Page 10 of Drive me Wild (South Island Shifters)

“I’ll give you some time alone too. I’ll just be downstairs if you need me, and when Aaron comes back up, I’ll hang around a little longer. I will be back tomorrow to check on you as it is custom. I’ll also leave you my cell phone number if you have any questions. Please don’t hesitate to ring me.”

Aaron and I head downstairs, where the family greets us.

“It’s a girl!” Aaron hollers into the room.

“Brother, that’s awesome. How’s my sister?” Declan asks, coming over to hug him.

“Great. They’re perfect. I’m just making her a cup of tea.”

“I’ll do that, and you get back upstairs,” Declan offers. He comes over to me, and in a rush of excitement, he wraps his arms around me, squeezing tight. It feels so good, and he smells amazing. All masculine and musky. I love it.

He pulls back, but not far, and I look up into his sea-blue eyes. He smiles. “Sorry, I just had to hug you. Thank you for coming to help her.”

“You’re very welcome,” I say. My entire body is shaking with desire. The longer he holds me, the more I want him to kiss me. But I can’t. It’s unprofessional. I pull out of his arms. “I should check on Ravin.”

He returns to the task of making a tea, stealing glances at me the entire time. I see a mixture of emotions on his handsome face. He wants me, but something is holding him back just as it is with me. He’s been broken by someone, and I’m not sure whom. He finishes the drink and makes his way upstairs.

“What was that?” Liliana whispers, approaching me.

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” I reply.

“I saw the exchange between you two. I saw how you looked at him.”

“You remember the guy from the bar the other night?”

“The one you were staring at and I missed out on seeing?” she enquires.

I nod in confirmation. “It was Declan, okay. Yes, I think he’s sexy, charming and he makes me feel things I never thought I would again. But nothing can ever happen between us. He’s my client’s brother.”

“So? He’s not your client. Winter, let me tell you, he’s a decent guy, and I honestly can see you two together. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I roll my eyes. “I need to check on Ravin.” I head upstairs, bumping into Declan at the top. Looking up into his eyes, I wish for a moment that he would just lean down and kiss me. Just once. Just to make me feel alive for a moment.

He lifts his hand to run his thumb along my bottom lip. “I want to kiss you, gorgeous, so badly it hurts, but I know that you can’t tonight. One day soon, Winter, I promise you it will happen.” He moves away from me, down the stairs, and I steal a glance over my shoulder only to find him doing the same. We smile. I feel like a giddy school girl knowing the hottest guy at school has a crush on her. He’s made his intentions clear, but I can’t help wonder if he only wants sex, or would it be something more?

I’m not sure I’m ready to open my heart on a whim, no matter the case.

Four

DECLAN

I’m running through the woods, trying to calm my mind and body. I’ve had a rough week. Work has been hectic. I’ve had a mountain of paperwork to catch up on, and back-to-back meetings didn’t help the situation.

Tonight, I took the opportunity to shift into my wolf form and go for a run. It feels good to stretch my legs and feel the wind through my fur. Out here, the stress can’t get to me. I can clear my mind…well, at least from work.

There is someone I can’t stop thinking about. Winter. No matter how much I try, she invades my dreams and every other spare moment I have. My head tells me I just need to have sex with Winter, and that will get her out of my system. My heart says she’s my mate, my other half. My Luna.

I’m not sure about dating. I’m hesitant to open my heart again, only for it to get shattered once more. I haven’t been in a relationship in six years, not since Kara.

I grew up knowing finding your mate was a powerful experience, being told when you findthe oneyou just knew. The trouble is, I thought that was Kara. Her father set us up. He’d hoped we’d make a mating match, and she’d marry an Alpha, which he wanted for her.

On paper, we were perfect.

In life, not so much.

She dumped me the night I proposed. She said that if we hadn’t mated in that time, it wasn’t likely to happen at all. She couldn’t carry on our relationship if it wasn’t meant to be and walked out. I drowned my sorrows in some whiskey and hardened my heart that night. If she wasn’t my mate, I’d probably never find her. However, this instant connection with Winter makes me rethink everything I thought I knew about mating.

I close my eyes, trying to clear my head and thoughts. I don’t want to dwell on my past, and I’m unsure what my future holds. The only thing coming to mind is Winter, with her long golden honey blonde hair, those steel-grey eyes and that slight smile. My mind and body calm as I think of her. She has an effect on me that I can’t explain, nor do I want to, because I’m enjoying these feelings she is bringing out in me. My body vibrates with a need to go to her and claim her as mine, but I’m torn; my head, heart and cock are at war. Each wants different things, and I’m not sure which will win.

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