Amy reached across the table and laid her hand on his. “She’s been hurt, but she’s not permanently broken. You can make a difference.” She let her gaze run over his expensive clothing, and her nose wrinkled. “But you need to lighten up.”
She patted his fingers.
Justin cracked a smile. “Are you into psychiatry as well as computer hacking?”
“Being a shrink is part and parcel of being an Alpha.” She tossed him a wink. “I admit this is the first time I’ve attempted other-species matchmaking.”
He sat up straighter, fumbling with his coffee.
Amy grinned into her coffee cup. Awww, she’d never seen a bear blush before. He must have it bad for Amanda.
They rose to their feet and he escorted her out the door. “Well, I’m thankful for your suggestions. And I’ll get that information to you as soon as I can.”
“No rush. I have a fair bit on my plate to deal with.”
Which was pretty much the understatement of the century.
Chapter Fifteen
Two days later Evan was ready to crawl out of his skin. He’d done everything possible to honour Amy’s request, but not showing up at her house was getting more and more difficult.
The sudden flurry of activity she’d buried herself under was frustrating, especially when he had thought things were straightening out.
His pack was no help either. All of them were as confused as his wolf. Those who had been at the spontaneous gathering the other night knew Amy was his mate. Word had spread through the pack, and now none of them could figure out why there wasn’t more action taking place.
A few of the more aggressive males had made comments regarding his leadership and strength. He’d dealt with them sternly, Lance and Toby especially, but they were young and cocky enough to continue to be pains in his ass.
Having to deal with an internal rebellion at the same time as dealing with his reluctant mate was not Evan’s idea of a good time.
Tonight she had promised to get together with him, bringing him as a guest to a concert her pack was involved in. As long as she didn’t cancel like she had their previous dinner and luncheon dates.
Evan was beginning to get a complex. He’d never had such trouble with any female before, and the fact his mate was the one avoiding him only made things worse.
So now he was standing outside Amy’s house waiting for her to answer the doorbell, feeling like a complete ass. He’d wondered about bringing her flowers and rejected it as the act of a desperate fool.
Amy swung the door open, and Evan’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He peeled it off and barely managed to keep it from flapping like a damn dog in heat.
She wore a clingy dress, its shimmering wintry-white fabric like a second skin. The neck scooped low and the skirt skimmed up, stopping at exactly the right moment to entice him to explore. Add in high heels that made her legs go on forever, and he was pinned in place for far too long.
“Did you want to come in?” Amy stepped back.
Evan sighed happily as he watched her move. “I’d love to.”
It took an incredible amount of control to not make his forward motion become stalking. What he wanted to do was keep walking until he had her pinned to some flat surface so he could put his hands on that gorgeous body. Check out how soft the fabric she was wrapped in really was.
“Did you want a drink before we go?” she asked.
He shook his head, already intoxicated from looking at her. Just from the scent of her filling his head for the first time in days. He was tempted to skip the activity and spend the night devouring her. Tasting her skin and driving her mad.
Instead he’d concentrate on pack, like they’d agreed. “You want me to drive?”
She accepted his arm and he led her to the sidewalk. “Park around the side of the building.”
He opened the door and watched with fascination as she placed herself in the passenger seat. It was impossible to look away from her legs as she pulled them into the car. Her shoes were held on with delicate bows, and visions of untying them with his teeth struck.
A cough snapped his attention back up to her face, and he sheepishly closed the door and came around to the driver’s side.
“What do you need to tell me about tonight?” He slipped into the traffic and headed toward the theater.
“Canyon sponsored the concert—this is one of the few cultural exchanges that includes musicians from all over the northern hemisphere. The performance typically brings in people from around the world. This is the second time we’ve hosted, and it’s growing on an annual basis.”
The event wasn’t something that had ever been on his radar. “Good for business?”
Amy nodded vigorously. “The financial implications are huge. Investors considering setting up shop in Whitehorse like to know their people won’t have to sacrifice the experiences available in the more civilized South.”
“Makes sense.” He supposed. Although the idea of sitting and watching people while they played music had never been on his bucket list.
“I want you to meet two of my pack. Giorgio is part of a string quartet, and Tessa works the soundboard. They are both very good at what they do, but Giorgio especially might be hesitant to see you.”
“On the shy side? That seems a little strange for a performer,” Evan wondered.
Amy shrugged. “Just because someone is talented doesn’t change their internal character. Giorgio escaped from a pack in Russia that was using him for entertainment.”
Evan thought for a moment, but couldn’t figure out what she meant. “Entertainment? As in, he played for them upon request?”
“More like they kept him in a small room, and every time they turned on the light he was required to play. When they didn’t need him anymore they left him back in the dark.”
His mind reeled. “Sometimes I want to go back to the days when my job was to eliminate the stupid and the cruel in the packs out there.”
She stared out the side window. “Eliminating people in charge who are horrid individuals is important, I agree. But it’s dangerous to get so caught up in that side of the equation the actual people who need our help get ignored.”
They were at the parking lot. Evan slid into a stall to the side of the building where she directed him. “If packs were run properly, and leadership did what they needed to do, wolves wouldn’t feel they were trapped. What if there are others still imprisoned like your friend was?”
They were on the sidewalk headed for the main doors when she spoke again. “Giorgio is free from that room, but he’s not necessarily free from his past. Going back and eliminating his captors doesn’t liberate his heart. That’s where I can help, so that’s where I put my focus.”
Only a moment later they were following a red carpet to massive doors that swooshed open as they approached.
Men in suits bounded up to greet Amy, gesturing her forward even as they eyed Evan with caution. She slipped her coat partway off before he woke up enough to assist her. The moment of contact between his hands and the bare skin of her shoulders was far too brief.
A neatly dressed woman reached for Amy’s coat, and Evan passed it over. Even in his suit he felt out of place in the midst of the elaborate formalwear milling around the brightly lit area. His ignorance of an entire portion of Whitehorse population shocked him.
But Amy’s fingers were wrapped around his biceps so in spite of the discomfort in his gut, the night wasn’t a complete write-off.
She leaned in, her lips brushing his jaw, and he swallowed hard to control the urge to pick her up and go somewhere private to switch the evening’s agenda to ravishment.