“I don’t get it,” she said, resting her cheek on her hand. “I don’t get how anyone couldn’t love you just as you are.” She shook her head. “Besides, rough, overpowering masculinity used to take advantage of others is easy. Look at Bryson.”

  “I could never be like him,” Citrine said. “My strength is for protecting others, not securing advantages for myself.”

  “But you want to secure me for yourself.”

  “Only if you want me. Only if you one day see the same destiny that is planted in my heart.”

  She let out a little sigh. “That’s a beautiful way of saying it. And who knows? Things are changing. They’ve already changed so much in just a few days. My whole life, there was just this solid brick wall on the horizon. Now there are options. I guess I’m excited to see what happens, even if I’m a little scared.”

  He came over to sit by her. “I’m glad there’s a part of you that can hope for something more.”

  She leaned her head in against him. “Yeah. Me, too.” She let out a long, happy breath, and he wondered if she was thinking about what they’d just done in her bedroom. But he was determined not to read any more of her thoughts.

  “Citrine?” she said in a quiet voice. “You really do feel like sunshine. Soft and warm.”

  He smiled gently. For now, she needed a comforting glow. But he also knew that if anyone threatened her, they would suffer the other side of him, the incinerating rays of an angry sun.

  Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. After all, what could a wolf do to really challenge a dragon?

  Chapter 9

  The next day, Robbie came down to breakfast feeling flushed and well-rested for the first time in a while.

  After she and Citrine had come in from the porch, they’d showered separately and come downstairs just in time for her parents to get back. Together, they’d put on a movie and worked on a puzzle, and she’d really enjoyed the night.

  Catching occasional glances from Citrine, as if he were trying to remind her of what they’d done.

  What had affected her even more than the lovemaking, or maybe just as much, was his vulnerability in talking about his past. She wanted to know more about him. To open up his mind and step inside and hear every thought, every memory.

  She couldn’t ever remember feeling that intensely about anyone else before.

  Perhaps in another shifter culture, that would have been called having interest in a “mate.”

  She sat at the kitchen table and realized the coffee maker was already on.

  Had someone gotten up before her?

  Her question was answered when Citrine walked in wearing a tunic like he had sometimes when off duty at Date-A-Dragon. It was soft and came to just between his elbows and wrists. He was wearing dark pants beneath it.

  He walked to the coffee machine, pulled out two mugs and filled them, then brought them over to her.

  He raised an eyebrow when he caught her staring.

  “We need to get you some clothes to blend in here,” she said. “You’re going to get stares.”

  “I don’t care about stares,” he said. “But does it bother you?”

  “Why do you wear those?” she asked.

  “They’re lightweight, breathable. Easy to move in,” he said, sipping his coffee. “But I was aware I might have to adjust to live in wolf country, so I do have some more tee shirts and things. And I’m not averse to going shopping if you want to make a trip of it.”

  She grinned, thinking he would probably stand out no matter what he wore, especially with his longer hair.

  She wondered briefly how he would look with it short. Probably hot.

  He was hot either way, and she wasn’t trying to change him.

  “Perhaps I should cut my hair,” he said. “Longer hair can be a liability in a fight.”

  “Right,” she said, flushing as she remembered he would be fighting Bryson soon. She wished she could stop it, but Citrine and her parents had made it clear it wasn’t her choice to make.

  Citrine was going to do his best to give her a choice of mate whether she liked it or not.

  It was an odd situation.

  “There’s a salon in town if you want,” she said. “We could head over and see what you think.”

  “All right,” he said. “But I’m growing my hair back out when the fight is over. I like it this way.” He gave her a challenging glance.

  She waved a hand. “I like you either way.”

  He raised a dark eyebrow and his amber eyes twinkled. “Oh, you like me, huh?”

  She looked away, raising her coffee cup to partially hide her face. “Of course I do. You know that already, after yesterday.”

  “Perhaps you were just using me for my body?” he teased.

  “It is a very nice body,” she said, grinning back at him. The warm, sexual tension was fizzing between them again, and it made her edgy, made it hard to stay still in her chair.

  “It’s going to be nice outside. Do you want to go soon?”

  “After breakfast,” she said. “I’m going to need something in my stomach before we go out there.”

  “Fair enough,” he said. “I like my mate well fed.”

  She flushed. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  He gave her a wicked grin, standing and coming over to press a kiss to her cheek, making her shudder. “Exactly what I said, sweetheart.” Then he walked to the fridge and opened it. “Now, what should I make for my princess?”

  She laughed. She wanted to tell him “sweetheart” and “princess” weren’t appropriate, that they sounded too intimate, but after what they’d done the day before, she didn’t really have ground to stand on.

  So she just grinned and sipped her coffee and tried to imagine again how he’d look with short hair.

  Whatever Robbie had been imagining, it was nothing compared to the actuality of Citrine with a haircut.

  It was cropped serviceably short, spiked up at the front and shaved short at the sides, and it only brought out more of the masculine aspects of his face.

  Had his jaw always been that broad? Had his nose always been that sharp? Had his exotic eyes always looked so much like burning flames? Had his lashes always been that long?

  His full lips pouted as he looked down at her, folding his arms. “You’re giving me a weird look. I can’t tell if you like it.”

  She swallowed, her throat too dry to speak. She wet her lips, hoping she didn’t drool when she finally was able to gather her wits about her.

  He looked so much taller now, too, his muscular body towering over her, his tanned arms massive in the light-blue tee shirt he was wearing.

  Her eyes moved over him, narrowing, as she tried to pull her gaze away from his artfully distressed jeans, his shoes, his belt, his groin…

  He pursed his lips and then turned around to face the stores. “I think I have an idea. Stay here for a second.” He popped into a shop, and she took a deep breath, deciding to stay out in the fresh air until the horny she-wolf in her decided against molesting him in public, right here on the street.

  He felt like a perfect treat that had been delivered to her, even more unwrapped now, and the temptation was almost unbearable. Especially now that she knew what he could do with his hands, his lips… his everything.

  She heard a vehicle approaching and turned to see an old blue truck rumbling down the road that was otherwise quiet. She was immediately on guard, remembering things that used to happen on Main Street before she was betrothed to Bryson.

  Citrine walked out of the store behind her, holding a receipt, and she noticed he was now wearing a dark-blue and black checked flannel over his tee shirt. He spun, arms out, and posed for her. “So what do you think? Am I properly attired for wolf country now?”

  She stifled a laugh as she looked at him. “I suppose so.”

  She heard the truck get closer and suddenly felt Citrine grab her, pull her against him, and spin her around so his back was to the road, protecting her.

  She heard shouts and felt the thump of a hard impact and the shattering of the glass window next to them.

  She looked up to see metal pipes on the ground next to them. She tried to peek around Citrine’s shoulder, but he kept her tucked against him, fiercely on guard.

  She could hear the voices from the truck, though, as it screeched away.

  “Watch out, outsider,” a male yelled. “The big bad wolf is coming, and you’re going to get your ass kicked.”

  Citrine let out a low growl but just kept himself glued around her, like an impromptu bulletproof shield.

  When the truck finally faded into the distance, he pulled back to look over her, worry in his amber eyes as he made sure she was okay.

  Right now he was all concerned, furious male.

  The shopkeeper came out. Shirley was in her forties, with short, curly blond hair, and she looked out at the road with a sigh. “They’re back at it I guess.” Her eyes moved to Robbie and Citrine. “I suppose because of the alpha challenge.”

  “Yes,” Robbie said, expecting censure, but Shirley merely nodded.

  “A window can be fixed. Take care of you, honey.” Shirley folded her arms and looked at the window. “Well, that sucks.”

  Citrine walked forward, pulling money out of his wallet. “Here,” he said. “Order a new one. And if you need help installing it, I’m there.”

  Shirley took the money reluctantly but shook her head. “I appreciate that, but my son-in-law is a glass worker. I’m sure it’ll be fine. You just take care of our Robbie.” She glared in the direction the truck had gone. “And beat that horrible Bryson boy down.”

  Citrine nodded and turned back to Robbie, extending an arm to escort her. She took it reluctantly, feeling bad he’d had to intervene.

  She looked at his back, where a pipe had presumably hit him. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

  He shook his head, his expression dark. “But you could have been.”

  “You didn’t have to pay for the window. I could’ve—”

  He gave her a glare, and it looked even more imposing with his shorter hair. “Robbie, I told you. I’m here to take responsibility for everything. I know I’m upsetting the status quo here, and I want to do everything I can to help.”

  She nodded, squeezing his arm. “I appreciate it, then.”

  They walked down the road, and he was oddly quiet.

  “What’s going through your mind?” she asked. “Sometimes I wish I could read it.”

  He threw his head back and laughed for some unknown reason, and she frowned.

  “Not much,” he said. “Just that you and Shirley didn’t seem at all surprised by what happened.”

  She shrugged. “I guess because I was used to it when I was younger. They harassed us constantly, I suppose trying to chase us off our land. It stopped when the engagement was set between me and their alpha’s son. I guess now that it’s no longer a sure thing, they’re back to their usual behavior.”

  “Well, someone needs to put a stop to it,” he said, folding his arms. “Bullying like that is unacceptable.”

  “How?” she asked. “They’re a whole town of people. There are way more of them than us. What can we possibly do?”

  “I’m going to put a stop to it. I promise,” he said, a dark expression on his handsome face. “Maybe not right now, but soon.” He fingered an odd, thin chain hanging around his neck and disappearing under his tee shirt. “Until then, I don’t want you to go anywhere without me by your side.”

  She was going to protest, but given the pipes, she couldn’t really argue.

  “Okay.”

  Chapter 10

  After dinner that night, Robbie’s parents shooed them out of the kitchen, insisting they could do the dishes so Citrine and Robbie could spend some more time alone.

  Citrine had been trying to calm himself ever since the incident at the storefront, but he wasn’t being very successful at it.

  Every time he thought about what could have happened if he hadn’t come out of the store right at that moment and protected Robbie, his hands clenched into fists and he felt an unbearable heat rising inside him.

  His mate could have been hurt. The impact of the metal pipe against his back hadn’t been insignificant, obviously thrown by a strong shifter, and he hated to think of her experiencing even the slightest amount of pain if he failed to protect her.

  He was incensed by what had happened to that nice shopkeeper, Shirley, as well.

  The only bright spot in the day was that Robbie seemed to be happy with his new haircut and kept sneaking blushing glances at him whenever she got a moment.

  That part made him smile, but it wasn’t long before the image of that truck, their hands throwing metal at his mate, popped back in his head, reminding him of those dreadful few seconds when he’d been desperate to protect her.

  What kind of men were these? Bellowing and attacking women, breaking up the peace for stupid reasons? He hated this kind of masculinity. This kind of behavior, no matter who was doing it.

  His hands clenched into fists again.

  He felt Robbie reach out for one of his hands, gently prying the fingers apart, and tried to calm himself as he looked into her eyes.

  Her full lips were soft and parted and spread into a friendly smile. She was clearly trying to cheer him up.

  “Come on,” she said. “I have something to show you. Something that might take your mind off things.”

  “Why do you think I need to?” he asked, wondering how he was coming across.

  “Just… You keep getting this look like you want to kill someone.”

  “I do,” he said, folding his arms. “The men who tried to hurt you or your town.”

  “I know,” she said. “But that’s over for now. Let’s go have some fun and not think about it.”

  He supposed she was right. She was wearing a cute pink sweatshirt over tight jeans that emphasized her tall curves, and her hair was back in a cute bun.

  He was with his mate, could go and enjoy her company, and he resolved to put anything else out of his mind as much as he could.

  They walked away from town, down a path through trees, and stopped when they came to a clearing, in the middle of which was an old water tower.

  “Come on,” she said, letting go of his hand to jog in front of him, laughing and waving for him to follow. “Let’s climb it.”

  He followed her, catching up easily with long strides. “Is that even safe? It looks like it could topple over anytime.”

  “Nonsense,” she said, bending down to tighten the laces on her tennis shoes. She stood, stretching her hands over her head, and grinned at him. “I did this so many times growing up.”

  He eyed the old, metallic cylinder equipped with a rickety, rusty ladder that led up to a small circular walkway and railing near the top.

  She began climbing it, and he ran quickly to stand beneath her, to catch his crazy alpha female in case she fell. But she was sure-footed and climbed onto the small walkway, sitting on it and swinging her feet over the side.

  “What’s wrong?” she called out. “Scaredy-cat?”

  He sighed. “No. But look, just don’t fall off while I’m climbing. I won’t be able to catch you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay. I’ll try not to just roll off like an idiot.”

  “Forgive me for being overprotective,” he muttered as he climbed. “After you were almost brained by a piece of metal.”

  Her eyes softened as she watched him climb onto the walkway with her and sit right next to her. He dropped his legs over, letting them swing.

  They were only about twenty feet above the ground and should be fine here.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to risk getting hurt for me.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You think that’s what I care about? No. I care that someone tried to hurt you. You’re my mate. Every cell in my body is opposed to any pain coming to you. I know I can’t prevent everything that happens in this world, but I hate that there are people actively trying to harm you. Wolves trying to harm you.”

  “I would have seen it coming if I hadn’t been distracted by how hot you were,” she said, grinning.

  He opened his mouth to argue against her blatant attempt to distract him, but was unable to not be affected by her compliment. He let out a breath, relaxing. “So I’m hot, am I?”

  She nodded jerkily. “Of course you are. But then, most shifters are, aren’t they? Alphas even more so.” She scented the air, embarrassing him slightly. “Are you alpha? You smell like it.”

  He lifted his arm to sniff his armpit. “Do I stink? I showered.”

  She pushed his arm down, laughing. “Nothing like that. Wolf shifters have a highly developed sense of smell. Don’t worry about it. You smell amazing. But answer my question. Are there alphas in your group, and are you one?”

  He sighed. “I mean, not like the alphas you have. But I suppose I am one of, if not the most, powerful of my kind currently living. Though there are others not in my region who might rival me.”

  She swallowed. “Hot.” She looked out at the land all around him, the sun fading over the trees. He joined her, enjoying the sheer, green beauty of it all.

  But none of it compared to the woman sitting beside him.

  “You’re so gorgeous,” he said. “I always thought so.”

  “Really? I had no idea.”

  He rested his hands on his knees. “I had to control myself. We were co-workers after all, and as you know, I was really focused on work. I’m used to staying in control, and I told myself my attraction to you was just another thing I needed to control. I pushed it aside, and then when you left, it broke out of me like a wildfire, burning me up inside.”

  “I’m sorry I upset you,” she said, giving him a sad look. “I never wanted to hurt anyone, but I didn’t want to hurt myself either, and saying good-bye would have been so hard.”

  He nodded. “I get it. There were no promises between us. But I truly believe we were meant to meet so when you ran back, someone would be there to run after you. To make sure you were happy forever, rather than only helping others.” He gave her a meaningful glance and felt the heat rise between them.