10

He knew the risks but couldn’t seem to rid her of his thoughts. She had somehow, unbeknownst to her, slipped beneath his heated skin, stirring his wolf in a way he simply couldn’t ignore.

What was most disquieting was the undeniable pull she had on his inner beast, stirring carnal yearnings, his wolf responding in a restless, growling manner that further baffled him. He was never disinclined to satisfy his manly urges with a human female in fact he’d done it frequently, appeasing those heated desires with a one-night stand.

He had an insatiable desire for the opposite sex but it was nothing more than a mere tumble in the sheets.

When he first laid eyes on her he believed it simply that, but the more he studied her, engaged her, his wolf responded in way that was certainly troubling.

He thought he could whet his appetite and get her in bed but she wasn’t that kind of woman. There was more to her, more he yearned to know and realized he would do just about anything to unravel the mystery that veiled her eyes.

His eyes fastened fervently over her mouth which she unconsciously worried with her teeth.

His groin tightened with a sliver of desire as it rippled the length of him. Did she not know the affect she had on him simply by biting that lip he so longed to claim for his own?

The soft pink of her dress did wonders to the deep chestnut of her hair and he longed to bury his hands in the wealth of it. The fitted lace molded enticingly to the swell of her breasts, prompting a maddening vision of just how lovely they would fit in his hands, erupting a burning flame that all but consumed him.

He sifted uncomfortably in his seat, his muscles tingling with the fire that laced his limbs, doing a number on his severely hardened groin.

Damn, he wanted her, and not just tenderly, but wildly.

She would be the sweetest remedy.

Their waiter approached, a young boy with dark dancing eyes that whisked over Kate in a way that awakened a swift pang of fierce possessiveness in Ronan that he immediately suppressed a low growl.

His hands curled into fists atop the linen tablecloth as he surveyed the boy with open ire.

She’s mine.

The notion hit him unexpectedly, almost deterring his anger from the boy and though it completely shook him unaware, he quite liked the sound of it.

“And for you, sir?” when the boy turned his way, he hadn’t realized that Kate had already ordered.

He noticed the wary glint that often frequented her eyes as she sensed his anger. He straightened in his seat, leveling a meaningfully hard glare on the boy who immediately shifted uneasily beneath his heavy stare.

“I’ll have the steak rare and whatever side comes with it.”

The boy cleared his throat nervously, “And d-drink?”

“Red wine.”

The boy jotted his order down and frantically gathered the menus, eagerly hastening away.

Kate was quick to note the tension-riddled exchange, “You have an unnerving affect on others.” She said frankly.

His anger dissipated though it lingered just beneath the surface as he focused intently on the beautiful woman sitting across from him, “What about you, Kate, do I affect you?” his voice was low and he caught the slight widening of her eyes at his clear indication.

She dropped her eyes, shielding any emotion with feathery black lashes.

“Why do you do that?” he asked, drawing her gaze back to his.

“Do what?” she asked innocently.

He leaned forward and she nearly sat back with it, “Why do you turn your eyes away?”

Her eyes shifted to her water glass which he hadn’t noticed the boy had filled and reached for it.

He caught her hand in midair and the gasp that escaped her rippled deliciously over him. She tried pulling away but his grip tightened, his eyes darkening desirably as he turned her hand over and trailed the length of it until his forefinger paused over the pulse that raced beneath his touch.

Her eyes were large pools of green, her shoulders drawn back in a way that bespoke of the startling affect his caress was having on her.

He longed to do more than simply a subtle touch.

“Do you not like it when I touch you, Kate?”

Green eyes averted from where his thumb rubbed delicately over her pulse to those fiercely vivid eyes boring intensely into her, “No.” she whispered.

A shadow of a grin played at the corners of his mouth, “I could make a liar out of you.”

He could hear her heart, pounding madly in her chest, all but confirming his suspicions that his touch stirred her in some way.

He released her hand and she tore it away, placing it out of his reach beneath the table.

He grinned as he leaned back in his chair, “You’re not like most women.”

His remark touched a nerve and those green eyes darkened with some flourishing anger, her face taking on a delightful blush, “Oh, you mean like the floozy blonde up front?”

He arched a brow and his grin broadened all the more. He recognized her immediate regret in spilling more than she cared too.

“I am not interested in her.” he said, his eyes dipping purposely to the tantalizing swell of her breasts.

She shifted beneath his heated caress, feeling it in places that made her utterly aware of her femininity. “I don’t care to be like the women that occupy your bed.”

“What kind of woman are you, Kate?” his question caught her off guard and immediately her defenses rose.

She bit her lip, noticing the flame that erupted in the depths of those gray eyes with the innocent gesture and released it almost instantly.

Get it together, Kate.

She met that gaze undaunted and raised her chin determinedly, “No one of importance.” She said, hoping to be as vague as possible.

He couldn’t know anything about her. He was far too domineering, far too powering over her senses and he radiated a sex appeal that thoroughly frightened as well as exhilarated her.

His eyes narrowed slightly, “You’re very coy in disclosing in just whom and where you’re from.” His voice hardened with an edge as his eyes slipped leisurely over her, surveying every part of her that she was nearly breathless with it, “What happened to your ribs?”

She blanched at the unexpected question, every bit of her defenses locking hard in place as she immediately stiffened in her seat.

He noticed her reaction she realized and scolded herself inwardly, “You ask a lot of questions.”

“It’s only one.” He said, his eyes never straying from her.

Kate felt a nausea grip her stomach as it knotted uneasily. He was asking questions she dared not tread. She certainly wasn’t going to tell this insufferably charge of a man anything.

She felt her breasts rise and fall with quickening breaths and her eyes whisked fleetingly for an escape route.

I could run. She thought.

She couldn’t have been more elated when the waiter appeared with their food and she exhaled sharply, though it didn’t quell the intense urge to flee.

Instead, she picked up her fork and focused on the pasta dish she’d ordered.

Her eyes glanced from beneath her lashes to his plate. He’d ordered a steak extremely rare, the blood oozing from beneath the slab of meat that it almost immediately churned her stomach.

She put her fork aside and grabbed her wine, sipping at it gingerly.

Her face burned red and she felt it all throughout dinner. It was the most nerve-racking dinner she ever had to endure. She had drunk considerably of the wine and ate little of her dish as opposed to his completely devoured plate.

The bill came and her heart accelerated with a leap.

She slipped as gracefully from the table to stand on wobbly legs, holding her clutch mercifully tight as he fell in beside her, that warmth and wild scent of him immediately engrossing her sight and sound.

He ushered her along the maroon carpet, passing the cheeky hostess and slipping out into the blissful cool air.

As they waited for the valet to bring their car about, she felt the muscle beside her stiffen almost directly. She peered up at him, seemingly startled by the blackened scowl that furrowed his face and when she followed his eyes it was to a couple coming toward them.

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