The saleswoman gave him a smile. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”
Feeling slightly embarrassed about the situation he’d gotten himself into, Skylar took a few steps away determined to carry on with his plan to meet the woman who’d stirred his mating urge to life.
“I’m sure. I’ll call you if I need you,” he said quickly before continuing on his way to the back of the store.
As he closed in on the blonde, he drew in deeper gulps of her scent, burning it to his memory. That done, he’d now be able to recognize it and use it to find her. Skylar greedily drank in the back view of her body, watching as she looked through a rack of bras. When she pulled one off and held it up to look at, he had to stop the growl of need that threatened to rumble out of his chest. The bra was another see-through piece, only it was a pale shade of blush. As he pictured what she’d look like wearing it with only a pair of matching panties, his mating urge sank deeper claws into him. He must have made a small sound after all, because she turned to face him. She slowly lowered the bra she held as she stared at him.
Wanting nothing more than to pull the dark sunglasses off so he could see the color of her eyes, Skylar forced himself to stay where he stood. “Hi,” he said.
It was hard to form a coherent thought when all the blood in his body seemed to be rushing to his cock.
“Hi,” she said back slowly.
“I saw you outside.”
She glanced down at the helmet he still held in his hand. “You were on the motorcycle.”
“Yeah.”
A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Did you follow me in here, or do you just like to shop for woman’s lingerie?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he only liked to shop in a store like this if he could buy for her. But Skylar knew he’d more than likely get slapped for that if he said it out loud. She didn’t know him and had no idea what she would be to him.
“Believe me,” he said with a chuckle, “I don’t make it a habit of coming to shop in stores that carry women’s intimate apparel. Actually, this is my first time stepping foot in one.”
“Then you followed me,” she stated simply.
“You could say that. I found myself unable to let you just walk away without getting to know you.” He ran his gaze over her face, letting some of the arousal he felt show in his eyes.
She swallowed. “Really?” she said quietly. “So you decided to chase me down? What if I don’t want to get to know you?”
Skylar crowded her until her back hit the rack behind her. No longer able to stand the sunglasses blocking his view of her gaze, he plucked them off her face. He then stared into a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes. She didn’t wear any makeup, but that didn’t make her looks any less amazing. Now that he saw all her features, he found her face vaguely familiar, though he knew he hadn’t met her before. He’d have remembered that.
Leaning in a bit, Skylar dragged more of her scent into his lungs. There was the unmistakable tinge of arousal mixed in with it now. “Since you hadn’t run from me in the first place, I hardly could have chased you down. And I most definitely think you want to get to know me better.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself,” she said in a voice that had dropped an octave to a sexy murmur. It seemed to wrap around his cock, stroking it.
He crowded closer so they stood toe-to-toe. “Sometimes you have to have enough confidence in yourself to succeed. How about we start with introductions? I’m Skylar.”
His soon-to-be mate opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, the saleswoman returned. “Oh my god,” the woman said excitedly. “I know who you are. You’re Braelyn Whitmore, the fashion model.”
“Yes, I am,” said the woman he wanted to claim as his own.
The saleswoman squealed, then shoved him out of the way so she stood in front of Braelyn. “I can’t believe you’re here. I watched you on TV last week on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. I personally think you were the best model on it.”
That’s when it hit Skylar why Braelyn looked familiar. While taking his turn to guard Roxie one evening the other week, she’d insisted he watch the very show the saleswoman had mentioned. He’d spent most of broadcast trying to hide the erection he’d gotten when one particular model had walked down the runway in nothing but a bra and panties. It had been Braelyn. Since he hadn’t been able to smell her scent, he hadn’t known then why she’d affected him more than the other scantily clad models.
The sudden thought of how many viewers, how many male viewers, had watched that fashion show had Skylar gritting his teeth to hold back another growl. It didn’t sit well with him to think of what those males could have been thinking—let alone doing—while they’d watched Braelyn strut her stuff on the runway.
Obviously unaware of the tension inside him, Braelyn smiled at the saleswoman. “Thanks. I enjoyed doing it.”
“What are you doing in San Francisco? Are you working?”
“No. I’m on a bit of a break before my next assignment. I have family here.”
When it looked as if the saleswoman would continue to monopolize all of Braelyn’s attention, Skylar butted into the conversation. “Sorry to interrupt, but you were talking to me first.”
Braelyn turned to look at him and grinned. “Feeling neglected?”
“Would it help if I said just a little?”
She flashed him a smile. Had he been in wolf form it would have had him looking up at her with adoring eyes with his tongue hanging out while he panted for her attention. It also had Skylar fighting to maintain what little control the mating urge allowed him to have. If it slipped, he knew he’d be staring at her with his eyes glowing mutedly, something they did whenever he became very aroused or angry.
“Maybe a tiny bit,” she said. Braelyn turned to the saleswoman. “It was nice meeting you, but I really don’t want to draw too much attention to myself. Think of me as any other customer who walks through the door. I’m going to look around, and if I need any help, I’ll be sure to ask.”
The saleswoman nodded. “Sure. I understand.” She then glanced over at Skylar. “But I’m sure you already have more than enough help right now.” The woman walked toward the front of the store.
Skylar watched Braelyn turn back to the rack of bras and re-hang the one she’d been holding. She shifted through it, looking as if she really intended to continue shopping.
“You’re still going to shop?” he asked. “What about us getting to know each other better?”
Braelyn looked over shoulder at him. “We can still do that at the same time. There’s one thing you should know about me—when I’m on one of my shopping trips, it would take a herd of horses to pull me away from it.” She looked him up and down. “And from the looks of you, you’ll be more than capable of carrying all that I buy.”
“Ah…all right. I guess I’m okay with that, but can’t we at least go to another store that isn’t quite so…provocative?”
She gave him a sultry look, the same one she’d used on the TV when she’d reached the end of the runway and done her pose. It got his libido going every time he saw it. “I’m not finished here yet, and maybe I’d like your male opinion on which bra or panty you find sexier.” Braelyn turned back to the rack, pulled out another lacy bra before she swiveled in his direction again and held it up in front of her. “What do you think? Does this do anything for you?”
Skylar groaned. God, she was going to kill him, or make it so he had blue balls by the time they left the store. He’d just met his would-be mate and already she strung him along. And seeing the look of mischief in her eyes, he could tell she knew exactly what she did to him. At this rate, she’d have him a mess before he could claim her as his own.