They were quiet as she sipped her juice, and she sent him a concerned glance as she caught him rubbing his chest. “You okay?”
He glanced down in surprise, like he hadn’t been aware of what he was doing, and dropped his hand to the bar top. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Turning more fully toward him as the half-truth in his voice washed over her, she arched an eyebrow. “You don’t sound all that convinced of that. Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but you can talk to me if you want to. I’m a good listener.”
She hid a grimace as she realized what she said. It was far too reminiscent of the words she said to Luke the day before, but she pushed it from her mind. She was talking to Noah, and it was about him and whatever was bothering him. It wasn’t about her and her short lived, ill-fated wanna-be romance.
Noah rubbed a hand over the dark stubble on his nearly bald head, looking down at the bar top as he considered her offer. She’d never noticed before, but his eyelashes were white-blond. Coupled with his dark stubble and the full, thick dark beard he sported, it was a striking contrast.
Finally sighing, he shook his head as he shot a rueful glance at her. “I’m an ex-Marine. And an Enforcer, whose crew just happens to be an MC. And this might be the most unmanly thing I’ve ever said, let alone felt.”
“It’s okay. I promise I won’t judge.” Once again, the urge to grimace over her wording struck her, but she again managed to refrain.
She didn’t want him to think it was directed at him.
He blew out a breath as he turned his glass round and round on the bar top. “I’ve never felt… well, I’ve never felt complete. It’s like a piece of me is missing, and I’ve been searching for it my whole life. Only I don’t know how to find it, and I don’t think I ever will. Most days, I can pretend I feel normal, but sometimes, like this morning, it gets to me and for a little bit, I can’t pretend.”
“And you don’t know what it is you’re missing?”
Shrugging, he exhaled gustily. “No idea. I’m on good terms with my lion. I have my brothers and sister here in the Enforcers, and I don’t have any other family. Everything’s fine. My life is good. This is something I’ve felt for as long as I can remember, but trying to figure out what it is feels like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack.”
She pursed her lips, thinking hard. “Could it be your mate who’s missing?”
He glanced over at her skeptically. “Would a four-year-old be missing their future mate? Besides, I’ve considered that. I want to find a mate, I won’t deny that. I’m ready for her, whoever she is. But the thought of her as what I’m missing feels all wrong.”
She shook her head, unable to come up with any explanation. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be any help. I wish I had some other suggestions, but mate is the best I could come up with.”
“It’s okay. You helped more than enough by just listening. You’re the first person I’ve ever told that to.”
Glancing over at him, she felt her heart warm. “I’m honored that you trusted me with it, and I promise I won’t tell a soul. I’m glad I could help, even if it was in a small way.”
Rubbing his beard, he looked at her speculatively, like he was debating whether or not to speak what was on his mind. “For what it’s worth, I’d bet everything I own that there’s nothing going on between Luke and Georgie. Him inviting her to stay is about her safety, nothing more. As is him telling you to go home. His protective instincts toward women are overwhelming for him.”
Thoughts instantly turning sour, she just barely resisted the urge to tell him he just lost that bet and needed to pay up. Liam came out of the kitchen, two plates balanced perfectly on each arm, and she focused on him, desperate to get away from that line of thinking. Anything that had to do with Luke and Georgie was off limits.
Liam looked exactly like she thought a tough biker would, and exactly what she thought a chef wouldn’t. He was tall and powerfully built, like all the Enforcers. He had a nose piercing, the silver of the hoop glinting in the morning light pouring in from the windows, and she had to wonder what it meant to him.
Most shifters didn’t bother with piercings, because the moment they removed the jewelry, their shifter healing kicked in and closed the hole up. So every time they took it out, every time they shifted, they’d have to pierce it all over again. It was an inconvenience most wanted nothing to do with.
His hair was dark strawberry blond, and her eyes fell to his beard. It was slightly redder than his hair, and just as full as Noah’s. She stared at it speculatively before glancing to her plate and back as he set their food in front of them.
“Thanks, Liam. It looks great.”
Nodding at her with a half-smile, he turned and walked back to the kitchen without replying. Come to think of it, besides an occasional grunt of acknowledgement when someone spoke to him, she’d never heard him make any other noise since she’d been there.
“Don’t worry,” Noah said, drawing her attention to him. He poured syrup over his pancakes before handing her the bottle with a wink. “I saw you looking at his beard. He takes meticulous care of it. He’d never allow a strand to fall into the food.”
Shaking her head with a smile, she turned her attention to her own food. He’d read her so well, because she’d been wondering that very thing as she watched Liam approach.
They fell silent as they ate, and it was all she could do to not moan with pleasure as she ate. Luke had been right. Liam could definitely be a gourmet chef if he ever got tired of the Enforcer gig.
She finally pushed her plate away, wanting to eat more but stuffed to the gills. She took a drink of her orange juice, her head turning as the front door opened and a man and woman walked in. Her eyebrows rose as she watched them, surprised. No one had come into the bar until the afternoon since she’d arrived there.
Noah pushed off his stool with an exclamation of surprise. “Y’all are back. It’s good to see you. I hope your trip went well.”
“It did, thank you,” the woman replied, her voice accented.
Tarun stood and Noah glanced over at her. “Tarun, this is Dmitri and Damara Costas, the Enforcers you haven’t met yet. They’re brother and sister and they’ve been in Greece, visiting their family. Guys, this is Tarun Campbell. She’s a War Cat. Her gift is sensing threats, and she came to let us know about one directed at us. She’s staying here for a bit.”