Chapter 5

Maya

I swear I can feel his gaze on me the second Leah draws my attention to it. Just as if he’d touched me, my body heats and my core tightens. It shouldn’t make me so happy to know I have his attention. I’m a grown woman. Just because he’s interested in me doesn’t mean I have to give him the time of day. Except even as Leah watches me with curiosity, I can’t keep those delicious brown eyes and that crooked smile from invading my thoughts.

“Oh my, he’s not the only one that has it bad.”

“He’s cute, but I saw him with someone this morning. I’m not interested in being another notch on anyone’s bedpost.”

That’s not exactly true. I’m very interested, but my pride won’t let me go down that path if it’s only going to lead to a fall. Leah hesitates for a moment. Her eyes drift over my shoulder to where I assume Nathan is standing, watching. Reaching past me to pick at the snacks laid out, she casually manoeuvres us so she has her back to Nathan. I spot his tall frame instantly as he speaks to Peter, one of the men from my pack who’ve just arrived today. Even though they’re clearly in the middle of a conversation, he lifts his gaze to mine and doesn’t look away. The intensity of his stare has my heart thumping, and I blink hard to force myself to break eye contact.

“You can tell me to mind my own business, but can I make a suggestion?” Leah twirls her glass around in her hand as she asks, and I’m intrigued. I have no experience with any of this, so someone else’s input can’t be any harm.

“Of course.”

“I won’t pretend Nathan isn’t experienced, but on the plus side, the lucky lady he ends up with is going to get the benefit of all that… em… practise. That man is kind, loyal and honest, and he’s looking for the real thing, even if he won’t admit it. And I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he is looking at you.”

I can’t help looking at him as her words sink in and my stomach clenches. He’s still watching. Leaning in to shake hands with Peter, he slips past his and instantly I know he’s coming over here. Oh, goddess. Leah chuckles beside me when she sees the look of panic on my face. He moves through the crowd with ease, never looking away, and ignoring all other attempts to engage him in conversation.

“Why not get to know him and see what happens? Worst case, you get to have a bit of fun with a smoking hot wolf, and you call it quits if it doesn’t work out. Best case, you have lots, and lots, of fun.”

Leah winks and laughs heartily at her own joke, her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders, before patting my arm and moving away just as Nathan reaches us. He stops right in front of me, not crowding me, but close enough that my body tingles from his presence.

“Maya.” Nathan’s voice is like a caress and the way he says my name is enough to make me melt. “How about that drink?”

Unable to think, let alone speak, I tip my glass toward him, showing him the drink already in my hand. Nathan frowns and his face falls. He looks so disappointed I feel bad. A small hand reaches over my shoulder and snatches the glass right out of my hand. When I twist around to see who stole it, Leah downs the rest of the wine with a grimace and sets the empty glass on the table beside her without a word.

I turn back to Nathan, open-mouthed at her brazenness, but he is beaming with delight. He holds out a fresh glass with his brow quirked in question, and I accept it with a smile and a shake of my head.

“That’s some wing woman you have there,” I laugh. I can’t believe she just did that. She really wants me to give him a shot.

“She’s the best,” he says fondly. Our hands touch as he hands me the glass, and I gasp as a jolt of electricity travels through my fingertips and straight between my legs. Leah might be right. There’s no denying the chemistry between us, and I’m only here for a couple of months. Why not enjoy myself with someone who knows what they’re doing?

“Leila showed me around the packhouse, but I felt bad for keeping her on her feet for too long. Want to bring me on a tour of the grounds?”

Nathan looks like he won the lottery. Crooking an elbow for me to take, he grins at me and gestures away from the crowds and towards the wide-open space at the back of the packhouse that stretches down to the tree line.

“I’d be honoured.”

Something clicks into place as I slip my arm through his and he places his other hand on top of mine. This just feels so right.

Nathan

Maya smiles up at me as I lead her away from the rest of the pack and I’m overwhelmed by how right this feels. It’s like the last piece of the puzzle has just slotted into place and now I understand what the picture is supposed to be. Listening to others speak about the mate bond, I could never fully comprehend it, but now I get it. I see what my life is meant to be like, and I can see my entire stretching out in front of me, with this little lady at the centre of it all.

“How do you like the pack so far?” I ask. She’s giving me a chance to redeem myself and I will not ruin this opportunity by pushing too hard.

“Honestly? It’s daunting meeting all these new people. I’ve had more exposure to the outside world through helping Dean. He brought me on a few trips to other packs, hoping they’d be more welcoming with me there. Either that or he was hoping I’d find a mate and he could leave me there.”

She laughs softly, but I have to swallow down a growl. My wolf doesn’t appreciate the reference to other males, but I don’t comment. I’m not a complete hypocrite. My silence doesn’t go unnoticed and Maya observes me out of the corner of her eye.

“Everything okay there?”

She wiggles her fingers and I realise I’ve been pressing down on her hand a bit too hard. Turning to face her, I grab her hand in mine.

“I have no right but, I don’t enjoy thinking about you and other men. It makes me jealous.” Maya’s eyebrows fly to her hairline. She looks surprised that I’d admit to that. But why wouldn’t I?

“Goddess, I wish I didn’t have to explain this, that we met differently, but I wasn’t with with that girl last night. Not that it matters, I’m sure, but I wanted you to know that.”

This is excruciating. I would rather pull my fingernails off than have this conversation and I pray she doesn’t ask what we actually did. Thankfully, she merely nods and begins walking again. We’re moving in a slow circle along the edge of the woods, still in view of the party but far enough away that we have our privacy in the disappearing light. This isn’t a conversation to have near nosy shifter ears.

“Do you always tell the truth, Nathan? With women, I mean. Will you be honest with me?”

Maya looks straight ahead as we resume walking, and I watch as her cheeks pink slightly and her shoulders stiffen. She’s just as uncomfortable having this conversation as I am.

“Always, Maya. When I tell you that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in my life, I mean every word.”

That’s one thing I pride myself on. I’ve never purposely led someone on or feed them bullshit to get them into bed. I am always clear about what is, and what isn’t, on the table. I never want my mate to question a word that comes out of my mouth.

Maya nods, before her grip on my hand tightens slightly. It feels like acceptance and hope swells inside me. She takes another sip of her wine as we walk slowly, still hand in hand, and I wait, knowing that’s not the end of the conversation.

“If we act on this connection between us, what then?”

Her expression is earnest and vulnerable. This moment seems pivotal, and I need to make sure I get this right. Words don’t seem like enough, so I step in closer, watching her startled expression carefully for any sign of doubt as I cup her face in both of my hands tenderly.

For a second, I think she’s going to pull away from my touch, but she doesn’t. Her chest rises and falls in time with my own. I swear our hearts are beating in sync as I lower my lips to hers, hovering millimetres away, again giving her the option of stopping this. My lips brush hers as I open my mouth to speak, her sweet breath mingling with mine as we stare into each other's eyes.

“Then I spend every day showing you that you made the right decision by giving me a chance.”