Chapter 4
Sigh had never sat down in the main room with a patron.
Never.
But here was his truemate, so he was fucking sitting with her.
His wolf had snapped to attention and practically forced him to walk out into the main room, and he’d followed his instincts and saw her.
Beautiful angel who smelled like his best dream come to life.
His wolf howled in his head as he watched her eat the burger he’d made just for her, and it was possibly the most erotic thing he’d ever seen.
Those little happy noises? Like catnip to his wolf, or whatever the wolf equivalent of catnip was.
He heard a low growl from the bar and spared a glance at his brother. Dare tilted his head toward the kitchen, and Sigh stifled a sigh.
“I’ve gotta get back in the kitchen before my brother tries to toss me back there.” He pushed back in the chair and rose slowly.
Her gaze traveled up his body, and he loved the way her blue eyes turned deep, ocean blue as the sweet scent of her arousal reached him.
Okay. His beauty was turned on.
By him.
And that was heady fucking knowledge, because he could pound concrete with his dick right now. He’d never reacted to a female like this before, and that’s how he knew he was in the presence of his mate.
As disappointment flickered across her face, he let out a growl of his own. “Would you like to come back into the kitchen and hang out while you eat?”
“I can be back there?”
“It’s my kitchen.”
She paused and then smiled. “Okay.”
He lifted her plate and she grabbed her drink, and he led her back into the kitchen. Pulling a stool near the grill, he set her plate on a counter by the grill and looked at Marco. “This is Juliette. Juliette this is Marco.”
“Hi,” she said, settling on the stool.
“Welcome. If you don’t like those fries, just know that I didn’t make them.”
Sigh narrowed his gaze at Marco who grinned and turned his attention back to the fryer. He picked up a spatula and looked at the tickets.
“Tara said you came here for the Blue Monster,” he said.
She brightened. “I saw it on social media. It’s weird because I’ve never seen this place’s posts before, but it was the first thing I saw yesterday after work.”
Not weird, fate.
But humans sometimes didn’t understand the pull of truemates or how fate worked. All he knew was that his mate had seen his burger post and shown up the next day, and holy hell was he one happy wolf.
“Where’s work?” he asked.
“It’s a bookstore called Willow & 2nd Books in Mill Creek,” she said. She took a few bites, her gaze on his hands as he worked, flipping burgers, adding toppings, and plating them.
“Ah, a book girlie,” he said.
She let out a cute laugh. “You must be on social media a lot if you know that term.”
“I see some things,” he said, smiling at her. “What do you do at Willow & 2nd?”
“Pretty much everything but the finances. I order books, deal with patrons, stock the shelves, and help my coworker Emery plan bookish events.”
He continued to work while she ate, asking her questions about her life and her job. He was hungry to know about her so he could treat her right.
He was entirely charmed by her. She was sweet and funny, and proud of herself for coming to a restaurant alone. While she didn’t come outright and say it, clearly she’d had some reservations about coming to a shifter tavern by herself, and he could understand that.
When he’d finished all the tickets and she was done eating, he said, “You got the kitchen for a bit, Marco? I’m going to take a break with my Juliette.”
She made a humming sound and he saw her smile.
“Yeah, no problem.”
He dropped her plate and drink off at the dishwashing station and took Juliette’s hand and led her out to the back patio that they used as an employee break area when the weather was nice.
A picnic table sat in the center of the patio and string lights lit the space.
They could see the river and the lights of Mill Creek across the bridge.
He pointed to the row of houses behind the bar. “That’s where my pack lives.”
She followed his gesture and stared into the darkness. The porch lights were on, but it was too dark to really see the houses clearly.
“So, you can walk to work? I love that about the bookstore. I live a street behind it, and unless it’s really crappy out with the weather, it’s fun to walk. My bestie Cass and I live in the split-double and walk together.”
“Cass the barista?”
“Yep.” She turned and faced him, tilting her head up to smile. “You listened.”
“Of course. I want to know everything about you.”
Her head tilted slightly and he caught the curious gleam in her eyes.
“I liked learning about you too. You’re mesmerizing to watch in the kitchen. I’ve never had a guy cook for me before.”
Good.
“You liked it? The burger?”
“Absolutely.”
He stepped closer and she inhaled softly, the scent of her arousal spiking again.
She smelled like honey and peaches. He slowly placed his hand on her lower back and drew her against him.
She was petite and perfect, with curves that made his hands ache to explore, and the most kissable lips of any female ever.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said gruffly. “Me and my wolf.”
She splayed her fingers over his chest. “I feel like I was meant to come here.”
“You were,” he insisted. He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Do you understand that I’m a wolf and you’re mine?”
She let out a slow breath and her fingers dug into his chest. “I feel really drawn to you. I… don’t understand it but I like it.”
She lifted her chin a little and leaned into him and he kissed her again.
This time, it wasn’t a one and done kiss.
He went all in.
He poured all of his newfound feelings into the kiss, saying without words that he was so glad she was there. That it felt like a thousand years had already passed but now he was getting rewarded with the softest lips and the most perfect curves.
He splayed his hand on her back and pulled her closer, then spun them to press her against one of the wooden posts.
She let out a gasp and he ate the sound, deepening the kiss and gently wedging his thigh between her parted legs.
He pressed against her and she gripped his shirt with a soft moan, rubbing herself on his leg.
He cupped her face and tilted her head, kissing along her jaw, drunk on the sweet scent of her and his wolf’s happy howls.
He returned to her lips, kissing her as he slid his hands down her sides and pulled up her shirt, slipping his hands to her soft belly and running his fingers along the top of her jeans.
She rose onto her toes and tilted her hips forward, sinking one hand into his hair and gripping his shoulder with the other.
He undid her jeans, slid his hand down to slip inside her panties.
That moan? As he wiggled his hand down to cup her pussy?
He wanted to memorize that sound.
Wanton. Perfect.
His.
Her head tipped back and her breath gusted from her lungs. “Sigh, oh my, holy… Sigh!”
He slipped a finger into her heat, her soft walls clutching him, drenching his finger with her arousal.
Cupping the back of her head, he kissed her. “Come for me, Juliette.”
She dug her teeth into her bottom lip and tilted her hips again. He moved his finger out and pushed it in again, then added a second finger. She was soaking wet, and he was in heaven.
He nipped along her throat. “You want more?”
“Yes,” she hissed, grabbing his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin.
Pressing his thumb to her clit, he rubbed the tight bud and licked her throat, sucking on her neck and wishing he could strip her and feast on her. He wanted to taste her, wanted her to come on his tongue and then writhe on his cock while he gave her one orgasm after the other.
She whimpered, pressing her head to his shoulder.
And then she jerked in his hold and her nails scraped down his sleeves as she pressed her head back against the post and cried out his name.
His name.
Hell yes.
He pressed his fingers deep into her core and kept his thumb tight on her clit, kissing her as her climax soared through her.
Then he slipped his fingers from her and licked her sweet honey from them. Her eyes were bright and she stared at him as he let out a growl of approval.
“Mine,” he said, then leaned down to kiss her again.
“Sigh! We’ve got a big party that walked in, I need you in the kitchen,” Dare called, only opening the back door a little to give them privacy.
He swore under his breath. “I’ll be right there.”
Damn it.
She shivered in his arms. He kissed her. “Come on inside,” he said. “We can talk while I work.”
“Um, sure,” she said.
He stared at her for a long moment. Did she sound unsure?
“You okay?” he asked.
She smiled at him, seeming suddenly shy. “Yes.”
He led her back into the building. When they reached the kitchen, she said, “I need to grab my keys, I left them on the table.”
“Sure, baby.” He watched her walk through the swinging door and then hurried to the grill. Tickets were piling up, and Marco was manning both the grill and fryer.
“Sorry, man, I tried to tell Dare I could handle it, but he said you’re on shift no matter if your mate is here or not.”
“That’s my brother for you.”
After washing his hands, he took over, setting patties on the grill and filling orders. It wasn’t until he’d plated half of the burgers that he realized Juliette hadn’t come back into the kitchen.
Leaving the grill, he walked out into the main room and didn’t see her.
“Where did she go?” he asked Dare.
His brother filled a beer and set it on a tray. “She left after she paid her check. I figured you told her you’d catch her after we were closed.”
His wolf howled in dismay. “What?” He practically roared the word. “I don’t have her number!”
Dare’s brows rose. “I’m sorry, man. She asked Tara for her check and then walked right out the front door after paying.”
“Fuck.”
He stormed back through the kitchen, and then detoured to check the patio, just in case she’d gone back there to wait. When he found that space empty, he ran to the lot and didn’t see her. He could pick up her scent, but it was fading.
She’d run from him.
But why?
Unfortunately, he couldn’t call her. And he didn’t know her address.
He knew she lived behind the bookstore, but there was no telling which house was hers and he wasn’t going to knock on doors like a loon.
He put his hands on his hips and inhaled the cool night air.
Willow & 2nd Books.
He’d go see her tomorrow.
And he’d find out why she ran.