Finnian Donegal paused outside the library where his sister worked, his nose in the air. With his wolf sense of smell, he caught the scent of something he never thought he’d encounter. His mate. With his hand on the door, he took a deep breath. Yes, she was in there. His elusive mate. The one he’d been searching for these last years.
If he didn’t find her, he would lose his place as alpha male of the pack. He’d be forced out to live on his own. He didn’t want that, but he’d never smelled his mate here. Must be a patron. He knew everyone who worked here.
He held the door open for a woman with two kids. She smiled at him. He smiled back. The scent was stronger in here. Yes, she was here. He glanced around the book-filled room, but no one looked like a possibility. His gaze finally alighted on a woman behind the desk. A new librarian.
She had the most beautiful red and blonde hair. A wisp of curls had escaped her bun and he longed to brush it out of her face. She looked up at him, giving him a tentative smile. She was probably staring at him like that because he had a look of intensity on his face.
He soften his expression before he approached her.
“Hello,” she said.
Her voice was deep and sexy and spoke to his very soul. And other parts of his body. He wished she wasn’t staring at him because he definitely needed to adjust himself. “Hello. I’m looking for Erin Donegal.”
“Oh, she’s still in her meeting. She said you’d be here. You must be Finnian.”
He nodded. “I am, lass. Will Erin be long?”
“I don’t really know. Can I offer you some coffee?” the woman said.
“I’d like your name first,” he said.
“Oh, sorry.” She didn’t blush, but it would have been cute on her. It would probably highlight the few freckles on her cute nose. “I’m Kalen. I’m on loan from another library.”
“That’s taking interlibrary loaning to a new level,” he said.
She chuckled, then covered her mouth. Her eyes lit up with her obvious amusement at his joke. His hands itched to touch her. He wanted to let that bun loose and watch that hair cascade down over her shoulders. He could picture that hair spread across his pillow as he brought her to orgasm. With his mouth.
Would she be a screamer? He cleared his throat trying to get the vision from his mind. She wasn’t his yet. He found that any woman who wasn’t part of the pack had to be convinced very carefully. He would have to tread lightly. She’d be skittish at first, but he could win her over.
He hoped. Most women threw themselves at his feet. He’d never had to woo one before, but he was Irish and blessed with a natural charm. He could do this.
***
Kalen hadnever seen such a nice-looking man. He exuded confidence and sexiness. His green eyes looked at her as if she were the only woman in the room. His dark hair offset his pale skin. Wow. This man made her lady parts tingle, but she’d sworn off men.
For good. They were nothing but trouble.
“I’ll take the coffee.”
He had a little lilt in his voice. As if he’d once had an Irish brogue, but had lost it over the years. The small sound in his words was the last bit of it hanging on. Her mouth went dry just listening to him.
She smiled, then spun away from him, happy to escape that tractor beam smile. She bet women dropped their pants for him on a daily basis. Another reason to get away. Before she dropped hers.
She poured the coffee then realized she hadn’t asked him how he wanted it.
“Just cream, love,” he said from the doorway of the breakroom.
He leaned on the doorframe, his tall, lanky frame clearly at ease with being back here.
“Okay. You aren’t supposed to be in this room,” she said.
Nothing like being a goody-two shoes when the hottest man she’d ever seen was standing in the doorway. No men, Kalen. Keep strong. Just because he was sex on a stick, didn’t man she had to be enticed.
She handed him the mug of coffee.
“I come back here all the time. The director knows me. You won’t get into trouble,” he said.
He didn’t let her pass as he sipped the coffee. He even made that look sexy.
“I will if I don’t get back to the front desk.”
He nodded, then pouted a little. “You can’t keep me company?”
“Sorry. I have a job to do.”
She brushed past him and her body was on fire from that little contact. Good thing she was only in this library because of the meeting. She’d never have to cross paths with Finnian again. That could be dangerous.
Returning to the desk, she assumed he’d stay in the break room. Instead he lounged in a chair behind her. “You can’t have coffee out here.”
He nodded, but didn’t move. “Do you always follow the rules, Kalen?”
She had a feeling that he wasn’t just asking about coffee. This man existed so far out of her league that he had to be teasing her. Not funny at all.
Right then a patron needed her so she couldn’t answer him. When she finished with the girl checking out a book, Finnian was gone. She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. She hoped that Erin would take her brother out the back, because she might just follow him where ever went.
She shook herself. “Get a grip.”
Having never been one to be instantly attracted to a man, she didn’t understand her reaction. He wasjust a man. A hot one, for sure, but just a man. Finally her shift was done and Finnian hadn’t reappeared. She gathered her things and walked herself home, glad the rest of the day had gone smoothly.