Page 24 of Love That Sass

Warm. Fuzzy. Possessive.And yes, horny as fuck.

But it was more than that. He was curious about her. Wanted to learn what made her tick. He just had to get near her first, but she’d bolstered her defenses and was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

It was hell on his nerves. He felt as smooth and suave as a pimple-faced virgin at the school prom whenever he was around Gwen. This was not his usual MO, for fuck’s sake.

Weylin had his share of hot women. But not one of them held a candle to Gwen. Now that he had met his mate, they were just bodies in the dark. He had been open and honest with them, of course. He was Wolf, not a dog.

Dire Wolf Shifters never stayed in one place long enough to form permanent attachments. Until now. Hell, when Derrick had announced his intentions to settle down in one spot, plant roots, Weylin had initially balked.

Note to self: Send the Alpha a beef jerky bouquet and a thank you card.

Well, if he claimed his mate, maybe he would. For now, he would keep that notion under wraps. Derrick was being too much of a cockblocker to deserve any meaty goodness.

Second note to self: Send myself a beef jerky bouquet because I am awesome, and I am gonna win my mate.

Yeah, that was more like it! Weylin could not be more grateful for his Pack setting up shop in this little slip of a town in New Jersey. This place had presented him with something to work for. A goal. His mate.

Mine.

Gwen’s natural strawberry scent reached his nostrils, and his lips flexed in an easy smile as he breathed her in. So tempting. Sweet. Fresh.

“Ready,” she said, excitement ringing in her voice.

“All done?” he asked as she finished pouring the last drink into a martini glass.

It was a twist on a lemon drop martini made with a brand new local label, Crescent Moon Gin. It was a new branch of the Bite label owned and operated by Mason Lane, a member of the Macconwood Wolf Pack. Good people. Good Shifters. And the guy made fantastic spirits far as the Dire Wolf Pack was concerned.

“Yep. All done. Lemme know what you think,” Gwen replied, biting her lip as he sipped drink after drink, washing his mouth out with water between sips.

Weylin was a consummate professional. Fated mate or not, he had to take his job as a co-owner of Serious Moonlight,er, seriously. He opened his senses before each sip, allowing the depth of the flavors, the essence of the alcohol, and the ratio of sweet, tart, and bitter to filter through as he tried each one.

Holy, Fuck. The woman was a rockstar.

Mine.

“Shit.”

“Shit?” she asked, frowning hard.

“No, no,” he blurted. “I meant it like, shit, girl, these are fantastic!” he told her with a grin.

Just like that, his sassy sweet Gwendolyn lit up before him. He’d be a liar if he said it meant nothing to him, that way she had of glowing at the smallest of compliments. He’d bet she wasn’t used to them, and damn, but he wanted to change that. She deserved compliments. Lots of them.

“Really?” she asked, her lips turned up in a mirror image of his own expression.

Weylin nodded, his heart warming at her obvious pleasure. He liked she was so happy when he complimented her. Wanted to see what else he could say or do to bring that look of joy to her face, that hint of radiance to her caramel eyes.

“Truly. You nailed them!”

“Yes! Okay, so do you think I can handle the back bar tonight?” Gwen asked.

The back bar was Lucy’s usual haunt, and since Gwen was filling in for the Alpha fem, Weylin did not have an issue with it. She’d been tending bar the last three nights beside Sheila and the she-Wolf had nothing but glowing reports on how the curvy little normal had handled herself. Apparently, her sassy mouth was a source of amusement with the females of the Pack.

Takes one to know one, he mused. Not that he’d be saying that out loud. Those Pack females scared the shit out of him. Any sane man would say the same, of that he was certain.

“Think you’re ready to go it alone? It’s Saturday, you know. Our busiest night,” he told her.

“I’m ready, and you know I need the tips,” Gwen replied, no guile in her voice.

---