Mina huffed.“If you’ve gone somewhere by yourself before tonight, then your life has been more exciting than mine.Daddy treats me like I’m made of spun glass and he’s afraid I’m going to shatter at any moment.My brothers are just as bad if not worse.”
“So why are they leaving you behind?”
“It’s the full-moon run and I’m not mated.”Her cheeks warmed.“I’ll be in heat soon and Daddy didn’t want me running loose with a bunch of horny wolves.”
Spark slammed back against the booth.“Whoa, whoa.Wait a minute.You’re going into heat?And they’ve left you with an unmated male?”
Her eyes widened.“Daddy was promised a mated male or female would watch over me.I mean, I know I flirted a little when we first met, but it wasn’t serious.I thought you were already taken.”
“This is all kinds of fucked up.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and shot a message off to Blitz, waiting impatiently for a reply.When his phone chimed, it wasn’t with news he wanted to hear.Blaze, Crash, and Burn were not going to be able to babysit, and Blitz claimed to trust Spark completely.Asshole!I don’t trust myself!
“It looks like we’re stuck with each other, princess,” Spark said.“So if you want to call your daddy and pull the plug on this entire thing, now is the time to do it.”
She shook her head.“This is the first freedom I’ve ever had.I’m not going to squander it.”
“Suit yourself.But when this ends badly, just remember you were given an out.”
Their food arrived and they ate in silence, with Spark stealing glances at her and catching her looking at him more than once.They’d just left the fox in the henhouse and he had no doubt hell was going to break loose when he couldn’t keep it in his pants.It wasn’t that he was setting himself up for failure, but he’d had an instant reaction to her, one that wouldn’t be ignored.As much as he hated to admit it, he’d just met his mate.And he couldn’t have her.
When they were finished, he escorted Mina outside to her car, a cute little convertible in cherry red.It suited her from what he could tell and he waited until she was buckled before striding over to his bike.He swung a leg over the seat and started the engine, not pulling out into traffic until he was certain Mina was right behind him.He could feel her presence behind him the entire way to the hotel, which just solidified the thought that she was his mate.He’d never been so aware of anyone before, and it was both a blessing and a curse.
Once they were checked in, he handed her one of the room keys, grabbed her bags and led the way to their room.He’d packed a few changes of clothes in his saddle bags, but now he wasn’t so sure he’d need them.Once he screwed up and tried to claim her, he’d be yanked off babysitting duty and exiled to scrubbing toilets.Hell, Blitz might even boot his ass completely out of the Steel Riders.
“Home sweet home,” he said, pushing the door open.
Mina preceded him into the room and looked around.There was a bathroom and two closed doors.She went to the one on the right, pushed it open, and walked inside.Spark followed with her bags and set them on her bed.Hell.Being in a room with a bed wasn’t the best idea.She wasn’t in heat yet, but her scent pulled him in, making him want to rip her clothes off and bury himself inside of her.
Beating a hasty retreat to the other room, he tossed his bag on the bed.He almost called Blitz and demanded that one of the mated males come sit with Mina, but at the same time, he didn’t want anyone else around her.The beast inside was already laying claim to her.Spark knew her father would never approve of him as a mate, not considering he changed into a maned wolf.Regular wolves, the shifter kind, looked down on his species.Not a wolf.Not a fox.Stuck somewhere in between.
He heard her rustling around in her room and wanted to go to her, but he held himself back.Now that she knew he wasn’t mated, the flirting Mina was gone.She’d smiled at him as he’d held the hotel door open, but she hadn’t spoken much to him since the restaurant.Spark wasn’t sure if she was worrying about their situation, or if she’d decided to back out of the deal all together and take her chances at home.
Spark stared out the window at the wooded park nearby.His beast wanted out to run, but he didn’t trust the wily creature, not with Mina so close and so tempting.Even if she remained in human form, the damn maned wolf would probably try to mark her as theirs.The beast wanted her every bit as much as Spark did, and it wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Chapter Two
Minagrippedherphonein her hand, torn between calling her father and admitting the Steel Riders had left her with an unmated male, and wanting to throw caution to the wind and see where things went between Spark and her.She’d playfully flirted at first, thinking he was taken, but at the same time she’d been drawn to him.Her inner wolf had perked up when she caught his scent and the beast had wanted out to investigate.She’d wrestled for control, but it hadn’t stopped her panties from growing moist as she’d sat across from him, filling her with guilt.Until he’d confessed he wasn’t mated.
If anything, that had only made matters worse because her wolf rejoiced in the fact the male they wanted was available.And now he was in the other bedroom.It looked like they were sharing a bathroom and living space and she hoped she’d catch a glimpse of him wearing nothing but a towel—or nothing at all.She had a feeling, even if her cycle wasn’t so near, she’d still want him.Spark was a rather intriguing male.And for at least a few days, he was all hers.
After she finished putting her things away, she went in search of her roommate.His door stood ajar and she peeked inside.The sunlight streamed through the window, silhouetting him.He didn’t turn, but she had a feeling he knew she was there.If his nose was half as sensitive as hers, he’d have smelled her the moment she exited her bedroom.She waited, wondering if he would acknowledge her.
Several minutes ticked by and he still didn’t move.
“You can’t ignore me forever,” she said.
He snorted.“As if I could ignore you.”
“You aren’t speaking to me.”
“I’m trying not to give in to my instincts, which would have you bent over this bed and your cute little skirt hiked up around your waist.Is that what you want to hear?”he asked, turning to face her.“That my beast is so close to the surface around you that I don’t think I can honor whatever promises my Pres made to your daddy?”
“What is it that scares you the most?That you want me or that you think it’s forbidden?”
“I know it’s forbidden.I was told to keep my hands to myself.We’ve barely been here a half hour, and already I want to screw you until neither of us can walk.Do you know what’s going to happen to me if I do that?Either your daddy is going to kill me, or I’ll be thrown out of the Steel Riders.They’ve been my home for more than six years and I don’t want to betray them.”
She hadn’t realized how hard this would be on him, and while Mina hated that he was so torn between giving into his beast and following the rules, she also thrilled that he wanted her that much.No one had ever desired her enough to go against her father.But was it fair of her to put Spark in that position?Maybe she should call her father and put an end to things before it went too far.She’d hate for anything bad to happen to Spark just because her wolf wanted to set up house with him.
