“It’s ’cause you’re whipped already,” he mumbled as he stared at himself in the mirror. The man staring back at him would probably scare the fuck out of the tiny little thing in the other room. He stood at just over six feet three and weighed over two hundred and sixty pounds, of solid muscle. However, that wasn’t what he thought was the kicker for the sexy little female. No, she was more like sugar and spice and everything nice, and probably drove a nice little sedate sedan or some shit. While he had tattoos and a bad attitude, drove a Harley and a jacked-up truck. Plus, he was ready to take a bite out of most people, human or other on the best of days. She appeared as if she could melt butter with her words. He could flay skin with his.
His ears picked up the change in her breathing pattern. His little fated mate was awake and not wanting to alert anyone to the fact. Goddess love her, she probably thought she’d been kidnapped or something. Shit, he hoped like hell she wasn’t planning on using her magic on him. He may not have been able to leave her protective bubble, but he’d seen the way she’d literally laid waste to damn near every car in a city mile. If she took a hankering to do the same to him, he’d be fucked.
“Noelle, I’m coming back in there, so please don’t zap my ass.” Ridge kept his tone level and friendly, stepping through the doorway slowly, hands raised.
Noelle lay in the middle of the bed with her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling too fast for someone who was sleeping.
“I know you’re awake, Katjie. Do you know how I know that?” he asked, coming to a stop next to the bed.
A moment passed, and she still didn’t acknowledge the fact she was no longer sleeping. He placed his hand on her chest, right above her heart. “You see here, your heart rate is faster than a sleeping person, and your breathing is erratic. If you were sleeping, it would be slow and even. Come on, open your eyes. If I were going to hurt you, I’d have secured your wrists and ankles to something, instead of leaving you free in the middle of the bed.”
Her eyes fluttered open, the bright purple startling in the darkness. “How could you hear my breathing? What are you?”
Ridge let out a breath, settling down on the side of the bed. Her eyes jerked to his lap, then his face.
“Why are you naked?” She squirmed to a sitting position, fear permeating the air.
“I smelled like beer and bar. I didn’t think it was a good way to introduce myself to you properly. My name is Ridge Jackson. This is my home. This room used to be my sister Torrance’s until she met her mate and moved to Texas with him.” He lifted a hand to his chest as he thought of Torrance.
“You miss her?” Noelle licked her full lips, drawing his gaze to them.
He’d thought she had lip-gloss or something on when he’d first spied her across the bar, but now, hours later, her luscious lips were still berry red and bee stung.
Silence hung in the air, and it took him a moment to remember she’d asked him a question. “Yeah, but I’m happy for her and Thadd. That’s her mates name. He’s a...good man.” Shit, he wasn’t sure how to go forward with explaining to her about mates. His mind froze when he thought back to their conversation and his casual mention of mate’s and her acceptance of the word.
“Where are you from, Noelle?” She’s a witch and if she knows Zelda then she probably knows about mates since Zelda’s other half is a wolf shifter. Not that wolves were as good as cats, but whatever.
“Originally or now?” she asked.
Ridge moved slightly so he could watch every nuance of her expression. “Both.”
“I was born in Canada. My family moved to Assjacket. That’s where I live now.”
There were so many things left unsaid, but he’d get to them. For now, he had some answers. “So, you know Zelda and her band of crazy?”
“Are you referring to her magic as crazy?” Noelle shoved the blanket down, anger making her white-blonde hair literally crackle.
Ridge moved closer, covering her hands with his. “Goddess no. Although, I do think Zelda has a tendency to...go a little overboard on the magic when she’s mad. My sister Tor is a witch and a panther.” He let his words sink in.
NOELLE SUCKED THE URGE to zap him back down. Her magic was seriously depleted, but her rest had restored some of her powers. She wasn’t like an earth witch who only needed to touch the soil and be replenished. Her powers came from within and by the energy around her. She could also take from stones if there was nobody she could borrow from. Of course, she’d listened to her sister and left her most powerful crystals in the vehicle. She reached for the necklace around her neck, feeling the soothing power of the amethyst.
“Whoa, your eyes just lit the fuck up.” Ridge leaned forward.
“Do you have no self-preservation?” she asked, holding her hand up, trying to ward him off. Of course, she should’ve saved her energy. The man was built like the Rock meets Jason Momoa.
“Hmm, what’re you thinking about?” He sniffed her neck.
“Stop sniffing me, shifter boy. I asked you before what you were, but you side-stepped me. Now, I’m asking again. What are you,
