He could see I was impatient, in a hurry, and he was dragging this out.
I found myself stalking toward him, stopping when I was a couple feet away, letting him see I was serious. I glared, letting him see my bear, letting him know that I wasn’t fucking around.
“I mean it.” I said those words so deep, so focused, that for a moment the air was thick with my aggression. I wouldn’t fight one of my brothers, not normally. We were family, blood. But when it came to my mate, she was the priority. She was what mattered.
I watched as Oli inhaled, taking in my scent, my emotions. His eyes widened just a bit.
“You found your fucking mate.” He grinned and before I could brace for what he was about to do, he pulled me in for a hug, smacking his hand on my back, his genuine happiness for me filling the interior of the garage.
He pulled back and I took a step away, rubbing the nape of my neck, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to hide this from my brothers. They were bear shifters, for fuck’s sake. They could scent emotions, read people as if they were open books, as if a neon flashing sign was stationed above them.
“Well, who is she? Where is she? Damn, you and Zakari finding your mates. Another one bites the dust.” He grinned wider, but I picked up the slightest aroma of regret, of jealousy.
Oli played a good game, but he couldn’t hide what he desperately wanted the most.
His mate.
Like we all did.
For a shifter that was the one thing we craved, our life’s mission.
Working in this garage day in and day out, trying to keep himself busy, wasn’t going to cut it forever.
Oli didn’t say anything for several seconds, then finally lifted his hands up in surrender. “Why you’re trying to fucking hide that you’re mated is beyond me. But your life, your decision.” He walked past me toward the shelving pushed to the side, rifled through boxes, and produced a toolset. “For the record, I didn’t take your tools. But you can use these.” He handed over the box of tools and I took it.
“If you don’t take it then who did?” I stared into his blue eyes, the same shade as mine.
“Could’ve been Cayson, or maybe Asher, hell, even Damon. Any one of those three assholes could’ve gone in there and borrowed your tools.” He shrugged. “Have fun fixing shit today. And when you’re ready, I’d like to meet the woman who will finally calm the grumpy grizzly.”
I flipped him off, but Oli was smirking.
I left the garage and headed back to my place. I’d take my truck down to the cabin. It would be faster that way.
Shit, I was nervous as hell. My bear was being a bastard, trying to get out, wanting to be the one who had control.
Not today, asshole. Today my human side was spending time with our mate.
Chapter Seven
Allison
The hammering should’ve been a distraction, but it wasn’t, not with Maddix taking up my entire view. He was on his haunches fixing the hinge to the back door, his dark gray T-shirt stretched across his muscular body.
I let my gaze travel along the tattoos that covered his biceps, forearms, even his hands. He was certainly all male, that was for sure.
I found myself biting my bottom lip as I watched the play of muscles bunch and contract on his bicep. His jeans—Lord have mercy, his jeans fit him to perfection. He was a big man, easily nearly six and a half feet tall. Being next to him made me feel so feminine, so small.
He stood and I could see his abdomen clench underneath his shirt, that six-pack so defined a hot flash moved through me.
I should’ve turned away, but I couldn’t stop watching him, couldn’t stop following his fluid movement, or the way the power just poured off of him. Maddix bent slightly to put his tools away and my gaze landed right on his ass. His jeans molded perfectly to him.
I swallowed, my throat tightening, my tongue feeling thick. He straightened, but my gaze was still locked on his body, at the ridges and hills of his muscles under his T-shirt, of the way his forearms flexed, his hands so big and strong. Every part of him screamed male.
It was then that I felt someone watching me. I lifted my focus off of his body and looked in his face. He was staring at me. He’d caught me.
I cleared my throat and turned away quickly, feeling my face heat. I was so embarrassed that he’d caught me checking him out. No doubt my face was as red as a tomato. I found myself in the kitchen, busying myself, knowing he would be coming in the house to tell me he was finished. As if on cue, I heard the back door open and his heavy footsteps coming toward me. I kept my back toward him and cleaned counters, my hands shaking, my body and mind at war with each other.
The truth was, I wanted to turn around and go to him, to throw myself in his arms and tell him to take me. I wanted to just say forget about anything and everything that didn’t have to do with us.