Cody
“Hello? Mountain man?” Someone poked me in the shoulder. If the Quinn-locked GPS in my head was to be trusted, it was my soulmate.
“Mountain man?” I opened my eyes, though I was drowsy. I’d managed to fall asleep in the plushy waiting area chair when Quinn hadn’t showed up right away.
A glance at the clock on the wall told me that she hadn’t showed up for four hours.
“Yeah, mountain man. You’re shaped like a mountain.” She gestured to my chest.
“Is that supposed to be an insult?” I lifted an eyebrow and stretched the muscles that she was eyeing.
“It started as one.” She grimaced and pulled her light blonde hair so it fell over both of her shoulders. “Come on, I have a party to get ready for.” She gestured toward the front door with her head.
“I know. I bought a tux.”
Quinn glared at me.
“You’re not invited.”
“Then you’re not going.” I glared back. “These muscles aren’t just for show, Quinn, I protect the people I care about. I’m not going to watch you walk off to some party in some sexy dress so a bunch of other men can rub their hands up and down you.”
“Really? You’re going to go all caveman on me?” She rolled her eyes and headed toward the door.
I followed, of course, not caring that I looked like a mountain-sized puppy.
“I’ll be a caveman if I have to, because if you come home smelling like another man, I will lose control of the wolf in me and kill any man who touched you. That’s a promise.”
She stopped just outside the doors of the building and swung around, folding her arms over her chest.
“You don’t get to decide what I do and don’t do.”
I stepped up close and looked down into her baby blue eyes, wanting to see her react to me the way she had earlier.
She took a soft breath in, so soft that no human could’ve heard. But I wasn’t human.
“I haven’t tried to decide what you do and don’t do. Go wherever you want and do whatever you want, but I’m going to be right next to you, protecting you. Whether you like it or not we’re soulmates, and that means you’re mine.”
I stepped away and began walking toward my truck, fairly confident she would follow if just to cuss me out.
“We’re not done.” Quinn snapped, rushing to catch up to me.
“We’re never going to be done.” I kept walking.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. Her face and neck were flushed, and she was so angry she was huffing. Her anger had raised her body temperature enough to make her sweat a little, and the sweet citrusy scent coming off of her was making it hard for me not to pull her into my arms and kiss her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.
“Don’t walk away from me like you just decided the conversation was over. I’m just as important in this whole soulmate thing as you are.” She glared at me.
I fought the urge to kiss the frustration right off her shiny pink lips.
“You are the most important thing in my world, Quinn. The conversation was over because neither of us is going to change our mind, not because your opinion isn’t valid.”
Her forehead wrinkled, but she didn’t say anything right away. She looked surprised, and maybe even a little hopeful.
“So what, I’m just supposed to accept that you’re going to follow me like a sad little wolf puppy and break the necks of any men who try to hit on me?” She finally asked.
I could tell it wasn’t exactly what she was thinking, but I still answered the question.
“Well I’m just supposed to accept that you’re going to wear something that makes every man in the room lust after you.”
“Touché.” Quinn nodded once. “I’ll wear something overly-modest if you let me go alone.”
I rolled my eyes, and noticed the way she fought to keep her lips from curling up into a smile.
“I’ve seen your closet. You don’t own anything even somewhat modest.”
“Alright, fine.” She waved it off like she’d planned on losing that fight, but I could see the smile in her eyes. She liked that I’d paid attention to what I’d learned about her in the short time we’d known each other. “I assume you drove here, Mr. Caveman.”
“Yep.” I gestured to my beat-up old red truck parked near us in the parking lot.
“You drive that?” her nose wrinkled.
“Yep.” I repeated. I ignored the urge to take her hand as I headed toward my truck. It clearly stood out in the lot of expensive, shiny cars.
“It’s disgusting.” She complained.
When I held open the passenger door, however, she didn’t hesitate to climb right inside.
“You sound like my sisters.” I said, walking around to the driver’s side.
“Then they have better taste than you.” She folded her arms.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, a quick glance at her showed she was fighting to decide whether to say something or not. Her face was an open book, and I liked that. I really liked that. I’d never liked having to try to guess how someone was feeling, and with Quinn, I didn’t have to.
“What is it?” I asked, when she didn’t say anything after a few more minutes.
I remembered exactly where her apartment building was in comparison to the office building, and could’ve gotten there in a few minutes in wolf form, but I wasn’t sure exactly what roads to take.
“Turn left.” Quinn instructed.
I did as she said, and then waited for her to answer my question. She didn’t.
“I can tell you’re getting all worked up about something. Whatever it is, just tell me.”
She huffed and folded her arms.
“I’m not getting all worked up, I just…” She bit her lip and looked away. “How many siblings do you have?”
That was it? The question she couldn’t decide if she wanted to ask or not?
“Three. I have an older sister, a twin brother, and a younger brother. If you count my siblings’ soulmates, which I do, it’s five.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“What are their names?”
“My sister is Emma, her soulmate is Logan. My twin brother’s name is Tanner, and his mate is Hallie. My little brother is Artie.” I explained quickly.
“That’s a lot of siblings.” Quinn said, and she still looked pretty surprised. She told me to turn again, and I did as she instructed.
“I guess.” I shrugged. I’d seen plenty of families with more kids than mine, so it had never really felt big to me. “What about you?”
“Oh, I have one older brother. He’s named Christopher, after my dad, and he’s married to a tall blonde who never bothered to pretend we’re family. Her name is Karry with a K and a Y. Are you close with your siblings?”
I noticed the way she steered the conversation away from herself, and I didn’t protest. She hadn’t exactly been expecting me to waltz into her life and tell her we were meant to be together.
“Very.” I nodded. “They’ve been blowing up my phone since I ran out on family dinner a few days ago.”
I could see the interest in her eyes, even just by looking at her in the rearview mirror. She was like a magnet; I could barely manage to stop looking at her long enough to focus on driving.
“Why did you run out on family dinner?”
“Because the mental GPS in my mind switched on and I realized that I knew where you were.”
“Huh.” I could feel Quinn studying me with her eyes, and tried not to fidget. “Turn here.”
I turned, and realized where we were and that we were only about a minute from the apartment. That sucked, since she was finally opening up a little.
“So they’re blowing up your phone because they’re excited for you?”
“They’re blowing up my phone because they’re excited for you.” I pulled into the massive parking garage.
“They don’t know me.”
“You’re my soulmate, Quinn. That’s enough for them.” I parked the car and shut off the engine. “I’ll come around and get your door.”
She protested, but I was already walking around the car and grabbing the handle.
“You really are a caveman.” She muttered, as she took my hand and let me help her out of the car.
Despite her words, I could see in her eyes that she was flattered.