Page 26 of Mismatched Mates

“I think he’s here,” Victoria murmured, glancing from the door towards the window. Her face split into a mischievous grin. “Go get your man.”

I took a deep breath and opened the door. And promptly forgot how to breathe altogether.

Grant stood there, looking like sin incarnate in a fitted black Henley that clung to his muscular frame in ways that should be illegal. The sight of his tanned skin peeking out at the collar made my mouth go dry. My stomach dipped like it had gotten on a rollercoaster ride without me.

Without a word, I slammed the door shut in his face.I whirled to face Victoria, my eyes wide with panic. "I can't do this," I hissed.

She raised an eyebrow. "You just slammed the door in his face."

"I know!" I groaned. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Victoria said, fighting back a laugh. "You're just... reacting to some very potent pheromones. Now open that door and knock his socks off."

Nothing about my reaction to this, or him, made sense, and the thought twisted me up into tighter knots. I felt more nervous than I’d been on my wedding day.

I nodded, trying to regain my composure. I could do this. I was a grown woman. I opened the door again, pasting on what I hoped was a confident smile.

"Hi," I managed. "Sorry about that. I, uh... thought I saw a spider."

Grant's lips quirked up in amusement. "A spider. Right."

The scent of wild pine washed over me, making my bear paw with approval. I fought to keep my voice steady. "You look... nice."

Nice? He looked like he'd stepped out of thriller movie poster, all dangerous allure and raw power. But I wasn't about to tell him that.

His gray eyes held a hint of the storm that had captivated me the very first time we’d met, and the scar on his lip twisted into a grin as he looked me up and down appreciatively.

“You,” he told me, reaching for my hand, “are going to make tongues wag tonight, and I wholly approve.”

The last time I’d worn a dress had been probably a few years ago, and it had been even longer since I’d last worn heels. But I was a girl who kickboxed every other day, and I wasn’t about to let a pair of stilettos get the best of me.

“I see even a company event can’t entice you into a suit,” I teased as we headed down the path for the car. Driven, no doubt, by Winslow.

“Suits are for my brothers,” Grant said, handing me into the back seat. “I’m the black sheep of the family—got to keep reminding people or they might forget.” He kept hold of my hand, tucking it against his chest. “Sorry I haven’t been more available. Work’s been crazy.”

“Guarding celebrities?”

“Not quite that glamorous,” he said wryly. I could feel the thud of his heart against the back of my hand, and the sensation sent a new awareness blooming through me. My skin tingled. I knew I should rip my hand away, but there was something nice about being held. After Jason left, I’d stuck to myself, and that was a good thing. No girl needed a man.

But sometimes it was nice to have one anyway.

“How did your family take it?” I asked.

He chuckled. “About as well as you’d expected. Konrad thought it was hilarious—both the coincidence and my defiance—but my Father was less impressed. My sister, actually, was angrier than I thought.”

“You have a sister? The press doesn’t say much about her.”

“Yeah. There’s about eight years between us, but she’s the kind of person you don’t want to get on the wrong side of.”

I thought about Konrad, how he had broken Heather’s heart and never looked back. The family, richer than anyone had the right to be. And the man beside me, who was the opposite of everything I thought the Elstons stood for.

There was a lump in my throat that I didn’t quite understand. My skin was sensitizing under my clothes, hot in a way I hadn’t been since our date and that kiss.

He couldn’t know how much I’d been fantasizing about that kiss. Howamazingit was. For someone like him, who could have a new girl every night, it was probably nothing special. I was just severely lacking in experience.

“I can practically feel you thinking,” Grant said, his voice low. The sound of it melded with the hum of the car’s engine, and it sank deep inside me, hitting places mere sound shouldn’t. He shifted, clothes rustling as he raised the back of my hand to his mouth. His lips were soft and my breath caught.

He heard it.

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