Page 30 of Meant for Her

Once he checked the lot to make sure there wasn’t any sheriff’s department sedan there, he jumped out of the truck and rushed over to Malia.

She must have sensed him, because she stopped and looked around. Wanting to appear friendly, Ryan waved and smiled. Malia waved him over.

“What are you doing here?” She sounded rather anxious.

“I had to speak with you.”

She shivered. “Fine, but get in the car. It’s cold out here. Besides, we don’t need anyone to see you. The sheriff was here asking about you.”

He was worried about that. “Sorry to put you through that.”

“I expected it.”

She pulled open her door, slipped in, and then unlocked his side. After taking one more look around, he got in.

“What did the sheriff say?” he asked.

“He wanted to speak with you and Luke, which would be hard to do since you weren’t at the hospital. I could have made up something, but he already stopped by yesterday and was told you never were admitted.”

“What did you say? That werewolves can heal on their own?” He had been trying to make a joke to lighten the mood, but Malia didn’t crack a smile.

“I told him that David operated on you two and removed the bullets. Turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened. David was forward-thinking enough to take the bullets he extracted from you two to work. He was able to hand them over to the sheriff.”

“That’s fantastic. Sheriff Hanson might be able to match it to another crime or to that particular rifle.”

“Maybe.”

“Anything else I should know?” he asked. “We should keep our stories straight.”

“I totally agree. By the way, I told him that after you and your brother came to, you both insisted on healing at home. You had a caregiver there. And then I told him you weren’t able to pay for your stay. That’s why you left.”

“Did he buy your story?”

“He seemed to.”

“That’s perfect as is the part about the caregiver.”

Malia twisted toward him, and his damn body went into mate overdrive. He closed his eyes for a moment and fisted his hands, which only marginally helped calm him.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He swore she was laughing at him. Ryan supposed now was as good a time as any to tell her they were mates, though she might already know it. He just prayed it didn’t backfire.

Ryan opened his eyes. “Yes and no. It’s hard being around you and not kissing you.”

Her eyes widened. “Why is that? I hope it’s not because you’re trying to compete with your brother.”

“Hell no. It’s because I need to feel your lips on mine. There’s something inside of me that makes it almost impossible to be around you for any length of time and not taste you.” He paused for a moment. “You have to feel something like that toward me, don’t you?”

She sighed. “Of course. I feel frustration. A bit of anger. And some sadness.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” At least he hoped she understood about mates.

“Oh. You’re talking about whether or not I think we are mates?”

She was going down for stringing him along. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

Malia shrugged, failing miserably to act unaffected. “I guess we are.”

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