Nope. No blips on the sexual radar.
Bummer
.
Avery shook her head and surreptitiously took a glance around the room. “I appreciate
it, but I’m good.”
“If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He shrugged and reached for
a glass.
She kept her gaze on the people in the area, searching as he made her drink, not noticing
when he set it down in front of her.
“I’ll have Tammy bring your steak out. You sitting in the usual spot?” He nudged the
beer toward her expectantly.
“Oh, sorry. Yeah.” She dug into her purse, pulled out a couple bills, and handed them
over.
“You seem preoccupied. You finally see someone you’re interested in?”
“No,” she bit out quickly. Avery ducked her head as embarrassed heat spread to her
cheeks. She wasn’t a good liar, and he would have no problem figuring it out. Picking
up the beer, she took a long drink. The cool liquid rushed down her parched throat.
“I thought.…” She broke off not even sure what to say. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.
Thanks for the beer, Levi.”
“Sure thing, Avery.” He looked at her quizzically, as if attempting to figure something
out. “If you need an ear, I’m happy to listen. I
am
a bartender after all.”
She laughed and turned away, taking her drink with her. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll
keep that in mind.” As she made her way to her table, she didn’t smell the alluring
scent of grass or earthy musk. It had to have been a fluke. A strange combination
of cologne and arousal grabbing her attention.
Hell, her lioness was probably protesting the lack of food and drink. She did manage
to skip lunch earlier in her rush to get to the townhouse.
Declan Weller reached for his beer, downing the remnants. He wanted, no
needed
to get out of Chugs. The place may be
the
spot for the students of Shifter U, but it was in no way, shape, or form his idea
of a good time. The music thumped, voices rose minute by minute, and the sickly sweet
scent of arousal and musk was damn near overwhelming. He expected an all-out orgy
to break out on the dance floor due to pheromones pouring out from the occupants.
The only reason he stepped foot in the establishment was to meet up with a couple
of the guys on the River Rock police force who would be taking the same Law and Ethics
course as him. Conflicting schedules preventing them from meeting at work and with
a week before class, it was a now or never kind of deal. Nothing beat hanging out
on a Saturday night at a bar filling up with obnoxious shifters away from home for
the first time.
He grunted in disgust as two fresh-faced girls teetered by with a gaggle of guys behind
them. One of the girls listed to one side, almost spilling her drink on an unsuspecting
man when the leader of the pack grabbed her arm, pulling her in close.
One more class
. That’s all he needed, and he would be out of River Rock, headed to Mischief and
the job in the sheriff’s department.
He could…not…wait. New place. New people. New shifters. If luck would have it he would
even find his mate in Mischief.
If he had to be honest, he wouldn’t mind not finding his mate until he turned twenty-eight.
Two more years. That’s all he needed.
It would give him plenty of time to finish his degree, move, get settled in his new
hometown, and get comfortable with the job. Then, and only then, did he think he would
be ready to find his mate and start popping out the cubs his mother constantly nagged
him about.
Declan skimmed the area. Anything to distract him or give him an excuse to leave would
be welcome. His gaze snagged on a honey-brown brunette as she laughed and turned away
from the bar. He could swear he heard the husky tone from where he sat twenty feet
away. His dick stirred behind the fly of his jeans, and he began to think Chugs couldn’t
be all bad if customers like her frequented the establishment.
He sat mesmerized; her hair bounced around her shoulders as she gracefully weaved
between the tables along the dance floor. He found himself leaning from side to side
in the attempt to follow her path, trying to see what table she stopped at and whom
she was with. No way in hell would a woman as beautiful as her be at the bar alone.
I bet she’s gorgeous shifted
. The thought struck him out of nowhere, knocking him for a loop. He had no idea what
species she belonged to. For all he knew she could be pure human.
Declan couldn’t resist the compulsion to head toward her. A glance at his companions
and he knew she would be a hell of a lot better company than them. The guys had spiraled
downward from talking about work and the upcoming school year to rating how hot or
not the women in the bar were. Childish and asinine, and something he would have done
not even a year ago.
Declan stood, tossing some money on the table.
“You going somewhere, Weller?” Mark Stevens, his partner on the force, asked.
“Yep.” Declan grabbed his jacket off the chair and pulled it on.
Mark shoved out of his chair, tossing a couple dollars on the pile. “You aren’t leaving
without me,” he mumbled.
Declan snorted. He knew all too well why Mark didn’t want to be left with the rest
of the group. The other guys weren’t bad, just young and still a bit on the immature
side. Hence, the
hot or not
conversation they wound up in.
Now, you’re sounding like an old man
.
Declan and Mark moved as one away from the table. The past three years working together
definitely leaving an impression.
“So, where we going?” Mark asked when he must have realized they weren’t headed for
the door.
“Saw someone.” Declan said blandly. The complete opposite of the nervous anxiety filling
his system. Someone he was drawn to like a moth to a flame.
Mark grabbed him by the arm and turned him. “Are you sure it’s
just
someone?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Confusion knit his brow.
A smirk lifted one side of Mark’s mouth. That cocky
I know shit and you don’t
smile that got under Declan’s skin. “I hate to break it to you, but your eyes are
all glowy and shit.”
“Fuck off. I’m not in the mood for your games tonight.”
Declan studied his partner and friend when Mark did nothing but stare right back.
The truth of his words written all over his face. “You’re serious.” It was a statement.
“Yeah, man. The outer part is turning golden. That means what I think it does, doesn’t
it?”
“Shit.” He looked off in the direction the woman had gone. He couldn’t see her, couldn’t
smell her, but he knew she was there.
Yeah, it meant what Mark thought it did.
Fuck
! He’d jinxed himself hoping he wouldn’t find his mate yet. Karma just bit him in
the ass.
But if she wants to bite me
….
“You okay, Dec? You look a little pale. I take it you weren’t in the market for a
mate.”
“No, not even my field of view,” he said honestly. “I’ve got too much on my plate
at the moment. Add in a mate and the shit that goes with it—no thanks.”
“The Fates don’t always work on our timetable. You’re living in a fantasyland if you
think they do. What’s the plan?”
Declan still stared off in the direction his mate had gone.
Mate
. He couldn’t stop the groan from leaving his throat.
The lion within perked up, urging him forward. Investigating its priority at the moment.
The beast may not know precisely what was happening but it knew they needed to find
her. In that respect, he and his lion were of the same mind.
What
did
he plan on doing? He snorted. Fuck, if he had a clue.
Spinning on his booted heel, he made his way to the door. Before he got to it, his
body slammed to a stop, the beast taking over, refusing to budge. Refusing to let
him take the last step to freedom, the last step away from its mate. Everything in
him screamed to stop the foolishness, to go find her. Figure out if what he thought
was true or if someone else in the bar called to him.
Instead of heading in her direction, obeying the beast’s demands, he pivoted and went
to the bar. Mark stayed right on his heels, backing him up without question.
He snagged a bartender’s attention. “Did you serve the brunette at the bar a couple
minutes ago?”
The guy’s eyebrows shot into his hairline in surprise. “Man, if you haven’t noticed,
there are a lot of brunettes at the bar.”
Declan frowned. “She would have been at the other end of the bar. Walked away with
a two-tone beer. Shoulder-length honey-brown hair that swayed when she walked. Husky
laugh that grabs you by the balls.”
The guy chuckled and turned to the man behind him. “Levi. You serve a honey-brown
brunette with a husky laugh a little bit ago? Would have been at your end of the bar.
Two-tone beer?”
Levi joined what turned out to be his twin. “Dude, there are a lot of brunettes here
but honey brown and a husky laugh?” He looked out over the crowd, brows furrowed in
thought.
Declan ground his teeth as his patience wore thin.
The guy’s eyes lit up as he turned toward Declan, a ghost of a smile on his lips,
as though he remembered her fondly. Declan suppressed his building irritation and
jealousy the guy’s smile incited. Making an enemy out of the guy who could help, a
big mistake in his opinion.
“Yeah. I did. Steak, rare, and a Black and Tan,” Levi said, not elaborating. His lips
curved into a grin. “She does have a bit of a husky laugh now that I think about it.
Not sure why I never noticed before.”
“And her name is…?” He let the words trail off in hopes the guy would pick up where
he left off.
Shaking his head, Levi remained mum.
After a few seconds that felt more like minutes, he couldn’t stand it anymore. “Her
name,” Declan demanded.
“Listen, I don’t know you and you obviously don’t know her. She’s a friend, and I’m
not about to send a douche bag without the nerve to approach her himself to her door.”
Declan growled in frustration. He pulled his badge from the interior pocket of his
jacket. “I’m a god damned police officer. Give me. Her name.”
Levi snorted, as did Mark, who stood next to him. The bastard should have been on
his side. The other twin had already walked off, thankfully, or he probably would
have snorted, too. Declan knew he sounded like a pompous ass on a power trip. He didn’t
care, though. Not as long as he got what he wanted.
He may not be ready to find his mate and confront her, but he had no intention of
leaving until he knew what to call her. What he would do with the information? He
could decide on that later. When he was alone in his apartment where no one else would
question his intelligence.
“Police or not, unless it’s official business, which from the way you’re acting I’m
guessing it isn’t, you aren’t getting her name from me. Got a problem with my decision,
take it up with him.”
Levi pointed over Declan’s shoulder. With a quick about-face, Declan came face to
neck with a mountain of a man. Declan considered himself a fairly tall guy—six foot,
six-one on a good day—and he wasn’t without a bit of muscle either. He worked out,
stayed in shape for the job. But this guy. Shit. It would take three of Declan to
get close to bringing him down.
“What’s up, Levi?” the beast of a man rumbled.
“He says he’s police and is looking for someone. A woman. I got the impression it
wasn’t in a professional capacity.”
“You know who he’s looking for?”
“Yep. Friend of ours.”
The big guy grunted in understanding. Declan didn’t want understanding. He only wanted
a name. Pulling out his wallet, he dug a business card out. “Here,” he said, offering
it to the behemoth. “Name and info are on it. Check me out. You decide I’m a decent
guy, call the number.”
The big man took the card without looking at it, stuffing it in his pocket. “Name’s
Niklaus Braun. I’ll be in touch.” He paused, searing him with a leveling look. “One
way or the other.”
Declan knew that was the best he would get from these guys. He couldn’t fault them
for looking out for a friend. It didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. “Thanks.”
With one last glance in the direction of the mystery woman, he shook his head and
left.
He had to be the dumbest motherfucker on the face of the earth. Never in his life
had he heard of a man willingly walking away from his destined mate because he didn’t
feel ready. Was anyone ever ready to find the other half of their soul?
Once outside, he took a deep breath as he made his way to his truck, attempting to
clear the woman from his mind. Declan hit the button to unlock it and climbed into
the driver’s seat. Mark, at least, waited until they’d settled in before opening his
mouth.
“That’s it? You find your mate and you leave? You don’t track her down, introduce
yourself, drag her off to the nearest corner, and mark her from head to toe?”
Declan clenched his jaw, willing the agitated lion inside him to calm down. The creature,
even though it hadn’t scented her, still wanted to find her. Confident they should
mate her and keep her. Knowing it would happen sooner than he thought was powerful
shit, and the man, he resisted, not quite ready for any of it. At least that was what
he kept repeating. “Nope. I told you. Now isn’t the right time. Too much to do first.
Too much to finish.”
“So, you’re going to forget she exists until you’re ready?” Mark’s voice held disbelief.
“Yep.”
“Holy shit you’re stupid. I mean, seriously dumb. The woman destined to be your mate
is inside that bar. Could very well be with another man right this minute, and you’re
walking away without a care in the world.”
Declan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white. If
he squeezed any harder, he might break the damn thing. Then he’d be stuck there. Within
reach of a woman he denied not only himself but his lion as well. One finger at a
time, he forced himself to loosen his grip.