One Insatiable(17)

His tone is tinged with irritation — of course it is! Still, I can’t make eye contact. I know if I do, he’ll see everything I’m feeling plain on my face. Instead I wave to the pimple-faced teen behind the counter.

“Hi, would you be able to raise the gutter guards for us?”

“Dude, you don’t need gutter guards,” Jim interrupts me. “I saw you. You’re like a scratch bowler.”

I’m not sure that’s a thing.

“It’s for Sally,” I do a little smile-frown, and Jim looks over to where my mousey friend is waiting.

“I can totally teach her to bowl, dude,” he says. “We can join forces.”

“Oh, no!” I try to stop this unwanted development, but it’s too late.

The little attendant has already passed shoes to Jim, and my resident attacker is happily making his way to where Sally sits, leaving me alone at the counter with Koa.

“Okay, then,” I say through a little nervous laugh. “Unexpected.”

The sexy panther only glares down at me, causing a tiny bead of sweat to tickle its way down the center of my back. He’s super-pissed, and I know why. Still, if he’s decided to make Woodland Creek his home, I can’t allow myself to get any more involved with him. He’ll have to stay angry.

Quickly turning away, I hurry back to where Sally and Jim are talking about god knows what. When I get there, I quickly pour another large cup of beer, and take a seat in the row opposite them.

Koa follows me from a distance, and I can feel the weight of his gaze. His eyes roam my body like a caress, and the memory of his touch makes my inner cat want to stretch out and slide along his body. The thought evokes a shiver. His eyes darken, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking. He’s so serious and composed and f*cking sexy in his aloofness.

“Okay, dude,” Jim says, lifting Sally’s hand. “I’m going to teach you to bowl the way Mercy taught you to kick my ass today. You ready?”

Sally laughs, and for a moment, I can’t believe it. It seems like she might be interested in my goofy-sweet assistant. Not that I’m saying the idea is impossible. It’s just not something I saw coming.

The two of them head toward the lane, and Koa and I are left sitting apart from each other, watching them go. I want to say something to cut the tension, but I can’t think of anything casual. My traitorous brain wants to say the words that will take everything back. Bending my knees, I hug them to my chest, resting my cheek against them and focusing my eyes on our friends. In my peripheral vision, I see Koa pour himself a drink.

He might not understand it, but he’s honoring my request to stay away. He’s not saying a word, keeping his distance, and driving me crazy. Sitting here, so close to each other, the tension between us tightens with every breath. My eyes ache from being forced to watch Sally fumbling with her bowling ball.

A noise sounds from the desk, and my rebel gaze flies back to him. My chest clenches when intense green meets them. He’s looking right at me, I can’t seem to breathe. My entire body is silently begging for him, and I decide I’d better call it a night before I lose the battle. He might be strong enough to follow my request, but I’m clearly not.

Blinking rapidly, I manage a slight smile before I wave to Sally and make my excuses. I hope it doesn’t look like I’m running, but I have to get away from him.



* * *





Koa


I don’t know what to make of this. When Jim knocked on my door tonight and asked if I’d like to go with him to the local bowling alley, I never dreamed it would put me face to face with Mercy.

This town is f*cking bullshit on a stick. First Andy lectures me on how Mercy is some kind of princess, which I already knew by tasting her blood, then I go to a piss-ant bowling alley, the commonest of the commonplaces, thinking I’ll drink a bunch of cheap-assed beer and forget how stupid this morning was, and what happens? In walks Princess.

Not only that, she looks like the f*cking sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in her tight dark jeans and black top showing her cleavage. I remember vividly how her breasts taste and feel against my mouth. Shit.

I know how soft her skin is. I know how it smells like little flowers. She leans forward to throw a perfect strike, pointing her round ass in my direction, and I have a real battle on my hands. Instinctive urges vibrate beneath my skin every time she moves.

“You going to bowl, dude?” Jim tears himself away from Sally, the little mongoose of a girl who doesn’t even begin to distract my attention from the blazing siren accompanying her.

“No.” It’s all I can manage.

If it hadn’t been for what happened last night, I’d give up on this place. Ever since I’ve landed here, it’s been nothing but bullshit female drama. The sex might be out of this world, but I’m looking to rebuild my life. Mercy is clearly not a part of that objective.

I do my best to keep myself apart from her. I sit behind the row of seats trying to act like I don’t notice how hard she’s working not to look at me. How could she go from the confident, sexy woman of two nights ago to this? In that moment, her head turns and our eyes meet. Desire clenches my stomach, and I see it reflected in her eyes.

Two things are in my head. The first is Mercy’s request to stay away. The second is Andy’s warning. Her lip goes between her teeth, but I don’t look away. Let her squirm. She asked for this.