Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“If you change your mind, just tell me.” Bracken planted yet another drugging kiss on his mate’s mouth. “Not long to go and we’ll be out of here. Which is a good thing, because all I can think about is shoving up that skirt and fucking your brains out.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Oh, it is a promise.” Letting his hand slip away from her face, he straightened. “Gotta do a few more laps of the club and make sure everything’s good. Be back soon.”
She watched him walk away, letting out a dreamy sigh at the sight of his rather epic ass. Sadly, that view was obstructed by the group of girls that appeared at the bar. She served them quickly. And then the next patrons. And the next.
A little later, realizing it was time for her break, she was just about to leave when a tall, wide-shouldered male ambled up to the bar. “Beer, please. Could you have it sent over to Bracken Slater? Tell him it’s from Claudia.”
Madisyn stilled, and her cat snarled. He was watching her carefully, knew exactly who she was to Bracken. She leaned forward. “If your boss is that curious about how I’ll react to another female buying my mate a drink, why didn’t she come on over here to place the order herself?”
He licked his front teeth. “Touchy little thing, aren’t you?”
“Touchy?” she echoed.
“It’s just a drink. A beer.” His mouth curved into a patronizing smile. “You should know that guys find petty jealousy a real turnoff.”
Madisyn felt her eyelid twitch. Oh, this guy could not be believed. She splayed her hands on the bar. “Petty? Petty is sitting in a corner, rubbing yourself all over one guy to get a reaction out of another guy—too vain to be able to handle that he is not now nor ever has been interested. Even you have to be rolling your eyes at that shit. If you’re not, you’re as pathetic as she’s acting.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. “You’re not a bobcat.”
“Aren’t I?”
Ally sidled up to her. “Is there a problem here?”
“Claudia just wanted to buy Bracken a congratulatory drink on finding his mate,” said the asshole, pretending innocence. “The cat here mistook Claudia’s intention.”
Ally snorted. “Not even a loyal shopper like me is going to buy that crap. Madisyn, go take your break. He isn’t worth your time.”
“You got that right.” Madisyn walked out from behind the bar and made her way to the break room near Harley’s office, resisting the urge to toss Claudia a well-deserved snarl.
The coffee maker and vending machine took the brunt of Madisyn’s annoyance as she forcibly jabbed buttons and stomped around. Plonking herself on one of the padded seats, she shoved aside a pile of newspapers and roughly bit into her candy bar. No, it wasn’t fair to take her mood out on the chocolate, but whatever.
Trying to pull back her frustration before it reached Bracken through their bond, she distracted herself by reading the safety posters on the wall and the notices on the corkboard, all the while tracing the scars on the surface of the table to give her restlessness an outlet. Little by little, her tension began to fade.
She was sipping her coffee when the door opened . . . and in breezed Claudia. Madisyn jumped to her feet, gaping. “What the ever-loving fuck?”
Claudia shut the door and held up her hands in a gesture of peace. “I just want to talk.”
“Yeah? I don’t.” She wanted to scratch the bitch’s eyes out. Her cat wanted to claw off her nipples, which sounded more fun.
Claudia shoved a hand through her hair, looking . . . embarrassed. “I owe you an apology. Bracken is your mate, and I didn’t give that the amount of respect it deserved. For that, I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I think we can help each other.”
Madisyn stared at her, lips parted. “Are you high?”
“Look, now that he has a mate, I understand that it’s no longer possible for Bracken to be my personal bodyguard,” conceded Claudia, all reasonable. “But he can still be a member of my security team. Surely you would want that?”
“Oh, you’re definitely high.”
“He’s your mate. You care for him. And you have to know just how damaged he is deep inside.” Claudia glanced at the wall, gaze focused inward. “I knew someone whose bond just wouldn’t snap into place. Her mate . . . he was constantly wrestling with something dark inside himself. She thought the bond would be enough to help heal his wounds, but it wasn’t. And bit by bit, their bond disintegrated.” Claudia’s eyes met Madisyn’s. “Until then, I hadn’t known that a mating bond could crumble. But it turns out that if the bond is only partially formed, it can, in fact, happen.”
Madisyn hadn’t known that either.
“Having a mate won’t be enough to heal Bracken’s wounds. They’ll scab over, but that’s all. The only way he can deal with those wounds is by facing what caused them. He can’t go hunting extremists anymore—that would only eat at him inside—but he can still go against them in his way. Joining my security team would help him. In turn, that would help your bond progress.”