Page 14 of Heroes & Hitmen
She makes a scoffing sound in her throat and pivots to resume her path to the exit, but I catch up in a couple strides and fall into step beside her.
“I’ve got places to be,” she mutters, but I catch the way her eyes linger on me.
I’m definitely not the only one still thinking about last night.
“So do I,” I drawl, glancing toward the security desk where I’m supposed to be picking up my keycard.It can wait.“Funny how fate keeps throwing us together.”
“Don’t start with the fate crap,” she sighs.
“Fine. Coincidence, then. You still didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
“If you want me to stalk you.”
She doesn’t reply, just rolls her eyes hard enough to see theback of her skull. I reach the exterior doors before her and pull one open, following her out into the sharp morning sunlight and adjusting my pace to keep up when she bolts down the sidewalk.
“Let me take you out,” I coax. “Somewhere better than a shitty dive or the alley behind it.”
She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Yeah, no thanks. I’m already spoken for.”
I arch a brow. “Didn’t see a mate mark on your skin.”
She stops mid-step and turns toward me, lips pursed. “Not that kind of spoken for. It’s… arranged.”
“Arranged,” I echo, letting the word hang between us as my brow furrows. “Like some sort of mating contract?”
I’ve heard of them before, but most packs stopped that archaic practice decades ago.
She gives me a tight nod. “Through my father.”
Of fucking course.
That definitely complicates things, but it doesn’t mean I’m out of the running yet. “When’s this lucky guy sweeping you off your feet?” I ask, tilting my head.
“What?” She scrunches her nose, and goddamn is it cute.
“You said it’s arranged. So, when’s the actual mating?”
She hesitates for a beat, teeth sinking into her plush lower lip. “Next full moon.”
“Then we’ve got, oh…” I pause dramatically, glancing down at my watch. “Eleven days. Might as well make the most of it.” I wink.
She narrows her eyes, a scowl twisting her lips. “Did you not hear me? I’mpromised to someone else.”
I cock a brow. “Did that just happen today, or were you promised last night, too?”
Her arms fold over her chest, the little muscle in her cheek twitching as she levels me with a warning glare.
“That’s what I thought,” I continue, grinning. “Yet you still let me pull you into an alley, push you up against the wall, wrap those pretty legs around me…”
“Goodbye,” she snaps, shoving past me hard enough to knock me off-balance.
I chuckle under my breath as I stumble a step, then jog to catch up. “Hey, where are you going?”
She starts walking faster– long, graceful strides that would lose most people.
I’m not most people.
