Danea (2 page)

“Umm…space…space is good…”

“I came with the firm intention to apologize for my behavior this morning,” Noah let his gaze drift from the wide dark eyes watching him
to the arched and full bow of her lips. “And somehow all that just disappeared from my good intentions,” he murmured seconds before lowering his mouth to hers.

That was when
she heard a low, sexy growl. Then everything else in her mind just shut down on her. She liked his lips. She liked the way he used them to tease. She liked the heat and the taste of bitter coffee when he stroked his tongue along her lower lip and nipped at it until she opened her mouth for him. She really liked the firm, solid chest beneath her hands and the hard thumping of his heart.

Noah had been fighting everything inside him, most of all the instincts of a wolf that
categorically told him this was his mate. Mousy, meek and almost invisible to the rest of the population. At least that had been his thoughts until he saw her rising out of the sea that first Monday morning seven weeks ago.

And the kiss she returned was far from his first assessment. Very far. A low groan broke from his throat when she shoved her fingers into the hair at the sides of his h
ead.

She was on her toes, pressing her body against his like he was the last brick wall to hide next to in an alley. She was sure she’d imprint herself there soon, it was that warm suddenly. She liked the feel of his hair against her palms, through her fingers. It was thick and coarse, all uneven lengths that barely touched his neck and fell over his eyebrows now and then.

And he was strong. He held her tightly against him, his shoulders against the door to her office.

Her office.

Oh, god, she was behaving like a…in her office…

Danea shoved hard against his chest and stumbled back until her behind hit the edge of her desk. Pale brown lashes fluttered, her head shaking in denial.

“What’s wrong with you? Why did you do that?” She sputtered, forcing her eyes to focus, her toes to uncross and the really hot bits between her thighs to go back to sleep. Quick.

“I wasn’t doing it alone, Danea,” Noah said carefully, adjusting his jeans and taking a cautious step forward.

“No, no…I know that…and I am very sorry,” she wrapped both arms around her head for a long minute, dragging in a deep breath and holding it. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s fairly simple to explain. A man and woman find themselves attracted…”

“No. Oh, no. That’s not possible. I’m not the attracted to sort,” she told him unequivocally. “You…you’re…my sisters…half-sisters…they’re more your style,” she shook her head, wild curls bobbing back and forth. “Apology accepted. I know you were angry this morning and I’m sorry. You really shouldn’t worry about me, though. I’m just fine on my own. Always have been, always will be. It works that way, you know? Well, thanks for visiting, but I really have to get back to work.”

“Danea, have dinner with me tonight.”

She stared at him. Noah wore a confused, even bemused grin that seemed to shoot right into her soul. She felt her knees weaken
, from the low sound of his voice and the dark eyes that followed her as she moved around the room to the door.

“I…dinner? I can’t have dinner with you, that’s crazy,” She reached for the doorknob but found her wrist surrounded with a set of fingers that gave a little tug. Her body struck his and didn’t move. She couldn’t say she’d bounced…because she doubted there was anything on him that would cause a bounce and her body was in momentary shock.

Danea shook her head to clear the spinning, the palm of her free hand patting his chest.

“It’s very solid…strong…” she was babbling and knew it, clamping her lips shut when she saw the corner of his mouth tilt as her palm stroked over the smooth surface of his shirt. She pulled her fingers back like they were on fire.

“Tell me why you can’t have dinner with me?”

“I don’t know you. I don’t…you don’t…we’re not…”

“One complaint at a time, please,” he laughed. “People generally use things like dinner to get to know one another, Danea.”

She felt his laughter at the same time his hand placed hers on his shoulder before pressing against her side and traveled lower to her hip.

“Maybe you should visit the local doctor,” Danea said carefully. She’d started to wiggle, trying to back away only to realize exactly what her squirming was accomplishing. Her body froze and her head went back to meet the slightly heated look on his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…it wasn’t my intention…” she swallowed hard.

“Why do you think I need a doctor?”

“Because this morning you wanted to throw me in jail and now you want to take me to dinner? Somewhere in between, you’ve obviously struck your head and…and you’re not quite yourself,” she told him, pleased with her explanation.

“What you saw this morning is because I worry about you, Danea,” Noah answered quietly. “I would have gotten around to asking you to dinner if…”

“If you hadn’t gotten angry,” she supplied with a satisfied nod, her hand patting his chest. “See what I mean? That proves my point, sheriff.”

“Noah.”

“I…what?”

“My name is Noah Decker,” he told her, drawing in a long slow breath.

“I knew that,” Danea moved. It was almost impossible not to move and she really wasn’t good at it. She’d rarely been able to stay still for very long and being held so tightly against him was fast approaching the impossible. But when she did move…there it was.

“That…is your fault.”

She froze again and swallowed the lump in her throat. “You’re wrong. Guys don’t get…I’m not the kind of girl to cause…you should really meet my sisters,” she urged persistently. “Now they cause…it would help if you’d put me down. Over there. And you stay over here.”

“If you’re not responsible, then it doesn’t matter where you are,” Noah chuckled at the bottomless dark eyes that seemed to widen a little more as she stared at him. “You have sisters.”

“Seven,” she whispered absently.

“That’s a good reason for dinner. So we can get to know one another,” Noah spread his feet slightly, lowering her to the floor and freeing one of his hands. He knew if he relaxed them both, she’d bolt. He expected her to smell like the sea. Salt and tide and seaweed. But now that he was close, he was discovering that was far from the case. He speared four fingers through the hair at the side of her face, surprised at the feel. “I thought it would be thin…it’s always dry before you make it to the car from the water.”

His thumb brushed over her jaw as his hand sunk a little deeper into her hair. The thick, curling strands clinging as he moved his hand against her scalp. He closed his fist and tugged slightly second
s before taking her lips again, urging her to play and shoving the questions to the back of his mind when she parted her mouth and returned his kiss.

Noah groaned when she moved. No, fuck, not moved. She was rubbing herself against him, rotating her hips and moaning into his kiss.
He could feel heat radiating off every curve she had.

Damn, when his wolf finally made up his mind, he did a damn good job of it.

“Danea? The Professor is here to see you,” came the soft, quiet voice from the other side of the office door.

Office door! Danea’s head jerked back and her hands were suddenly on fire. If not for the hands holding her in place, she would have ended up in the middle of her office on the floor in an effort to get away.

“Oh my god! I’m in my office!” Danea shoved almost as hard as she was breathing.

“Whoa…easy or you’ll end up hurt,” Noah carefully eased her back, his hands firm on her waist. “Close your mouth, Dani and breathe through your nose.”

She did what he said, her head bobbing rapidly.

“I’ll be right out,” she called out after a breath. “This is crazy. What’s wrong with me? I…no, you…you shouldn’t be here,” she spun away from him, pacing in a small, taut line to her desk and back. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Dani, nothing’s wrong with you,” Noah laughed and took a step forward, stopping only when her palm came up to halt him. “You’re over eighteen and so am I. Neither one of us is attached…”

“No. I can’t be attached,” she told him firmly, pulling her lips into a frown. “I have work. Excuse me.”

“Have dinner with me. Talk to me,” Noah coaxed, his hand rising only to drop when she shook her head. But something wasn’t quite right because he could see the glimmer of regret in her eyes. “Why?”

“I have to go to work,” she whispered, her head still shaking as she pulled the door wide and stepped into the main lobby. She threw a quick smile at the girl she had hired for the desk and crossed the space to the large plate window. “This is a surprise,” she burst out, coming to a halt when the man turned and smiled.

Danea figured she was going to end up dead and in hell and not necessarily in that order. What had she done to have these two men suddenly staring at her like she was on the front of the swimsuit issue of the magazine? She really had a hard time breathing when she looked from one handsome smile to the other less than happy expression behind her.

“Wade Franklin, do you know the sheriff? Noah Decker. You should be friends,” she said in a slightly breathless rush of words at her brilliant solution. “Yes. That’s perfect. You’re both looking for a dinner companion. You would suit nicely, I think,” she continued, grabbing Noah’s hand and tugging him forward.

“I know the sheriff, Danea,” Wade said cautiously, one brow arched as he looked expectantly at Noah. “We’ve been friends for a few years.”

“Oh. Well. That makes it easy then. Thank you for coming over. It was wonderful seeing you again,” she tipped her wrist up and tapped her watch. “Gotta go. Time for kids to be picked up soon and I’ve got so much to do before then. Good bye. Have a great day!”

****

Wade Franklin couldn’t stop his head from tilting slightly to the side as he was almost pushed out the double glass doors by a woman he wouldn’t have thought had that much muscle. But the very firm hand behind his back didn’t seem to be straining. He turned in time to see the jean covered behind twitching as she disappeared into the inner rooms of the daycare.

“What the hell just happened?” Wade looked at Noah, one hand on his neck and rubbing. Neither of them wore jackets in the early September Indian summer. The sun was beating down warmly on them as they faced one another outside the daycare.

“What’re you doing here?”

“And I’ve begun answering to you – when?” Wade shook his head. “This whole day has been a bad dream.” Dark green eyes stared back through the plate glass window. “What got into her? She’s never been like that before.”

“You’re dating her?”

“You’re my mother?” But he pushed a low, hard breath between his teeth. “I’m going to take a wild assed guess that you asked her out. And got just as far as I have the last few days.”

“I feel the need for a beer,” Noah glanced at his wrist and gestured to the sports pub down the sidewalk. “You don’t date. You told me that.”

“I told you that it was hell waiting for some kind of damn signal that I was with the right female,” Wade said flatly, striding along the walk with his hands shoved into the pockets of his khakis. “I know some Fae still looking after a hundred years. And I’ve dated. In the past. Just not recently.” He came to a stop outside the pub, his hand up and on Noah’s arm. “And you’re trying to get a date because…?”

“Yeah…I have a feeling it’s the same damn reason,” Noah answered emphatically.

“I need a beer,” Wade released his arm and led the way into the dark interior. “Margie, two really cold Heineken, please.”

“Comin’ up!”

Wade found a quiet table and leaned back in the chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. Neither man spoke until half of each bottle of beer was gone.

“When we attended the ceremony for Brea, Nick and Jas, I thought it was insane,” Noah said after a lengthy silence. “And I am far from a saint. I’ve had a few encounters where I…shared a woman…” he met the arched brow of his friend. “And you haven’t?”

Wade exhaled slowly. “In my very distant wayward youth,” he admitted reluctantly. “I can’t say as I ever expected to have a discussion like I feel brewing with anyone.”

“You mean with another guy,”
Noah said bluntly, tipping the green bottle up and lowering it slowly.

“Do you still believe their arrangement is insane?” Wade asked quietly.

“After seeing them together over the last few months?” Noah shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything more natural than the three of them together.”

Wade was silent for a moment. “The look in their eyes is something from a fairy tale story,” he said finally. “You’re told about the ‘event’ of your inner being locating
your mate. But it’s words. It’s nothing tangible. It’s nothing you can get a genuine belief or feeling for. When it happens…”

“It’s like being kicked by the hind feet of a jackass and you’re still in denial,” Noah completed the thought and drained the bottle in his hand.
“When did you meet her?”