Page 9 of Seduced By the Werewolves

I’m a whirlwind of emotions the following day. Going to get my car at the bar means no time for a regular run, but I don’t mind. All my anxiety has been replaced by a seed of thrill that, while small, is growing quickly, and it has my blood running hot.

I can’t wait to see Jace again.

I don’t tell Aisling and Hannah what happened last night, not after all my ranting about the brothers. Instead, I hoard my secret over the weekend, eagerly anticipating a text message or a call from Jace. I don’t hear from him by Monday, but I assume he’s busy having fun with his brothers.

He’s all I can think about as I try to focus on work. Mr. Bosley jumps on mistakes like a fox on a mouse, and the last thing I need is for him to bring down my good mood. By the time work ends, though, I still haven’t heard from Jace. I find I’m disappointed, even though it’s only been a few days. It seemed like we had something, but now I’m not so sure. I’m probably just being insecure and should give him time to reach out to me.

Still, I’ve been ghosted so many times, it also wouldn’t surprise me if I never heard from him again.

On my drive home, I find myself passing the landscaping project on Work Street. Maybe I’m just hoping to see Jace, and he’ll tell me he’s been busy but wants to take me out again. I want to feel his lips on mine again—and maybe, if I’m lucky, even more of him.

I hope he doesn’t think it was a mistake to kiss me.

To my surprise, the Lupine Landscaping truck is still parked out front of the huge house, but only one of the brothers appears to be working. It’s getting late, and surely he’s been at it for ten hours now. He must be exhausted.

I slow down when I drive by, wondering which one of them it is. The man working glances up at my car, and when he sees me in the driver’s window, he grins. It’s Leon, the oldest one, with the bright blue eyes. They’re stark against his dark hair and tan complexion.

He waves at me and jogs over, so now I feel compelled to stop. I shouldn’t have come past here. Now who knows what kind of awkward conversation I’m in for?

“Tiff!” Leon’s got his shirt on this time, but it’s soaked with sweat stains. I’ve never found sweat stains hot before, but here we are. His broad chest strains the fabric perfectly, and it cuts off just above his jeans, so I can see dark hair trailing down his groin. Holy shit.

When he gets close to the window, I have to admit that strangely, he smells good, too. Really good. It’s obviously body odor, which probably should disgust me—but on him, damn. The scent of him wafting into my car is like a drug that immediately fills up my head with warm, airy bubbles.

“What’cha doing here?” Leon asks, leaning casually on the door of my car.

I try to play it cool. “Just heading home for the night.”

“Do you live in this neighborhood?”

As if I could. I shake my head and point down the street. “No, I’m over in the apartment building across the road.”

Leon leans in farther through my open window with a knowing grin on his face, and that intoxicating smell of his completely envelopes me. “Too bad you’re not on foot, because I’d love to walk you home. And apologize for the other day.”

I wave a hand dismissively and offer him a smile. “It’s fine. I don’t hold it against you.”

“I’d still like to get to know you better,” he says, an almost wicked tone to his voice. And then he winks.

Is Leon... hitting on me? Did Jace not tell his brothers we saw each other?

“Um,” I say, not sure how to broach this subject. “Did you talk to Jace today?”

Leon squints like he doesn’t understand the question. “Yes? We worked all day together.”

“Did he tell you that, uh, we...” Shit. Maybe he kept it a secret from them on purpose and now I’m sticking my foot in it.

“Jace told us he met you last night at the bar,” Leon says, a quirk in his eyebrow. “Is that what you’re asking?”

I breathe a sigh of relief. So he knows. That’s a good start.

“He also told us,” Leon goes on, his voice dropping low and his eyes going half-lidded, “that he got to taste you.”

I stare at him blankly for a moment, processing the words. “What?” I finally ask, my voice cracking. I’m not sure if I heard him right. Who refers to kissing as tasting? And Leon said it with such a seductive lilt that I’m tingling. “I... um...” I don’t even know how to respond to that.

There’s a twinkle in Leon’s eye. “Did you like it?”

I swear my face is about to light on fire. What an extremely personal question—and from Jace’s brother, no less. I’m so flustered I can barely squeeze out an answer.

“Y-yes?” I manage. Not that it’s any of his business how much I enjoyed kissing Jace. But Leon doesn’t seem uncomfortable at all, not nearly as uncomfortable as I feel right now.

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