Chapter 6

Aaron had not expected her to agree. He was glad he’d finished the beer, ‘cause had it been in his mouth, he would have surely sprayed it all over the place.

“What? It’s clear we’re attracted to each other. Might as well have all our cards on the table from the get-go.”

Keyah was gazing at him steadily, and it was only the tiniest things, like her not-altogether-steady breathing and the way she was clutching her tote bag that told him she was nervous. But she was determined as hell, too.

How the fuck was he supposed to get out of this predicament now? He had thrown the outrageous suggestion out there so she’d back off.

Why was he fighting her so hard though? What she said made sense. And Silver Wolves! Man! Just the thought of living amongst those elusive, amazing shifters should be enough to make him accept her offer. Imagine being able to go back to his pack and actually tell all his mother, Mary Anne Lobo, and his former-best-friend, only recently revealed to be his half-brother, Jedidah Williams that he was the alpha of the fucking Silver Wolves! Wouldn’t that be something?

Besides, no matter what he told himself every night, he was not cut out to be a lone wolf. He missed the pack. He missed the companionship, the sense of belonging. He missed leading the pack, and he was damn good at it.

Maybe he was being contrary ‘cause he was enjoying riling Keyah up. Or maybe it was because his gut instinct was telling him Keyah would be more trouble than he bargained for.

“So? Will you help me?” Keyah asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

He lifted the can of beer to his lips. Realizing it was empty, he cursed and shot to his feet to fetch more beer. She followed him, almost tripping over herself (and possibly a couple of the empty cans) in her hurry.

He had no reason to say no. But he had to have the last word.

“We might be attracted to each other, but that needn’t mean we’ll be sexually compatible. I might need a little taste of you to make sure helping you is worth my time. Like you said, you need my help more than I need yours.”

It was Keyah’s turn to look shocked. She huffed out a breath, blowing the fringe of hair that had fallen over her forehead when she had tripped earlier. It looked so soft. Would it feel as soft when he speared his fingers through it and yanked her head back so he could plunder her pouty mouth?

“How about a kiss?” he asked, popping open the beer can.

She was fuming mad. Had he pushed it too far?

She stalked up to him until they were standing toe-to-toe. She wasn’t more than five feet six inches, even in her heels. With his six-foot-five frame, he towered over her, and yet the fury in her gaze made him want to cower. Only for a brief moment though. He leaned away from her, holding his hands up. She pointed her forefinger at him.

“Listen here you arrogant asshole. You’re not going to get a ‘little taste’. You’re not going to get anything at all. You know why? Because I have decided it’s not worth the bother to beg for your help. I’m done. I’m so done with you. Enjoy your sad, miserable existence in this filthy, shoddy hovel.”

Turning on her heel, she stomped away from him toward the kitchen door. With her door on the handle, she paused, turning to look back at him. “And you know what? You might be too handsome for your own good, but I only kiss men who at least take the pains to shower every now and then. You clearly haven't had a bath in the whole of the last century.”

Yanking the door open, she stepped outside, pulling it shut behind her with so much force that it actually came off its hinges.

Aaron was terribly impressed. He liked this little spitfire of a female. Far too much, and that too after spending less than half an hour with her. The realization should have encouraged him to keep his distance from her. His gut instinct told him that the more time he spent with her, the more she would grow on him. Spending any amount of time with her was a bad, bad idea.

But Aaron knew he had screwed up. He had pushed it too. It was only right that he apologized to her. He glanced at the can of beer, then at the door.

Leaving the opened can of beer on the counter, he rushed after Keyah. He hoped she would appreciate that he was letting his beer go flat just to talk to her.

She was already at the rusty kissing gate at the boundary of his backyard from where she had entered. Damn, she moved fast.

He leapt over the large pile of beer cans, reaching her in two long strides.

“Keyah. Wait. Don’t go.”

She didn’t pause in her stride. Kicking the gates open, she stomped out and was onto the street, walking toward a ruby red Prius convertible.

With his long stride, he easily caught up with her. Knowing she wasn’t going to stop for him, he grabbed her arm, turning her to face him.

“Let. Go. Of. My. Arm.”

He loosened his grip but didn’t let her go.

“Look, I’m sorry. What I said was way out of line. I was only hoping to drive you away.”

She shook herself free and crossed her arms, glaring at him.

“Well, you achieved your objective. Why are you here?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

“To apologize. I’m sorry.”

Little by little, her features relaxed.

“Oh, what the hell. I don’t do well with holding grudges. At least, not over something so trivial. Fine. Apology accepted. You can go back now.”

He nodded, but didn’t move. He was kinda sorta hoping she would ask him to go with her, to help her. She didn’t. Her step didn’t falter at all as she headed toward the car.

The wise thing to do would be to turn around. Keyah Wilson was trouble. She was the kind of female who would crawl under his skin and make him start feeling things again. If he spent any amount of time with her, his heart wouldn’t remain comfortably numb any longer. He didn’t want that.

“I’ll help you,” he shouted, just as she revved the engine.

She pulled out oversized sunglasses from her tote bag and slipped them on before turning her head in his direction. “But I’m having second thoughts.”

Before he could utter a word, she gunned the engine and sped down the street, leaving him sputtering after inhaling a mouthful of dust.