~

 

This is crazy — what am I going to do, turn my back on happiness?

Fate says; here’s your mate, Saffy. What am I going to say? Thanks, but no thanks.

Fate’s wonderful Catch-22 — you can have your mate now and a lifetime of love — or turn your back and never find love again.

Gee, choices — choices.

Look at those damn eyes — sexy as hell — every time I look into them I get lost, and that’s not just because I have a bad sense of direction.

Sure, he’s an alpha. Enough said. But I’m a witch and not the easiest person to get along with, apparently — according to Natalie.

It would have been nice to have some warning, a little heads up, you hear me, fate?

Sure, I probably would have run in the opposite direction — but that’s not the point.

“I could ask you what you’re thinking — but…” Doug left it there.

He could see that she was mulling over something, probably him, and he wouldn’t press her for an answer, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t put it out there for her to offer one.

“Oh, I don’t think I’m going to share that,” Saffy gave a little chuckle of embarrassment.

“So, you weren’t wondering if you’re on Santa’s naughty list?”

“Not exactly — no,” Saffy chuckled again.

Why was it when you are trying not to think about sinful things that all you can think about is sinful things?

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. And him.

Him and me.

I really have the urge to walk over there and poke one of those hard muscles — just for research — like a scientist. Maybe not a scientist, but who cares? I just want to see, all up close and personal like, just how hard they really are.

The squeeze test.

Wow, now I want to squeeze?

Does that make me a bad person? Why would that make me a bad person?

For one thing, he’s my mate — I’m perfectly within my rights to poke — or stroke and squeeze — anything I want.

They’re mine — oh, don’t say that out loud!

He’s mine — sort of — kind of — in a non-claiming, no fangs out, kind of a way.

That’s not to say there wouldn’t be any claws. I have pretty long fingernails, and he’d probably like it if I were to run them down his…

Dear goddess, I sound like a sex-starved — which I’m not, well I am — nymphomaniac of the worst kind. Which I’m not either, but, maybe I wish I was.

Damn, that’s his fault — I went from thinking how nice his words were to thinking about how nice his body was.

Fate has a lot to answer for.

Stupid fate.

Stupid fingernails.

Stupid hard muscles.

How stupid am I?

“You’re kind of quiet,” Doug had to wonder what she was thinking about now. Her cheeks were going bright red and could probably light Santa’s way all on their own.

“Still thinking,” Saffy offered him the smallest of guilty smiles.

But I am not saying what I’m thinking about. No way.

“I think I know what you’re thinking about.”

“Oh,” Saffy raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. I don’t think you bloody well do!

“Me,” Doug had a smug look on his face.

It was obvious from the way that she looked at him that the mating pull — lust — and a good active imagination on her part was making her see him in a whole different light.

Doug thought that was a very good thing.

“Oh, and let me guess — you’re naked,” she rolled her eyes and tried to deflect the attention away from herself.

“Am I?” He grinned from ear to ear, and as she brought her gaze back down, she couldn’t help but note just how damn sexy that was.

She wanted to roll her eyes upwards once more, but decided it was safer not to — there would be fewer surprises that way on the way back down.

“Aren’t you just full of yourself?” She offered with something approaching righteous indignation.

“Wouldn’t you like to be full of me too?”

Just the way that her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide meant that he couldn’t hold back the chuckle that had been building within him. If he’d had a camera, then he might have taken the shot.

Saffy snapped her mouth shut and blinked a couple of times. If she’d been in a bar, sure, but she just hadn’t expected him to come out with something like that.

“Your wooing skills leave a lot to be desired,” she said in almost total disbelief.

There was a part of her that was as nervous as a schoolgirl — maybe because his words had touched a nerve. She wanted to chuckle — but that would give him entirely the wrong idea – an idea that she knew was already in his mind, but she didn’t need to box check it.

“Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?” He took a step towards her and her eyes flicked down to his feet then straight back up again to his face, and she looked a little nervous.

“How I want to be wooed?” Saffy drew her eyebrows downwards.

The man was just totally unbelievable. Who drew a map to their destruction?

“Sure, why not? You tell me how it’s done — I do it, and we get to the mating part.” He really wanted to chuckle again, and yet he held onto it so desperately that he ended up growling instead.

“Oh, I see your devious plan, and I raise you one of my own. How about I don’t tell you how it’s done — don’t tell you how to woo me — and we don’t get to the mating — ever.” Saffy offered back.

He took a long moment to consider her words.

“Yeah – no, I don’t like that idea. Mine is better.”

“For you.”

“And for you too — which you’ll find out when we get to the mating part.”

He folded his arms across his chest and grinned from ear to ear. That grin was very wolfish, and she was sure that she could see his beast just below the surface.

“You know? I think I’ll pass.”

“Sure? I really do think you’ll enjoy it,” Doug did chuckle then.

That sound was deep, like velvet over gravel, and it rumbled over her skin and made the fine hairs on her body stand to attention.

“If I put my hair in pigtails will you pull them as well?”

“Now that’s different thing entirely. I don’t think I’m being mean to you — unless you are so desperate to get to the mating part that having to deny helping me is so painful to you on another level.”

“There is definitely another level at play here — but I think that’s how your mind works, not my body,” Saffy offered back.

He took another step toward her and her gaze rushed up and down his body once more. She kind of liked the journey that her eyes took — he was a great view.

“Speaking of your body…”

“Let’s not go there,” Saffy gave a small shake of her head in denial.

“That would make mating difficult.” That wolfish smile spread even further.

Doug took one more step, and it felt just a little bit too close for comfort for her. Saffy narrowed her eyes on him as if she expected him to pounce at any moment.

“That’s the general idea.”

“But I don’t like that idea.” He said, and Saffy scowled.

“Well, tough. That’s my idea, and I’m sticking to it.”

“You’re sure? Because you don’t look totally sure that’s exactly what you want.”

“I’m certain,” Saffy said, and she even folded her arms and tilted her chin up in the air to show him just how certain she was.

“You know, every time you think certain thoughts your cheeks go a nice rosy red. And when you look me up and down your gaze kind of hesitates in certain places on my body like you’re showing a lot of interest…”

“Perhaps it’s just my brain farting that’s affecting my eyes,” Saffy shot back.

She kind of wanted to kick herself. She could have laughed his words off rather than rushing to denial, but she couldn’t take it back, nor could she take back the smirk that her rash actions had brought to his lips.

“Does it do that a lot?” He took another step.

“Misdirection.”

“I don’t know what that means. Well, I do — just not how it applies to what we were talking about.”

“You trying to distract me — misdirect me. You take a step then you say something insulting — or stupid — or overtly sexual by nature — and try to misdirect me from the fact that you’re getting closer. I’m onto your little game.”