Lawful Mates - Liam Kingsley Page 0,15

afternoon at the park.

I was glad for my own sunglasses that hid the way I devoured the sight of him. That smile. He’d never smiled at me that way before, and it made my heart beat a little faster. I fought to keep my face blank as he approached—until he shocked the hell out of me by dropping the handle of the cooler and striding right up to me, a sexy smirk tilting his lips.

He trailed his fingers over my bicep, then leaned in close. “I’d give you a hard time for not calling me after last night, but I can’t blame you for wanting some time with our girl.”

My muscle bunched and jumped at his touch, and every thought evaporated from my head. The only thing I was aware of was him. I was so stunned I couldn’t think of a word to say as he crowded into my space even more, running his fingers through my hair and pressing his body against mine. He leaned in, his mouth inches from my ear. “Play along, or my rescue attempt is going to fail miserably,” he whispered.

Distracted by the feel of his warm breath against my ear, it took me a couple of seconds to process what he meant. Rescue attempt. Right. Because this man despised me. For a moment, his act had utterly sucked me in, and while I kind of hated myself for being disappointed, my wolf was going all sorts of crazy, reacting to Easton’s close proximity.

Aware of everyone’s interest still on us, I forced myself to hook an arm around Easton’s waist and pull him closer. I pasted a cocky smile on my face. “Just can’t stay away from me, can you?”

I could have sworn Easton’s breath hitched ever so slightly as he tightened his fingers on me, but he just grinned. This close, I realized he was only a couple of inches shorter than my six-foot-five frame, and I allowed my gaze to linger on the dark gold stubble dotting his sharp jawline while I wondered what it would feel like if I brushed my lips over it.

My wolf whimpered and whined, loving where my thoughts were going, pushing me to do just that. Ugh. I shut him down, irritated that my reaction to Easton was this strong. Distance. I needed to put some distance between this man and me before I lost my mind and did something utterly stupid.

“Let’s go tell Amy you’re here,” I said, releasing him and walking toward the cooler to check out what he’d brought.

“Help yourselves to the drinks,” Easton said cheerfully to the parents who had gathered around me. If Easton’s goal was to get them to back off, he’d succeeded. They all avoided my gaze, taking the hint.

Easton grabbed a water bottle from the cooler then linked his arm with mine as we strolled away. Too close for comfort, but I couldn’t quite make myself shake him off just yet. After all, I didn’t want to blow our cover.

“They can be vultures when they spot fresh meat,” Easton whispered. “My little show should keep them at bay for a while, though.”

“Um, right,” I said, surprised my voice sounded even remotely normal. “Thanks, I guess.”

Easton just arched a brow and led me over to the other side of the playground. We watched Amy play with her friends for a while, and he stayed close the entire time.

It was odd and unfamiliar, but there was also something soothing and comforting about having him near. My wolf definitely recognized it, and the word mate floated around in my head.

Desperate to distract myself, I pushed my sunglasses up on my head. “I’ve had a pretty interesting week at work.”

Before I could say anything else, Easton held up a hand. “Don’t. I don’t want to talk about work. I understand you have a job to do. I don’t need you to explain yourself. Besides, we’re here to cheer up Amy. No more talk of work. Deal?” He removed his own glasses, staring up at me with those intense baby blues that I found myself lost in for several seconds.

“Deal,” I said, stunned to find myself not just agreeing, but smiling at him. I wasn’t exactly the most agreeable type on a good day, and there was already so much bad blood between the two of us, but there I was, more than happy to agree with him. To just enjoy the day.

A smile slowly curved his lips, and my heart thundered in response.