The night before had been a totally different story. Delilah had been in the bar when Jarren walked in. His double take was hilarious and for the first time I saw his angry mask slip. Delilah chose to pretend like she hadn’t gasped when he walked in, or that she didn’t flip her hair a bit more than necessary while she talked with her friends. I couldn’t help but grin when I remembered how they both acted. For the first time, Jarren didn’t even pay attention to me. He watched Delilah until she got up from her table and then he cornered her in the hall. I had been too busy to eavesdrop, but I did watch her storm out of the bar. Jarren had, for the briefest of moments, looked sad. Then his hard demeanor settled back over him, and he left the bar
I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that the grumpy werewolf obviously had some interest in my sister. Why didn’t that thought bother me? I wasn’t upset that he was a werewolf. Oddly, it didn’t even seem to matter when I considered their weird relationship. It shouldn’t be so hard for me to be with Alex whether he was a werewolf or not. He was the same guy who I had loved spending time with. He just turned into a wolf when he wanted to. Which had me wondering what he looked like as a wolf.
My racing thoughts and needy customers didn’t stop me from noticing when Wyatt walked in holding Tegan’s hand. Tegan was giggling at whatever Wyatt was saying in her ear. Ryker and Delaney followed behind them. Ryker shot me a half smile and of course Delaney glared. I just waved at them all from behind the bar.
When Alex pushed through the door, I released the breath I didn’t even know I was holding in a sigh. He was dressed in black, like he usually was, but tonight he had added a black leather jacket to ward off the cool weather that had started creeping in. His jeans hugged his thighs and ass like they were made just for him. His t-shirt showed off his sculpted chest, and I couldn’t help but think of how those muscles looked without the shirt. The overall effect made him look like a model who had stepped right off a motorcycle shoot.
I watched his eyes shifting around the room, passing over women that I knew would happily sleep with him whether he turned into a wolf or a bat. When his nostrils flared, I knew he was scenting the air for me. His head whipped around, and his brown eyes searched mine for a moment. He gave me a tentative smile, like he was asking me silently if we were okay. I knew I wouldn’t stay away from him, but I also thought maybe we should slow down a little. I gave him a small smile back, and his sudden grin devastated my going slow plan. That man was hell on my good senses.
I was behind the bar, so it was Jackie that took their drink orders. I started getting the beers I knew they would order ready while Alex watched me from their table. His brow furrowed suddenly, and he lifted his head and he cocked it just slightly. I fought down a giggle at how much he suddenly seemed like the wolf he was. His eyes shot back to me and he leaned in to talk to Wyatt before walking slowly around the bar. I had a rush of people wanting drinks, so I didn’t have time to wonder about his weird actions. I didn’t notice when he dropped into a newly vacated stool at the bar.
“Hi,” I smiled a little at him when I stepped in front of him, “Do you want a drink?” I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need to be nervous. This was just Alex after all.
“Nah, I just figured I’d stop and say hi,” he seemed to be waiting for something. I just wanted to kiss him, and I ran my tongue along my bottom lip as I thought of the last time his lips were against mine. His brown eyes swirled amber as they darted down to my mouth then back up to my eyes. His lips parted just slightly, and he leaned a little farther over the bar. Oh God, he was going to kiss me. He could not kiss me. Slow, I had to remember slow.
“It’s really great to see you, Alex,” I spoke quickly, knowing I sounded a bit crazy. I snatched a rag up off the counter and started wiping down the area in front of him as I rambled on, “I planned on calling you this week. I think maybe we should slow down. Maybe just be friends for a while. Friends would work great right now. Then we could just see where things go from there.” I glanced up to find him sitting back his face blank as if he was schooling his emotions.
“I don’t think that will work, Zee,” his voice was low, and it sent a shiver through me causing unhelpful parts to perk up and put in their two cents. Perfect time for my hormones to betray my brain. “We’re more than friends and you know that. I’ve never had a friend I want to strip naked and make love to until she is screaming my name. Definitely not friends, Zee. I’m sorry I can’t change who I am for you…” He cut off
