Page 26 of Obsessed Mate

I tried not to mind them.

Lena was distracted by my parents. People were quickly forgetting about my grand entrance, leaving me near one of the tables on the porch that housed the champagne. I could use about three glasses right now, but I knew I would make myself sick if I drank too fast. I grabbed a glass, shot it back, and searched the crowd for Andres.

Mr. Big Shot was nowhere to be found.

Don’t tell me he ditched me, I thought drearily.Did my cousins steal him?

I squinted at the fields. Nobody there had grabbed my fake boyfriend. Considering half this event circled around me having the potential for a mate, I had to go find him. I had to make sure he didn’t leave me high and dry.

After discarding the empty champagne flute and grabbing another, I headed inside the house. Most of the noise cut off as soon as I shut the door. Other than a couple of people inspecting the living room, I didn’t sense Andres. I didn’t smell his usual spiced rum and black pepper scent either.

Where had he gone?

I glanced at the ceiling. Logic told me there wasn’t anywhere else to look. Instinct encouraged me to follow my gut. And my gut was telling me that Andres was in my bedroom. I sneaked past the people in the living room, headed up the stairs, and quietly opened the bedroom door.

His scent kissed me first. His lips came next. He swiftly shut the door, pinned me to the wood, and took every liberty he had taken the other night at dinner minus the secret kiss he gave to me under my skirt. Desire replaced whatever ire I had for him disappearing on me, and I heatedly returned the kiss while hooking my leg over his hip.

He smacked his lips when he broke away and held up one of my teddy bears. “I thought you were more of a unicorn girl.”

My lust was short-lived. At least I didn’t spill the champagne. “Really? You’re snooping through my room for stuffed animals?”

But I really wanted to complain about the kiss being so abrupt.

“I just wanted a look at the girl that I’m—” He turned while rubbing the ears of the bear in his hands. Distance grew between us.

Lust faded fast enough for me to question my reality. Had I done something wrong? Was that why the kiss was so short?

He held up the bear, walked to the window, and set it with the rest of the stuffed bears sitting in the sill. “Last time I did this, I…” More distance.

What was going on?

“Andres?” I took a few steps toward him. “Is everything alright?”

“You have a bigger family than I thought. Reminds me of my old pack.”

I cocked my head to the right. “Old pack?”

“Ambersky Growlers. You’ve never heard of them?” He huffed with amusement and picked at one of the other bears. “Raven took some of us in. My brothers and I were among them. Our mothers too.”

My heart jumped. “God, I’m so sorry about downstairs. I had no idea that your father was—”

“MIA?”

“Yeah, well—”

He turned around and tugged on his tie. “Well, you didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry, Andres.”

“It’s ancient history. Don’t worry about it.”

But his tone told me thathewas worried about it. The things I knew about him boiled down to his successes. I hadn’t heard a peep about his losses. Was his father one of them?

“Show me to the bathroom,” he ordered. “Bonus points if you join me in the bathroom.”

I flushed all over and covered my mouth. “Andres, what if someone spots us coming out?”

“Isn’t that what you want them to see?”

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