her blue eyes sparkling. “Before or after dessert?”
His mouth quirked up. “Ladies’ choice.”
They both moved at the same time, their bodies clashing as their mouths met, tongues twining together. She tasted of cherries and wine, a heady combination that made his head spin.
She giggled as he swept her up into his arms and loped up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“Put me down.” She nipped his earlobe. “You’re going to drop me.”
“Are you doubting my strength, love?” He tossed her a few inches in the air and caught her. “I would never drop you.”
“Torin,” she squealed, her grip strangling him.
Shouldering open the door to his room, he set her down on the edge of his bed. With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up to his. “I haven’t been an attentive mate, and I apologize for that. Bryn’s mother was human and she…” He took a deep breath.
