Pete hollered from the back for Bessie. She huffed, then turned on her sneakered foot, not answering.
I wanted to go and yell at her mate for interrupting what I could learn about Rachel, but then I’d come across as insane.
Which I felt at this moment.
What was wrong with me? I itched to stand and toss Rachel over my shoulder. Carry her off. Help her with her tables. Put her coat on her before she left so she didn’t get cold.
“Rach, hon, help the doc with his order while I see what Grumbly Pants in the back wants,” Bessie said.
Rachel stood from her crouch and nodded to Bessie, then glanced my way.
Holy shit. Her eyes were the palest of blues. Intense. Frustrated and upset. She raised a finger to me, then went and poured a new glass of iced tea and took it to the waiting table. Then she came my way.
Finally.
I took her in up close. Fuck, she was young. Her skin was flawless. Her eyes were bright, and her smile a little forced. “Hi there. I’m Rachel. What can I get for you today?”
She nodded and her hair swung around her cheek. I wanted to reach out and tuck it back. Wrap it around my fingers and hold it as I kissed her. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my raging heart… and dick.
Then it hit me. This was the sweet scent I’d picked up. Her.
She was the dessert I craved. She was the cherry pie, and I knew why. I sounded like a horny asshole, but I knew just by looking at her that she was sweet. And the reason I scented cherries was because she had one. Fuck me. My dick spurted pre-cum, and my wolf, who was usually quiet and tame, surged forward and licked his lips. She was a virgin. It wasn’t as if she had a sign on her forehead, but I knew. I’d bet my medical license on it. Crazy, yeah.
She. Was. My. Mate.
“I, uh, I’ll have some more water,” I choked out.
Unaware of my porn-worthy thoughts, she nodded and headed to the kitchen.
I barely remained in my seat, but remembered at the last second that following her with a raging hard-on wouldn’t be smart. I was the town doctor. I was always in control. It was my job to have a level head. To be calm and collected. A quick thinker.
Now, I was out of control. Wild. Driven by my basest needs to make her mine.
I’d never expected to meet my true mate. To find the scent of her. Because, while I’d been born in West Springs and was a pure-bred member of the Two Marks pack, I had no scent match. Meaning there wasn’t another male whose scent was the same as mine. Who would claim a mate with me. The quirk of the West Springs shifter DNA. Hell, I knew all about it, since I studied it with a passion.
I was the broken one. The kind I studied the most. Yet, while I’d now found my mate, I couldn’t claim her as a Two Marks mate should. I was alone, and I was deficient. Not only did I not have a scent match, but I couldn’t give her or the pack the pups that were deserved. And our species was rapidly dwindling.
Rachel returned with a glass of ice water. She kept her eyes on mine the whole way over, as if she sensed something different about me too. As if she were attracted. Needy.
Her nipples poked against the t-shirt, giving her away. I took a deep breath. Her scent was even sweeter now. Fuck, she was aroused. I scented her desire. Her need.
For me. This wasn’t one-sided.
No. I’d be hers as much as she’d be mine.
She closed the distance between us, but at the last second, she stumbled. The ice water flew over me, the freezing liquid drenching me. The glass dropped to the floor and broke.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Rachel cried.
I’d never been thankful for being doused in ice water before. My dick went down. Until she pulled a rag from her apron pocket—she must have grabbed a new one after the iced tea incident—and started drying my chest and then the front of my pants.
Now I was so hard, I was sure the zipper would break. Her hands froze and she looked up at me, meeting my gaze. Her eyes were so blue, like a summer sky. In those depths, I saw her. Recognized her. Knew she was mine.
I had no idea how long we stared, but she blinked, yanked her hand back from my jean-covered dick, then turned away. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink, and it was obvious she was mortified. She squatted down and began to pick up the broken glass.
“No, don’t get that,” I warned. “You’ll—”