CHAPTER SIX

 

 

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Joel snapped his hands down on a scowl of understanding and tried to look insulted and innocent all at the same time. She wasn’t buying it.

It was definitely something in the water around the town, and she was not going to catch it.

“What do you take me for?” Joel growled just a little, just enough for her to shoot a look around them to see if any humans had overheard him. Luckily for him, they seemed to have walked to the edge of the small town, and it was pretty desolate. For Sandy, that wasn’t so comforting.

“We both know what you are…” she said, as she leant in a little and narrowed her eyes on him. “Oversexed shifter with a God complex.”

“A God complex?” he bit out and eyed her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. “Oversexed?” The chance would be a fine thing, but if he could just find his mate…

“Oh, don’t you try to be Mr Innocent with me with those puppy dog eyes and hurt feelings…”

“Puppy dog eyes?” Joel’s eyebrows did crinkly things that she just didn’t want to think about. They rose up to try to meet, they wiggled a little as his brow furrowed, and boy, did he look all sexy and smoulderingly good enough to eat.

“I told you – no hookups,” she bit out in anger. “It’s because I’m a witch, right?” she demanded and turned her head just a little to offer him the sideways stink eye.

“Yes…”

“What!?” Sandy couldn’t believe her ears. “You think just because I’m a witch that I’m easy and I’m going to fall for your puppy dog eyes, and your sexy hard muscled body, and that cocky easy charm?”

“Sexy hard muscled body…”

“I’m talking here!” she snapped back, and he bit down on a grin that threatened his lips.

He knew enough about witch mates from his pack to know that you didn’t want to miff them off any more than they already were – and for some reason – she was miffed at him.

“Go right ahead,” he said and gave a slow, thoughtful nod of his head.

“I might be a witch, but I’m choosy about who I spend my time with, and you…!” She tossed up a hand in his direction once more, and he wondered if it was beyond time to bend over and kiss his backside goodbye.

It wasn’t; she seemed more than content to rant at him. His beast, on the other hand, wasn’t at all content – it needed to scent her – maybe now more than ever.

“Me,” he offered when she seemed to pause and lose her chain of thought.

“You are the most obnoxious, rude, and deplorable excuse for a man, or beast, that I have ever encountered.” Sandy wagged her finger at him as she gave him a piece of her mind.

“Is it my turn now?” he asked, and she snorted her contempt for him.

“No!”

“But, I have an explanation…”

“You’re male!”

“But…”

“And a shifter,” she hissed a whisper on the last part.

There might not have been humans around them, but who knew what was lurking close by. She might not have liked the man, but she also didn’t want to give away his secret.

“But…”

“And even if the sun was dying, and our planet was about to be blasted into non-existence from the supernova to end all human, and other life, on the planet – I’m still not interested in hooking up with you!”

“O-k-a-y,” Joel thought she’d made things pretty damn clear. His feelings might have got a little hurt, but he figured she was just paying lip service to her misunderstanding of the situation.

His wolf rallied again.

“Go be gone!” she snapped out and lifted her free hand to point the way to – she didn’t know where, but anywhere was better than having to look at those puppy dog eyes and sexy smile of his, and that smile was growing on his lips once more.

Oh, how irritating was the sight of that? It was positively jumping up and down on her last nerve.

She should zap him and be done with it. She should – but, would she? She hated that she wasn’t as easy to inflict pain on people as some other witches – she was too damn soft. Things had to change!

“Well, I would, but here’s my little problem…”

“I do not want to know about your sexual problem, thank you very much.” She drew back just a little as if he had something that might have been catching.

“It’s more of a wolf problem with a little bit of meddlesome witch thrown in…”

“I am not a meddlesome witch…”

“Not you…”

“Then who?”

“Bree…”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know every witch by name…”

“It’s her spell that has been drawing witches to the area…”

“Well, I wasn’t drawn, I was…” Sandy frowned.

Well, she didn’t think she’d been drawn – although, she did usually go to the beach for her long needed break, and she had decided, quite out of character to come to the mountains … nooo! She was sure that was just a change of scenery and mindset – or not.

“Yes?”

“No!” she snapped back.

“Glad we cleared that up,” Joel tossed back with a frown.

“And why would a meddlesome witch be drawing witches to the area?” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know, but she did have that nosy gene, and it was always better to be forewarned than walk blindly into a situation over which you had no control and…

“Mates.”

Sandy’s heart stopped beating – she didn’t know how long for because at the same time an invisible sledgehammer hit her over the head – and her body felt heavy like lead – as her mind took flight away from her body and was off with the faeries – not literally, but it might as well have been.

She let out a squeak that got caught in the back of her throat and sounded like a deflating balloon. Joel twisted his head on his neck and eyeballed her as the colour drained from her cheeks.

“I’m betting you didn’t see that coming,” he grinned, and oh what a grin it was. It was potent enough to restart her heart, and it kicked her in the ribs at the same time as somewhere in the fuddled, twisted, and endless void of her mind – a little voice was screaming at her – run! Save yourself!