Saving His Mate (A vampire-werewolf romance) Page 3

  Grant’s expression didn’t change, but his wolf flickered in his gaze. “I didn’t think of it like that. Shit.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m an idiot. I saw the way you both looked at each other and I thought…” He let out another curse and stood. “I owe her an apology. Wait, she told you what happened to her?”

  Rex nodded, not moving from his position as Grant sat back down. “Yes.” Now the alpha looked truly surprised. Before he could respond, Rex continued. “I’m planning to court her. Is there anyone else in the pack interested in her?” Not that he cared, but he wanted to know if he had competition.

  “There are males interested, but none she’s interested in. Damn, court her? You’re serious.”

  Rex flicked a gaze upward. “Does your mate eavesdrop?”

  “Always, but she won’t repeat anything you say here.”

  Rex decided to be blunt, to trust this male in a way he rarely trusted anyone. If he was going to join this pack—and he was pretty certain he would—he had to open himself up to the alpha. “I think she’s my mate. I’ve never responded to a female like that before. My fangs ached, my—” He cut himself off; Grant didn’t need to know everything about his visceral response.

  “Her eyes went pure wolf when she saw you. I’ve never seen her do that before.”

  Rex hadn’t noticed, but she’d barely glanced at him. The revelation was interesting and welcome. “I plan to pursue her hard.”

  “Good.”

  One simple word. All Rex needed to hear. He’d be doing it with or without the alpha’s approval but he was glad the male knew of his intention. “I will give you an answer soon.” But first he had to see if there was a possibility of a future with Margery. He couldn’t be in a pack with her if she rejected him. Something primal and raw inside him couldn’t bear it if she did. He couldn’t be faced with seeing her day in and day out if they had no future.

  * * *

  Margery pounded the dough against the prep station, wishing it was her irresponsible packmate Sapphire. Okay, Sapphire wasn’t actually irresponsible, but she’d promised to help out at the bakery tonight then gotten called back to the Crescent Moon Bar to work. Margery still had Sarah out front assisting the customers, but that meant Margery was stuck in the back baking all night—because there was no way she was letting Sarah take over her kitchen.

  That was the one bad thing about being in a pack. Sometimes they got stretched too thin. Max needed the help at the bar and because of his position Sapphire had to help him over Margery.

  Margery wanted to fume about that but knew that the truth was, if she’d asked Max, he’d have let Sapphire stay on and he’d have dealt with the mess at the bar. But she was in a mood tonight and felt like mentally berating anyone and everyone.

  Sadly, she knew why. Ever since meeting that too-sexy-for-his-own-good vampire she was feeling restless. The kind of restless that made her skin feel too tight for her body and reminded her how long it had been since she’d had sex. Really good, toe-curling sex.

  As a two-hundred year old shifter she’d had lovers, but she’d always been careful about picking who she slept with for a multitude of reasons. The main one being that male shifters were so damn territorial. Sometimes they couldn’t just take sex for what it was. Simple sex. No, they had to get all alpha and possessive.

  It meant she had to go outside her pack or risk some male going all alpha macho on her and getting protective when she didn’t need or want it. Since she didn’t sleep with humans, finding available male shifters outside her pack had been damn near impossible in the past couple years. She worked too much and what sane shifter would come into Grant’s territory? No one, that’s who.

  She slammed her fist against the dough again then stilled when the whole prep table shook. Crap, she was going to break something if she didn’t rein her wolf in. Sighing, she set it aside then froze when she felt an almost electric energy streak through the air.

  Like a tangible thing, she felt Rex’s presence throughout her entire body, singing all her nerve endings. Seriously, what the hell was going on with her? A vampire shouldn’t get her all worked up and needy. She glanced up from her work station when the swinging door to the back kitchen opened, fully expecting Sarah to pop her head in and announce that Rex was here. To her surprise Rex strode in like he owned the place. All sexy, alpha male looking too delicious for his own good.

  Wearing a button-down dark green shirt that made his eyes even more gorgeous, and custom-made black pants, he looked different than last night. More polished, but no less primal. No, he was a predator through and through. She saw it in every line of his body and the intense way he was watching her, those beautiful eyes of his missing nothing.

  “What are you doing in my kitchen?” she demanded.

  “You need help out there.” A blunt statement.

  “Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now answer the question.” She knew she sounded testy and a little bitchy but she couldn’t help it. Her hormones were wreaking havoc inside her. Just the sight of him had her wanting to strip them both naked and go at it right on the kitchen floor. Damn her inner wolf.

  A ghost of a smile played across those full lips that she wanted to lick and nip. He was probably smug because he could scent her desire. “I’m grabbing an apron,” he said as he looked behind the swinging door to where half a dozen clean white aprons with the words ‘Margery’s Bakery’ were printed in red script across the front pocket.

  She blinked. “Why?”

  He slipped one of the aprons over his head and tied it behind his waist. “Because I’m going to run one of the cash registers for you.”

  “You can’t do that,” she sputtered, feeling more out of sorts than ever. What the heck was happening? A vampire was coming in to help her at the bakery?

  “It’s easy, and I am.” Without waiting for a response, he strode from the kitchen, the door swinging in his wake behind him.

  Wiping her hands against her apron, she hurried after him. She started to follow through the door but stopped and watched him through the circular glass window. Damn that male for looking so sexy in a freaking apron. The tie was right above his very tight, delectable butt. Clothes simply couldn’t hide the muscular body of that male. And he was doing a fine job helping customers, moving with an efficiency that almost belied his supernatural speed. But not quite.

  When she saw that the two lines were almost to the door, she decided to let him help her out. She needed it and there was no reason she shouldn’t accept his assistance. As long as he didn’t think she owed him anything for it, they’d be fine.

  Hours later and close to ten there was a lull in business—yet she was still hiding out in the kitchen like a big coward. Rex and Sarah had both been back a few times to grab trays of pastries, cupcakes, muffins and pretty much everything she’d been busting her ass making. With the exception of his smoldering looks, Rex hadn’t said much to her. The male didn’t need to. Not when he was telling her exactly what he wanted to do with her with just his eyes. For some reason that didn’t bother her at all. Just the opposite. With her history with vamps she’d assumed she’d never find one attractive. Now she found this male more attractive than any male, regardless of species. It was maddening.

  She tensed when the swinging door opened up but instantly relaxed when Sarah strode in. “Hey, boss.”

  “Hey. You doing okay out there?”

  “Yeah. It’s quiet so I’m taking a smoke break.”

  Margery frowned. “You don’t smoke.”

  Sarah snorted. “Fine, I’m staying back here until you go talk to that gorgeous vampire. If you don’t make a move, I will.”

  Margery’s claws extended at the thought of her packmate going after Rex. To her annoyance Sarah just laughed.

  “You’re so easy,” she muttered, heading for one of the walk-in coolers, chuckling under her breath.

  Taking a deep breath, Margery willed her claws back in and decided to stop being such a coward. As she push
ed open the swinging door she nearly slammed into Rex who was coming back into the kitchen. They both paused, watching each other. Shifters had a higher body temperature than vamps and humans but right now his body heat might as well be a freaking volcano. With him so close and that addictive scent teasing her, it took all her self-control not to lean into him and take what she wanted.

  Her mouth felt as if it was filled with cotton but she figured she should be the first to speak, especially since he’d been nice enough to help. Not that she thought his intentions were noble. He clearly wanted to get into her pants.

  And her wolf clearly wanted him in them. If she was being honest with herself, she did too.

  She fidgeted with the front of her apron, hating that she was so rumpled. “Thanks for helping out with the early crowd.”

  His gaze flicked to her mouth as she spoke, those dark hazel eyes of his glowing for a moment. Taking her by surprise, he reached out and cupped her cheek and jaw in his powerful hand. She was too stunned to pull away and when he swiped his thumb across her bottom lip her nipples actually tightened.

  “You have a little icing here,” he murmured, his voice pure seduction. Like the richest, most decadent piece of chocolate cake.

  “Thanks.” When she was stressed she tended to eat. If it wasn’t for her crazy high shifter metabolism she probably wouldn’t eat so much, but her nerves were frayed so she’d been snacking like a rabid wolf. On instinct she flicked her tongue out, moistening her bottom lip. She could almost taste him, knew he’d be dark and spicy.

  Rex groaned as he dropped his hand, his gaze never wavering. “Are you working all night?”

  She nodded, struggling to find her voice again.

  “I’m sorry about making you feel vulnerable last night.”

  His words were like ice water splashing her in the face. She stepped out from their intimate enclosure in the doorway and into the shop. “You didn’t.” Out of instinct she glanced around but the place had cleared out. For now. She knew in another hour or so it would fill up again and they’d be busy for at least two more hours after that until the normal morning rush. Business always came in spurts like that. Not that she was really focused on any of that now.

  To give herself something to do, she went to one of the cash registers and typed in her code to run the current report. Yeah, because right now her mind was totally on sales. Rex was practically glued to her as he followed, though he wasn’t actually touching her. He leaned against the glass counter, inches from her; a demanding presence that refused to be ignored. She wanted to smack him or kiss him, she couldn’t decide.

  “Then I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I would like to make it up to you.” His darkly delicious voice rolled over her, making other parts of her tingle. The male was a menace.

  “That’s not necessary.” Her words came out all high-pitched, like some nervous cub.

  “I think it’s very necessary.” The seductive note in his voice made her glance at him.

  Immediately she wished she hadn’t. Her gaze zeroed in on his lips and damn him, he gave her a disarming half-smile because he clearly knew the affect he was having on her body. “What do you want from me?” The question came out as a whisper.

  “You really want me to spell it out?” He cupped her cheek again, but this time she could feel the strength and dominance thrumming through him, an out of control beat that made her entire body tingle in an erotic awareness. Just imagining what he would do to her, how he’d touch her—and how she could touch him made her overheat with need.

  She swallowed hard and tried to tell herself to pull back from him. She should…for some reason. But she couldn’t make her body respond to the mental command. Feeling almost possessed she leaned closer to him, inhaling his addictive scent as she fantasized what it would be like to kiss him. Even last night when he’d smelled like sweaty humans there’d been an underlying earthy smell. Not in the way that shifters scented, but more crisp—and no less erotic for it. It made her wolf crazy for this male in a way she’d never experienced.

  The bell attached to the front door jingled and she practically jumped back from Rex. His strong jaw tightened in annoyance, but she turned away, ready to greet a customer. She smiled when she saw Davis, one of her packmates. He was a perfect buffer and she desperately needed one.

  “Hey, Davis. What are you doing here? I thought you were at the casino helping with security.” He worked with Asher, Grant’s cousin, at the casino the pack owned. Though he was in his fifties, he looked like he was in his mid-twenties. Over six feet tall, he was muscular and intimidating looking—and he had the fighting skills to back up his appearance.

  Davis barely glanced at her, instead focusing on Rex who was hovering a scant foot from her. “Max said you might need some help. What are you doing in town, Rex?” The question was benign enough but there was an underlying edge to it. Which surprised her. Davis was dominant in nature and had fought Asher in the way wolves did to prove who was stronger—and lost—when the other wolf had joined their pack months ago. But for the most part he was even-tempered. It was why he was so good with the security team.

  “Bounty-hunting.” Rex’s short answer sounded just as strained as Davis. As if he was controlling his need to fight.

  Her packmate moved toward them, winding his way through the round, high-top tables. “Shouldn’t you be out hunting then.” Not exactly a question.

  “Job’s over and Grant asked me to join the pack.”

  At that, Davis stilled, his gaze flicking back and forth between her and Rex. The energy in the air was electric, but not in a good way. Not like what Margery felt with Rex. Suddenly it hit her what was going on. Rex might not be a shifter, but he was still a dominant male. Which meant these two might act like morons in their need to prove who was stronger. Her animal understood why her packmates were like that, but it still drove her crazy when the males, and occasionally females, went at each other’s throats for no good reason. As one of the nurturers in the pack, she often had to defuse tricky situations.

  Stepping closer to Rex she slid her arm through his, hoping that by showing Davis she accepted Rex as a friend and packmate it would tone down whatever was going on with him. “Rex has been a big help tonight, Davis.”

  “I’ll bet,” he muttered, his dark gaze going icy as he raked it over Rex.

  Next to her Rex tensed, but he didn’t say a word. Luckily Sarah chose that moment to come bounding through the swinging door. “I was out back taking out the trash and just saw a party bus pull up. I think we’re about to get slammed again.”

  Relief slid through Margery. They were stocked for now, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t head to the back and whip up a few things to keep herself busy. Especially if Rex decided to stay. She still wasn’t sure what his intentions were. Well, other than wanting to sleep with her. Withdrawing her arm, she turned to Rex who watched her intently. “Thank you for your help tonight but you don’t need to stay with Davis here. We should be fine.”

  “I’m staying.” There was no give to his voice or his expression.

  Was that relief she felt that he was staying? When the door jingled again and a group of giggling, drunk college-aged kids stumbled in, she decided not to argue. “I’ll be in the back if you need me.”

  “I’ll join you,” Davis said as he rounded the counter, heading straight through the swinging door before she could respond.

  Rex looked like he wanted to say something, but just gritted his teeth and turned back to one of the registers.

  Sighing, Margery headed to the back, unsure if she was disappointed or glad that Davis had interrupted what was sure to have been a scorching kiss. She knew Rex would have to leave before sunrise, but she wondered if he’d attempt to kiss her again before he left.

  She definitely wouldn’t stop him.

  Chapter 4

  “It was sweet of you to come, but I think I’m good for now,” she said to Davis as she slid another tray of finished cupcakes int
o the waiting area. She’d made extra of her two most popular cupcakes—red velvet with cream cheese icing and chocolate with chocolate buttercream icing—and they were practically all gone. Thank God for starving college kids.

  When she turned back around she found Davis barely a foot away. He had a little flour on his apron but he’d been incredibly neat and efficient. “I’d like to stay,” he said quietly, his dark eyes glittering with something she recognized.

  But really wished she didn’t. On instinct she took a step back and knocked into the tray holder. “That’s okay.” Crap, she so didn’t need a packmate coming on to her. Especially not now when she was feeling so out of sorts and ridiculously horny. Maybe he scented what she was feeling for Rex.

  Davis shoved his hands in the front two pockets of his apron, but kept his gaze on her. “Are you seeing anyone?”

  Even though she normally preferred bluntness, she inwardly cringed, not wanting to do this now. Davis was very good looking, but he wasn’t her mate. If he was, she’d have figured it out a long time ago since they’d been packmates for years. Unlike most of her female packmates, she didn’t mess around with any males in the pack. Probably because she’d seen what having a true mate could be like and she wanted that for herself. While she’d had short-term relationships, she usually ended things when it was clear there was no mating pull. “No, but I’m not interested in anyone.”

  Davis tilted his head toward the front of the store. “What about the vampire?”

  “I’m not with him either. I’m just not…” She wasn’t sure how to put it into words so she didn’t finish her thought.

  He let out a sigh, his expression relaxing. “I’ve been holding off making a move for a while, but lately you’ve seemed more open to, you know.”

  A smile tugged at her lips when she realized this wasn’t about intense feelings he’d been harboring. It was clear he was just looking for something casual. “Yeah, I do know.” Because she’d been feeling restless and turned on, she’d likely been putting off a certain vibe to some of the males in the pack. Not intentionally but when her wolf got restless, others would know whether she wanted them to or not. “Are things going to be weird between us now?”