Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,18
morning, it was because I genuinely thought you were in trouble.”
“B-but you hardly know me.” She paused, her gaze lowering. “I don’t even know you.”
“All right then, we’ll get to know each other,” he began. “Let’s give this a whirl. Ask me anything.”
She blinked and turned her head slightly so both eyes snapped up to meet his gaze. “Now?”
“There’s no better time.” He smiled at her. “Go ahead. Ask me anything.”
“Well … tell me something about yourself.”
Gabriel knew he could have told her a million things about himself—his favorite color, his job, about growing up. But the first thing he blurted out was, “I hate frogs.”
“What?”
“They’re slimy and gross and have these creepy eyes.” He shuddered. “I can’t stand them. When I see them, my chest starts to seize up, and I can’t breathe.”
“But don’t you work as a ranger?” She nodded at the patch on his uniform. “That means you have to spend a lot of time outdoors.”
“Believe, me I know the irony.”
“But frogs are cute and harmless,” she cried. “They’re lovely, especially the colorful ones.”
“Of course you’d love them,” he grumbled.
“You can’t stand them … not even that puppet one on TV?”
While he took Rosie’s advice to heart about showing her some weakness, he wasn’t about to hand in his man card. “He’s, er, all right. Especially when he sings and plays the banjo.”
She laughed—a genuine, honest-to-goodness laugh that warmed his insides. Even his lion mewled happily, pleased to see their mate so amused.
“I don’t understand,” she giggled. “Why do you hate frogs? Did something happen when you were a kid?”
“I could tell you,” he began. “Maybe … over dinner?” Damn it, he’d tell her the story and endure talking more about those gross amphibians if she said yes. Oh God, let her say yes.
Her teeth worried at her lip. “I … I suppose that would be okay.”
“Is that a yes?”
“I—yes. But”—a frown marred her pretty face—“I can’t stay out late. I need to be asleep by ten or else I won’t be able to get up early for work.”
Now that would be a problem, because he didn’t get out until nine at night, but it wasn’t impossible to fix. “I’ll take care of it.” Damon would understand. After all, he was mated himself. “It might take a day or two. Can I call you and arrange it?”
She nodded, and he handed her his phone so she could type her number in. “I’ll call you right away.”
“I should get back to work now,” she said. “Um, so I’ll see you.”
“See you, Temperance.”
With a quick nod, she scampered back inside. He waited for one heartbeat before expelling a great big breath from his lungs. “Yes!” he exclaimed, as he high fived his lion. We did it, buddy!
His animal let out a howl of triumph. Mine.
“Um, not quite yet. But soon.” He’d take her out on a couple of dates, and once she was ready to hear it, tell her they were mates, and then they could bond.
The lion titled its head, as if asking, how?
“Huh.” He scratched his head. “I’m not sure.” But he could figure that out later, or maybe ask Damon about it.
Mine. His lion huffed impatiently. Mine.
He shook his head. “It’s not time yet,” he said aloud. If he couldn’t control his lion, they would scare her away, maybe for good.
Doubtful, his lion seemed to say as it rested its snout on its paws.
Gabriel snorted, then turned and began to walk toward his Jeep. “Trust me, buddy. We had a big win today.” His lion had always been impatient, but he hoped just for this once, it would trust him and let him set the pace. “She’s worth the wait.” That, at least, they seemed to agree on. Now, to get back to HQ and work out their scheduling problem.
As he predicted, Damon was more than happy to hear things were progressing with Temperance.
“Congrats, man.” Damon got up from behind his desk in his office at the Blackstone Rangers HQ and clapped him on the back. “Mates are a special thing, you know. Not all of us get a chance at meeting ours.”
“I know,” he said. “So … what do I do to make sure the mating bond forms?”
The chief’s dark brows drew together. “I don’t really know … I mean, for Anna Victoria and me, it just kind of happened. From what I’ve heard, it’s different for each couple. But I think when you’re both ready and open to accept it, you’ll feel the bond