Rylee turned to look down the hallway in the direction of the main floor where she’d come from. There was no sign of anyone around now, and she found this very strange. There had been hundreds of people stampeding through here only a few minutes ago … that was exactly the reason why she’d almost fallen down the stairs!
Maybe I actually stood here with Mr. Wholesome Good-looking for a lot longer than I thought. It felt like an instant, but it could have been an hour.
Rylee felt a little lost, looking at the empty corridor and the dark stairwell. The night certainly had taken a strange turn. She couldn’t be too upset about it since she’d managed to … literally … stumble into the hottest man she’d ever seen. But she was still very confused about what was going on.
She had no idea if this man worked at the club or if he was just a patron like her, but he seemed pretty comfortable with the whole situation. She wondered if he knew why everyone had suddenly left the dance floor. She was genuinely curious, but she also wanted an excuse to keep the gorgeous man locked into conversation with her.
She turned around to ask him and was shocked to see he was no longer behind her. He was halfway down the hall already, striding along and putting a good amount of space between them.
Rylee felt confused and just a bit frantic. She was lost in the back of the club, still shaky from her near miss on the stairs. She had no idea what kind of a disaster had caused all the patrons to suddenly leave the club and if it meant she was in danger.
All of that added up to quite a bit of anxiety, but it all paled before the fact that the sexiest man alive was walking away from her.
Just an intolerable situation all around!
Rylee went to call out to him … and realized in that split second that she didn’t even know his name.
TWO
GAGE
Gage backed away slowly as the stunning woman standing before him turned and looked in the other direction. It had only been seconds since he held her in his arms, and the lack of her warmth already felt like torture.
Struggling with himself, he took another step back. He had to get out of here, and he had to do it fast. If he didn’t, he was going to do something he couldn’t take back.
He tried to turn around so he could stride off down the hall, turning his back on her as if that motion would create finality in his heart. He couldn’t, though. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She was a tall woman, her limbs long and athletic. The fit shape of her only enhanced the luscious swell of her hips and her full, round breasts. She was dressed in a little black dress decorated with leather and lace that showed off all her assets to full advantage.
Her long, dark brown hair fell in waves below her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep, glimmering hazel. She had the cutest little dent at the top of her nose and gorgeous full red lips.
When she had been in his arms, Gage had felt something deep inside him, something magnetic, as if this woman had gravity to her. His bear was scratching at him, snarling under his unconscious mind to pay attention. He pushed the sensation away.
He took another step back. She was still looking toward the club door, not moving. His fingers twitched as if he’d like to take her in his arms again and never let go. Something about her scent caught in the back of his nose, and there was a thought beginning to buzz around his skull with the insistence of an angry wasp.
She’s my mate.
Impossible! Gage admonished himself severely, silencing his bear with an extreme act of will. He couldn’t meet his mate here at the club. It was preposterous. That and the fact that finding his mate at all was not something he could believe.
Gage pulled no punches when it came to self-examination. He knew what he was. He was a big gruff guy who barely knew how to behave around decent women. He kept his emotions locked up tight and his thoughts to himself.
Someone who had done the kinds of things he’d done didn’t deserve a mate, even if he should happen to find her. He was going to die alone, and there was no sense in trying to change it.
His arms ached, and his palms tingled as he watched her. Every inch of his body longed for her. Those few seconds that she had been pressed against him were the most sublime he’d ever experienced in his entire life.
It was almost as if her skin and her scent were his salvation. If he was with her, anything, everything, was possible.
Even redemption.
With that, Gage found the strength to turn his back on her and stride away. She deserved far better than him. The best thing to do was get out of here as quickly as possible. He would never forget her, but he knew he’d never see her again, and that was exactly how it should be.
Heart, mind, body, and soul wrestled while his bear roared in fury from within his core. Gage fought it all, pushed it away. Even if she was his mate, he wasn’t sticking around to find out. The craving to crush her to his chest and kiss her was almost overwhelming, and he wouldn’t give in to it. He was leaving her behind, and if his insides tore themselves apart over it, so be it.
Then, Gage caught her scent again. It was far stronger than it had been a second ago. He paused.
She grabbed his hand from behind. He was so startled that he jumped, barely holding in a sharp cry.
Yeah, jump and scream like a five-year-old girl. That will impress her.