Chapter Three
RIDGE COULD KICK HIS own ass for the callous way he’d talked to Noelle. Shit, his leopard was ready to shred his insides for offering to take her home when all he wanted to do was claim her right then and there. He was a conflicted idiot, which didn’t make him feel any less of a fool. He did a quick check of the towel he wore, surprised she hadn’t noticed the huge tent his dick was making.
With his keen sense of hearing, he couldn’t miss the sad sounds coming from the bathroom; her little sniffles were almost his undoing. Sheot, what the hell was wrong with him? Instead of going to her, he quickly grabbed a pair of jeans out of the closet and a T-shirt, thanking his good senses for leaving a few there, putting them on quickly, and then waited by the bedroom door. His claws threatening to erupt from his fingers at the tiny sob on the other side of the door. “Motherfuck,” he cursed quietly.
He’d drive her home, or to the bar, whichever she wanted. At this hour, her friends were probably still partying it up. He shouldn’t have brought her back to his place, but his instincts had demanded he take her somewhere she would be safe. Now that she was awake, and he was faced with the reality of his situation, he needed to think. Another rake at his mind from his beast was a disagreement on a visceral level. If there was one thing Ridge was not, it was ruled by his animal. His leopard snarled, telling him in no uncertain terms how stupid he was.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Noelle said, not meeting his eyes.
He wanted to lift her chin and demand she always look him in the eyes, but he didn’t have that right. Not yet. His leopard snarled at the reminder.
“After you,” he said, bowing slightly.
Noelle turned sideways so she wouldn’t brush up against him. Ridge tried to be a gentleman and not push her for any contact, but his beast was riding him too hard. He walked out of the room, his steps catching up with her quickly, so his hand brushed hers as he moved next to her. “Did you get ahold of your sister to see if she was still in town or if they’d already headed home?”
Noelle’s sharp intake of breath let him know she wasn’t as unaffected by him as she was pretending.
“She didn’t answer. I checked on our family app and saw she was still in town. You can just drop me off at the bar.” She shrugged, as if dismissing him, dislodging his hand at the same time.
Ah, sweetheart, it was going to take a lot more than that to brush him off. A nuclear bomb wouldn’t work, but she didn’t need to know that just yet. He needed to get his shit together. He had to work his mind around the complications of what it meant to have a mate who was not only a witch, but a damn powerful one at that. “Let’s roll out, Katjie.” He pulled the passenger door open, then eyed her tight dress.
Noelle held her hand up as he bent down. “I got this, Hoss.”
He stood back, grinding his teeth. “If you insist.” His truck was huge with tires that came above her hips. Being a gentleman, he’d wait until she tried before he stepped in to save her from an undignified attempt.
Her fingers didn’t do the wiggle thing he’d come to expect. Instead she gripped her necklace and closed her eyes. One second she was beside him, the next she was sitting inside like a queen on her throne. What. The. Fuck?
“I do, thank you. Can we go please?” Noelle crossed her legs after buckling the seatbelt.
Ridge slammed the door then bit the side of his cheek to keep from cursing. Shit, the female was going to drive him crazy. He strolled around the front of the truck, slid under the wheel after opening his own door with a lot more finesse than he’d slammed hers. They drove back to town without speaking. He turned the radio on once they left the garage, preferring music to the silence that seemed oppressive. Every couple of minutes, he checked to see if she was still awake, happy to see she was more alert by the second. When the neon lights of his bar came into view, he signaled for the turn. “Do you think your sister and friends are worried about you?” he finally asked.
Noelle shrugged. “They probably didn’t realize I was gone, if I’m being honest.”
He backed into his empty spot in the lot. He’d make sure the dipshit who’d caused all the chaos from earlier wasn’t around before he let Noelle leave. Her comment had him blinking over at her. “Why would they not know you were gone. Isn’t there like a girl code or some shit?”
If his sister had gone out with a bunch of friends, he’d kick all their asses if they lost sight of her for over an hour, let alone a couple as it was with Noelle. He noted the time on his dash showed closing time was in less than a half hour.
“My sister is kind of self-involved right now. I don’t mean that in a bad way.” She slapped her hand over her mouth, clearly stricken by her admission.
Ridge reached across the space, taking her hand away. “Don’t do that. You and I both know you’re not an average human, so let’s cut to the chase, why don’t we? You could’ve hurt yourself tonight, and to think your sister doesn’t give two shits about whether you’re alright or not, is bullshit. As a matter of fact, there should be a rule that females should never go anywhere unless they have a buddy. It’s not
