I felt almost too excited to remain seated. I might have been up to no good from the beginning but, then again, so was he.
This was a push and pull kind of game and I intended to win it. I had to.
Chapter 16
The Mistake
There wasn’t much Tim said or did that night that I didn’t giggle to. Doing just that, I had managed to successfully ignore Jonathan a total of seven minutes – yes, I was counting.
I had my flirtatious mode on, and I could tell it affected both my date and my mate, in totally different ways. One was probably thanking his lucky stars for my good mood, the other cursing my being his mate.
Even though I was busy with Tim, dazzling him with smiles at times, narrowing my eyes in a purposefully teasing manner at times, there was no denying the fact that I could feel Jonathan’s persistent gaze on me... I could feel it so much, in fact, that I was bothered by it.
Waving my hand lightly in front of my face, fanning it ever so slightly, trying to ease away the heat I felt, I couldn’t help but think any she-wolf would be more than thrilled – and probably impossibly happy – to be the alpha-ultra’s mate. He could have gotten any female he wanted within any pack, provided she was not mated already, but somehow, I was the one who had gotten the short end of the stick.
Truth be told, I had nothing against him per se but, ever since that incident last summer, I could barely stand interacting with werewolves; let alone envisaging being with one. And then, there was Cole...
I mentally shook my head, all but begging the negative ideas to go away.
“I’m gonna check my makeup,” I pretexted in a sweet voice while plastering a smile on my face.
That had to be the lamest excuse ever. Though, if it were any other bimbo, it might just be the truth... I, on the other hand, had simply found no better thing to say so as to escape for a few minutes. I needed to collect my thoughts – desperately.
I ignored the worried look Seth sent me and made a beeline for the ladies’ room, head held high, gaze not meeting Jonathan’s. I realized midway that I had forgotten to bring my purse, making my excuse even less credible.
I guess there’s no helping it! I mentally shrugged as I pictured the wondering look on Tim’s face if he were to notice, deciding against going back despite everything. It might seem weird but there was no way in hell he’d ever suspect the real reason why I had to leave the table.
The restaurant was fancy enough to have a large bathroom with a cushioned fuchsia-colored sofa that was just begging to be sat over. I ignored it, chose the large, beautiful, golden sink instead and hurriedly opened the faucet. As soon as the refreshingly cold hit my face, it felt as if I was being revived; as if I had been in dangerously deep waters, sinking, struggling to hold onto something, anything, and then miraculously emerged to the surface with a gasp.
I rarely allowed myself to think of that incident with the rogues but whenever I did... let’s just say, there was nothing pleasant about it. I always made sure I distracted myself from the mere memory of it all.
Don’t! Don’t go there! I was inwardly ordering around my own mind. How crazy was that? I sighed in dismay.
“You’re stronger than this,” I looked at myself in the mirror, trying to look like I wanted to. “A witch can never allow her emotions to overrule her rational thinking.” I reminded myself firmly then started taking deep calming breaths, my eyes snapping shut as I did.
Moments later, when I felt more in control of my emotions, my heart no longer aching and much more at ease, I allowed my eyes to slowly flutter open.
As I looked into the mirror, I was startled by the electric blue eyes I found there. The surprised gasp escaped my lips before I could help it.
How dare he scare me like that? How dare he follow me into the bathroom? How could he...
While a part of me got angry at him for being so arrogantly him, I couldn’t help but be a little bit angry at myself as well. How could I not have heard him enter? How could I not have felt his presence? How could I not have felt his breath on the back of my neck?
“What is it?” I hissed through greeted teeth. Now was not the perfect time to taunt me.
“Are you okay?” his worried tone did nothing but anger me more if that was even possible, for he had somehow noticed my discomfort.
“Fine!” My answer was short, tautly spoken, with nothing but a frown to accompany it. Surely, he would understand I was not in the mood to talk to him.
“Have you had enough of your games?” his hand sneaked around my waist, bringing me closer to him as he whispered that question that seemed somehow extremely out of place.
Obviously he didn’t get the hint, I mentally groaned.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I responded in that sickly-sweet voice I knew he could only hate. I was trying to get his arm off me but to no avail; he
