He shook his head. “I haven’t eaten since this morning.” He hadn’t taken the time after he’d slipped away from his surveillance of Riley’s Garage. He’d hit his motel room long enough to shower and change before catching a cab to the club. The fact that he hadn’t walked, hadn’t taken the time to stretch his legs was telling. He hadn’t been able to get here fast enough to suit him.
He glanced around and saw a table for two over near the edge of the small dance floor and started toward it. Hank made to follow him, but Meredith stopped him. “You need to keep a watch on the door.”
He frowned as he caught an underlying tone of fear from Meredith. What was she afraid of? He heard the swish of material and the click of her heels on the hardwood floor and knew she was right behind him. A whiff of her perfume assailed his nostrils and his dick immediately stood at attention. No doubt about it. There was some powerful chemistry between them.
He stood by one of the chairs, his hands on the back of it as he waited for Meredith to sit. She gave a frustrated huff and slid onto the seat. The last thing she wanted to do was bring more attention to them so he knew he’d win this small battle. Isaiah took the chair nearest the wall. The vantage point gave him a good view of the entire club.
“You can’t stay,” she began.
He leaned across the table and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “What’s wrong?” Her skin was so soft, so inviting. He wanted to kiss away the worry lines between her brows. He shook his head. This was so unlike him. He knew he should be concerned about what that meant, but he couldn’t work up the energy to care.
“What’s wrong?” she repeated, looking at him like he was out of his mind. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. A male I don’t know has come sniffing around and I don’t know what his game is.” She glanced around to make certain no one could hear them before she continued. “Why are you here?”
Isaiah sat back in his chair and studied her. He figured he had about two minutes before another male member of her small pack made his presence known. Her sons had already been alerted to his presence and were glaring at him from behind the bar. The other males he’d met last night were stationed on either side of the club, their eyes glued to him and Meredith. The young female werewolf was nowhere to be seen.
He shook his head and sighed, knowing she probably wouldn’t believe him. “I came here on business for my pack and I happened in here by accident. I never came looking for you, Meredith. Nobody sent me. I’m no danger to you or yours.
“I had to see you again,” he continued when she sat there watching him. “There’s something between us.” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Damned if I can explain it.”
“I’m nearing heat,” came her wry reply.
Isaiah chuckled. “Yeah, I caught that. But it’s more than that. I was drawn in here by your voice, by you.”
“You ’bout ready to leave?” The challenge came from off to the left as one of Meredith’s sons stepped up beside her.
“Michael.” Isaiah could hear the warning note in her voice.
The younger male shook his head, a muscle in his jaw rippling as he clenched his teeth. “He needs to go.”
“All this focus on me is attracting attention,” Isaiah pointed out. “That’s exactly what you don’t want.”
“If you don’t leave, I can give you some help,” Michael threatened.
Isaiah bared his teeth. “You’re welcome to try.”
“Enough.” The words were softly spoken, but they were solid steel. Meredith stood and pushed in her chair. “Get something to eat. Stay and enjoy the music. But we’re done.”
She turned her back on him and headed toward the bar. Michael shot Isaiah a triumphant look over his shoulder as he rested his palm on his mother’s back to guide her.
Isaiah tensed. He knew Michael was her son, but he didn’t like seeing any male touch her. Jealousy was a new emotion for him. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like anything that made him feel as though he was out of control.
He thought about leaving, about getting up and walking out of here, out of Meredith’s life forever. Except he couldn’t make himself do it. For the first time, he had an inkling of what Joshua felt for Alex.
Not that he planned to mate with Meredith, even if she’d have him, which he suspected she wouldn’t. She was too used to running the show, to being alpha. He suspected there was a darn good reason why she, a beautiful werewolf in her prime, was running around without a male beside her.
All he wanted was one night in her bed. Maybe two. The sexual attraction sizzling between them was off the charts. She felt it as much as he did. The trick was to get her to acknowledge it.
The same waitress from last night hurried up to his table and placed a menu in front of him. “Meredith sent me to take your order.”
A slow smile turned up the corners of his mouth. She must not want him to go if she was encouraging him to have a meal. Either that or she was trying to rush his meal so he’d leave.
Isaiah opened the menu and began to order. He was starving. “I’ll start with a double burger with the works, fries and a basket of ribs and wings.” He rattled off the rest of his order. Tammy’s eyes grew wider the more he ordered. When he was done, she took the menu and headed toward the kitchen.
Two hours later, he was pleasantly full and enjoying the three-piece jazz combo as they wound down for the night. The food had been excellent and he’d had the added attraction of watching Meredith all evening.
Every muscle in his body was tense with arousal. He’d had an erection the entire time, a testament to the attraction he felt for her. It had been both arousing and torturous to watch Meredith laughing and chatting with patrons. She had an easy stride, more of a glide as she circled the room over and over again, checking on people. A word here, a pat on the shoulder there. Bringing a smile to everyone.
Everyone but him.
She’d made a point of avoiding him. He didn’t know whether to laugh at her audacity or drag her over his knee and spank her for torturing him all night long.
At least the rest of the pack had settled down. Oh, they were still all watching him, but they weren’t quite so obvious about it. Even the younger female werewolf returned to work, although she kept to the far side of the floor, serving customers well away from him.
The club was filled with people having a good time. Laughter and chatter surrounded him. The smell of perfume, sweat and arousal mixed with that of the liquor and uneaten food, creating a scent that was unique to such places.
He should have hated it. Shouldn’t have been able to last a half hour, let alone several. To say he disliked being closed in and surrounded by humans was an understatement. Yet, he felt none of the clawing pressure to escape that he usually did. Both he and his wolf were content to watch Meredith. Her mere presence seemed to calm the agitation that constantly plagued him.
Either that or he was desperate to get laid.
He wanted to believe that. There was no future for him here. Meredith had an established life and seemed quite happy without a male butting his nose into her business. There was no way he could permanently settle in the city. Impossible.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy one another’s company, burn up the sheets and make some very pleasant memories. He pondered for a bit and wondered if he could convince her of that.
The band announced their last song of the night. He hated to see it end. Meredith chose that moment to walk across the dance floor. She was obviously heading for the stage, but he rose quickly and intercepted her. “Dance with me.”
Heat rolled off his body in waves as desire punched him in the gut. She was getting closer to going into heat. She smelled ripe and desirable. He wanted to rip off her clothes right here, right now, and mount her until they both yelled in pleasure.