Page 3 of Loved By the Wolf

The smell of the soap she used to wash her hair wafted into my senses, and my wolf reared up to claim her. I pushed him back down, clenching my fists under the table.No!I shouted at him through our connection.Don’t scare her!

“Maybe we should call it a night?” Becca suggested.

“We’ve barely done anything, though.”

“But you look like a mess. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Let’s just get this brief done.”

She laughed. That laugh could melt the hardest heart. Though, if you asked Becca, my heart was unmeltable. What she didn’t know was that she’d melted mine the first day I met her—when she dropped ice cream on my brand new Ferragamo’s. We were inseparable since then, but I’d always made a point to not give her any reason to think I wanted to be anything more than friends. Which meant touching her arm tonight in the hallway was a mistake. I could still feel her skin burning into mine, but I squashed it down. It wasn’t worth the pain. I couldn’t tell Becca how I felt, or how I would fail her just like I failed Sandy—just like I failed my family when they depended on me. I wasn’t the man for her. She deserved so much more.

“Something’s going on with you, Brandon,” she said, poking me in the chest, “and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. You”—poke—“just”—poke—“watch”—poke—“me.”

I’d watch you all day long and then some.A deep growl threatened to come out, but I subdued it. My wolf had been extra active lately, especially since Luc claimed Jill for his own. I was next in line to claim my own mate, and my wolf was eager for me to do so.

I pushed my wolf deep down inside me. I would let it out later tonight when it could run for as long as it wanted. I would tire it out until it couldn’t think anymore. It was the only way.

I grabbed Becca’s finger, which was still on my chest, and planted a light kiss on the pad.

Wait! Why in the world did I just kiss her hand?Maybe she didn’t notice? But, on looking into her eyes, I saw her pupils had dilated. Looking for a quick way out, I placed her finger on the paper we were working on. “I need your signature here so we can move on,” I said swiftly.

“Ugh. Way to break the moment.”

I’m the best at that. Just ask anyone.The words remained unspoken; the best way forward was ignorance of what I’d just done.

We worked for a couple more hours until we were both satisfied. I was lucky to have her as a partner. She was the hardest working attorney in the office as far as I was concerned. The best to look at too. I shook my head at that thought. Her brain was what I liked, not her body. Though, her body was perfect. Just the right size for me.

I groaned inwardly. It wasn’t this hard to control my thoughts a month ago. What was happening? Working with Becca had never been an issue. I was satisfied I got to see her almost every day, and on the days I didn’t see her, we kept in touch via text. I was her protector. Nothing else.

Lately, though, my thoughts had started going sideways. It started with that darn ball. She had been so excited when she learned my family used to throw masquerade balls. So excited that she begged me to get tickets. Luc was still laughing at me for making actual tickets, knowing full well our family were always invited and no one needed tickets.

“Okay, I think we’re done working for the night,” Becca announced with a sigh. She sat back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head.

The action caused her shirt to lift just a smidge, and it was enough for me to see a line of her alabaster skin. It was all I could do to not reach out and run my hands along that strip of skin. I forced my mind back to her comment. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she said, her chair landing back on all four legs. “We’ve done what we can for tonight. I have to get a couple of signatures, but that’s it.”

“Well then, I guess it’s time for me to go.”

“You could stay a bit longer and we could chat,” she suggested. The look in her eyes was pleading, and I knew I had to leave as soon as possible or I’d fall right into their depths.

“No, we have an early morning tomorrow. You should get some rest.”

“Right.”

I almost changed my mind at the look of disappointment that crossed her face, but knowing I couldn’t lead her on, I stuck to my morals before they fled. “Goodnight, Becca. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

She didn’t look at me as I walked out the door, and when I caught a glimpse of her as I shut it after me, I saw her head going down to the table as a big sigh escaped her mouth.

Becca

“You sayhe looks just like Brandon?” Jill asked.

“And smells like him too.”

“Wowzer! You’re a lucky girl!”

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