Page 31 of Zoe

“I kissed you back,” Zoe said as if she was decoding an ancient mystery.

“Yeah,” he replied; this time, a grin appeared on his face, sort of like victory, but with a dash of confusion.

“What was that?” Zoe asked, leaning in like she didn’t want to be overheard.

“Truth,” Billy said and slowly shook his head. “I’m not really sure, but I guess it has something to do with the mating pull because that escalated real quickly.”

“I know, right?” Zoe said, taking a step back and putting a little distance between them.

Billy noticed. “You worried you can’t resist me?” He looked amused.

Zoe’s cheeks flamed. “What?” she screwed up her face. “No, the other way around.”

“Oh, I’m good,” Billy said, palming his chest.

In truth, he wasn’t good – he wanted to step back into her personal space or pull her into his and kiss her all over again. Maybe more – definitely more.

“You are?” Zoe looked surprised. Then she had to wonder what was wrong with her because she wanted to jump up, wrap her legs around his hips, and keep the magic alive – so to speak.

“You’re not?”

“I am,” she rushed that out way too quickly, and she knew it. He knew it too, because he raised his eyebrows and offered her a cocky grin. “You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah.” He lied again but told himself it was so there was no pressure on her to do anything she didn’t want to do too fast.

On the other hand, his wolf was clawing to be released so it could mark her as theirs and set that claim for all to see.

Zoe grunted. Why the heck was fate picking on her? If he didn’t feel the mating pull, there was either something wrong with fate’s magic, or he was lying. “So, if I stripped naked right here, right now…?”

“Oh, I’d most definitely look, even stare,” he said, forcing his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, so he didn’t reach out and yank her back into his orbit.

Zoe’s gaze snapped down to see what he was doing with his hands, and there was a huge bulge. She didn’t know if it was the after-effects of the kiss or the thought of her naked, but something was making his little brain very active.

It might even have twitched at her. She dragged her eyes back to his.

“I might even drool a little,” he said. A big cocky grin spread across his face like he’d won a victory, and Zoe cocked an eyebrow at him – which made him less happy, and he toned down that grin. “Are you going to prove your point?”

Zoe frowned, confused. “What point?”

“The one where you strip naked in front of me,” he replied.

Zoe pulled her head back and narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you a little crazy in the head?”

“Where else would I be crazy?”

“Good point, but evasive,” she replied.

“I think everybody is, and more so as we age.”

“Another good point,” she said, scowling. “Why aren’t you affected by the mating pull?”

“I am, but I can control myself, and I don’t do the overshare thing.”

Zoe’s eyebrows hiked towards her hairline. “Overshare?” she asked and folded her arms. “You think I can’t control myself?”

Billy knew he’d broken the first rule when dealing with women – don’t speak.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

---