inhaled her scent as it wrapped around his senses like a warm blanket. His jaguar half perked up at the intriguing mix of female musk overlaid with vanilla, cinnamon, and yeast.
Yeah, he was definitely going to ask her out.
"I need to ask you a huge favor," she whispered, going up on tiptoe and sliding her arms around his neck.
Her lips brushed his ear, sending pleasant shivers down his spine and straight into his cock.
"Sure, what?" he asked, his hands resting on the curve of her hips, keeping her firmly plastered against him.
He felt the curious stares of his teammates around him.
Thor and Cassie had left the group and walked over to the older couple and the scary-looking old lady. Based on his reactions, Steve guessed that three people were from Thor's hometown and somehow related to Maggie.
"Could you pretend to be my fianc茅?" she asked. "Just for today?"
"What?" Okay, he hadn't been expecting that. What the hell's going on?
"Um, long story short, my abuela is trying to marry me off. I, uh, accidentally told her that we were involved, and like, serious."
Accidentally told her? How did that even happen?
Steve glanced over at the old woman. She was short, maybe a shade over five feet, deeply tanned, with dyed black hair pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head. She was dressed in a simple but elegant white dress, with a shawl embroidered with brightly colored flowers and geometric patterns draped over her shoulders.
She was watching the two of them with a fierce expression in her dark eyes.
Yup, typical scary abuela, he thought.
His own Abuelita Delfina could be just as scary, though her default setting towards her grandchildren had always been kind and indulgent.
"??o could you just play along? Please?" Maggie finished, still clinging to him.
So, does that mean that she doesn't actually have a mate or boyfriend? Steve sure hoped so.
Plus, his protective instincts were rising, stirred up by her air of desperation and panic. It was strange, when she'd been so together during last weekend's life or death situation on the lake.
He didn't have to stop to consider his answer. "Of course. Sure."
She kissed his cheek, and he stiffened at the jolt of pleasure from the unexpected caress. He added in a low murmur, "If you agree to go out to dinner with me."
She smiled at him. The gratitude in her beautiful dark eyes made him feel like he could conquer the world.
"Deal! That reminds me, I'm taking my parents to Salt & Bourbon this evening. If you come with us and keep pretending to be my fianc茅, I'll treat you to anything you want on the menu."
Salt & Bourbon? Hell yeah, thought Steve. It wasn't the kind of place he could afford on his smokejumper's salary. "Just tell me what time, and I'll meet you there."
He couldn't drive right now, not with his foot and leg in a cast, but that was what ride-sharing services were for.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Kara and Felicia giving him covert thumbs-up gestures.
"You're awesome, you know that? Thank you so much!" To his regret, Maggie released him and stepped out of his embrace.
He fought the urge to hang on to her and keep her up against him. It felt so damned right. Her smile and the gratitude shining in her eyes almost made up for it, though.
"Hey, what happened to your leg?" she asked, quizzically examining his knee-crutch. "Did you hurt it while fighting that fire?"
Steve groaned and shook his head. "Would you believe we managed to get that monster knocked down without a scratch?"
The air tanker support had been key in their victory, but it had been a long hard slog before the blaze had finally been contained and controlled.
"So how'd you injure yourself?" asked Maggie.
Steve's teammate Mike, a big Japanese-American bear shifter, answered for him. "When we returned to base, he challenged me and Thor to a nice, friendly game of basketball. Loser had to buy a round of beer and appetizers at Los Pericos."
"I may, uh, have been a little too motivated to win," Steve added.
It was better than admitting that he'd been a dumbass for making that bet at all. His days as a star on his high school basketball team were long gone. And even if he'd still been in practice, taking on not one but two bear shifters hadn't been the brightest idea he'd ever had.
"You broke his leg? Over a round of beers?" Maggie asked Mike,