Over the next couple of weeks, Tom began to find himself beginning to enjoy Savannah’s company. Not that he would admit that to either Jo or nick, who still were trying to push him and Savannah together. Jo seemed to be getting along with her too, and Tom could see their friendship already beginning to blossom. Whenever he came into the office, he would always catch Savannah’s eye and give her a smile, or sometimes a wink which always made her blush. He liked that he could have that effect on her and her response always brightened his day.

 

Savannah sighed to herself, as she tried to focus on the numbers on the page. Jo had pushed the front door open this morning since it was a hot day, but the things she could smell were driving Savannah up the wall. She couldn't concentrate. There was the smell of oil and grease from the mechanics, mixed with the scent of Tom and the pine from the woods.

The woods had become something of a refuge for her. It was a time when she could just roam free, enjoying the sunshine or the rain, swimming in the lake or going hunting.

Ever since the day they’d come back from town, Savannah and Tom had been out in the woods almost every day. It was the best part of her day. She loved being in her bear form with him. Her bear was always happy and content, safe that he could protect her from anything. Even Tom had seemed to mellow, slowly beginning to become a little more playful in his bear. He’d not gone swimming with her yet, though. Maybe they’d do that today.

Sighing again, Savannah shook her head to herself. She always felt this way, when she shifted back into her human skin - racked with guilt over what she felt for Tom. Lucas would kill her if he knew how attracted she was to him. Whenever she was in her human skin, she would remind herself over and over that she was here to do one job and that was to gain his trust – and Nick and Jo’s too. She’d try and focus on the fact that he was probably responsible for Dan’s death, but that just didn’t seem to work. Despite the fact that Tom was an alpha, it didn’t seem true that he would have deliberately and maliciously helped Jo to kill Dan. There had to be more to the story.

Doubts were beginning to creep in over what Lucas had told her. She’d wanted to hate Jo but had ended up becoming friends with her. Working in the mechanics had meant that they’d spend most of the working day together, chatting when they could. Sometimes, Jo would bring her a fresh cup of coffee, just the way she liked it. Savannah couldn’t help but like her, even though that was the exact opposite of what she was meant to be feeling.

Her thoughts were completely interrupted by Tom, who walked in whistling before leaning his arms on the counter, grinning down at her.

“Going out tonight?” he asked, innocently.

Savannah looked up at him, her eyes flashing to Jo and back. She knew that Jo was aware that Nick and Tom were shifters, but she didn’t want Jo to know about her. They might be comfortable with it, but she wasn’t.

Tom shrugged. “She can’t hear us.”

As if to make his point for him, Jo wandered out of the office, calling back to say she was going to see Nick for a minute, leaving them both alone. Savannah could swear Jo was leaving her and Nick together on purpose. It wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this over the last few days.

"So," Tom grinned, his dark eyes sparkling with light. "Are you going to go out tonight?"

Savannah wanted to say no, but her bear wouldn’t let her. If she admitted the truth to herself, she wanted to go and spend time with Tom in the woods. Her bear wanted it too. “Maybe after dinner?” she asked.

Tom nodded. “Sounds good.”

“You’ll have to find me,” she murmured, a little coyly.

He leaned over the counter towards her. “What do you mean?” he asked, quietly.

She shrugged. “I might be hiding.”

Heat rushed through Tom as she spoke, catching the mischief in her eyes. She wanted to play? Then that’s exactly what he would do. “You’re not that hard to find, Savannah,” he chuckled. “My nose can find you anywhere.”

“Is that so?”

He leaned fractionally closer. “Yes, it is. You have a distinct smell.”

She looked up at him, with one eyebrow raised. “I hope that isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

Tom shook his head, his smart response dying in his throat. He was making a mess of this. "No, that's not what I meant." Wishing he could hit his head on the counter, he began to turn away, only for Savannah to grab his hand.

“Tell me what you meant, then,” she said, laughing. “You’re too easy to wind up, Tom.”

He flushed, catching her hand before she lifted it away. “And you’re too much of a tease. I get enough of that from my brother!”

“Don’t change the subject,” Savannah retorted, something exploding in her chest as he grasped her hand. “What’s my ‘distinct smell’?”

He tilted his head, his eyes running down her hair, over her lips and back up to her eyes. “Jasmine,” he said, eventually. “And honey.” His voice dipped lower and heat burst in Savannah’s belly.

“I see,” she replied, trying to stay calm and not let him see even a hint of the desire she felt.

Tom sniffed again, his eyes widening as he caught a slight rise of pheromones. What he was seeing wasn’t a lie, then. Savannah was just as attracted to him as he was to her.

Stepping away, he let go of her hand and gave her a quick smile. He had to think about this. “Tonight, then,” he promised. “I’ll come find you.”

“Looking forward to it,” Savannah whispered, as he walked out of the office. Closing her eyes, she slumped over her desk and threw her head in her hands. She’d couldn’t hide her attraction to him. He’d obviously smelled it from her and had reacted immediately. Running away didn’t exactly tell her that he wanted to see where this attraction might lead.

 

Tom threw himself back into his work, ignoring the quick thud of his heart. Savannah had shown him more than she'd wanted, that was for sure, but Tom didn't know what to do with that now. He wasn't the kind of man to have a quick fling, but he'd never really considered a future with a long-term mate.

“A mate?” he said, out loud. “You think Savannah could be your mate?”

The idea had him sitting back on his haunches, completely confused. The bear seemed utterly delighted that he'd finally realized just how important Savannah was, but Tom just felt confused. He'd never wanted anything more than just a basic friendship with Savannah, but now he was thinking about going to more than that? What was the matter with him?

“You look confused,” Jo murmured, walking through. “Everything okay, Tom?”

He shook his head. “I don’t need yours or Nick’s teasing right now, Jo.”

“That’s exactly the opposite of what I’m going to do,” she replied, tersely. “I just wanted to say that if you wanted to talk, then I’m here to listen. Believe me, I know a lot about being confused when it comes to falling for someone.”

“I’m not falling for her.”

Jo raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” she said, softly. “Doesn’t look like that to me.”