throat, as she flailed her arms before beginning to tip over backwards.
Our mate! his hippogriff bellowed. Our mate is in danger!!
Before he could think, Beau had darted out an arm, wrapping it snugly around Annie’s waist, catching her before she could fall. He pulled her against his chest, steadying her, as her right hand grabbed hold of his arm, her left pressing against his chest, while her head came to rest against his shoulder…
Beau had acted entirely on instinct – his hippogriff had driven his movements without him having to think even for a moment about what he was doing. Of course, he would have caught her no matter who she’d been. But his hippogriff’s drive to protect his mate at all costs – even from a relatively minor fall on an icy lake – had completely taken over his mind.
Now that his human consciousness was at the forefront again, Beau realized, gulping, what he’d done.
The feeling of Annie’s body pressed up against him sent a jolt of pure electricity straight through him. Heat raced through him, like lines of fire through his veins, setting every single cell of his body alight with desire…
Unable to move, Beau gazed down at Annie’s face, taking in her flushed cheeks, the disheveled blonde hair that cascaded down from beneath her winter hat and framed her face, her full, slightly parted lips, and her wide-eyed stare as she looked up at him.
And while Beau had been struck by Annie’s beauty from the very first moment he’d seen her at the bakery, her eyes full of determined fire as she’d stared down the man who’d been standing over her, she had never looked more utterly luminous than she did right now.
Kiss her. Kiss her, and show her what she means to us. Show her that she is our mate.
Beau could tell Annie was thinking – well, maybe not exactly the same thing, but very close to. At least, that was what the flush of her cheeks and the way her eyes darted down to his lips told him.
Instinct gripped him yet again. He could only stand to be so close to his mate for so long before he gave in to what he knew to be true.
She’s mine. And I’m hers. We both know it…
At least until Annie blinked and seemed to shake herself off, straightening up and pulling away from him.
“I – I – well, I don’t know that I’m ever going to make much of a skater,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. “I think… well, I think for now I’ll just have a little sit down. Maybe I’m hungry? I haven’t really eaten much today, not since my break. There’s a stand over there. Maybe I’ll see what they have?”
Beau blinked as Annie blurted out the words as if they were all one big sentence, barely pausing for breath. Part of his brain was still stuck in the moment when he’d been just leaning in to kiss her – he was still processing the fact that at the last moment, she’d pulled away.
We haven’t proved ourselves to her yet, his hippogriff said, raising its talons in the air. When we have proved ourselves, then she will know. Then she will accept us, and accept our bond.
Maybe the hippogriff was right, Beau thought, mentally nodding to it. He still needed to work harder to capture Annie’s heart. He’d asked her for three days, after all – and this was still only the first. He still had time.
“Sure,” he said. “Should we go check out the food together?”
Annie bit her lip, nodding, before she quietly said, “I’d like that.”
Chapter 7
What the hell, Annie thought furiously, is wrong with me?
She frantically tied her shoelaces, lowering her head in the hope that Beau wouldn’t be able to see her face.
No, seriously. What the hell?
She straightened her hat, trying to buy herself time to calm both her hammering heart and her facial expression before she stood up.
He was about to kiss me. I know it. And I wanted him to – God I wanted him to. I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life. So why… why…
Why had she suddenly freaked out like that?!
She didn’t understand herself at all.
Annie stared down at her hands, covered by her thick black gloves.
Maybe it was just how much she’d wanted it that had freaked her out. She’d thought she’d be cool with it – she and Beau would have their three days of fun together, they’d