Page 13 of Love That Sass

The man was too damn loud for his own good and Weylin winced. That was so not the way he wanted to tell her about him. But it was all good, he hoped.

“Shh! They are coming,” Weylin said, realizing his error in shushing his Alpha when the man growled.

“The fuck, bro. No humans. Got it?” Derrick ordered.

“Sorry, Alpha,” he mumbled, baring his throat a second before Lucy opened the door.

A pair of warm brown eyes met his, and Weylin’s inner beast stirred. Damn, she was beautiful. That long, curly hair fell down in ripples and he was dying to get his hands on it. Wanted to test the softness of each strand. He wondered how it would look strewn across his bed, all wild and perfect, like a dark river he would willingly wade into.

Yep. It was official. Weylin was a goner. Gwendolyn cleared her throat. Her pouty lips made a small frown as she turned her head to avoid his gaze. Damn, he hoped she didn’t already hate him for what he’d done before. Maybe she was just shy, though his heart sunk at the thought of the former.

“Hey there, kitten,” Derrick rumbled to Lucy, interrupting Weylin’s reverie.

The Alpha’s icy stare was riveted to his mate's swollen form as she walked over and dropped her cheek for a kiss. Their love was palpable in the small room. Weylin was moved beyond words as they embraced, Derrick resting one big hand on her protruding abdomen, while the other cupped Lucy’s neck.

For the briefest of moments, they were as one. Heads bowed, lips touching, eyes closed. Even better, there was complete and absolute joy radiating from the pair, and it brought a rumble to Weylin’s own chest. He wanted what the Alpha couple had for himself.

A mate. A family. A reason.

“Gwen, this is my, um, my guy, my fiancé, actually. Um, Derrick Rand, meet Gwendolyn Hoffer.”

“Who?” Derrick asked dumbly.

“Honey, this is our new bartender, Gwen. She’ll be filling in for me,” Lucy said.

The Alpha stilled, hope seemed to radiate from him like rays from the sun. Watching the relief spill across Derrick’s face was quite the revelation for Weylin. He was happy for the couple, but again, there was that deep longing to have that sort of bond with someone for himself.

Can have. Mate.

Shhh, he silenced his Wolf. This was not the time or place for mooning over the woman. He needed to clear the air and apologize. If he could only find the words.

“You mean it, kitten?” the big, bad Alpha asked Lucy, snagging Weylin’s attention once more.

“Of course, I do—oof! Derrick! You can’t just carry me off—sorry, Gwen! Weylin will finish the tour and get you the forms—oooh,” Lucy yelped the last bit.

She’d been hefted in the air by her mate, who was even then nuzzling her belly with his lips, as he carted her off to another, more private, location. Weylin cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. That was gonna be a hard one to explain.

“Um, wow. You know, Tracey’s boyfriend did the same thing, sorta, to her after lunch,” she murmured. “Does that kinda thing happen a lot around here?” Gwendolyn asked, clearing her throat.

Was he mistaken, or was that a hint of longing in her voice as she watched the Alpha pair leave? If she wanted to be swept off her feet, all she had to do was ask, he mused, a Wolfish grin spreading across his face.

“I could lie and say no, but actually, yeah, it does. All the mates,er, couples, are like that with each other,” he began.

“Mates?”

“Oh, it’s just a word we use,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck harder to hide his discomfort.

“Like a club word?”

“Club? Oh, you mean motorcycle club, right? Yeah. That. Sorta,” he mumbled, hating even the pretense of a lie.

“Well, where is he taking her?”

“Who? Lucy and Derrick? Oh, he’s taking her somewhere to, um, show her the proper,er, appreciation, for her choice to stop working. You see, she’s nearing the end of her pregnancy, and he’s been worried sick about her. Lucy has been overdoing it with the long hours and whatnot,” he said, watching the play of emotions cross her pretty face.

“Wait. Proper appreciation? Do you mean?Ohmygah!But isn’t he worried he could,you know, hurt her?” Gwen asked, her nose scrunched up adorably.

“Hell no,” he said and chuckled. “Derrick would cut off his arm before he hurt Lucy. She means more to him than his own life.”

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