J.D. rolled her eyes. “Cut it out, Anders,” she said. “They’re tryin’ to have a good time. Besides, they’re not the entertainment.” She grabbed his ear and tilted his head toward the stage. “That’s what we’re here for.” She sent an apologetic look to the women.
The lights dimmed as a slow, sensuous beat filled the room. A woman wearing a feather boa entered the stage, and everyone clapped and cheered. With another deep sigh, Daniel settled back, arms folding over his chest. When was this going to end? Neither J.D. nor Anders seemed keen on stopping any time soon. He glanced back toward the private room where he guessed Damon was finally enjoying his bachelor party. After all, Gabriel did secretly fly Anna Victoria all the way here. And the lion shifter was nowhere to be seen, which meant he probably snuck out. Lucky bastard.
“Sir?”
“Huh?” Whipping around, he saw one of the cocktail waitresses leaning toward him, drink in hand. “This is for you.”
He glanced down at the drink. It looked innocuous enough; it even had a cherry in it. “I didn’t order this.”
“One of the girls sent it over,” she said. “Candy. She says it’s a thank you gift for earlier.”
“Oh.” It was a nice gesture, but he really didn’t need it. “Um, can you take it back? Or I could pay for it.”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “Please, I couldn’t.” Before he could protest, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Glancing at the drink, he took a sniff. It smelled like gin and tonic, the flowery bouquet of the liquor tickling his nostrils. However, there was something about it—
A movement caught his eye from the corner of his vision. While everyone had their attention on the stage, someone at the table next to them stood up. He didn’t know why, but he just had to look at who it was.
It was one of the females from the bachelorette party. She walked around her friends with an unsteady gait, grabbing onto the back of a chair to steady herself. When she did, she proceeded forward and something about the way she moved made it difficult to tear his eyes away from her.
He took a nervous sip of the drink in his hand, barely tasting the alcohol. His hand trembled as he pulled the glass away from his lips, but his gaze never left her.
The world around him slowed down, his focus pinpointing on the woman. Continuing forward, she came close to their table, but stumbled forward.
He lunged toward her, grabbing one of her arms before she could hit the ground. She let out a yelp as he pulled her upright, a dark curtain of hair covering her face.
“Are you okay, miss?” Thanks to his shifter reflexes, he didn’t even spill the drink in his right hand.
Wobbling on her feet, she brushed the hair from her face. “Yeah, I’m good. Did you—” She stopped as their eyes met. Velvety brown eyes, the color of milk chocolate, widened in surprise.
Mine.
Jesus!
After that, he couldn’t quite describe what happened next—it was kind of like being punched in the gut. But in a good way, if there was such a thing. His bear roared from within him, its massive paws beating at the ground. They had found their mate.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Too much to drink … normally I can handle it but … special occasion, you know?”
“Special occasion,” he echoed.
“Well, uh, thanks for the catch,” she slurred as she patted him on the arm. “Whoa … you must work out. Your biceps are like rocks.” She gave them a firm squeeze, which made blood rush out of his head and down to … well, his other head. “Er, thanks again.”
He watched her pivot on her heel and walk away from him, unable to move or say anything. The room seemed to have quieted down, and the only thing he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his chest.
His inner grizzly, however, roared at him and slammed its paws at his insides as if saying, go after her, you idiot!
“Shit!” He snapped out of it. I have to go after her! She was their mate. But what would he say? Or do? Or how could he explain? Based on her lack of animal, she was obviously human.
Panic rose in him as his bear paced back and forth, probably wishing it could talk. What would Pops say? But his mind went blank. Crap!
His hand gripped around the glass he was still holding. C’mon, Rogers, think. Raising the glass to his lips, he downed the entire drink without another thought. The alcohol ran smoothly down his throat, warming his insides.
I should just go after her. His bear agreed, nodding its block head. Slamming the glass down on the table, he strode toward the direction of the restrooms.
Whoa.
A wave of dizziness hit him as he made his way to the back of the room. As a shifter, alcohol didn’t stay in his system very long, and it took a lot to get him drunk. Did he drink too fast? Or was there something—
His bear growled for attention as it pointed its snout forward. There she was, it seemed to say excitedly. Quickly, he caught up to her before she entered the ladies’ room and blocked the door.
“What the hell—oh!” she exclaimed. “It’s you.”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s me …” Why the heck did his tongue feel like it was going numb?
She straightened her shoulders, and planted her hands on her hips. “Can I help you?”
If she said anything after that, he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t stop staring at her—his mate was gorgeous. Her long, dark hair reminded him of those chocolate commercials where they swirled the dark liquid with caramel. She was wearing a sleeveless dress that showed off her tawny skin
