Page 8 of The Alpha's Son

That date had ended with him paying for the food and advising her to get a life. He’d been a wolf just passing through. Some of the other single women hadn’t been too happy that she had bored him enough to send him packing.

From time to time, they had wolf tourists, looking for a new pack, hoping to settle and find their roots. When that happened, Darcy had tried to steer clear of them.

Pushing those horrible memories to the back of her mind, she reached for the door and opened it. She hadn’t changed out of her jeans and blouse, both of which she had made herself. The jeans didn’t fit quite so well, but she was learning.

This is why she loved crafting, it helped to distract her from what was going on around her. When she found herself getting nervous or uncomfortable, she’d think of the pattern she was currently working on, or go through the stages of knitting, or even baking a cake. She’d come up with recipes she would just have to try. The women at the shop loved to taste her fresh-baked goodies. She had an entire folder of recipes dedicated to ideas she had come up with to try and escape the moment.

Again, she pushed those memories aside and opened the door. Joe stood there, looking so good in a pair of jeans and crisp white shirt.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi, can I come in?”

“Oh, yeah, come on in.” She stepped back and then stared at the floor, nibbling her lip.Get it together, Darcy.

He stepped over the threshold, into her home, and closed the door behind him.

Silence fell between them.

Clasping her hands together, she lifted her head to look at him. “Er, did you have a good day?”

Joe chuckled. “Yeah, it’s been pretty cool. I hung out with my dad all day. Did some yard work. Talked.”

“You talked. What about?” she asked.

“Just stuff. You know, alpha stuff.”

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then heard the blessed sound of his stomach rumbling. “You’re hungry. I can feed you.”

Darcy went to move past him, cringing at how desperate she was to create some distance between them, but at the same time wanting to rub her body all over him. Crazy. So crazy.

Joe suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Hey, you’re nervous.”

“And you’re not?”

He gave a little chuckle and she placed her hands on his chest. “Coming over here, yeah, I was nervous, but the moment you answered that door, it all went away.”

“I … I’m not very good at this. I don’t date well.”

“Don’t compare me to anyone else.”

“I won’t.” She wanted to say more but then didn’t know what to say. His stomach saved the day. “I’ll feed you first.”

Joe let her go with his hand sliding down her arm, but then, he suddenly gripped her fingers and pulled her close.

She fell against him, but he banded an arm around her back, sunk his fingers into her hair, and tilted her head back. She stared into his eyes, and then his lips were on hers.

Darcy had never been kissed before. It was probably insane to think of a forty-year-old wolf not experiencing a kiss, but she had been on a quest to find her mate. It was why she had also not been with a man before. The few dates she went on had ended in disaster, so there was no kiss good night.

This was more than just a kiss.

She moaned and in doing so, opened her mouth just a little, and Joe took full advantage, sliding his tongue between her lips. Touching his tongue with her own, she tasted him, kissing him back with equal passion. Joe pulled away and his lips were red. Hers felt slightly swollen as well.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

Again, his stomach growled and Darcy came back to reality. “Food.”

This time, as she pulled away, Joe didn’t make a single move to stop her. She walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and stared. She didn’t see ingredients, instead, she felt how swollen her lips were. They had touched Joe’s lips, kissed him.

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