Page 17 of Rejected Wolf Mate

I tried not to let it show on my face as I rolled my eyes. “All right, fine. What is it you want to know exactly?”

“Before all this happened, what were you up to?” he asked. He gestured as he did, and I watched the muscles in his arms flex again. I forced myself to breathe as my mind started drifting toward all the times he’d held me in those arms.

“Work, mostly,” I said. “Have to pay the bills somehow.”

“Doing what?”

I shrugged. “I lost the waitressing job,” I admitted. “Sort of got a bit distracted and missed one too many shifts.” The embarrassing truth was that the break-up had messed with my head for longer than it should have, and I’d just sort of neglected going to work or doing much of anything until Thea helped drag me back to reality. But losing the job had been the start of the downward slope that had led me to Ansel and his crew, who had made me feel accepted for the first time in a long time. “So I did a few odd jobs.”

“What about now? I’m sure your boss is worried about you.”

“Don’t have one,” I lied. “I’m between jobs at the moment.”

“I always kind of thought you might go back to school,” he said, startling me. “You always talked about wanting to be a healer. I was kind of hoping you had gotten your chance, you know?”

“Never had the money,” I said. “Thea’s always had a hard time keeping a job because shifters are prejudiced and bigoted about absents, so it’s not as though we had the income to afford it.”

I didn’t need to mention the fact that when Rand and I had been dating, things had been better financially. Splitting the bills with someone had been the only reason we had gotten by.

If any of this crossed his mind, or if he suspected I was thinking any of this at all, he didn’t show it. He simply nodded in understanding.

“What about a mate?” he ventured.

“Nope.” I tried not to grit my teeth.

“Boyfriend?”

I bristled. “Nope.” And I don’t see how it’s any of your business, I thought. I had dated a couple of guys since Rand, but nothing that had stuck. It hadn’t felt like any of them had really understood me. And none of them had treated Thea particularly well. The only one who had, I found out later that he’d made fun of my sister behind her back, which was the final straw with him.

“Really?” Was that hopefulness I heard in his voice? And why did it matter to me if it was? “I would have expected you to settle down with someone and start a family by now.”

“Pretty sure I would have mentioned them when I said I had to get home. So yes, really. Besides, Thea’s all the family I need,” I said, and I truly meant it.

“I know. I’m still a bit taken aback. I would have thought you’d have a dozen shifters fighting for you at any given time.” He shrugged. “Not that I’m complaining, though I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. You’re the type of girl who needs a guy who can keep up with her.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m picky,” I said.

He gave a feral, wolfish grin that made my stomach do a somersault. “I know. I’m flattered I made the cut.”

“You did once.” I raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down. “I’ve gotten pickier.”

His eyes sparkled as that grin, far more attractive than it had any right to be, widened. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” I said. My wolf wanted nothing more than to lunge toward him right now and kiss him, but the fact that he somehow still had that effect on me after all this time set me on edge. I needed to focus.

“Well, then.” He leaned forward, looming toward me until his face and mine were inches apart. My breath caught in my throat as his scent washed over me, making the rest of my mind go temporarily blank. I could see the harsh lines of his face, the sharp jawbone, every individual eyelash. If I moved at all, I would close the gap. “Challenge accepted.”

“You’re still as presumptuous as ever, I see,” I said.

“You say presumptuous, I say right.”

“Being stubborn isn’t the same as being right.”

He chuckled, moving to sit back. The space between us now felt entirely too far. “It’s not stubborn if you’re always right,” he said arrogantly.

I bristled, a low growl starting in my throat. I remembered these types of fights. They had driven me insane on a regular basis. I saw the knowing grin creeping across his face and realized he’d been trying to get a rise out of me. I took a breath, trying to push down my irritation.

“What about you?” I asked to change the subject.

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