Maya
I swear I can feel his gaze on me the second Leah draws my attention to it. Just as if he’d touched me, my body heats and my core tightens. It shouldn’t make me so happy to know I have his attention. I’m a grown woman. Just because he’s interested in me doesn’t mean I have to give him the time of day. Except even as Leah watches me with curiosity, I can’t keep those delicious brown eyes and that crooked smile from invading my thoughts.“Oh my, he’s not the only one that has it bad.”“He’s cute, but I saw him with someone this morning. I’m not interested in being another notch on anyone’s bedpost.”That’s not exactly true. I’m very interested, but my pride won’t let me go down that path if it’s only going to lead to a fall. Leah hesitates for a moment. Her eyes drift over my shoulder to where I assume Nathan is standing, watching. Reaching past me to pick at the snacks laid out, she casually manoeuvres us so she has her back to Nathan. I spot his tall frame instantly as he speaks to Peter, one of the men from my pack who’ve just arrived today. Even though they’re clearly in the middle of a conversation, he lifts his gaze to mine and doesn’t look away. The intensity of his stare has my heart thumping, and I blink hard to force myself to break eye contact.“You can tell me to mind my own business, but can I make a suggestion?” Leah twirls her glass around in her hand as she asks, and I’m intrigued. I have no experience with any of this, so someone else’s input can’t be any harm.“Of course.”“I won’t pretend Nathan isn’t experienced, but on the plus side, the lucky lady he ends up with is going to get the benefit of all that… em… practise. That man is kind, loyal and honest, and he’s looking for the real thing, even if he won’t admit it. And I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he is looking at you.”I can’t help looking at him as her words sink in and my stomach clenches. He’s still watching. Leaning in to shake hands with Peter, he slips past his and instantly I know he’s coming over here. Oh, goddess. Leah chuckles beside me when she sees the look of panic on my face. He moves through the crowd with ease, never looking away, and ignoring all other attempts to engage him in conversation.“Why not get to know him and see what happens? Worst case, you get to have a bit of fun with a smoking hot wolf, and you call it quits if it doesn’t work out. Best case, you have lots, and lots, of fun.”Leah winks and laughs heartily at her own joke, her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders, before patting my arm and moving away just as Nathan reaches us. He stops right in front of me, not crowding me, but close enough that my body tingles from his presence.“Maya.” Nathan’s voice is like a caress and the way he says my name is enough to make me melt. “How about that drink?”Unable to think, let alone speak, I tip my glass toward him, showing him the drink already in my hand. Nathan frowns and his face falls. He looks so disappointed I feel bad. A small hand reaches over my shoulder and snatches the glass right out of my hand. When I twist around to see who stole it, Leah downs the rest of the wine with a grimace and sets the empty glass on the table beside her without a word.I turn back to Nathan, open-mouthed at her brazenness, but he is beaming with delight. He holds out a fresh glass with his brow quirked in question, and I accept it with a smile and a shake of my head.“That’s some wing woman you have there,” I laugh. I can’t believe she just did that. She really wants me to give him a shot.“She’s the best,” he says fondly. Our hands touch as he hands me the glass, and I gasp as a jolt of electricity travels through my fingertips and straight between my legs. Leah might be right. There’s no denying the chemistry between us, and I’m only here for a couple of months. Why not enjoy myself with someone who knows what they’re doing?“Leila showed me around the packhouse, but I felt bad for keeping her on her feet for too long. Want to bring me on a tour of the grounds?”Nathan looks like he won the lottery. Crooking an elbow for me to take, he grins at me and gestures away from the crowds and towards the wide-open space at the back of the packhouse that stretches down to the tree line.“I’d be honoured.”Something clicks into place as I slip my arm through his and he places his other hand on top of mine. This just feels so right.NathanMaya smiles up at me as I lead her away from the rest of the pack and I’m overwhelmed by how right this feels. It’s like the last piece of the puzzle has just slotted into place and now I understand what the picture is supposed to be. Listening to others speak about the mate bond, I could never fully comprehend it, but now I get it. I see what my life is meant to be like, and I can see my entire stretching out in front of me, with this little lady at the centre of it all.“How do you like the pack so far?” I ask. She’s giving me a chance to redeem myself and I will not ruin this opportunity by pushing too hard.“Honestly? It’s daunting meeting all these new people. I’ve had more exposure to the outside world through helping Dean. He brought me on a few trips to other packs, hoping they’d be more welcoming with me there. Either that or he was hoping I’d find a mate and he could leave me there.”She laughs softly, but I have to swallow down a growl. My wolf doesn’t appreciate the reference to other males, but I don’t comment. I’m not a complete hypocrite. My silence doesn’t go unnoticed and Maya observes me out of the corner of her eye.“Everything okay there?”She wiggles her fingers and I realise I’ve been pressing down on her hand a bit too hard. Turning to face her, I grab her hand in mine.“I have no right but, I don’t enjoy thinking about you and other men. It makes me jealous.” Maya’s eyebrows fly to her hairline. She looks surprised that I’d admit to that. But why wouldn’t I?“Goddess, I wish I didn’t have to explain this, that we met differently, but I wasn’t with with that girl last night. Not that it matters, I’m sure, but I wanted you to know that.”This is excruciating. I would rather pull my fingernails off than have this conversation and I pray she doesn’t ask what we actually did. Thankfully, she merely nods and begins walking again. We’re moving in a slow circle along the edge of the woods, still in view of the party but far enough away that we have our privacy in the disappearing light. This isn’t a conversation to have near nosy shifter ears.“Do you always tell the truth, Nathan? With women, I mean. Will you be honest with me?”Maya looks straight ahead as we resume walking, and I watch as her cheeks pink slightly and her shoulders stiffen. She’s just as uncomfortable having this conversation as I am.“Always, Maya. When I tell you that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in my life, I mean every word.”That’s one thing I pride myself on. I’ve never purposely led someone on or feed them bullshit to get them into bed. I am always clear about what is, and what isn’t, on the table. I never want my mate to question a word that comes out of my mouth.Maya nods, before her grip on my hand tightens slightly. It feels like acceptance and hope swells inside me. She takes another sip of her wine as we walk slowly, still hand in hand, and I wait, knowing that’s not the end of the conversation.“If we act on this connection between us, what then?”Her expression is earnest and vulnerable. This moment seems pivotal, and I need to make sure I get this right. Words don’t seem like enough, so I step in closer, watching her startled expression carefully for any sign of doubt as I cup her face in both of my hands tenderly.For a second, I think she’s going to pull away from my touch, but she doesn’t. Her chest rises and falls in time with my own. I swear our hearts are beating in sync as I lower my lips to hers, hovering millimetres away, again giving her the option of stopping this. My lips brush hers as I open my mouth to speak, her sweet breath mingling with mine as we stare into each other's eyes.“Then I spend every day showing you that you made the right decision by giving me a chance.”NathanI feel like punching the air in celebration when Maya doesn’t move away. Pressing my lips to hers softly, I fight the need to drag her body against mine. Even though I long to touch and worship every inch of her incredible body, I resist. I’m rock hard, have been all day, but that’s my problem, not hers. A case of blue balls is probably getting off lightly, considering what she witnessed.Maya softens and leans into the kiss, her breasts pressing into my chest as she winds her arms around my waist and up my back. My cock nudges against her hip and her gasp lets me know the second she realises exactly what it is.“Nathan,” she murmurs dreamily, eyes still closed as I pull away, tucking a strand of silky dark hair back behind her ear. I can’t help bringing the end up to my nose to take in her addictive scent. She smiles at me as her eyelids flutter open, looking dazed and lightheaded. I keep my arms wrapped around her protectively as I rest my chin on
Maya Nathan’s nose wrinkles adorably as he stares down at me, a confused frown on his handsome features. I shake my head, still laughing quietly, unable to form a proper sentence. Holy shit. I may not be very experienced but even I know that is not normal. Every cell in my body is on fire. I’ve never felt anything like the orgasm that he just dragged from me. And I fought it, hard. I’ve never been able to relax enough to come with a partner before, but Nathan is clearly no ordinary man. How he learned those skills has my wolf’s hackles rising so we won’t dwell on it, but other than that, she is thrilled with my choice of man. “A lesser man might be worried that you’re laughing, but I think I can wipe that smile off your face.” Even with his messy boyish curls and twinkling brown eyes, Nathan looks like the devil himself as he stands there before me. He waits, allowing my eyes to roam over his incredible body, all tanned muscles, and a dark line of hair disappearing into his open j
MayaMy chest aches as I think about the hurt I have inflicted on Nathan. Potentially. If what he says is true. My brother warned me, endlessly, before I left to keep my wits about me. Dean worried that after being kept sheltered in my pack, ambitious males looking for an alpha female might see me as an easy target.I don’t share his paranoid nature but I won’t allow myself to be marked in the heat of the moment either. I can’t take as fact the words of a man I only just met, no matter how gorgeous he is. It doesn’t make this any less of a disaster.Thumping on the door rouses me from my thoughts, right before the door bursts open. Rex rushes through the door and straight into the bedroom where I’m still sitting on the edge of the bed. Scenting the air, he freezes and glances at the spot on the wall where Nathan struck his head. He can smell the blood.“Where is he?” Rex’s voice is calm but lethal. He radiates anger and I would be stupid to hide anything from him. He can sense his bro
NathanI hear him coming long before he nips my heel mid-stride and sends me tumbling across the forest floor in a tangle of limbs and twigs and leaves.“I said stop,” Rex growls as he shifts back and offers me a hand up off the ground. Shifting back to my human form, I bat his hand away and slump down, choosing to remain where I am in the dirt.“For fuck's sake.” Rex raises his eyes to heaven before leaning back against a nearby tree and folding his arms over his chest. “So, you met your mate?”I grunt and nod sulkily and pick a leaf out of my hair absentmindedly. I wince as my fingers brush across the quickly healing cut on my head. There’s a lump there too. That will take longer to disappear. Maya. My sweet, wonderful Maya. Although she wasn’t so sweet when she was drop-kicking me across my bedroom and into the wall. It was all going so well. Until it wasn’t.“Did she reject you?” He knows damn well that she didn’t. If she had, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to him, I’d be writ
Nathan When we return to the packhouse, Rex leaves me with a reassuring nod and an encouraging pat on the shoulder. As he goes off in search of his own mate, I’m left alone with my thoughts. There are still plenty of wolves hanging around, enjoying the food and drink laid on for the welcoming party. But I’m not in the mood to join in. Instead, I trudge up the stairs, staring with longing at Maya’s door when I get to the top and willing her to come out so we can talk, but there’s no movement. She’s in there. Her alluring scent is so strong, and my wolf is alert, sensing his mate is nearby. Which means she probably knows I’m here too, but doesn’t want to speak to me. As much as it kills me, I won't pressure her. We'll both still be here in the morning. With a reluctant sigh, I turn away and go to my own apartment. Pushing open the door, my brain floods me with slightly happier mental images of carrying my mate in my arms through here just hours ago. Without meaning to, I find myself
Maya“Absolutely no way.”I shake my head vehemently at Nathan and then at Rex, who's supposed to be calling the shots. Nathan’s smile slips for a second and dismay crosses his face, but he recovers quickly.He breezes past me, looking painfully handsome, and the nearness of his broad shoulders as he brushes past sends my senses haywire. Just being in the confines of this office with him is making me heat up, and I can feel my palms start to sweat. It takes all of my willpower not to squirm under his intense gaze.“You didn’t even ask what the job is.”His tone is light and teasing, and I watch him with suspicion as he rests against the edge of the large wooden desk, arms folded across his chest in a way that makes his biceps bulge.He’s awfully chipper for someone I kicked out of bed last night.“I don’t need to know what it is to know that it’s not a good idea.”Rex says nothing, just glances back and forth between us as we stare each other down.“We need to have a chat,” Nathan say
NathanEarly starts are nothing new to me, but I’m not sure I got any sleep at all. Eventually, I give up tossing and turning and roll out of bed. My problems sleeping might have something to do with Maya starting work today, or maybe it’s the ache in my groin from the permanent hard-on I’ve had since getting into bed. I can’t bring myself to change the sheets. Her scent still lingers, and it calms my wolf while torturing my body at the same time.She should be in my bed with me. Her absence is unnatural. But I'm quietly confident we'll get there, eventually.Pottering around my kitchen, making a breakfast that is completely unappealing, and drinking coffee that just doesn't taste right, I contemplate the days and potentially weeks ahead. She can feel the bond. I know it. It's there to see in her every reaction to me. I’ve witnessed how Hayley and Leah were around my brothers, even before they knew about shifters and fated mates.The sneaky glances, the scent of lust in the air, the u
Nathan “Alpha Reynolds took a shine to Marie, and they went on a few dates. They weren’t fated mates, but, as your mother likes to remind me, he was a good-looking man. And he was the alpha of what was then a great pack, known for their warrior skills. Her father was happy for her to meet up with him and see where it went.” Dad’s jaw is clenched. There are veins bulging out of his forehead and neck, and he’s grinding his teeth. Loudly. Even after all this time, he clearly struggles with the idea of her entertaining anyone other than him. I’d tease him, except now I understand it completely. I would be exactly the same. Dad shifts in his chair, but it’s not the seat that’s making him uncomfortable. “But then we met and from the moment we saw each other, the moment I caught her scent… that was it. She was so beautiful.” He sighs dreamily, wearing the same goofy grin he gets whenever he sees her. I can’t help but smile along with him, now that I know that feeling. “It was magical, and