~

 

“Okay — stop, stop, stop, stop!” Jules had to get the words out in one breath because she didn’t have much to spare.

When Daniel took a small step back from her, he looked as dazed and confused as she was. He also looked hungry like the Wolf within him.

“That got real fast, real quick,” Daniel admitted.

He tried for a look of contrition, but a smug smile crept onto his face anyway and grew until he’d beamed her a really big smile.

“I noticed. I was here too.” Jules was trying to level her breathing. The problem was her body still wanted to go full steam ahead.

“Must be the mating pull,” Daniel said, and that realization didn’t do anything to quash the smugness of his smile.

“So, you’re not naturally attracted to me then?” Jules tossed back.

That made his smile disappear in an instant. He opened his mouth to speak, made a strange whining noise in the back of his throat, and grimaced.

“Okay, so that didn’t come out right,” Daniel offered back, wincing with regret.

“And yet, you didn’t answer the question,” Jules had him on the back foot, and that was where she wanted to keep him.

It was called self-preservation because if she could make herself angry at him, even fake anger, then it just might throw him off balance enough for her mind and body to level out.

“Sure — I did,” he narrowed his eyes at her and tried to replay that part of their conversation. The only problem was his little brain was still in control over his big brain.

“No, you really didn’t.”

“Are you picking a fight with me?” Daniel asked, his voice full of suspicion. “Because this feels like the time that Jake did something bad and then tried to turn it around on me — not that you would — I’m just saying, putting it out there.”

“Because you like to clarify things.”

“I do. And you didn’t answer the question.” A smile tugged at his lips.

“Sure — I did.” Her eyes were full of mischief.

“Hmm, so…” Daniel eyed her for a very long moment.

“So…?”

“So, I’m obviously attracted to you. You are so very obviously attracted to me…”

“Well, do you kiss the mirror before you go bed at night as well?” Jules offered him a cheeky grin.

“As a matter of fact, I do. But now that you’re here…” He gave a small shrug of his broad shoulders.

Jules chuckled to herself. If there was one thing about her mate, he was just full of his own self-worth.

Just because he had good reason — good-looking, a nice hard ripped body, and he sort of had a winning personality. Although, she wasn’t quite there yet — the panty dropping stage — but if he’d kept kissing her like that then she might well have been rushing towards it.

“You are so full of it.”

“Strangely enough, you find that attractive and alluring,” he said as he beamed her another winning grin.

“You just take a small step back before I stop the pigeon in – any-bloody-way I can.” She offered him a look that might have been a little too challenging because he didn’t move an inch.

“And you are still thinking about the pigeon.”

“Even when you were kissing me.” She lied.

“Oh, liar-liar pants on fire,” he berated her with just a look. She much preferred his smile.

“Am not.”

“Are too.” She went to open her mouth, but he held up his index finger to silence her. It worked. “But that’s not the point in question. The point is how am I supposed to step back?”

“Any which way you can,” she shrugged. Then she frowned hard. “Now I’m picturing you as an orangutan.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The movie? The orangutan — Clint Eastwood? Ringing any bells in your little monkey brain?”

“Oh, ha- ha!”

“No, really, I’m serious. You do kind of have some orangutan traits. The dragging of the knuckles thing…”

“I thought that was gorillas?” He thought for a moment, looking slightly confused, and that only added to her amusement.

“And now I’m picturing you as a gorilla.”

She couldn’t stop the chuckles that flowed from her because his face was a picture or should have been. If only she’d had her phone to hand, then she would have snapped the shot with glee.

“Baby, I’m all Wolf.” Daniel puffed out his chest, and her chuckles only got worse.

“Well, if you beat your chest I’m gonna be on the floor crying with laughter.”

“You know you’re giving my Wolf a complex, right?” Daniel’s Wolf was just fine. It didn’t have a complex it knew exactly what it was, and who it wanted for a mate.

“Well, I’m sure your Wolf is very — beastly. But right now I can’t get past you looking like a gorilla.”

“Well maybe if I kissed you again…” He took a step, and it was her turn to raise her index finger, not only silencing him but stopping him in his tracks from getting too close.

“Not so fast,” she said as she narrowed her eyes at him and he narrowed his right back.

“Am I still in the penalty box?”

“No,” Jules said and watched as he raised his eyebrows towards his hairline. “You’ve been sent to the showers.”

“Are you coming with me?” He gave another winning smile. It was full of that cocky self-assurance that he liked to project.

“You have a thing about showers.” She frowned.

“And you have a thing about stop the pigeon and primates. Neither one of us is perfect.”

“So you’re not attracted to me because I’m not perfect?” She had him on the ropes again.

“Baby,” Daniel slowly lowered his gaze down his body to the hard thick length that was trying desperately to escape his jeans and get to her. “Does this look like I’m not attracted to you?”

“You’re a testosterone fuelled, twenty something, male shifter — am I supposed to believe that doesn’t happen to you at least thirty or forty times a day?” Jules tossed her hands onto her hips and demanded an answer with just the look that she gave him.

“In truth, possibly.”

“Geez, now who’s ducking the question?”

“It’s a stupid question.” He grimaced the moment that the words were out of his mouth. He knew he shouldn’t have said them — and if he’s big brain had been working then maybe he wouldn’t have.

The look on her face was priceless — or would have been at any other time than when he’d screwed up.

“I’m going to forget you just said that.”

“Really?”

“Hell, no!” Jules questioned his sanity with just a look. Daniel sighed inwardly and groaned outwardly.

“How about if I apologize?”

“Not even if it came with a platinum guarantee that you wouldn’t do it again.”

When she folded her arms across her chest, Daniel had the urge to bend over and kiss his backside goodbye. He knew it was the kind of comment that he’d be paying for, probably for a long time.

 

~

~

~

 

“I mean it Mia — no more magic on pack land,” Lewis growled.

“Like ever?”

“Like never ever.” Lewis folded his arms across his broad chest, and his biceps doubled in size. If she hadn’t of set him up for a fall, then she might have been impressed by his stature.

“That’s going to make tonight’s spell rather difficult then, isn’t it?”

Mia watched as the information sunk into the alpha’s brain. There was an immediate look that said panic – followed by a look that said he needed to backpedal and fast — and then he raised his eyes to the ceiling, tossed up his hands in frustration, and groaned long and hard.

“Witches,” he grumbled.