His eyes look dark and fierce as they dart around the room, quickly glaring at every guy who’s checking me out.
Suddenly, Rylan’s big protective arm is around me, pulling me a little closer to him. It feels pretty nice so I lean in a little closer.
“Let’s just go somewhere private,” he hisses through clenched teeth.
I bring him to an empty table in the back where we’re mostly hidden by the giant cigarette machine. He seems a bit better as he settles in, but not by much.
“What’s going on?” I ask softly as I lean over the table. It dawns on me how well I can already read him, how concerned I am with his feelings.
“My bear is making this… difficult,” he says as he looks around.
I don’t know what to say to that, so I just wait for him to volunteer more information.
“He’s trying to get out.”
My eyes must go as big as the coasters on the table because he chuckles. A strained chuckle, but still. “He’s trying to get out?” I ask. Even I can hear the panic in my voice.
“Yeah, but I’m not letting him.”
He suddenly grits his teeth and lets out a low grunt as his whole body tightens. Every muscle—and believe me there’s a lot of them—is flexed to the max.
“Fuck off,” he hisses through his tight jaw. “I got it.”
“You got what?” I ask when his body loosens.
“He doesn’t like all of these guys looking at you,” he says as he looks around with a vicious edge to his eyes. “Either do I.”
“They’re just looking,” I say, trying to get back to the lovey-dovey part of the date like we were doing outside. “It happens all the time.”
His eyes flare as they dart back to me. Oops! Wrong thing to say.
“I mean… It happens. Sometimes.”
“Not with my girl it doesn’t.” I feel waves of protectiveness flowing off him and wrapping around me. He’s staring at me with a territorial look and my body responds to it in a strong way. Heat blooms within me. It travels south and pools between my legs.
“Shifters can be possessive,” he says in a low voice.
“Yeah,” I say, swallowing hard. “I’m kinda getting that.”
“It won’t be so bad once I claim you,” he says, like it’s no big thing. “And once I mark your neck. That will take the edge off, I think. At least it did for my friends.”
I’m unable to breathe as I stare at him. There’s a lot to unpack there.
“Um, claim me?” I say with a gulp. “What does that mean?”
“I told you,” he says in an absolutely shameless way. “Your body was made for me. It’s mine to claim.”
God, my heart is pounding so fast.
“The intensity should settle once I claim that ripe little pussy with my cock.”
The waiter arrives just as he finishes.
“Tequila!” I quickly say. “A lot of it.”
“Okay,” the waiter says with a laugh. “Like a shot?”
“Bigger.”
“A glass?”
“Bigger.”
“All right,” he says with a laugh. “How about I just bring out a big bucket full of Tequila?”
I nod as my cheeks burn hot. “That would be great, thank you.”
He looks at me funny and then turns to Rylan.
“Just bring us two beers for now,” Rylan says, never taking his eyes off me. “Save the bucket of Tequila for later.”
The waiter wanders off and Rylan’s gaze intensifies. Is it hot in here?? Can someone open a freaking window?
“And what was that about you claiming my neck?” I ask with my heart racing. “Did I hear that correctly.”
He nods. “You did.”
“Like a tattoo? Or, maybe a nice necklace?” I like diamonds, I almost add.
He shakes his head as his eyes drop down to the tingling spot under my ear. It’s been tingling all day.
“Bear shifters like to mark their mates with our teeth,” he says. He says it like it’s perfectly normal and not like he’s just driven us into Crazytown at a thousand miles per hour. “That way every shifter who sees her will know that she’s taken. It’s a territorial dominance thing.”
“It’s a psychotic thing,” I say without thinking.
He jerks his head back, looking hurt. “Are you telling me you don’t want me to mark your neck?”
Is this guy freaking serious? I want to drag him back into the MRI machine and do another test. I must have missed something. This guy must have brain damage.
The waiter comes with the beers and puts them onto the table.
I mumble out a thank you and we’re now driving in Awkwardtown as we sip our beers.
“I won’t do anything that you’re not comfortable with,” he finally says.
“Like talking?” I say with a shake of my head. “Because I’m not feeling very comfortable with the words coming out of your mouth.”
He sits back, runs his hand through his hair, and sighs as he looks at me. “I’m not doing very well, am I?”
He’s not. He’s talking crazy. He’s overbearing. He’s over-protective. He’s already coming off as obsessed. But for some reason, my heart goes out to him. I hate seeing him like this—hurting in any way.
I lean forward and put my hand on his. “You’re not doing so bad,” I admit. “Maybe just keep whatever you want to do to my body to yourself. For now.”
He grins as he leans forward and it causes me to suck in my breath.
“What if I say that I want to kiss you?” he whispers as his mouth comes dangerously close to mine.
I can feel the heat of his breath on my tingling lips and it makes me lean in even closer.
“I think that would be okay,” I say as I tilt my chin toward him.
He kisses me soft and slow. It’s missing the desperate urgency that the kiss in the room had, but this is just as nice. His tongue is cold from the beer and it sends little jolts of electricity rippling through me.
All is forgiven by the time he pulls away.
His words are still swirling through my head but now I’m curious about them. What would it be like to have him climb on top of me, pushing my legs apart with his huge frame as he takes my virginity?
And why is my neck tingling in the very spot he was looking at? It’s been going all day, feeling like there’s something missing on the patch of skin. I’ve never had that sensation before until I saw Rylan. Maybe my body wants him to mark me as much as he wants to do it.
“So,” he says as he takes a sip of his beer, watching me over the rim of his glass. “What made you want to be a doctor?”
I start telling him everything, opening up, and pouring my thoughts and dreams out. Thoughts that I never told anyone before.
It turns out to be a good date after all.
And it only gets better after we leave the bar…
Chapter Seven
Mila
“Is this new?” I ask as I look up at the ceiling of the fire station? Everything in here looks brand new.
Rylan rubs the back of his neck as he looks up. “Does it?” he says with a shrug. “I don’t know. Come look at the equipment over here.”
I look at him funny as he tries to change the subject. Why would he be acting funny over the ceiling being changed? Unless he wants to hide what happened.
Rylan starts giving me the tour, explaining everything around the fire station as I stand back and pretend to listen. Really, I’m three beers into the night and I can’t stop checking him out. I love the way he swings his arms when he’s excited and the sexy way his jaw moves when he talks.
I keep looking at his thick wrists that I wouldn’t be able to put two hands around and make my fingertips touch, and the way his white shirt is so tight across his chest.
I start to really feel my heart pounding when he tries on his firefighter jacket and helmet for me.
“This was a good idea,” I whisper a little too loud.
He smiles at me.